Savary, a former French Jesuit, is well acquainted with the contents and basic thrust of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola. Likewise, he is the author of many books on the writings of another French Jesuit, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Hence, on both counts Savary would seem to be a valuable resource for an up-to-date understanding of the spiritual vision of both Ignatius and Teilhard de Chardin. Savary divides his own latest book into two parts: Theory and Contemplative Suggestions (i.e., reflections on how Teilhard's approach to the Eucharist can influence your own understanding and appreciation of the meaning and value of the Eucharist in your own life). “Regarding the book's structure, the first half is more theological and foundational. It explains Teilhard's key ideas about God, Christ, the Eucharist, Earth, people, science, and evolution. The second half takes many of these ideas and, from them, develops spiritual practices focused on the Eucharist. The first half of the book is designed to make you think; the second half invites you to pray” (x).

While I too favor Savary's understanding of the risen Lord as the Cosmic Christ, I do not accept the notion of hyper-physics as substitute for a bona fide metaphysics that could serve as philosophical infrastructure for scientists and church-related theologians in their discussion of serious issues in contemporary life, for example, how to deal with the current environmental crisis. For, during his studies as a Jesuit seminarian Teilhard had a mystical experience of the Sacred Heart of Jesus radiating energy or fire into the world of creation: “The Divine Spirit joined itself not merely to the human body of Jesus of Nazareth, but to all matter. Christ's Cosmic Heart continues to give divine life to the entire universe” (98–99).

This deeply personal revelation to Teilhard, however, cannot be regarded as evidence of the objective veracity of that experience for others. In its present state, it is more a subjective faith-claim than an objective argument for its plausibility in the eyes of an open-minded critic. Yet a shift to the notion of divine milieu, that is, the interconnectedness of love, fire, and energy, as found in Teilhard's essay “Heart of the Matter,” might be much more acceptable from a philosophical perspective: “Teilhard sees divine consciousness as the deepest ‘within’ of all things, the ultimate interior reality of each of us and of all creation … For Teilhard, ‘divine love is the Fire driving evolution .… We are evolution looking at itself and conscious of itself” (103). Thus, the notion of the divine milieu as universal energy-source for everything that concretely exists might better qualify as ultimate reality for believers in virtually all the major religious traditions, East and West.