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From Archbishop Donoghue
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Vigil Mass, Fellowship of Catholic
Scholars |
25th Sunday of the Year, Cycle B Dear Friends in Christ, If we call ourselves Catholic scholars, then it seems to me, putting aside the general ramifications which flow from that premise, that our sole preoccupation in life is the truth - the discovery of truth, the illumination of truth, the enthronement of, the apology for, and finally, the ultimate surrender to, Truth. Veritas tells us a little more about this spirit we follow, for the Latin word comes from the ancient root describing not just sight, but those able to see, those who can look into reality, and understand how reality is, was, becomes, and perhaps above all, how it can be used, how it translates into power For this reason, scholars have great power - they know how to look at the truth, look into the truth, and use it as the fulcrum against which all reality in some way or fashion must move, or be moved – dislodged, even, so that new reality may move in - so that change and progression may occur - so that time may pass, not unwarranted, but with purpose, with end, with goal, as progression, and not aimlessly and without point. All scholars subscribe to these truths, but being Catholic scholars, we look to a higher plane, a personal verity, a reality above all realities which communicates to us, not a proposition, but a Name - for our truth must be Truth with an uppercase T - our Truth must be, as we finally see it, and are perhaps blinded by it, God. This Truth is an inexorable thing - It hounds our steps, as the Hound of Heaven pursued doggedly the mortal person and immortal soul of Francis Thompson – Deliberate speed, majestic instancy, Came on the following Feet, And a Voice above their beat – "Naught shelters thee, who wilt not shelter Me." It draws enemies across our path, for those who will not bow to the Truth love to knock down those who kneel already in service, the posture inviting martyrdom. It draws the greatest enemy of all - Satan, Lucifer, Mephistopheles, Old Nick - Job was a truth-seeking man, but God proved his worth by allowing him to be tempted severely, to the point of exhaustion, of crying out, ”Surely now, God has worn me out; he has made desolate…” - Faust was a scholar devoted to knowledge, but God allowed the Evil Spirit, the Spirit of negation and of the abyss to lead him down the paths of futile human endeavor – youth, love, industry - before He would grant him to see the ultimate truth, the vision of God in His heaven, and to speak the saving confession – “Stay! for thou art yet lovely!” It cannot then be said that God is kind to scholars, for He must Himself find out, that the mind of the scholar is not arrogant, is not proud – God Himself must hear, from the depths of the pool of knowledge, the scholar confess, that the water of wisdom flows from one source only, a source on high, and not from man’s own ingenuity. The readings of today's Mass speak well to this danger and dilemma faced by the seeker of Truth, and the enemies who lurk, both within and without. The Book of Wisdom recounts the words of the Evil Ones: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us…let us put him to the test [and] see whether his words be true…let us find out…[if] God will take care of him. They are always there, those evil ones – they attack the faith of the simple, of the innocent, by attacking the knowledge of those who teach, for if the teacher falls, who then will follow his ways? The enemies lie as well within the human breast, too close for comfort, yet too fast upon our nature to lose, and St. James understood, and wrote warnings to the beloved Faithful: Where do the conflicts and disputes among you originate? Is it not your inner cravings that make war within you? But listen…Wisdom from above is innocent, rich in sympathy, impartial and sincere. For scholars, for seekers of the truth, and more than for others, for Catholic scholars, protection from the enemies who run about the walls of faith, safety from the devils who lurk even within those walls, scratching and digging, always trying to undermine the foundation – protection and safety is to be found in Christ, in the simplicity of Christ's love, in the simplicity of the child who clings without question, without subtlety, without analysis, to that same simple love, and who, by embracing this Simplicity, finds the utter being that is the Godhead, the sublime and First Person of the Blessed Trinity. St. John, who perhaps knew the Lord best, says, Jesus Christ is called the truth. And in another place, To do truth is to practice what God commands. Dear friends, and scholars, I can think of no better definition, no better slogan, no better axiom underlying the essence of our efforts, our efforts in fellowship as Catholic scholars, than this simple utterance: to do truth is to practice what God commands. And simply to underline the theme of this convocation, I can think of no one in our time who wears the meaning of this statement more visibly than our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, whose life and witness are the focus of our appreciation during these days of meeting. Karol Wojtyla has certainly faced the enemies from without, valiantly surviving the perhaps worst and most monstrous tyranny that our world has yet seen – and from his reflections on his own life, we know too that he has had his own struggles with the enemies from within, for what man of his gifts has not had to face the devils of ego, ambition, pride and lust, and put them down, before going on? But go on, he has, and to become the greatest of the Church’s teachers in our time – sometimes brief, sometimes lengthy, but always with complete effectiveness, with complete gentleness, and with complete respect for all that is sincere in the world – a true champion of truths, while simultaneously leading the charge against what is false, what is spurious, and what springs from the culture of death, the culture he has espied with a clear eye, and which he has named with fearsome accuracy. And true to the dictum of our Lord, that “the first must be the servant of all,” - the very definition of the office he holds - Pope John Paul II has followed his course without one blemish of self-acclaim, conceit, or fatuous construct. Dear friends, we are young and old – many of us, with our Holy Father, have passed from youthful vigor, into the concentrated stillness of old age – others among us come to this table yet young, and able to read in his eyes and in ours perhaps, a certain kind of wisdom, which will lead them in the days and years to come, and which, God willing, they will themselves hand on to another generation waiting in the wings. But wherever we find ourselves situated on this carousel of life, let us all remember that we revolve around one core Meaning, one central Verity, one Power that calls us to the center, one supreme Potency that fills us, one Word that gives all understanding to the gestures, to the supplications of our lives – God, and He, revealed in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May our quest, diversifying as it may be upon the consequences of our individual talents, never stray far from this unity which ever brings us together again. And as we grow, and as we pass from this scene and others, let us take to heart the peace and comfort traced in lines of poetry, which reassure us, and console us, as we lift our hearts and voices in prayer, and say to the Supreme Other, to the Truth who makes us real, All those who seek Thee tempt Thee, And those who find would bind Thee To gesture and to form. But I would comprehend Thee As the wide Earth unfolds Thee. Thou growest with my maturity, Thou art in calm and storm. (Rilke) + |