Christ in All Things: Exploring Spirituality with Pierre Teilhard de Chardin by King Ursula

Author:King, Ursula [King, Ursula]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbis Books
Published: 2016-11-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Mysticism-in-Action

An Empowering Vision

of Christian Faith and Love

❖❖❖

“The perception of the divine omnipresence is

essentially a seeing, a taste. . . . It is a gift, like

life itself, of which it is undoubtedly the supreme experiential perfection.”

The previous chapter dealt with Teilhard de Chardin’s understanding of Christ as a “christic element” present in all things, culminating in his vision of Christ-Omega. His deeply mystical faith made him perceive a “dazzling center” of matter, a divine center or heart present in the immensely complex development of the universe. Although Teilhard studied the external world as a scientist, he could not fully make sense of all its features except by blending the perspectives of both science and religion in an all-embracing, new kind of mysticism that combined the “within” and “without,” the inward and outward aspects of all realities.

His vision of faith was based on a fundamental trust in life and a deep faith in God. In spite of all the critical advances of modern science, Teilhard firmly upheld the reasonableness of such trust and faith. In spite of the radical ambiguity of our experiences, such faith not only can be seen to be reasonable, but it is also a strongly empowering, energizing, and transformative force in human life and society.

We are now living in a world where ever-increasing knowledge presents us with immensely greater choices, but also with ever greater uncertainties. Teilhard asked: What is the effect of scientific advances on the development of thought? And in turn, what is the effect of thought, of self-reflexivity, of social reflexivity, on all humanity together? Doors have been opened to new horizons but “thought has never yet been studied in the same way as the immensities of matter, as a reality of cosmic and evolutionary nature. Let us take this step. Let us . . . analyse the properties and determine the place of the human phenomenon in the general history of the world.” 1

If we do this by examining not only the past but also the direction of the future, we can appreciate Teilhard’s questions of what we should do to help humanity advance: “What organizations shall we choose? What relations shall we form between peoples? What roads shall we open up? What morality adopt? Towards what ideal collect our energies? By what hope preserve in the heart of the human mass the sacred appetite for research and progress?” For Teilhard, such questions were a call for reflection, and for responsible action to take up our task “to sublimate and save the spirit of the earth and of life. Not only to recognize evolution, but to make it continue in ourselves.” 2

The complex developments of modern science greatly challenge traditional religious thought. But Teilhard took this to be a creative not a destructive challenge, a great opportunity for the deepening and strengthening of faith, not for its weakening and dilution. He called for “a new theological orientation,” 3 but also for a new “mystical orientation” by bringing science and mysticism more closely together.

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