The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Today's the day: Matthew Fox's video meditation is below! |
On the Black Madonna in a
Time of Kamala Harris 08/26/2024 |
A sign of healthy masculinity is welcoming the strong feminine, as I point out in my book on The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine. This was in evidence at the DNC where so many men were respectful of and excited by Harris as a strong leader. |
There, Kamala Harris’s many accomplishments as lawyer, prosecutor, district attorney, attorney general, senator, and vice president were on full display. And celebrated as much by both women and men. Healthy men are not threatened by strong women (Donald Trump, take note!). Unhealthy men are. |
Then-senator Kamala Harris (front row, 6th from right) with the North Carolina NAACP, following their 2018 success in blocking Trump-nominated Thomas Farr from a seat on a federal district court. Wikimedia Commons. |
In Saturday’s DM, I made reference to Kamala Harris and the Black Madonna. For decades I have been in league with the Black Madonna, and convinced that she has a large role to play in waking up humanity today, and urging us on to our next stage of evolution. |
“Czarna Madonna,” honoring the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, sung by Brittany Mruczek in both Polish and English. Video by The New
Horizons. Also see this song by blues singer Keb'Mo,' "Put a Woman In
Charge." | Indeed, over the years we have celebrated a number of Cosmic Masses with the Black Madonna as the theme; one we called “It’s Time to Honna’ the Black Madonna.” I have been blessed to work with and
encourage others to call in this archetype so fit for our time. I was honored to be invited to write the Foreword for Alessandra Belloni’s book, Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna: Chants, Music and |
Sacred Practices of the Great Goddess. Alessandra is artist in residence at St. John the Divine Cathedral in NYC, and conducts many workshops in the US as well as pilgrimages to southern Italy where Alessandra was born, and where the Black Madonna tradition is still very much alive. |
I also salute the work of Christena Cleveland, whose recent book, God Is a Black Woman, brings the Black Madonna into today’s consciousness in a special way. Christena is a specialist in the French tradition of the Black Madonna, having made numerous pilgrimages to countless shrines in France on her own. Recently she led 30 black women to join her in such a pilgrimage, and she and Alessandra have met and joined forces as well. Carl Jung says that archetypes return when we need them—and we do need this |
The cover of God Is a Black Woman by Christene Cleveland, Ph.D. Photo from her website. |
archetype today, for she represents the strong and healthy and even fierce Divine Mother who knows all about Joy, but also Justice, and who defends the poor and all those who suffer. For her, justice serves the poor, not the powerful and well placed. It is said, “Her sympathy was with people who
suffered under law.”* Is this pertinent to today’s Supreme Court or what? Kamala Harris carries in her story and purpose many of the values of the Black Madonna. Also, since her mother comes from India, she also bears the history of the Great Mother so strong in that culture which also birthed Andrew Harvey (though of English parents),
whose book on the Great Mother is a classic. To be continued. |
* See R. P. Blackmur, Henry Adams: A Leading Critic’s Account of a Great Amerian Figure, p. 203. See Matthew Fox, “The Sacred Marriage of Masculine and Feminine” in Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 221-248. And Fox, Trump & the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, pp. 99-104, 81-84. And Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Post-denominational Priest, pp. 221, 281, 311, 356, 419. And Fox, “The Feminine Face of Divinity,” in One River, Many Wells, pp. 117-143. Banner image: “Notre Dame du Port,” a Black Madonna figure (c. 1185) in the
Cathedral of the Assumption in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Not only is its Madonna black, so is the entire church, being made of volcanic lava rocks. Photo from the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries at Vanderbilt University.
Wikimedia Commons. |
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| To view today's video, please click the image. You will be taken to today's post on the Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox website,
where you can see the meditation in a larger version and also view and post your Comments. In the sharing that follows, a kind of community is developing around the DM. If you can't reach today's post on the website directly, click HERE. If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try his Vimeo channel HERE. |
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 in touch with the Black Madonna? If so, what does she represent to you? Do you sense her rising in our time? If you are not yet in touch with her, maybe it is time. |
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s
rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline
Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine. |
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The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an
ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael
Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God |
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Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s stirring
autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of
this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self |
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One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of theological position papers but
a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this
magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit |
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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 |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
MONTHLY: 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. Last Tuesday of every month, 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 |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, September 19, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox speaks on "Preserving Things in the Good" at the Unity of Walnut Creek Earth Day worship service held on April 21, 2024. |
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