Ilia DELIO, OSF. The Hours of the Universe, Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2021. Pp. 242. $25.00 pb. ISBN978-1-62698-403-5. Reviewed by Francis BERNA, La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA 19141.

As the season of fall takes hold of the northern parts of the United States, I am reminded of days in elementary school. At least once or twice a teacher assigned us the task to collect five or six fallen leaves. From the science point of view, we had to identify the particular tree and examine the structure of the veins running through each leaf. From another angle the teacher had us examine the color and the uniqueness of each leaf. In its own simple way this project brought together a scientific approach to the world, along with a spirit of wonder and awe. Ilia Delio’s reflections in this book seek to accomplish the same task.

The author structures her text according to the traditional eight hours of the Divine Office. This traditional prayer fashioned in the life of the ancient monasteries, today bears the title of The Liturgy of the Hours. Its purpose remains the same, to sanctify the entire day through a cycle of prayer. While repeatedly advocating the birth of a greater religious consciousness that moves beyond the boundaries of traditional institutional religion, in the spirit of evolution which brings the best forward, this structure serves Delio well. And, it can do the same for the reader.

Each of the eight traditional hours provide a series of reflections numbering between three and seven; Matins having the fewest and None having the most. The author introduces each hour with a bit of poetry, setting the tone for the subsequent reflections. As indicated in the Introduction, “This book is a collection of essays written over the past few years to help form a new theological vision for a world in evolution.” Delio locates her text in the upheaval sine 9/11, ongoing struggles for racial justice, global warming, and the current pandemic. She accomplishes her goal of writing for a “broad general audience.”

While the thought of Teilhard de Chardin dominates her reflections, she draws well on other seminal thinkers such as Raimon Panikkar, Thomas Berry, Beatrice Bruteau, Mary Beth Ingham, and Thomas Merton for their spiritual insight. The more scientific perspectives, again dominated by Teilhard, include insights from Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Phillip Goff, and Alfred North Whitehead. Amazingly, Sr. Delio weaves all of this together with her Franciscan vocation drawing on Francis of Assisi, Bonaventure, and John Duns Scotus. The clarity of her writing, and the crispness of her insight keep this from being a dizzying array of intellectual giants. One has to marvel at not only her breadth of knowledge – scientific and spiritual – but also her depth of knowledge. Similarly, she connects this depth of knowledge with the concerns of Pope Francis, Greta Thunberg, and those who explore how technology now contributes to a further evolution of our self-understanding.

Limitations of the text include perhaps too great of an optimism regarding “digital natives” – Generations Y and Z. While they certainly move about the world in ways that differ from those born before 1885, it remains to be seen just what they will contribute toward creating a better world. Similarly, in one or two places, Delio lays all the sins of Western civilization at the doorstep of white male domination. And, while the evolving world does call for a greater religious consciousness, institutional religion may well be doing more than the text recognizes. Each of these “limitations” do provide an opportunity for further reflection and a clear challenge to re-think many of our assumptions.

As a series of reflections, the book deserves reflective reading. “Back in the day” some priests would pray the whole of the Divine Office in one sitting. They had an obligation to fulfill. The renewal of the liturgy called for each of the hours to be prayed at their proper time. The best reading of this book might be just one of the hours each day, and taking each of the reflections at a different time during the course of the day. With some quiet reflection or journaling, the reader will find that The Hours of the Universe has a capacity to help sanctify our life in this evolving world with a new vision of all that is yet to be.