This is a summary of the previous week’s daily meditations. Some are written by Matthew Fox (MF) and some are written by his colleague, Gianluigi Gugliermetto. (GG) You can click on any title to view the DM in its entirety. Also, remember that each Monday DM continues to include a video teaching by Matthew Fox. Thank you for your loyal readership.
June 22, 2026: What If America Were To Have a President With No Character? (MF)
Matthew asks the question: What if … a leader lacks character or personal integrity? Would that person be unable and uninterested in a “world that truly works for everybody?” In his book, The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human, Matthew lists the 10 C’s by which to reinvent education, and the final one is about building Character. Integrity or character will tell whether we survive as a species or not. The other C’s include: Cosmology and Contemplation. Buckminster Fuller says, “to learn anything you must start with the whole—with Universe.” Part of Maria Montessori’s pedagogy was to teach children to “make silence.” (To be continued.)
June 23, 2026: Character Development, continued (MF)
We continue to explore the 10 C’s which would help us to reinvent education. The third one is Creativity. Psychologist Otto Rank feels that behind all neurosis there is an “artiste manque,” a failed artist. The next ones are Chaos and Compassion. Chaos because the dark night of the soul or society can be a gateway to wisdom. Regarding Compassion, the Dalai Lama says that we can do away with all religion, but not with compassion. The next C is Courage, which is required if we are to stand up to those who want to dominate the planet. Next we have Critical Consciousness because we need both intuition and reason. Einstein says the intuitive brain gives us our values. But the rational brain helps decide how to put those values into effective practice. Next is Community. Loneliness is rampant in our times. Community brings us together where we can learn to care about one another. The ninth C is Celebration and Ritual. Authentic ritual takes us out of our heads and into our hearts and bodies.
June 24, 2026: Water and Fire: the Feast of St. John the Baptist
Today it the feast of St. John the Baptist. Besides Jesus and Mary, he is the only figure deemed worthy of a feast to celebrate his birth, rather than only his death. There are many references to John as the “precursor” of Jesus. Jesus, himself, had great respect for John the Baptist. Among them that are born of women there hath not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. (Matthew 11:11) On the symbolic level, the figure of John the Baptist is associated with the elements of water and fire. Water is obvious, as he is known for baptizing people in the river Jordan. But it was his words that were fiery. He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:11-12) Both water and fire are means of purification.
June 25, 2026: Wholeness (GG)
There are two words that feel apt to GG regarding the spiritual journey. They are wholeness and determination. Years ago GG was struck by Matthew Fox’s critique of moral perfectionism, which he presents in Prayer and develops especially in A Spirituality Named Compassion. The Gospel of Matthew says: “Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect” while Luke states: “Be ye compassionate like your Father is compassionate.” Judaism understands that the term “perfect” is really about compassion. GG knows several people who have greatly affected by this feeling that moral perfectionism should be interpreted literally. The sense of guilt that GG witnessed was “almost immensurable and extremely sad.” GG tells us that perfection also means wholeness in Greek thought and philosophy. He says that following the Four Paths is a wonderful tool toward wholeness.
June 26, 2026: Determination and Effort (GG)
At one time, GG had internalized the Augustinian notion of original sin to a very deep level. In fact, Augustine influenced a long line of European intellectuals who were convinced that each human soul is already stained at the time of birth. But wholeness is possible in this life. GG reflects: Was I going to keep thinking of God’s grace as my welcomed help through my continual and repeated falls — incessantly mirroring the first sin of Adam — or was I prepared to accept that God’s grace heals really and permanently?
June 27, 2026: Community (GG)
Some of us are more introverted than others, but we still need community. Jungian analyst Steven Herrmann says: We cannot individuate in a cave, in complete solitude. It is impossible. We need friends to balance out our introverted and extroverted functions. The archetype of the community is very powerful. Unfortunately, it has been shunned by modernity, which has exalted the individual at the expense of community. However, community is being rediscovered by post-modernity, and it now often includes animals and plants.
Banner image: Detail of The Garden of Eden (before the Fall). Painting by Thomas Cole on Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
Prayer: A Radical Response to Life
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Charles Burack, ed., Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality
Meditations with Meister Eckhart: A Centering Book
Meditations with Julian of Norwich
A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality & The Transformation of Christianity
