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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appearing every Monday! Be sure to catch Matthew's newest social media channel on Bluesky! |
The Common Good, not Greed, as the Root of Government 3/12/2025 |
As the impact of the current regime ripples 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 midst of crazy goings-on in our politics and government, led by a mad wannabe king and his sidekick Mad Hatter (MAGA
hat of course), it is good to return to basics. |
Let us talk and pray about the common good. The basics of society are not greed–even though greed plays big in the mindset of certain “leaders” in our country today. The Tesla fellow who paid $188 billion to buy a place in the White House and $19 billion to buy Congress and is now
shelling out over |
Alice, representing all of us, looks suspiciously at Trump and Musk holding forth at their Mad Tea Party. Composite image by team member Rosanna Tufts; based on Sir John Tenniel’s original illustration from 1865. Wikimedia Commons. |
$10 million for a Supreme Court judge in Wisconsin and has become a poster boy for unfettered capitalism, is missing something. And the man who hired him to take a chainsaw to the American government and is world famous for being “transactional,” i.e. reducing every relationship to an “I-am-making-a-profit” relationship is also missing something. That something is the bottom line in a healthy politics: The common good. St. Thomas Aquinas has been given credit for this truth, and he acknowledges that he got the concept from Aristotle. Let us consider some of Aquinas’s teachings on the common good. |
University of St. Thomas philosophy professor Gloria R. Frost discusses the concept of the Common Good as explained by Thomas Aquinas. Philosophy Explained | Here is one red flag Aquinas raises concerning those in leadership: In his commentary on Aristotle’s Ethics, he says: The common good of the state cannot flourish unless citizens are
virtuous–at least those whose business it is to govern. |
I have written previously in the DM that character matters in our
leaders. What we are experiencing as a nation today is the lack of character of many leaders who are more interested in their private good than in the common good or the good of the community. Aquinas: The common good of many is more godlike than the good of an individual. Any individual? Even a
billionaire? Or a billionaire many times over? The words of Ambrose apply, ‘feed him that is dying of hunger; if you have not fed him, you have slain him.’ Does this apply to the starving people of Sudan for whom Musk/Trump shut down USAID shipments destined for Africa? Aid that we taxpayers and Congress had
already paid for? Does it apply to the AIDS medicines that were also destined for Africa and paid for by Congress and then denied? |
What about the Speaker of the House, Mr. Johnson, who is very showy about what a wonderful Christian he is? He smilingly approved of the DOGE shutting down of USAID and is cheering on the efforts to slash Medicaid and Social Security, support for the youngest and oldest |
The practical consequences of freezing foreign aid and disrupting established programs are starting to add up for the Trump junta. POLITICO explains. |
and most vulnerable among us. Perhaps he should meditate on what Aquinas teaches, namely that compassion links us to God as regards similarity of works….The sum total of the Christian religion consists of compassion as regards external works. Is the so-called Christian Speaker missing
out on “the sum total of the Christian religion?” What about his fellow MAGA devotees? In regard to the misfortune of our neighbors, we ought to have a heart that is suffering. The love of neighbor requires that not only should we be our neighbor’s well-wishers, but also their well-doers, according to 1 John 3:18:
‘Let us not love in word, nor in speech, but in deed and in truth.’ And in order to be a person’s well-wisher and well-doer, we ought to succor their needs. To be continued. |
SIGN THE PLEDGE: Boycott pro-Trump corporations for Lent this year. Faithful America. Adapted from Matthew Fox, Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality, pp. 417, 396f.
See Matthew Fox, Trump & The MAGA
Movement as Anti-Christ.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society.
And, Fox, “Warriors for Ecological and Economic Justice: Meister Eckhart Meets Dorothy Stang, Karl Marx, David Korten, Serge Latouche, Anita Roddick, and Howard Thurman,” in Fox, Meister
Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times, pp. 221-230. | 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. |
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: Community members prepare sandbags against an impending flood in Quincy, IL, 2008. Photo by WBEZ-91.5 on Flickr |
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 virtue among leaders is necessary for a society to flourish? And when it is lacking there, citizens in a democracy must step up and apply compassion and truth and justice to the political discourse and action? |
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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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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Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Time
While Matthew Fox recognizes that Meister Eckhart has influenced thinkers throughout history, he also wants to introduce Eckhart to
today’s activists addressing contemporary crises. Toward that end, Fox creates dialogues between Eckhart and Carl Jung, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rabbi Heschel, Black Elk, Karl Marx, Rumi, Adrienne Rich, Dorothee Soelle, David Korten, Anita Roddick, Lily Yeh, M.C. Richards, and many others.
“Matthew Fox is perhaps the greatest writer on Meister Eckhart that has ever existed. (He) has successfully bridged a gap between
Eckhart as a shamanistic personality and Eckhart as a post-modern mentor to the Inter-faith movement, to reveal just how cosmic Eckhart really is, and how remarkably relevant to today’s religious crisis! ” — Steven
Herrmann, Author of Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward |
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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 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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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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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. The Mysticism of Christ: Experiencing the Sacred Teachings of Jesus for Spiritual Awakening, a free video event with Matthew Fox, 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. |
Join Matthew Fox for a lecture and Q&A on Earth and Community Healing in a Time of Crisis: The Need for Ritual,” hosted by the Florida Interfaith Climate Actions Network, at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, FL. Friday, March 21, 7 pm ET. Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and the Climate Action Assembly in celebrating a Cosmic Mass on "Our Sacred Earth," hosted by the Florida Interfaith Climate Actions Network in St. Petersburg, FL. Saturday and Sunday, March 22 and 23.
Fri. 7:00pm ET. Fox talks on the Need and Power of
Ritual
Sat. 9:00am ET. Climate Action Assembly - Trinity Lutheran Church – Preparing for the Cosmic Mass
Sun. 2:00pm ET. St. Petersburg Coliseum - The Cosmic Mass: Our Sacred Earth Register HERE. |
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| Join Matthew Fox for three lecture and
Q&A sessions on “Angels & Science, Today & Yesterday,“ with special guest appearances by Rupert Sheldrake. Hosted by WisdomFeed.
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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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