Teilhard de Chardin evolution is the idea that the universe is growing in complexity and consciousness, moving closer to God. Theologian Andrew Del Rossi explains it to Jeremy Van Wert and shows how it connects with Jungian psychology, silence, humility and everyday struggles. He also talks about doomscrolling, the Prodigal Son and what a spiritual homecoming looks like.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Andrew describes Teilhard de Chardin's vision of a universe that is evolving in closer relationship with God, with growing consciousness at every step.
- In Andrew's view, silence and solitude give people room to process big emotions and see that their struggles are part of a larger story.
- Andrew says our totality is not just our trauma or anxiety, but also our peak experiences of goodness.
- He names three things that carry people through slow seasons of growth: humility, faith and passion.
- He believes technology can pull attention away from prayer, reflection and the hard work growth needs, and he admits he loses time to his phone.
- Andrew reads the Prodigal Son as a picture of what people crave: a homecoming, not a performance.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠTeilhard de Chardin and evolution: the idea in plain terms
Andrew Del Rossi says the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin gave him language for what he already believed. As Andrew describes him, Teilhard was a priest and paleontologist with a mystic vision: through evolution, not just the planet and the human person but the entire universe is evolving in closer relationship with God.
The idea is that matter grows more complex and, with each step, consciousness grows too. Andrew uses a phone as an example: a device that once would have filled a warehouse now fits in a hand and runs several kinds of AI. He believes the human brain is the highest case so far, and that the upper reaches of awareness lead into what saints, sages and mystics describe.
Andrew says this means people are becoming more conscious of the divinity within every person. In his words, the movement is toward a more integral self that can hold goodness and shortcomings, light and shadow, together. He even notes that his body is possibly 15.4 billion years old, because all of its matter was once part of the cosmic journey.
ᚢHow spirituality and psychology work together
Jeremy, a licensed therapist, holds up the abbreviated DSM he uses for billing and calls it a lab-rat version of working with a person. He asks how someone dealing with anxiety, loneliness or grief can use these ideas. Readers can find his background and approach on his about page.
Andrew starts with silence and solitude. He notes that both Teilhard and Jung leaned introverted, and he says time without outside input helps a person process big emotions, major decisions or ruts. In that space, he says, you may realize a struggle has built up over generations and that you are not alone in it.
He paraphrases Jung: you are not the result of everything that has happened to you, you are who you choose to become. Andrew adds that our totality is not just our trauma or anxiety but also our peak experiences. For those who want help working through this kind of thing, Jeremy offers therapy and coaching, and you can see how he works with individuals.
ᚦWhat a director of spirituality does at an abbey
Andrew directs the Spirituality Center at Daylesford Abbey in Pennsylvania, according to Jeremy's introduction. The abbey is home to 19 Norbertine priests on almost 90 acres in the greater Philadelphia area, with a retreat center that hosts groups and individual retreatants.
You do not need to be Catholic to come. Andrew calls it an inclusive, ecumenical space used by church groups, high schools and 12-step groups. He says the abbey adopted the changes of Vatican II early, including the call to holiness that is not limited to priests and nuns.
Andrew is honest about his struggles with the institutional Church. He says clergy can slip into wielding authority instead of serving, though he has also seen real servant leadership. He ties part of the drift to an aging clergy and a gap with younger people, and calls it a personal struggle.
ᚨA search for meaning that led to theology
Andrew was raised Catholic. In his early 20s he began asking what his beliefs meant, picked up a second major in religions and later earned a master's degree. He says he studied theology to survive, and that it gave meaning to a process that sometimes seemed meaningless.
A mentor showed him that spirituality and psychology could meet, which led him to Teilhard. Andrew says his own beliefs had overflowed the container of the language he grew up with. Teilhard, who lived far from home during a career that included World War I and exile from France, gave him words for a wider view.
ᚱHumility, faith and passion when nothing seems to happen
Jeremy asks for three essentials for someone seeking a breakthrough. Andrew names humility, faith and keeping the passion alive. He says faith matters most when nothing seems to be happening.
He uses Holy Saturday as an image. Jesus is in the tomb, nothing happens, and then comes Sunday. Andrew says much of life is spent in that waiting, in the darkness and stillness, and that passion can fade when we hyperfixate on what comes next, a state he calls robot mode.
People who want company through those slow seasons can find real conversation in Thriving Spirits, the Mindful Mutiny community, which offers live Fireside Chats and a course library.
ᚲDoomscrolling and spiritual malnourishment
Asked whether modern life leaves people spiritually malnourished, Andrew points first to technology. He says it can usurp our attention and energy, and notes the word doomscrolling. In his view, convenience has made us forget that the gears sometimes have to grind.
He admits it happens to him. Early morning is his sacred time, yet he can lose half an hour scrolling while the prayer book and workout mat sit untouched. He wonders whether picking up the phone first thing has become a new devotion.
ᚷThe Prodigal Son, theosis and the idea of homecoming
For Jeremy's question about a piece of theology that fits a chaotic age, Andrew chooses the Prodigal Son. A son squanders his fortune, realizes how empty his life is and returns, and his father throws a party. Andrew says this speaks to what people crave in spiritual growth, whatever tradition they belong to or none: a sense of homecoming.
He then turns to theosis, an early Church idea often summed up as God becoming human so that humans might become God. Andrew says it could sound heretical, but he takes it to mean becoming conscious embodiments of the divinity within us, shadow and shortcomings included. He sees our task as evolving closer to that identity.
Near the end, Andrew speaks briefly about psychedelics. He says they were a doorway into a fuller sense of reality when he was young, and that now he is more moved by the common mysticism of selfless love in family life. These are his personal reflections, not advice to use any substance.
ᚹWhere to go from here
Jeremy says he kept Andrew's business card for close to 10 years after they met at a symposium on transpersonal psychology. If this conversation has you asking where you stand with faith, meaning or mental health, Jeremy offers a straight read on whether therapy and retreat work suits you.
Psychedelics and plant medicines may be illegal where you live and aren't right for everyone. Nothing here is a recommendation to use any substance. The views on theology and the Church are Andrew's own.
ᚨ Questions people ask
What is Teilhard de Chardin's view of evolution?
Andrew describes Teilhard as seeing the whole universe evolving in closer relationship with God, with consciousness rising as matter grows more complex. Andrew finds it a way to hold science and faith together.
How are spirituality and psychology connected?
Andrew says both Teilhard and Jung point toward an integral self that holds light and shadow together. He believes silence and solitude help people process emotions and see struggles in a larger context.
Do you have to be Catholic to go on a retreat at Daylesford Abbey?
Andrew says no. He describes the abbey as inclusive and ecumenical, hosting church groups, high schools and 12-step groups.
What three things does Andrew say help with personal growth?
He names humility, faith and passion. He says faith matters most during seasons when nothing seems to be happening, and passion can fade if you fixate only on what is next.
What does Andrew mean by theosis?
He describes it as an early Church idea that God became human so humans might become God. Andrew says it does not mean becoming God, but becoming conscious of the divinity within.