From Religiosity To Spirituality with Father Matthew Fox, Ph.D.

Matthew Fox’s spiritual enthusiasm has taken him beyond the dogma of the Catholic Church and for this he’s been censored by the Vatican and ultimately expelled from the order of the Dominicans. However, this has not stilled his voice for a theology that both harkens back to such religious philosophers as Thomas Aquinas, Hildegard of Bingen, and Meister Eckhart, and includes the more recent voices of Suzuki Roshi and Thomas Merton. For example, Fox is tapping into a mystical cosmology when he talks about prayer. “I knew that in native languages there’s no word for art, there’s no word for religion but [a Lakota teacher] said there was no word for prayer until the missionaries came from Europe. They demanded that they make up a word for prayer. So they said we just sat around and made up a word which really means to shout out, but he said there’s no word for prayer. And that’s exactly what I meant by swimming in a matrix. Prayer is not something you do aside from the breathing you do every day, and the decisions you make every day, and the choices you make. That’s prayer. It’s utterly non-dualistic in the native tradition, that’s why they don’t have a word for it. It’s like breathing. This fits very much with my idea that prayer is swimming and prayer is a radical response to life.” Fox continues his priesthood as an Episcopal priest and has developed the richly dynamic and numinous, Cosmic Mass. (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)

Bio

Matthew Fox, Ph.D. is a priest and was a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church for thirty-four years. He holds a doctorate in History and Theology of Spirituality and is a scholar in residence with the Academy for the Love of Learning in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as founder and president of Friends of Creation Spirituality.

Dr. Fox is the author of more than thirty books including:

• Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Presented in Four Paths, Twenty-Six Themes, and Two Questions (Jeremy Tarcher/Putnam 2000)
• HILDEGARD OF BINGEN: A Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century (Namaste Publishing 2012)
• Letters to Pope Francis: Rebuilding a Church with Justice and Compassion (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 2012)
• Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation (co-author Adam Bucko) North Atlantic Press 2013)
• Confessions: The Making of a Postdenominational Priest (HarperSanFrancisco 1996)
• Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth (HarperOne 1991)
• The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance (HarperOne 1988)
• Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times (New World Library 2014)

To learn more about the work of Matthew Fox go to www.matthewfox.org.

Topics Explored in This Dialogue

• Fox’s early inspiration and influences toward joining a religious order
• How prayer is a radical response to life
• How taking on the Vatican is like standing in front of a moving train
• Why he speaks out for the LGBTQ community
• How the Second Vatican Council was a breath of fresh air for progressives in the Catholic Church.
• How Saint Hildegard of Bingen was fiercely advocating for the divine feminine in the 12^th century
• What was the outcome of Fox visiting the Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff
• Why Fox decided to continue in the priesthood as an Episcopal priest
• Why canonizing Father Junipero Serra is a scandal
• What is the Cosmic Mass and why did he develop it

Host: Justine Willis Toms         Interview Date: 10/8/2015        Program Number: 3560

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