The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations
with Matthew Fox |
Watch for Matthew Fox's video meditation -- now
appearing every Monday! Be sure to catch Matthew's newest social media channel on Bluesky! |
![]() Honoring the Courage of Those Who Sacrifice & Follow Conscience
2/15/2025 |
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. |
Three days ago, we honored the 20th anniversary of Sister Dorothy Stang’s martyrdom among the peasant farmers living in the rainforest, and committed to defending it against forces of greed that are trying to kill it in order to get rich quick by establishing cattle farms. The peasants, when they buried
Sister Dot, said “we are not burying you, we are planting you.” In other words, her love for them, the forest and justice, is growing fruit elsewhere. In doing what she did and staying to do her work on behalf of the peasants and the rainforest, Sister Dot was imitating the courageous way of Jesus, who was called a “stern warrior” in
the Scriptures and in the Liturgy. At Christmas, this text is used to speak of Christ: |
When peaceful silence lay over all, And night had run the half of her swift course, Down from the heavens, from the royal throne, leapt your all-powerful Word: Into the heart of a doomed land the stern warrior leapt. |
Warrior on horseback. Bronze statue at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Photo by Brett Wharton on Unsplash. |
Such love and heroic sacrifice as Sister Dot’s takes spiritual warrior energy. As Aquinas says, we are to “brave great dangers for great things, for instance the common welfare, justice, divine worship, and so forth.” He frequently cited the prophet Jeremiah who said, “The Lord is with me like a brave warrior.” Rabbi Heschel talks about “the urgency of justice,” and how “to do justice is what God demands of every person: it is the supreme commandment, and one that cannot be fulfilled vicariously.” To do justice takes inner strength or warrior/prophetic energy. |
|
| Buddhist nun Pema Chodrin calls mindfulness practitioners “spiritual warriors.” Buddhist Joanna Macy tells us that “great courage—moral and physical—is required of the Shambhala warriors who carry the weapons of compassion and insight.” |
Yesterday, a long-time Republican and conservative and top federal prosecutor resigned, rather than comply with an order to dismiss corruption charges against New York City’s mayor. US Attorney Danielle Sasson, who once interned with conservative judge Anthony Scalia, was recently chosen by the Trump administration to lead the prosecution of New York Mayor Eric Adams. When she was ordered by deputy attorney general Emil Bove to dismiss the case on Monday, she refused to do so, and gave up her job rather than comply. It took “lion energy” and spiritual warrior conscience to leave her post rather than submit to a command to cease pursuing the corruption charges. Good for Ms. Sasson! |
Five other prosecutors followed Ms. Sasson’s courageous act of conscience and defiance, and also walked away from their jobs. It is good to see some courageous and conscience-driven lawyers stand up. |
Manhattan U.S. attorney resigns after DOJ says to drop Adams case. Video by CBS New
York. |
Would some congress people and senators would show the same commitment to conscience and to the greater good of our country, stand up and speak out against dangerous nominees for cabinet positions, for example. And risk losing their jobs while standing up for the common good. |
ERRATA: In yesterday's DM, we mistakenly stated that Elon Musk paid $280 billion to Trump's campaign. The correct number is $280 million. We regret the error. Adapted from Matthew Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Faith Traditions, pp. 404, 411f, 408,
413f. And Matthew Fox, “Spiritual Warriorhood,” in Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine. And Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice.
Banner Image: Maa Durga, riding a tiger and holding a different weapon in each hand, is a Hindu archetype of the spiritual warrior. Photo by Sonika Agarwal on Unsplash. | For a list of organizations helping those affected by the devastating LA wildfires, please see this article from ABCNews
HERE and the evolving AltadenaStrong hub page 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 inspired by Sister Dot, Danielle Sessions, and the other five prosecution lawyers who put conscience ahead of their life and professional position to sacrifice for justice? Do you work and pray that politicians would do the same?
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew
Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our
deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register
|
|
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 |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice, in an online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, February 20, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth, in an online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, March 20, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Register HERE. MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox 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 |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Hear a conversation between Matthew and Ana Otero of The Desert Rose Mystery School in "Mystical Pathways. A Sacred Talk with Matthew Fox, founder of the Creation Spirituality Movement." |
|
Inspired by this post? Share your insights on BlueSky, Instagram, Universeodon, or Facebook using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
|
|
|
