You are no longer strangers and sojourners,but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Eph 2:19-22
This passage from Ephesians has long been a favorite of mine. Everything about it enchants me. That we are no longer strangers, but companions with the holy ones and part of Godde’s household; that the Risen Christ is the head of it all, that with him we all form a sacred temple and that in him we are made into a place where Godde in the Spirit does live.
I returned from Manresa understanding deep down that through the Risen Christ we all are interconnected, interrelated, and interdependent, not only with every human being on this planet, but with every bit of matter or Nature, on earth and in the Cosmos.
This is where St Paul, Teilhard, Richard Rohr, Sr. Ilia Delio, and so many other men and women who believe in Evolutionary Christianity, talk of the same Cosmic vision, led by the Risen One, the Cosmic Christ.
What I liked in this passage then makes so much more sense today. We are truly all brothers and sisters in the Risen Christ, working together for the coming of the Kingdom — or working against it if one cannot accept this deep connection between all of us.
The Christ project, so clearly explained by St Paul here, inspires me and invites me to get up every morning to work for it.
I found online a website created by Louis M. Savary, the author of The New Spiritual Exercises: In the Spirit of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and The Divine Milieu Explained: A Spirituality for the 21st Century. Below is a quote, from his website, Teilhard for Beginners, which adds to St Paul’s understanding:
For Teilhard, Christ today is not just Jesus of Nazareth risen from the dead, but rather a huge, continually evolving Being as big as the universe. In this colossal, almost unimaginable Being each of us lives and develops in consciousness, like living cells in a huge organism. At various times, theologians have described this great Being as the Total Christ, the Cosmic Christ, the Whole Christ, the Universal Christ or the Mystical Body of Christ. (Louis Savary, “The Divine Milieu Explained” )
I will close with another quote, this time from Sr. Ilia Delio, which reveals an angle that Ignatius himself experienced in a mystical vision by the river Cardoner in Manresa.
“God is the unbroken wholeness in movement, and creation is movement toward God-centered wholeness.”
We are no longer strangers and sojourners, but companions of Christ and all his saints, all evolving toward the completion of the Creation, the coming of the Kingdom. What an intoxicating reality.
Photo: Giuseppe Peppoloni, Confluence des Religions
A Seat At The Table 
After my retirement I decided to study theology at Regis College and I was introduced to Teilhard de Chardin in a course this year. Evolutionary Christianity puts into a theological framework things that had been in my mind and heart for a long time. Teilhard’s writings opened up so much for me – the Mass on the Altar of the World speaks so deeply to me and it has given new meaning to the Mass. The Cosmic Christ is such an amazing way of expressing what is already shared in Scripture. Thanks for sharing your insights with us.
I too love the Mass on the Altar of the World for the reasons you expressed. I heard Teilhard’s Mass in the setting of a Eucharist in Manresa and found it quite moving. I also like the fact that Teilhard lifts our works and sufferings as part of the bread and wine…
Teilhard gives me vision to work towards 🙂
Claire, thank you for the quote and reflection, I understand why it is a favorite, but most of all I’m enchanted with the photo you chose to post with your blog, and with its title, which I take to mean “the confluence of religions” … yet the spires seem very Christian to me. Or maybe the title means the confluence of religion with the Cosmos!
You are right, the spires look very Christian. I saw in the picture all of us being pulled toward the Omega Point by Cosmic Christ. All of us on the planet. Of course, Cosmic Christ may be unacceptable to 85% of all of us on our planet…
Cosmic Christ and the Omega Point are like the north on my own inner compass, a very general sign of where to go… With the understanding that we all are one in the One (Cosmic Christ for me. It might/will be replaced by another name for someone of another religion…)
I am glad that you moved to WordPress as I was able to find your blog! It is nice to meet a devotee of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. I look forward to reading your previous material and new one experiences and insights.
Peace,
W. Ockham
http://www.teilhard.com
I came across this deep sharing and give thanks that others have found Teilhard’s vision so fulfilling.
For those interested check out The Guild for Spiritual Guidance, spiritualguidance.org.
The three strands of Teilhard’s work along with modern cosmologists who follow in his footsteps, C G Jung’s vision and the mystical traditions from East/West, comprise our studies.
Blessings on your journey,
Denise
Welcome here, Denise. Your website sounds interesting. Thank you for mentioning here 🙂