Thanksgiving, 2022

In our recent daily meditations, we have been praising and therefore thanking Earth and Air, Fire and Water.  As Thomas Berry put it in a recent DM, we humans have a special capacity to reflect on the universe and from this reflection can emerge celebrations and other acts of gratitude.

Thanksgiving is a celebration, a Thank You, a day of praise. 

This holiday, 2022, let us give thanks for our young people, who are especially endangered by climate change and by recent killings and the rise of hatred toward two-spirited ones and other minorities.

Following are some excerpts from the traditional prayer of thanksgiving of the Iroquois people. 

For Mother Earth: We give thanks and greetings to the earth; she is giving us that which makes us strong and healthy.  She supports our feet as we walk upon her.  We are grateful that she continues to perform her duties as she was instructed.  The women and mother earth are one, givers of life.

We are her color, her flesh and her roots.  Once we acknowledge and respect her role, then begins a true relationship, and all that is from her returns to her.

Now our minds are one.  Agreed.

For Plant Life: We give greetings and thanks to the plant life.  Within plants is the force of substance that sustains many life forms, among them are food, medicine and beauty….

We give greetings and thanks, and hope that we will continue to see plant life for generations to come.

Now our minds are one.  Agreed.

For Bodies of Water: We give thanks to the spirit of waters for our strength of well being.  The waters of the world have provided to many; they quench thirst, provide food for plant life, and are the source of strength for many medicines we need.  Once acknowledged, this too becomes a great power for those who seek its gift for mankind itself is made from the waters.

Now our minds are one.  Agreed.

For the Animals.  We give thanks and greetings to all animals of which we know the names.  They are still living in the forest and other hidden places, and we see them sometimes.  Also, from time to time they are still able to provide us with food, clothing, shelter and beauty.

This gives us happiness and peace of mind because we know that they are still carrying out their instructions as given by the creator.

Therefore, let us give thanks and greetings to our animal brothers.

Now our minds are one.  Agreed.

Thomas Aquinas writes that true “religion is supreme thankfulness or gratitude.”

Meister Eckhart writes that “if the only prayer you say in your whole life is ‘Thank You,’ that would suffice.”

Julian of Norwich writes that “this is the holiest prayer–the loving prayer of thanksgiving.”

See Matthew Fox, Original Blessing, pp. 108-116. 

And Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times, pp. 41-44.

And Fox, Meditations with Meister Eckhart, p. 34.

And Fox, Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond, p. 101.

To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.

Banner Image: “Giving thanks.” Photo by Laela Sequoia on Unsplash

Queries for Contemplation

What are you giving thanks for this Thanksgiving?

Recommended Reading

Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality

Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story

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

Meditations with Meister Eckhart: A Centering Book

A centering book by Matthew Fox. This book of simple but rich meditations exemplifies the deep yet playful creation-centered spirituality of Meister Eckhart, Meister Eckhart was a 13th-century Dominican preacher who was a mystic, prophet, feminist, activist, defender of the poor, and advocate of creation-centered spirituality, who was condemned shortly after he died.
“These quiet presentations of spirituality are remarkable for their immediacy and clarity.” –Publishers Weekly.  

Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond

Julian of Norwich lived through the dreadful bubonic plague that killed close to 50% of Europeans. Being an anchoress, she ‘sheltered in place’ and developed a deep wisdom that she shared in her book, Showings, which was the first book in English by a woman. A theologian way ahead of her time, Julian develops a feminist understanding of God as mother at the heart of nature’s goodness. Fox shares her teachings in this powerful and timely and inspiring book.
“What an utterly magnificent book. The work of Julian of Norwich, lovingly supported by the genius of Matthew Fox, is a roadmap into the heart of the eco-spiritual truth that all life breathes together.”  –Caroline Myss
Now also available as an audiobook HERE.