The Creation
Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Our Holy Ancestors:
Resistance Takes Many Forms, Part II By Matthew Fox 11/25/2025 |
In yesterday’s DM, we spoke of the resistance going on in our time. Honoring people of courage and values is a kind of resistance, also. |
We sometimes call them saints for what they have undergone in defense of values that speak to the best of humanity’s struggles for peace, justice, and the common good. Last week, I received in the mail from Tom Stang, brother of Dorothy Stang, a book called Lighting the Way Forward: Holy
People For Our Times: Tapestries by John Nava. Nava is well known for creating the tapestries in the Cathedral in Los Angeles and also at USC and Princeton University. He was |
Lighting the Way Forward: Holy People for Our Times. A publication of the Msgr. Daniel Dillabough Ministry Center, University of San Diego. |
invited to create 52 tapestries at the University of San Diego for “Holy People For Our Times.” Among the people celebrated on the West Wall are the following: The Dalai Lama, Sister Thea Bowman, Pope Francis, Saint Oscar Romero, Dorothy Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Saint Lorenzo Ruiz,
Mahatma Gandhi, and Saint Julian of Norwich. Each is called a “beacon of Light, Faith, and Wisdom.” Words cited from Oscar Romero include these: A church that does not provoke a crisis, preach a Gospel that does not unsettle, proclaim a word of God that does not get under anyone’s skin, or a word of God that does not touch the real
sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed: What kind of Gospel is that? |
The opening of the University of San Diego’s new Ministry Center showed off artist John Nava’s wall tapestries with 32 inspirational and international figures, among other features of the building. | On the East Wall, these people are among those celebrated: Abraham Joshua Heschel, Pierre Toussaint, Thomas Merton, Florence Nightingale, Tahirih, Edith Stein, C.S. Lewis, John Henry Newman, Catherine of Siena, Rumi, Flannery O’Connor, and Dorothy Mae Stang. |
Heschel is cited for his statement that “prayer is not a substitute for action; rather it is a preparation for it”, and “racism is man’s gravest threat to man—the maximum of hatred for a minimum reason.” And “peace is not an absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” Merton is
cited for this observation: “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us—and He has given us everything.” Edith Stein is cited for saying, “Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. Do not accept anything as love which lacks truth! One without the other becomes a destructive lie.” |
Newman is remembered for this observation: “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” (I was so impressed by this wisdom that I inscribed it on my card for the day I was ordained a priest in 1967.) Dorothy Stang, who died a martyr defending the rain |
John Nava speaks at the dedication of his tapestries in the Church of St. Francis Xavier in New York. SFXChurchNYC |
forest and serving
the peasants working the land in Brazil, is remembered for these words: “We must live simply so that others may simply live.” And, “the end of the forest is the end of our life.” Her commitment to the poor and to protecting the forest put her at odds with powerful landowners and loggers. They arranged and paid for her murder. She was also, I am honored to say, a student in our Institute of Creation Spirituality. A season of Thanksgiving and remembering such heroes and sheroes as these helps build inner strength and steels oneself for diverse forms of resistance. Vive moral imagination! May our diverse efforts at birthing
goodness, healing, and justice flourish! Let us be thankful for these ancestors whose example calls us to resist in our own time and our own manner. |
*See Lighting the Way Forward: Holy People For Our Times: Tapestries by John Nava.
Banner Image: John Nava's tapestry for the East Wall depicts C.S. Lewis, John Henry Newman, Dorothy Mae Stang, Flannery O'Connor, Nguyen Van Thuan, and Rumi. Photo from Lighting the Way Forward: Holy People For Our Times: Tapestries by John Nava; reprinted
with permission. |
Queries for Contemplation Who among these holy ones inspires you? What among the shared teachings
challenges you and your struggle to resist and to plant seeds for light, truth, beauty, and justice? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialogue, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
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| Counterpoint: A Response to Peter Thiel’s Antichrist An Important Conversation with Matthew Fox and Gil Duran Did you miss this two-session series with its powerful counter-narrative rooted in wisdom, justice, and authentic spirituality? This is your chance to |
add it to your library of classics
to be watched, re-watched, and contemplated. Fox explores the archetype of Christ and Antichrist as it plays out in our world today but also in artists of old. He draws from the teachings of Jesus and Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Carl Jung, and other mystics and visionaries, illuminating the stark contrast between life-giving and life-destroying spiritual energies. Purchase HERE. |
UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox in a lecture and Q&A on “Dorothee Soelle: Mystical Feminist Who Transformed Theology through Suffering,” a presentation in the Spiritual Wanderlust Mystics and Prophets series. Saturday, December 6, 9:00am-10:30am Register HERE.Join Matthew Fox in a lecture and Q&A on “Dorothee Soelle: Mystical Feminist Who Transformed Theology through Suffering,” a presentation in the Spiritual Wanderlust Mystics and Prophets series.
Saturday, December 6, 9:00am-10:30am Register HERE. |
Celebrate the traditional feast of the Black Madonna and the Immaculate Conception when Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox joins award-winning singer/author Alessandra Belloni and music director John La Barbera in a 90-minute online event, “Honoring the Black Madonna as Our Lady of Freedom (Madonna della Libera),” in which they share the wisdom of the Black Madonna and her healing powers for our times when both democracy and Mother Earth are
in peril. Alessandra will also talk about her book Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna and present a 10-minute excerpt of her movie |
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Join Matthew Fox in a free 4-session Online Lecture/Discussion/Q&A event, “Creation Spirituality and the Celebrating & Healing of Mother Earth & Ourselves,” co-presented by the Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin and Matthew Fox Legacy Project. Wednesdays, January 14, 21,28, February 4, 2026, 4:00pm-5:30pm
PT January 14 - Creation as an Original Blessing and the Springboard of Awe and Wonder January 21 - Sacred Mother Earth: The Holiness of Creation and Recovering the Cosmic Christ January 28 - The Cosmic Mass, and the Stations of the Cosmic Christ: Reinvigorating Liturgy and Rituals February 4 - Jesus as a Teacher of Democracy and the Renewal of Education and Values through the “10 Cs” Register HERE |
Join Matthew Fox in a new 6-month program of mystical wisdom for a new world. In this 6-month immersion program with Matthew, you’ll explore what it means to be a modern mystic and prophet, integrating this sacred knowledge into your life through the authentic teachings of Jesus and other wisdom keepers. This journey births what Matthew calls Christianity 2.0 — based not on dogma, but on a spirituality that recovers the sacred sense of original goodness. By Application only - apply
HERE Register for a free information session HERE |
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Awakening the Divine Human: An Immersion in the Living Wisdom of Creation Spirituality …a week-long retreat in Sardinia, Italy, May 25-30, 2026 Join us on the sacred
island of Sardinia for a deeply immersive 6-day retreat rooted in the teachings of Matthew Fox, C.G. Jung, and the ancient wisdom of the land. Set along the turquoise shores and among the Neolithic sites of this timeless Mediterranean island, this retreat invites you into a transformative journey of reconnection—with Earth, Self, Gender, and the Divine. Learn more 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 HERE, Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Join Matthew Fox for a transformative 4-part series that brings together some of the most provocative spiritual leaders, thinkers, and activists of our time. Together, we’ll explore the deep spiritual roots of this political moment and uncover pathways toward
collective action, resilience, and renewal. Learn more HERE. |
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