Dear Friends,
As we announced in Sunday’s DM, we are beginning the eighth year of Daily Meditations this week and celebrating seven years of bringing our “pray the news” reflections free to the public. Today and tomorrow, we will be reminding you about this anniversary and inviting your donations to help keep the DM serving others.
Thank you in advance for any donations you can offer! They are tax-deductible. To donate online, click HERE; or you may send a check to PO BOX 424533, San Francisco, CA 94142.
Join us in June (date to be announced) for a celebration of the online DM community.
When I was first asked to become part of the DM team as a text author I was deeply honored but also a bit unsure, as I have never thought of myself as a writer nor have I derived great pleasure from writing. Teaching, especially leading seminars, has always been my knack. Looking at somebody in their eyes, watching their demeanor, hearing their tone of voice when posing a question or offering a comment has always been my “igniting factor”—i.e. that which brings out my best teachings.
Writing instead meant a virtual audience, and that almost frightened me, or at least did not excite me enough. Besides some scholarly articles, I have published only two books in my life, in 2020 and 2024 — that is, in my 50s — which is definitely substandard for an intellectual living in a context marked by the infamous slogan “Publish or Perish” which ravages the lives of many people trying a university career.
So when Matthew Fox asked me to join in I was both elated and worried. Yes, I was a good choice as far as intimate knowledge of his works, in both breath and depth, but I was also definitely not a writer! And most definitely not a writer of short pieces.
Now, more than a year later, I can say that Matthew made a wise choice. Besides times when I was sick, or moving, I was able to provide what has become almost a regular column, even though I hope it keeps being consistent with the mandate of presenting Matthew’s work and commenting on the news from a spiritual perspective.
Preparing and polishing each Meditation is real work, of course. It can be tiring and take longer than expected (sorry, team!) but it is also for me an occasion of deep reflection. I have the sense that you, as a community of readers, have caught very well that nothing of what you read in my DMs was not sifted and cooked beforehand in my own soul.
This work, in the end, is deep and joyful. It has also become a way to keep spiritual connections and forge new ones through your comments which I read constantly. You and Matthew made of me a writer of sorts, and I am deeply grateful for that.
Banner image: “Work day.” Photo by Adolfo Félix on Unsplash
Queries for Contemplation
Can you think of a situation in your life when work became transformative of your identity?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood For Our Time.
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations.
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance.
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths.
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest.
Charles Burack, ed., Matthew Fox: Essential Writings in Creation Spirituality.
