The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations
with Matthew Fox |
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Aquinas’s Medicine for Greed
–Listen up, y’all! 3/01/2025 |
As the impacts of the new regime ripple out, learn the deeper stakes involved. Get your copy of Trump & the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ today! Choose your format in the book block below. |
In the past two DM’s we have talked about how Greed is behind the current Republican budget that wants to cut over a trillion dollars from the most needy—those needing SNAP (food stamps) and Medicaid (health care), etc. And at the same time add $4.5 trillion to the debt (which will be mostly paid by the middle class) and lessen the taxes of large corporations and the richest ones among us. |
I have cited Bernie Sanders, Hildegard of Bingen and Thomas Aquinas on the driving force of Greed and Avarice built into this appalling set of priorities. And how “hard and cold hearts” result from such greed as well as spawn it. |
“HUGE Medicaid Cuts in New GOP Budget Could Be The End? w/ Alex Lawson.” Thom
Hartmann |
Aquinas offers medicine for confronting greed in oneself or others. Since greed “knows no limits and tends toward infinity,” he proposes that people look elsewhere than money for the limitless and the infinite. And where is that to be found? In the spiritual. And he offers three instances. First, he points out that humans can “never love too much.” It is not possible to fix any limits to the increase of love in this life.” So love is a place to invest one’s quest for the limitless. |
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| Second, he says, the infinite is also found in knowledge. A
human being “can never know too much,” he proposes. Seek knowledge, keep curiosity alive, seek and seek and link up with other seekers. Curiosity can go on all life long, not to mention curiosity about what goes on after this life. Such seeking is a great way to meet new friends, link up with others, build
community, rediscover the beauty and wonder in life, and keep one’s soul young, remaining true to the mystic (the puer and puella) in oneself. |
And a third and authentic way to experience the infinite, says Aquinas, is through our creativity. “By our reason and hands” we can create “an infinite variety” of necessities of life and we conceive of “an infinite number of things” and make “an infinite number of instruments.” That is true, isn’t it? Have two painters ever painted the same painting? Two poets written identical poems? Two musicians composed the same music? Aquinas is all for humans stretching ourselves to the infinite but he is warning us that there are bogus ways to exercise that yearning. Rather, we should seek it in love, knowledge and creativity. Such a life of love, knowledge and creativity will not render you hard and coldhearted in your quest for the infinite—rather, you will make good friends, build community, share joy, find meaning, and excite others. |
And you will not fall into cult worship and make idols of things or people. You will be too busy discovering what is wondrous. What poet Rilke called the “miracle of existence.” Instead of hoarding, you will give thanks and praise for what counts most: Our shared existence. With
praise, comes contentment. |
Mahatma Gandhi, as part of the Indian independence movement, encouraged people to wear clothes made of homespun cotton yarn rather than turning over India’s cotton crops to the British. Wikimedia Commons. |
Gandhi: “There is enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.” |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality, pp. 488ff., 259, 304. See also: Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, pp. 180-200. Adapted from Matthew Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society, pp. 301, 306. And Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ. And Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice. And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the
Earth.
Banner image: Stop Corporate Greed, Photo by Meiling on Flickr. | 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 |
Do you agree with Aquinas that the path to the infinite is not through money and the power it generates but is available to everyone thorough love, knowledge and creativity? How would the world change if this were the bottom line of culture and civilization instead of greed? |
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 |
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The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
In what may be considered the
most comprehensive outline of the Christian paradigm shift of our Age, Matthew Fox eloquently foreshadows the manner in which the spirit of Christ resurrects in terms of the return to an earth-based mysticism, the expression of creativity, mystical sexuality, the respect due the young, the rebirth of effective forms of worship—all of these mirroring the ongoing blessings of Mother Earth and the recovery of Eros, the feminine aspect of the Divine.
“The eighth wonder of the world…convincing proof that our Western religious tradition does indeed have the depth of imagination to reinvent its faith.” — Brian Swimme, author of The Universe Story and Journey of the Universe.
“This book is a classic.” Thomas Berry, author of The Great Work and The Dream of the Earth. |
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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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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. |
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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 |
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Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South
American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality
and Practice.
“I am reading Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth by Matt Fox. He is one that fills my heart and mind for new life in spite of so much that is violent in our world.” ~ Sister Dorothy Stang. |
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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. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
As we enter this Lenten season—a time of reflection, reckoning, and renewal—we find ourselves
at a crossroads unlike any other in recent history. Join Matthew Fox and fellow thought-leaders and activists Andrew Harvey, Mirabai Starr, Yvette Flunder, Adam Bucko, and Cameron Trimble in From Darkness to Dawn: Spiritual Courage and Political Action in the Age of MAGA, a 4-part series of transformational conversations, exploring the deep spiritual roots of this political moment and uncovering pathways toward collective action, resilience, and renewal. Tuesdays, March 4, 11,
18, 25, 4-5:30 pm PT. Enroll HERE. |
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Join Matthew Fox as he offers a guest lecture in the Creation Spirituality Communities course “Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: An Exploration of Evil” led by instructor Carolyn Million. Wednesdays, March 12– April 16, 4-6 pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox in a free video event hosted by The Shift Network: “The Mysticism of Christ: Experiencing the Sacred Teachings of Jesus for Spiritual Awakening,” Saturday, March 15 at 10am PT. Register for free 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 |
Matthew was recently interviewed by Sandie Sedgbeer on her program “What is Going OM,” about his book, “Trump and the MAGA Movement as AntiChrist.” Watch or listen HERE. |
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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: |
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