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Aquinas & Teilhard Envisioning
the World as Love 04/16/2024 |
In yesterday’s DM, we posed a question triggered by the teachings of Teilhard de Chardin: Should we not only recognize that “God is Love,” but also that “the World is Love”? |
Again, by “world” Teilhard is not talking about the world that humanity makes so much as the bigger picture—the world that makes us. The world that is the universe, the cosmos, our Earth that has welcomed us as guests. Thomas Aquinas calls the universe the being that is “most like God”—the
universe itself. If the world is “most like God,” then it is Love. Aquinas says, citing the psalmist, the universe is “God’s home” and its splendor and grandeur render us “drunk” when we meditate on it. |
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We are learning more and more about this home daily—facts such as its age (13.8 billion years old), and its size (2 trillion galaxies and expanding, and hundreds of billions of stars in each galaxy), and how it began smaller than a zygote, and how it has birthed us, our solar system, our sun, moon, and Earth, and all of life and consciousness. Evolution therefore. Why does Aquinas talk about getting drunk while meditating on the universe? Because of love. |
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| He tells us he borrows the “getting drunk” motif from the Song of Songs, the book in the Bible that celebrates human love and human lovemaking as a
theophany, a mystical experience. For Aquinas, to be drunk means |
our desires will be filled beyond all measurement of merit. For intoxication is a kind of excess, as the Song of Songs says, 'my beloved, you are drunk with love.' Love of the universe renders us drunk, drunk with love. All love renders us drunk. The many
new discoveries of the universe by science in our time increase the occasions for such drunkenness. |
“Ecstasy” is another term for being drunk insofar as “those who are drunk are not inside of themselves but outside of themselves.” Ekstasis in Greek means to stand outside of oneself. But the universe is not at all an “object”—it is a relation, we are embedded in it—it is our father and our
mother and our |
“Love as the force that moves the stars.” Pope Francis communicates with the astronauts of the International Space Station. NASA |
home and we are in it
and it is in us and we depend 100% on it until the day we die. We are in relationship to it and Aquinas proposes that that relationship is one of “friendship.” |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times, pp. 8-15.
And Fox, Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality, pp. 109f., 124.
See also Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation
Spirituality.
Banner Image: Trees and mountains cradle the setting sun. Photo by UnKknown Traveller 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 |
Are you drunk on the universe? Why or why not? Is that what a cosmology accomplishes, getting us drunk with love? And drunk from the love that the universe bestows on us by welcoming us here? |
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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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. "Matthew Fox does it again, here for our young ones, who so need a positive, cosmic vision
to thrive, or even survive, in a sad time." - Father Richard Rohr, Author of The Universal Christ "Matthew Fox offers a resounding affirmation of what our souls have always suspected: we are made for joy." - Mirabai Starr, Author of God of Love and Wild Mercy 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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