
Richard Rohr describes how love and grace are present and operational in the world:
True Christianity and true science are both transformational worldviews that place growth and development at their centers. Both endeavors, each in its own way, cooperate with some Divine Plan, and whether God is formally acknowledged may not be that important. As Carl Jung inscribed over his doorway, Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit (Invoked or not, God is still present). [1] We can call this grace, the indwelling Holy Spirit, or just evolution toward union (which we call “love”). God is not in competition with anybody, but only in deep-time cooperation with everybody who loves (Romans 8:28). Whenever we place one caring foot forward, God uses it, sustains it, and blesses it. [2]
Scientist and theologian Ilia Delio writes of the balancing act she has faced in the worlds of science and religion:
When I speak about love as core reality to colleagues in theology (or science) I often get a look of annoyance or the raised eyebrows that signify dismissal. The academy can be like the church, intellectually self-preoccupied with the precision of logical arguments. I want to shout out … but I often remain silent because love cannot be defended by analytical arguments; love has its own internal logic….
All of nature is endowed with the energy of love (which is grace), and yet only by being open to love … can one know love as the precious gift of nature itself. In this receptivity of love I began to let go of my fixed ideas and narrow definitions of God, church, and world, and I invited into my heart and mind a new universe of life and a new way of seeing the world. I did not seek a new worldview; rather I went in search of truth and found love at the heart of all things. I have come to realize that all knowledge is true knowledge—whether in the sciences or in the humanities—if it moves one to fall more deeply in love.
Having studied the work of French priest and scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), Delio writes:
Teilhard thought that love is the most mysterious and unknown energy in the universe. It is this center drawn to that center; this person drawn to that person. There is no logical explanation for this core energy of life; it is deeply personal and yet whimsical; … an energy field that is somehow entangled with an infinite energy of divine love—for God alone, who is absolute love, is completely personal and ineffable intimacy. Love is rooted in the fundamental nature of reality itself…. Love forms every star, atom, leaf, daffodil, bird, earthworm, cat, giraffe, tiger, and human; everything that exists is born from love. Even consciousness is born of love so that mind is not intellect alone but includes the body and senses and emotional life. Love makes the world go around because love makes the world; matter is formed by love. [3]
References:
[1] C. G. Jung to Eugene Rolfe, Nov. 19, 1960, in Letters, vol. 2, 1951–1961, ed. Gerhard Adler (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1975), 611.
[2] Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe (New York: Convergent, 2019, 2021), 100.
[3] Ilia Delio, Birth of a Dancing Star: From Cradle Catholic to Cyborg Christian (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2019), 195, 196, 200.
Image credit and inspiration: Greg Rakozy, Untitled (detail), 2015, photo, United States, Unsplash. Click here to enlarge image. We stand awed by our contemplation of the cosmos and the science within it.
Story from Our Community:
About half a century after leaving the Catholic church, I have begun to walk an alternative spiritual path, thanks in large part to the CAC. I love the foundation of Christianity which invites us to treat others the way we would want to be treated. Science makes up part of a spiritual system as well. It’s founded on the idea that when opinions conflict, don’t assume one or the other is correct—work to resolve the conflict. I can see that some of my spiritual beliefs are grounded in science, while also aspiring to follow the example that Jesus set.
—James C.