The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
By Gianluigi Gugliermetto 12/13/2025 |
Last week I was in Florence, Italy, to deliver a lecture on Matthew Fox and Creation Spirituality. My job was to close a series of lectures on “Saving Planet Earth,” which sounded very much like the 1970s to me, but I guess it was meant tongue-in-cheek. In fact, the speakers before me were well-known biologists and philosophers who are undoubtedly aware that the hubris involved in the idea of us humans as saviors is truly out of place
today. |
If anything, it has become clear in the past few decades that if we humans were able to keep out of the way, nature would regenerate itself pretty easily, or at least at a much faster pace than when we meddle with it. At the same time, we are |
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irremediably involved in the game, and from the point of view of Creation Spirituality — which is not the same as Deep Ecology — humans bring to the table both an unprecedented level of destruction as well as an unprecedented level of beauty and complexity through their unique creativity. In this
context, all talks about ecological justice become complex and even difficult. Recently, my high school students asked me about the much-used word “sustainability,” and I had to admit that, in reality, it is not about bringing back a substantial balance — as we would like to believe — but it’s simply about reducing the damage we do. |
Matthew Fox reflects on the difference between a creation spirituality
perspective versus one based in the Fall/Redemption (the world as evil, ransomed by Christ, and waiting for the judgment). | In Florence, my job was to speak as a Christian theologian and to present Fox’s theology in the context of the series. I rooted my presentation on the idea that creation is the first article of the Christian faith and that the overemphasis on redemption, divorced from creation, is the main |
problem. Such an overemphasis is the reason why people ask why theologians are working on ecological topics, and churches care about trees, seas, pollution, and the like. Such questions would never be raised if we cleared the ground and we stated and understood what the first article of the faith really is and what it really means. I left plenty of time for questions and thus I found that the main themes truly interesting to my public were: (1) the damage inflicted on people by the doctrine of original sin, which historically obscured the much more relevant and weighty doctrine of original blessing; (2) the reality of Deep Ecumenism, which is not just knowledge of the other spiritual paths, but trasformation of one’s path through the other paths; (3) panentheism as a philosophically
complex idea which however is intuitively grasped by the formula: “All beings are in God and God is in all beings.” |
I realized again through this experience in Florence that these three big ideas, which Matthew teaches have the potential to transform today’s world. But I have also realized again that it is important to find new words to communicate them, words that speak |
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to
the younger generations. In fact, I was the youngest person in the room. When I asked my very gracious host — who teaches theology at the local Catholic seminary — where the seminarians were, he shook his head and said: “You didn’t really expect them to be interested in cutting-edge theology, did you?” I left Florence
thinking: if the soon-to-be Catholic priests have no interest in the real relevant issues at the crossroad of theology and ecology, I must talk to the others, to those youth who don’t even suspect that Creation Spirituality has treasures to offer them, because — at least in Italy — they associate it wrongly with a dying religion. I have plenty of good hard work to do! But how can I reach them, what language and what channels can I use, when the institutional channels are of no use, and the
language I speak is perceived as old and quaint or irrelevant? |
Banner Image: “ECO NOT EGO.” A protestor’s sign at the global strike to halt climate change, 09-20-2019. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash. |
Queries for Contemplation Have you had instances or experiences with people when you realized that you
must find a new language to talk about what concerns you the most? Especially about the intersection of ecology, justice, and spirituality? |
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 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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