To be spiritual is to be both mystic (lover) and prophet (warrior for peace and justice). Any spiritual leader needs to lead in these two domains. Any schooling in spirituality and leadership needs to assist us in deepening both dynamics, both energies.
In my first book, published in 1972, with the unlikely title of On Becoming a Musical, Mystical Bear: Spirituality American Style, I laid out these two directions and in-depth dynamics, as the most foundational meaning of prayer: I defined prayer as “a radical response to life.” I have lived with this meaning of prayer ever since and have not felt the need to improve on it. (The MMB book now is called, more soberly, Prayer: A Radical Response to Life.)
Aquinas excels at naming both the mystical and the prophetic dimension to our in-depth lives, our roots.
To root ourselves in the goodness of life and creation (mysticism); and to uproot where injustice reigns. The first is our big Yes to life; the second is our big No to that which endangers life. Forces of biophilia (love of life) outperforming the forces of necrophila (love of death) and standing up to these forces both within oneself and within one’s culture.
An example of Aquinas leading us to the first prayer and rooting in goodness is his talking, as he does frequently, about original goodness. This corresponds amazingly with my term, “original blessing,” and with Hildegard of Bingen’s term, “original wisdom.”
Aquinas reminds us often of what Genesis 1 says about the goodness and indeed very goodness of creation when he writes:
“In the Book of Genesis it says, ‘God saw all things that God had made, and they were very good, each one of them having been previously said to be good. For each thing in its nature is good, but all things together are very good, by reason of the order of the universe, which is the ultimate and noblest perfection in things.’” (47)
Aquinas urges us to get drunk on the universe when exegeting the psalmist poem this way: “’They shall be drunk with the beauty of the house,’ that is, the Universe.” (9-16)
He calls God “a Fountain of Total Beauty, the most beautiful and the superbeautiful.” (173-178).. He happily reminds us that “the greatness of the human person consists in this: that we are capable of the universe.” (21-24) We are great and curious and know that we belong here.
Our mysticism is named too when he says “Joy is the human’s noblest act” and that “Sheer Joy is God’s and this demands companionship”–the very reason for the universe is the sharing of the divine joy.
Tomorrow we will develop more some of Aquinas’s teachings on our mystical vocations; then on to his teachings on our prophetic vocations.
See Matthew Fox, Prayer: A Radical Response to Life.
All citations by Aquinas are from Matthew Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times. Numbers in parentheses refer to the page numbers of that book.
Banner Image: Protestors gather at the San Francisco Civic Center in a sunrise ceremony (11/15/2016) supporting the water protectors at Standing Rock resisting the laying of the Dakota Access pipeline under the Missouri River. Photo by Peg Hunter on Flickr .
Queries for Contemplation
Take any one quote from Aquinas here and let it wash over you and through you. What is it telling you?
Do you also see prayer as a “radical (or root) response to Life”? What follows from that?
Recommended Reading
Prayer: A Radical Response to Life
How do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? Fox defines prayer as a radical response to life that includes our “Yes” to life (mysticism) and our “No” to forces that combat life (prophecy). How do we define adult prayer? And how—if at all—do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? One of Matthew Fox’s earliest books, originally published under the title On Becoming a Musical, Mystical Bear: Spirituality American Style, Prayer introduces a mystical/prophetic spirituality and a mature conception of how to pray. Called a “classic” when it first appeared, it lays out the difference between the creation spirituality tradition and the fall/redemption tradition that has so dominated Western theology since Augustine. A practical and theoretical book, it lays the groundwork for Fox’s later works.
“One of the finest books I have read on contemporary spirituality.” – Rabbi Sholom A. Singer
The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
A stunning spiritual handbook drawn from the substantive teachings of Aquinas’ mystical/prophetic genius, offering a sublime roadmap for spirituality and action.
Foreword by Ilia Delio.
“What a wonderful book! Only Matt Fox could bring to life the wisdom and brilliance of Aquinas with so much creativity. The Tao of Thomas Aquinas is a masterpiece.”
–Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
