Barbara Fiand is a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, a retreat director, writer, and lecturer who has kept her eyes focused on the continuing positive interplay between science and spirituality. The rigid thinking of many scientists and the dogmas of many religious scholars have kept dualism alive and well. In this 2008 Madeleva Lecture, Fiand sets the record straight by showing the interfaces between science and spirituality.
The author writes cogently about the new views of the expanding universe, the need to adjust our God space, the cross-cultural sharing of ideas about light, the wisdom accrued by scientists and mystics, the challenges of "unknowing," and the Christian quest for God which entails presence, allowing energy to flow in prayer, and the evolutionary unfolding of love in Christ Jesus.
Fiand quotes Diarmuid O' Murchu for a needed perspective:
"The Christian understanding of incarnation is not just about a coming of God in the flesh of humanity, but also about the transformation of our biological condition into one more transparent to the power of the spirit."
The end result of this spiritual transformation is a life immersed in "awe-filled wonder." Like Pierre Teillard de Chardin, Fiand treats us to a view of the universe as abounding in beauty, surprises, and one marvel after another.
