Teilhard de Chardin's World-Transforming Mysticism

Reprinted from Wonderful and Dark Is This Road: Discovering the Mystic Path with permission of Paraclete Press.

As long ago as 1926 Teilhard de Chardin was observing humanity going through a new process of growth and transformation. "What is happening under our eyes within the mass of peoples? What is the cause of this disorder in society, this uneasy agitation, these swelling waves, these whirling and mingling currents, and these turbulent and formidable new impulses?"

Teilhard, himself a scientist, was referring to many convergent forces: the rapid pace of technological growth, the multiplying knowledge coming from the sciences, remarkable technical leaps in communications, as well as the growth of world population.

Humanity, he insists, "is visibly passing through a crisis of growth .... becoming dimly aware of its shortcomings and its capacities." Humanity under this new kind of tension "sees the universe growing luminous like the horizon just before sunrise. It has a sense of premonition and attraction."

And although he is a scientist he sees grace and prayer as actual forces in the cosmic drama: "If we want the divine milieu to grow all around us, then we must jealously guard all the forces of union, of desire, and of prayer that grace offers us. By the mere fact that our transparency will increase, the divine light, that never ceases to press in upon us, will erupt the more powerfully."

This power of divinization that Teilhard speaks of is God's power acting in every dimension of our universe, drawing humanity together through power and grace. "Across the immensity of time and the disconcerting multiplicity of individuals, one single operation is taking place: the annexation to Christ of his chosen; one single thing is being made: the Mystical Body of Christ, starting from all the sketchy spiritual powers scattered throughout the world."

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