merci mon pere- jan 11

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

I often re-read Pere Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s The Phenomenon of Man. It is a rare and beautiful book. Actually, it is more than a book.

Chardin was a Jesuit monk and a paleontologist. His work helped uncover some of the mysteries of evolution. His theological ideas, which paralleled his scientific conclusions as an anthropologist, were not allowed publication by his order during his life-time. He was, in point of fact, punished for his forward-thinking mind. But his work has come to us posthumously; born in 1881 in France, he died in 1955 in New York, on Easter Sunday.

I discovered him quite fortuitously on one of those life-altering days common to 16 year-olds and he has never left my side. Admittedly, it may take more than one lifetime to fully grasp his ideas. Still, there is comfort to be found in his profound faith and inspiration in the profound depth of his mind- especially during these bleak mid-winter days.