Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation

From the Center for Action and Contemplation

Week Twenty-Two: An Evolving Faith

Accepting Evolution as Our Story

There are few writers that I find more hopeful or exciting about the process of evolution than Franciscan Ilia Delio. She examines evolution through the lens of science, theology, technology, and personal development and reminds us that while evolving can be painful, God is always with us and for us, in and through it all.

We have not accepted evolution as our story. We treat evolution as a conversational theory or something that belongs to science, as if science is something separate from us and outside our range of experience. Politically, we have fiefdoms and kingdoms; socially, we have tribes and cults; religiously, we have hierarchy and patriarchy. There is nothing [structurally] that sustains, supports, or nurtures human evolution.

By evolution, I mean simply that change is integral to life. We are becoming something that is not yet known. To live in evolution is to let go of structures that prevent convergence and deepening of consciousness and assume new structures that are consonant with creativity, inspiration, and development.

Evolution requires trust in the process of life itself. There is a power at the heart of life that is divine and lovable. In a sense we are challenged to lean into life’s changing patterns and attend to the new patterns that are emerging in our midst. To live in openness to the future is to live with a sense of creativity and participation, to use our gifts for the sake of the whole by sharing them with others.

There is something about this word evolution that frightens people, as if evolution renders us less human or less special as human. We do not talk in terms of evolution; nor do we think in terms of evolution. Our everyday lives are conceived as static and fixed, as if it has always been this way and should always remain this way. But this type of thinking is completely erroneous. . . .

We need to get on board with evolution. If we get nothing else straight about our present moment, it should be this: stability is an illusion. The ancient wisdom of Heraclitus reminds us of life’s endless activity: The only thing that is permanent is impermanence. No one steps in the same river twice. If there is no permanence in the present, then the only real stability is the future. The Buddha intuitively grasped the notion of evolution by advocating detachment, not necessarily the act of giving up the things of this world, but rather accepting and being consciously aware that nothing is permanent. So too, Francis of Assisi taught his disciples the principle of dispossession, not living without things but without possessing things. . . .

It is time to come together to work for what we share together, the future, into which we are being fearfully but irresistibly drawn. This is the true test of our faith, what we really believe in, because God is the power of the future.

Ilia Delio, The Hours of the Universe: Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey (Orbis Books: 2021), 220–221, 223–225.

Image credit: Chaokun Wang, bamboo 天竹子 (detail), 2015, photograph, Wikiart.

Image inspiration: The capacity of bamboo to grow mirrors our own potential for inner unfolding. As long as there is life, there is evolution. As long as we have breath, our faith can continue to grow.

Prayer For Our Community

Loving God, you fill all things with a fullness and hope that we can never comprehend. Thank you for leading us into a time where more of reality is being unveiled for us all to see. We pray that you will take away our natural temptation for cynicism, denial, fear and despair. Help us have the courage to awaken to greater truth, greater humility, and greater care for one another. May we place our hope in what matters and what lasts, trusting in your eternal presence and love. Listen to our hearts’ longings for the healing of our suffering world. Please add your own intentions . . . Knowing, good God, you are hearing us better than we are speaking, we offer these prayers in all the holy names of God. Amen.
Listen to Father Richard pray this prayer aloud.

Story From Our Community

I joined a Christian meditation group about a year and a half ago. I had just suffered a painful split from my husband and I was lost. Since that time my spiritual experience has continued to deepen and evolve, and I see the value of endarkenment. I look forward to the lessons learned from it.
—Marlene W.
Share your own story with us.

News from the CAC

Let Go to Find Hope and Healing

Letting go and embracing change can be a painful process for many of us. Discover a path toward authentic spirituality in this 2011 talk from Fr. Richard Rohr on Emotional Sobriety. Rewiring conscious and unconscious responses invites the freedom to evolve into a more loving faith.

ONEING: Evolutionary Thinking

God is always and predictably developmental and unfolding—never static. An unfolding inner dynamism in all creation is not only certain, but also moving in a positive direction, and with a divine goal that is always beyond us. Fuel your evolving faith with ONEING: Evolutionary Thinking, featuring articles and essays from Richard Rohr, Ray Leonardini, Alison Kirkpatrick, Tasha Wahl, and others.

Explore Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations archive at cac.org. 

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