Denver Catholic

23 DENVER CATHOLIC | MAY 12-25, 2018 community is another!). If we don't o› er truth, beauty, and goodness to the world around us, who will? Of course, this means that we need to educate ourselves about what the common good actually is. It seems like social media platforms these days are fi lled with little else besides emoting and arguing. Most people are well-intentioned but may still not possess accurate information (sound familiar? This pretty much sums up half my Facebook feed!). So, we have to know our Catechism, be familiar with Sacred Scripture, and understand the reasons behind what our Church teaches. That way, if a controversial subject like gay mar- riage comes up in conversation, we can respond with both charity and truth. We can ask good questions, like what is the nature of marriage, and what is the state's interest in mar- riage. We can explore the idea of love, and whether or not there is an objec- tive property to it — and if someone claims there isn't, we can consider the implications for society when love is merely a passing feeling. They say that more is caught than taught, and that is certainly true, but in order to participate well in a productive dis- cussion, we must also have knowledge of what we speak. Finally, and I know this is kind of obvious, we must fi rst and foremost remain close to Jesus. Attending Holy Mass, spending time in prayer, and participating in parish life are really the only ways to keep the right focus in our topsy-turvy world. We won't be troubled by the inevitable person "who's wrong on the internet" because, ultimately, our life is not lived there. We have other, better things to think about and do. Plus, how can we be assured that we're thinking correctly about something when we are not walking closely with our Lord? This is also crucial to drowning out the ever-present noise that threatens to invade our very souls. The peace of Christ must fi rst dwell in our own hearts for us to be of any use to the rest of the world! During Lent, my goal was to spend less time on social media. Maybe a better goal for me, though, would be to learn to use it well. Forming mind and heart in faith P eople tell me pretty regularly that we should not over-intel- lectualize the faith — make the Church simply about ideas, doctrines, and rules. I agree that this can be a problem, but we also have to guard seriously against an opposite problem — emotion- alizing and privatizing faith. We are blessed with a reasonable faith that can be studied in harmony with the truth of the natural world. Faith and reason strengthen one another, together leading our minds to conform to the mind of the God who is our Cre- ator and Redeemer. In the midst of a secularism which pits science against the faith, it is important that we form our minds in the truth. Being rooted in the truth of our faith does not lead to abstract ideas, but to an encounter with the living God which sets our hearts on fi re with His love. The Dominicans have a long history of teaching the faith, founded originally to preach to those who had fallen into the dualistic heresy of Albigensian and producing the Common Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas. The papal theolo- gian, who advised the pope, by tradi- tion comes from St. Dominic's Order. One of the most renown Dominicans teaching in the United States, Father Thomas Joseph White, has recently been called to Rome to teach at the Angelicum, the Pontifi cal University of the Dominicans. Father White, though a profound scholar, has pro- duced a clear and accessible overview of the Catholic faith. Father White's book, The Light of Christ: An Introduction to Catholi- cism (Catholic University of America Press, 2017) o› ers a serious overview of the Catholic faith. It is not a schol- arly work, but one that does challenge us to enter more deeply into the theological tradition of the Church, fl owing from the Bible and Cate- chism, the Fathers, and especially the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. Part of the genius of the book is how it uses the theological tradition to address contemporary concerns, such as evo- lution, sexual ethics, and relativism. The book contains seven major sec- tions — Reason and Revelation, God and Trinity, Creation and the Human Person, Incarnation and Atonement, the Church, Social Doctrine, and the Last Things — as well as a robust epi- logue on prayer. Father White challenges us to "to be an intellectual. . . to seek to see into the depths of reality" (1). As intel- lectual beings, we have been created in the image of God and are called to enter into his truth and life. There- fore, White reminds us that "every person has to accept risk in truth's call to us. Even religious indi› erence is a kind of risk, perhaps the greatest of all, for if nothing is ventured, noth- ing is gained. The mind is reason's instrument, but the heart its seat" (5). Therefore, the ultimate questions lead the mind into prayerful contem- plation of the truth. Theology cannot remain an intellectual enterprise alone, but must lead us to encounter God in prayer: "Prayer is grounded in our natural desire for the truth. When we pray we are trying to fi nd God, to praise him, and to see all things realistically in light of him. In a sense, then, prayer stems from a search for perspective" (288). Our faith forms us as a whole person and shapes our feelings and desires according to what is highest. Father White rightly points out that "heart and intelligence go together" (49). When it comes to God, intellec- tual theory is not enough, as he calls us to know him in a "concrete, personal, a› ective relationship" (48). This does not mean that we can dispense with theology. Quite the contrary, "we want to get right who God is, and what the mystery of Christ is, so that we can be in living contact with divine love" (42). God speaks to us so that we may come to know him by exercising our minds to know the truth given us through the Church (36). Knowing God is the work a life- time and our eternal vocation. We can strengthen our faith by studying theological truths and deepening our capacity to contemplate divine things. Father White's book will help us all to be theologians, entering into the practice of theology as faith seeking understanding. As we come to know God more, it should lead us to fall in love with him more deeply, strength- ening our relationship with him and preparing us to see him face to face. The Catholic Reader R. Jared Staudt, PhD, is a husband and father of six, the catechetical formation specialist for the Archdiocese of Denver, a Benedictine oblate, prolifi c writer, and insatiable reader. DR. R. JARED STAUDT In the April 28 edition, the page 3 story "'Fill the seats' campaign oŒ ers aid to middle-income fam- ilies" referenced the wrong orga- nization working with the Schmitz Family Foundation. The ACE orga- nization referred to in the article is the Alliance for Choice in Educa- tion. We apologize for the error. PHOTO BY TIM BENNETT | UNSPLASH CORRECTION

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