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From
Despair to Cosmic Beauty, Awe, Celebration & Gratitude 04/12/2024 |
Thomas Aquinas teaches that despair is the “most dangerous” of all sins. It is not the worst—injustice is—but it is the most dangerous. Why? Because when a person or a society is in despair it does not care about itself and certainly not about others. Despair kills
compassion. |
Many politicians are preaching despair today and are not interested in governing but in power for power’s sake and in creating chaos to make room for authoritarian agendas. Aquinas warns that “the worst thing a person can |
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do is to teach despair.” He also alerts us to how evil people are afraid of goodness and afraid of good people. “A tyrant is more afraid of good people than of evil people,” he observes. Check it out. Is he right? Do tyrants and aspiring tyrants surround themselves with good
people? Or with evil people? Listen to the language of tyrants and wannabe tyrants, how they describe others as “the other” and are busy calling others names that are derogatory, even dismissing others as “animals” or “venom”, etc. Others as objects. |
Wonders of the world: the 2008 trailer to the 1992 movie Baraka, a “kaleidoscopic compilation of natural events, life, human activities and technological phenomena shot in 24 countries on six continents over a 14-month period.” wocomoTRAVEL | The term “original blessing” celebrates both goodness ("blessing") and "originality." How many originals there are among us, original humans (no two humans are entirely the same after all) and originals among species. |
Who could have invented an orangutang or elephant, parrot or whale? Or a rainforest or bee or a wonder fest of flowers or…or…or…? Times of despair require an immense dose of the Via Positiva, an awakening and reawakening to the beauty of things, the beauty of existence, how God is “Beauty
Itself” and the “Source of all beauty” as Aquinas puts it. The new discoveries about the cosmos and new stories and pictures of our home, the universe, from the Webb Telescope can rejuvenate our souls and move us beyond despair and sadness to wonder, joy and gratitude—which is after all the true meaning of
religion. |
As Aquinas puts it, “religion is supreme thankfulness or gratitude.” Or should be. The name for the Christian liturgy after all is Eucharist which is the Greek word for “Thank You”. As Thomas Berry puts it In the end the universe can only be explained in terms of celebration. It is all an exuberant expression of existence itself. Indeed, both Berry and |
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Teilhard de Chardin talk of the universe itself as a “Liturgy.” |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times, pp. 41-44.
And Fox, Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations, p. 365.
And Fox, Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality, pp.
357-360.
Banner Image: An explosion of flowers. Photo by Hugo Kruip on Unsplash |
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Responses are welcomed. To add
your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Queries for Contemplation |
Is it your experience that the essence of authentic religion is Gratitude? What follows from that? |
The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
A stunning spiritual handbook drawn from the substantive teachings of Aquinas’ mystical/prophetic genius, offering a sublime roadmap for spirituality and
action.
Foreword by Ilia Delio.
“What a wonderful book! Only Matt Fox could bring to life the wisdom and brilliance of Aquinas with so much creativity. The Tao of Thomas Aquinas is a masterpiece.”
–Caroline Myss, author
of Anatomy of the Spirit |
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Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations
As Matthew Fox notes, when an aging Albert Einstein was asked if he had any regrets, he replied, “I wish I had read more of the mystics earlier in my life.” The 365 writings in
Christian Mystics represent a wide-ranging sampling of these readings for modern-day seekers of all faiths — or no faith. The visionaries quoted range from Julian of Norwich to Martin Luther King, Jr., from Thomas Merton to Dorothee Soelle and Thomas Berry.
“Our world is in crisis, and we need road maps that can ground us in wisdom, inspire us to action, and help us gather our talents in service of compassion
and justice. This revolutionary book does just that. Matthew Fox takes some of the most profound spiritual teachings of the West and translates them into practical daily mediations. Study and practice these teachings. Take what’s in this book and teach it to the youth because the new generation cannot afford to suffer the spirit and ethical illiteracy of the past.” — Adam Bucko, spiritual activist and co-founder of the Reciprocity Foundation for Homeless
Youth. |
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Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation
Spirituality
Matthew Fox renders Thomas Aquinas accessible by interviewing him and thus descholasticizing him. He also translated many of his works such as Biblical commentaries never before in English (or Italian or German of French). He gives Aquinas a forum so that he can be heard in our own time. He presents Thomas Aquinas entirely in his own words, but in a form designed to
allow late 20th-century minds and hearts to hear him in a fresh way.
“The teaching of Aquinas comes through will a fullness and an insight that has never been present in English before and [with] a vital message for the world today.” ~ Fr. Bede Griffiths (Afterword).
Foreword by Rupert Sheldrake |
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Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew
is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author,
The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story |
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In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "This delicious book for children of all ages celebrates joy as the essential truth of
reality." - Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope and Radical Regeneration "I absolutely LOVED reading this beautiful, creative, stirring story—a charming, whimsical, powerful, parable." -
Robert Holden, Author of Happiness NOW! and Higher Purpose Receive a 20% discount when you buy this and one other book from Matthew Fox’s store! Use Promo Code 20% at checkout. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox as he speaks on “The Deep Feminine and the Deep Masculine and their importance in elevating consciousness and healing our world” at the The Heart of Nature 7-Day Summit with Jane Fonda, Marianne Williamson, Paul Hawken, Nina Simons and over 30 leading experts, Tuesday-Monday, April 16-22. Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, April 18, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register
HERE. Join Matthew Fox in a free online event hosted by the Shift Network: “Explore Compassion in Spirituality With Meister Eckhart’s Wisdom: Mystical Teachings for Renewal, Love & Forgiveness in Times of Turmoil.” Thursday, April 18, 5:30pm PT Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox as he speaks at a worship service and conducts a workshop to mark Earth Day 2024, hosted by Unity of Walnut Creek, CA, Sunday, April 21: 9:30am & 11:30am – Worship Service – Sermon. Earth Day, 2024: Preserving Things in the Good 1:30-3:00pm – Workshop – How the Earth Crisis of Our Time Can Move Humanity to Its Next Stage of Evolution Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox, Mariko Middleton, and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a
free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors, Tuesday, April 30, 4:00-5:00pm PT.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478 Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org |
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Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book with scientist Rupert Sheldrake, Natural Grace: Dialogues on Creation, Darkness and the Soul in Spirituality and Science in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, May 16, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE.
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Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Ilia Delio and theologian Matthew Fox pick up on their conversation about the viability of contemporary religious institutions in an evolutionary world. They discuss death and resurrection—the enduring challenge of modern approaches to the subject and what we can learn from mystics, past generations and ancient peoples alike. To listen, click HERE. |
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Inspired by this post? Share your insights on Universeodon, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
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