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Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox 

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12/07/2024

As the results of the election ripple out, learn the deeper stakes involved. Get your copy of Trump & the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election today! Choose your format in the book block below. 

The Cathedral is newly enforced with a new roof and spire and cleaned and shiny on the inside. “Like new,” one might say. There is symbolism in this resurrection surely and one must understand that the Cathedral is not just a religious monument for the French but a symbol for the French people

“Notre Dame Cathedral to reopen 5 years after devastating fire.” PBS NewsHour

of their love of art and beauty that unites. There is a national pride in its presence.

It also speaks to the theme we have been meditating on for some time—the teaching from Otto Rank that you do not cure an ailing democracy with more democracy but with more of the “irrational.” Consider yesterday’s DM about how important a role tone played in the recent election. 

Also, of course, patriarchy played a major role in the recent election and I devote a chapter on Hildegard’s painting of the Antichrist as patriarchy in my recent book on the subject.

"The Flight into Egypt. Stained glass in a choir chapel, Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, Paris, France." Wikimedia Commons 

The Gothic movement of the 12th/ 13^th centuries occurred when the Divine Feminine penetrated European history and gave birth to an aspiration of Light and Expan- siveness and Color—the stained glass invites sunlight in to dance as the sun makes its way through its day journey. The pillars imitate the solid trees of a great forest. 

That revolution was in many ways a feminine one. “Notre Dame” means “Our Lady” after all and there were over 80 such cathedrals built in 100 years, all dedicated to “Our Lady”–Notre Dame de Paris, de Chartres, de Lyons, de Reins, etc.

Henry Adams, whose grandfather and great grandfather were both US presidents, names this revolution as a movement from the masculine to the feminine in his iconic work, Mont-Saint-Michel & Chartres. Its presence is a stark contrast to the architecture of the dark ages and represented a very masculine era—thick walls for defense against 

Restored interior of Notre Dame, lovingly recreated by artisans using hand tools and old techniques. Photo by Adrian Scottow on Flickr.

marauders but also against the cold; with small windows.

Rank tells us that if you want to know the essence of a culture, go to its architecture first.

Says Adams: The necessity for light was the motive of the Gothic architects. They needed light and always more light [and took] all the light there was to take. For the same reason, fenestration became the most important part of the Gothic architect’s work.

“Virgin Mary statue, a symbol of resilience, returns to Notre-Dame Cathedral 5 years after fire.” France 24 English

The first command of the Queen of Heaven was for light but the second, at least equally imperative, was for color…. 
The Virgin required chiefly these four things: space, light, convenience; and color decoration to unite and harmonize the whole.*

Society was turning from worship of its military ideal, Saint Michael, to worship of its social ideal, the Virgin.

The Virgin stood for justice for the poor, not for the powerful. That is why she was honored by the poorer classes. Compassion and grace and acceptance were her attributes and her contribution to authentic power.  

                                                                                        To be continued.

*Henry Adams, Mont-Saint-Michel & Chartres, pp. 105f.

See “Feminism” in Matthew Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul &Society, pp. 113-115, 243-247.

And Fox, “The Green Man in the Twelfth Century,” in Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine,” pp. 23-26; 239-242.

And Fox, “Hildegard of Bingen: The Antichrist as Patriarchy,” in Fox, Trump & MAGA as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, pp. 81-84.

Banner image: Notre Dame Cathedral. Wikimedia Commons

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Queries for Contemplation

What does the resurrection of Notre Dame mean to you at this perilous moment Earth and human in history?

Recommended Reading

Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society

Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them. 
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science.  A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics

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

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.

For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE. 

To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE. 

To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.

Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.

The Return of Father Sky: A Cosmic Mystery for Kids of All Ages

The second book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series, The Return of Father Sky helps boys and girls to celebrate a new relationship with the masculine by way of Father Sky, whose return excites joy and wonder and possibility that enlarge the soul to welcome others and all creation. Written in a rhyming Dr. Seuss-like style, this full-color, beautifully illustrated book, written by world- renowned theologian Matthew Fox weaves together modern science and classic spirituality in a whimsical, entertaining format to illustrate important truths to readers aged 4 and up. 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.

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, Rev. Nóirín Ní Riain, and celebrated Irish performers Owen Ó Súilleabháin, and Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin in an Interfaith Advent celebration of Irish sacred music and storytelling to honor the varied Festivals of Light and explore the mysteries they reveal. Saturday, December 7, 9:00am – 11:00am PT. Register HERE.

Join Matthew Fox for an on-site and online Advent Retreat titled “A Great Coming: Creation Spirituality and the Renewal of Religion, Humanity and Holy Mother Earth,” hosted by Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles. Saturday, 12/14, 9 AM -5 PM; Sunday, 12/15, 9-11 AM. 
Register HERE.

Creation Spirituality Conversations

Don't miss Matthew Fox in an interview with Sandie Sedgbeer of What is Going Om, looking at Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election.

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