Aquinas At Orvieto:
DEEPEN YOUR OWN SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AS MYSTIC AND PROPHET
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Join MATTHEW FOX, MESHI CHAVEZ, CLAUDIA PICARDI, AND Elise and Kaleo Ching
in a 5-DAY workshop IN AQUINAS’ HOMETOWN of ORVIETO, ITALY
JUNE 9-14, 2024
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Introducing THOMAS AQUINAS AND MATTHEW FOX
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was a mystic and prophet and one of the greatest geniuses in Western history. Though he died at only 49 years of age his many books bespeak a profound effort to bring nondualism alive. Courageous and controversial in his day, he brought science (from Aristotle) into the Christian West—a dangerous enterprise that got him condemned shortly after he died. Only later was he canonized a saint and declared a “Doctor of the Church.” His writings reveal an amazing mind and mystical heart.
Matthew Fox has been able to reveal depths to Aquinas’ spirituality that have not been exposed before, partly due his genius being misused (when it could not be marginalized anymore) to support the dogmatic system of the Catholic Church and partly because Fox has translated works by Aquinas never before available in English or any other modern language. Without Aquinas there would have been no Dante, no Mechtild of Magdeburg, no Meister Eckhart, no Julian of Norwich, no Thomas Berry.
Does Aquinas speak to us today in our quest for a working prophetic and mystical spirituality?
See for yourself, through just some of his most controversial and rich teachings:
Joy is the human’s noblest act
The experience of God must not be restricted to the few or to the old
Sheer Joy is God’s and this demands companionship.”
Every creature participates in some way in the likeness of the Divine essence.
All creatures are images of God, who is the first agent.
Every truth without exception—and whoever may utter it—is from the Holy Spirit
The old pagan virtues were from God….Revelation has been made to many pagans
The greatness of the human person consists in this: that we are capable of the universe
The vision of God is arrived through justice
Compassion is the fire that Jesus came to set on the earth.
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Here are just a few of the many endorsements of Matthew’s writing on Aquinas:
Discover Aquinas Where He Lived and WORKED
Orvieto is located two hours from where Aquinas was born in Roccasecca, and where he died at Fossanova Abbey. He also taught and wrote in Orvieto for a few years, presumably composing here the famous hymn “Lauda Sion” for the new feast of Corpus Christi. The year 2025 will mark 800 years from his birth! Our course intends to honor his legacy and kick off the celebrations.
Orvieto is 90 minutes away from the airport in Rome (by car) and is served by convenient trains as well.
Experience Monastic Hospitality
The course will be held in the monastery of St. Ludovico.
See glimpses of the monastery’s rooms and serene grounds at right.
The monastery is all booked. Our staff will help you find accommodations in the old town.
Meet Our Instructors
Matthew Fox is a preeminent theologian and internationally acclaimed scholar of Western spirituality. He has written extensively on the wisdom of Aquinas and has translated for the first time in English some of his works. He brings to this class his 34 years in the Dominican Order (to which Aquinas belonged) and his profound meditation on what is dead and what is alive in Christianity. Fox will teach a seminar each morning on Aquinas’ teachings most pertinent for our times.
Meshi Chavez has recently been Artist-in-Residence at Middelbury College and a Sundancer of over twenty years. He teaches movement as a way to build a relationship with Spirit. In this course, he will help participants raise their energy in the morning with body prayer. Each afternoon, he will lead a Movement-as-Meditation workshop putting the ideas of the morning seminar with Fox into movement: Putting Aquinas into Movement.
Claudia Picardi is a scientist whose interests extend to transpersonal psychology and mysticism. She holds a Master’s Degree in Transpersonal Psychology and has recently completed a three-year program in expressive art therapies. She is a member of IEATA. She delights in re-activating the imagination through fairy tales, myths and sacred texts. In this course, she will hold Art-As-Meditation workshops each afternoon: Putting Aquinas into images.
Kaleo and Elise Ching have been co-teaching Qigong and Art/Collage/Mask-making for healing and transformation of self and community for the past 35 years, including ten years at the University of Creation Spirituality. They have co-authored six books on this process. In this course, based on Matthew Fox’s teachings each morning, Kaleo will guide participants in the ancient Taoist practice of Qigong movement and Elise will lead participants in the poetry and practice of Haiku-journaling: Putting Aquinas into Qigong and Haiku-journaling.
GENERAL PROGRAM
Arrivals: Sunday June 9 in the afternoon (welcome event in the evening)
Daily Schedule:
Breakfast: 8-9am
Movement as prayer with Meshi 9:00am
Teaching: 9:30-12:30 with Matthew
Lunch: 1:00pm
Workshops: 3:00pm to 5:00pm with either Meshi, or Claudia, or Elise and Kaleo.
Dinner on your own. The program ends Friday with lunch.
The program includes a visit to the Church of St. Dominic, where the teaching chair of Aquinas is kept, and will close with a ritual experience in the tradition of Creation Spirituality.
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Registration
• Before March 31: $1,200 (luncheon included)
• After March 31 (luncheon included): $1,350
Lodging
For information on booking rooms nearby within walking distance, email info@misticaevolutiva.it
The monastery is all booked. Our staff will help you find accommodations in the old town.