Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's theology integrates evolution with Christian faith, proposing that humanity is evolving towards a final spiritual unity he termed the Omega Point, which he identifies with God. This perspective emphasizes the convergence of science and spirituality, suggesting that evolution is a divine process leading to greater consciousness and unity among all beings.
Overview of Teilhard de Chardin's Theology
Teilhard's theological framework is unique and multifaceted.
Evolutionary Perspective — Teilhard viewed evolution as a divine process, suggesting that all life is evolving towards a higher state of consciousness.
Omega Point — He introduced the concept of the Omega Point, a future state of ultimate unity and consciousness that aligns with the Christian understanding of God.
Cosmic Christ — Teilhard identified the Omega Point with the Cosmic Christ, emphasizing that Christ is central to the evolution of the universe.
Integration of Science and Faith — His work sought to reconcile scientific understanding of evolution with Christian theology, arguing that both can coexist harmoniously.
Spiritual Unity — He believed that humanity's evolution is not just physical but also spiritual, leading towards a collective unity in God.
The Exercises are designed in four distinct movements called "Weeks." The first week is focused upon receiving God's mercy. The second week builds and examines the relationship between you and Jesus Christ. The third week enters into the Passion when we act as chaplains to Jesus of Nazareth as he goes to his death. The fourth week allows us in the live in the Spirit of the Resurrection and the promises offered to the world in God's reign.
A very important concept to understand is the discernment of spirits. We have to discern what is happening spiritual within us as we progress in the spiritual life. Some of the movements will be of God; the Spirit of opposition will also be at work and we have to discern who is leading us. I may lose stamina. There will be times when you become confused or even feeling down and you will question yourself. That is part of the process. It is often the grace that you seek. We will navigate through those interior movements, and it is important to stay with the process.
The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola is a methodology of prayer that is based upon the life experiences of the Pilgrim saint. The Exercises are broken into four movements called weeks in which a person is praying for a particular grace. Some of the prayer styles are the following: Ignatian contemplation, meditation, colloquy, use of the imagination, composition of place, application of the senses, consideration, and devotions. A hallmark of the Exercises is that one must experience freedom. A person making the Exercises must first exhibit a generosity of heart.
The First Week
The First Week of the exercises is to fully experience the mercy of God. One begins this prayer by contemplating the nature of God and assessing one's image of God. A person looks at the great scriptural passages from the Psalms and wisdom literature in order to behold the mystery of God’s grandeur. When one gets a sense of awe and wonder, then one reads the First Principle and Foundation, which talks about one's dependence upon God at the beginning of life and at the close. God is then able to reveal the beauty of creation in God's plan and promise for the world. As we begin to marvel at what God has done for our enjoyment and benefit, we see that sin takes away from the beauty of this created world. We contemplate God's dream and our misuse of our gifts that take us away from God's dream.
We look at the creation of the first sin, that of lucifer, the bearer of light, and then we look at the sin of the first humans. We then begin to notice how sin permeates the world and its grip and intensity grows upon the world. We pick up the newspaper and read about murders and deaths, sorrow and wars, suffering and hatred, and we begin to realize that we are contributors to the sinful structures of the world. We see God's magnificence and our sinful response to it, and we are filled with healthy shame and confusion asking why we do those things that we do. We then realized that we convict ourselves. We are the one who sins, and surprisingly, God does not wipe us off the face of the earth. We get a sense that God's mercy sustains us. It is at this time, Ignatius brings us to the prayer of the Trinity in the heavens. The father, the second person of the trinity, and the holy spirit, look upon the world and sees the beauty and the suffering, and the triune God’s heart is moved with compassion.
The Second Week
God sees the need for a savior to help people deal with all their chaos. God the father says, “I want to send someone to let them know that I care for them. Whom shall I send?” The second person of the Trinity responds, “I will go.” The retreatant begins to rely upon God’s undeserved mercy. Ignatius then ask the persons of prayer to use imaginative prayer as we insert ourselves into the biblical or scriptural scene. We begin at the Annunciation followed by the birth of Jesus. We become one of the characters in scripture so that the scenes are real. It may be that we hold the infant Jesus in our arms and give him the love that any infant needs to survive.
We then follow Jesus as he goes through childhood and encounters villagers. We begin to befriend Jesus and to know that he relates to us in a very personal way. When we have built up enough fondness for Jesus, Ignatius brings us to a meditation called the Call of Christ, our King. It is in this passage that we begin to hear from Jesus himself God's desire for the world. He calls us into his company, and we get to know the friends that he assembles around him. We then watch Jesus as he goes through his public ministry. We pay attention to how he ministers, the gestures he makes, the tone of voice he uses, and his style of ministering. He invites us into his company that will minister alongside him. It is at this time that we begin the meditation on the Two standards - The standard of Christ and the standard of the enemy of human nature. We look at the style of Jesus with his gentleness and humility, and we examine the devious ways of the enemy of human nature who often deceives us and makes us feel as if we are doing something good. We then choose if we want to continue this relationship with Jesus.
If we do choose to continue, then we look at our degree and intensity of loving Jesus, knowing that we are to present our real selves and not merely the person we want to be as we stand before Jesus. We look at the three degrees of humility, and the three classes of persons, all the while watching Jesus as he performs his public ministry of healing, teaching, and proclaiming the reign of God. We examine what exactly this reign of God is and we see both the human and divine nature of Jesus. We are then called to an election with the question: do I want to follow Jesus wherever he goes no matter our personal cost?
The Third Week
If we say yes, then our job is to walk with Jesus as he goes to his Passion. Our job is to be a chaplain to him. We ask him about his feelings, his experience of saying yes to God, his fears about his impending death, and we let him say whatever is on his mind. At the same time, We are sharing with Jesus the chaos that is within us, the troubling confusion we carry as we know that Jesus is going to the cross personally for us. The third week slows down as we watch the arrest of Jesus and then his suffering and death, and we watch him go to the cross, knowing that we are at the limits of our love and power. We recognize that Jesus needs to die for us. We must experience that Jesus dies for us. Personally. Intimately. It is often difficult to let him die, but we must watch him be taken off the cross and placed in a tomb. We are encouraged to say any last words before that tomb is sealed.
The Fourth Week
This week begins with the resurrection of Jesus. We contemplate the risen life, the visit of Jesus to his friends and family, and we learned that his nature of ministry has changed to one of consoler and peacemaker. No one has seen the resurrection, and we don't really know what it's about, but as we have personally walked with Jesus on his way to death and shared our lives together, the resurrection of Jesus takes on a new meaning. We contemplate the love of God, and we commit ourselves to loving and seeing the world the way that God loves and sees the world. We watch with new eyes about the way that God is active and present in the world, and we look how Jesus is with us closely, and that the Holy Spirit is there to guide us. Jesus left us with a community of faith gathered around him so that we can continue to transform the world in his love, justice, and mercy.
Retreat in Daily Life:
Type: Retreat in Daily Life (sometimes referred to as the 19th Annotation)
Format: Online via Zoom.
Dates: September 8, 2026 – April 30, 2027 (Tuesdays via Zoom, 4:00pm – 5:00pm, Eastern)
About: This retreat will serve those familiar with Ignatian prayer and would like to deepen their faith relationship in a group setting.
- Alternatively, we will accommodate those people who are seekers and do not yet have a firm faith background.
- This retreat targets as well people who need to express themselves better in creativity than by words. For instance, painters, sketchers, colorists, photographers, artists, craftspeople, poets who need to express themselves differently from the regular use of words.
- Retreat Direction will be provided on an individualized basis, often by Zoom.
- I create a recording version of the discussion for weekly reflection.
- Each week’s handouts will include:
- A poem
- A song
- A visual art contemplation
- A reflection on Teilhard de Chardin’s Creation Theology.
Creativity Option: People are free to express their graces and experiences by drawing, sketching, painting, or through any creative technique that deepens their prayer movements.
Creation (Evolution) Theology as proposed by Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. and advanced by thinkers like Delio, Haight, Haught, and Savary teach us about the compatibility of science and theology. We look at God’s project for the cosmos and humanity’s place in the universe that is still in its infancy and is subject to the laws of evolution.
Fr. Predmore, S.J. teaches prayer classes (Foundations and Practice of Christian Prayer, Giving the 19thAnnotation, and Ignatian Discernment and Synodality) at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. The Christian Spiritual Program forms future spiritual and retreat directors and awards Master's Degrees in Spirituality.
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