Hymn of the Universe

A devotional anthology of essays and poetic meditations by the Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, published posthumously in 1961. The collection gathers "The Mass on the World" (composed 1923 in the Ordos desert) with pieces on matter, the cosmic Christ, and human work into the most accessible volume of Teilhard's spiritual prose.

First lines

Since once again, Lord — though this time not in the forests of the Aisne but in the steppes of Asia — I have neither bread, nor wine, nor altar, I will raise myself beyond these symbols, up to the pure majesty of the real itself; I, your priest, will make the whole earth my altar and on it will offer you all the labours and sufferings of the world.

Contents

Reception

Following the success of The Phenomenon of Man (1955) and The Divine Milieu (1957), Hymn of the Universe consolidated Teilhard's posthumous reputation as a mystic of the natural order; it is widely read in lay contemplative and retreat settings for its accessible prose. Catholic theological reception is split — Henri de Lubac defended his orthodoxy while the 1962 Holy Office monitum cautioned against ambiguities in his cosmic Christology — and scientific critics (Peter Medawar most famously) have argued his evolutionary writing is closer to poetic theology than empirical biology. The book remains in print across three decades of HarperCollins editions.

Frequently asked

What is Hymn of the Universe?

It is a posthumous anthology of devotional essays and poetic meditations by the Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. The central piece, "The Mass on the World," was composed in 1923 in the Ordos desert and is a mystical reimagining of the Eucharist as a cosmic liturgy embracing all of creation and human labor.

What is "The Mass on the World"?

A prose-poem Teilhard composed in 1923 while in the Ordos desert without bread or wine to celebrate Mass. He describes offering all the earth's labors and sufferings to God, using the rising sun as his altar. It is widely considered the most concentrated expression of his sacramental mysticism.

Why was the book published posthumously?

Teilhard de Chardin died in 1955. During his lifetime, the Catholic Church's Holy Office had prohibited the publication of his philosophical and theological writings. Most of his major works, including this collection, were published by his literary executors after his death, beginning in the late 1950s.