Everything that Rises Must Converge Everything That Rises Must Converge is a title O'Connor borrowed from the French paleantologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. After reviewing his book The Phenomenon of Man, O'Connor was especially fascinated with his scientific explanation of the Omega Point-a continual ascent towards a greater consciousness with oneself and the world that eventually ends in Christ. O'Connor never understood the whole of his argument but nonetheless found it "very stimulating to the imagination" (Whitt 111). The story centers around Julian and his mother's weekly trip to the downtown YMCA. Julian braces himself for the outing and in a bit of comic