28 January 2013

Love and Knowledge


Solemnity of St. Thomas Aquinas
            I remember hearing at one point that, as children are first learning to draw people, they emphasize the aspects that stick out to them.  Tall people may be the entire height of an 8½ x 11” page; someone who is really intelligent may have a really big head; if the child notices that the person has beautiful eyes, they may be out of proportion to the person’s face, and the same could be said about a smile.
            It is interesting the things that we highlight.  In classic artistic representations of St. Thomas Aquinas, our parish patron, he is depicted in his Dominican habit, usually with the black cappa, and a sun at the level of his heart.  It might seem strange to us to consider that, arguably, the greatest mind Christianity has ever known, does not have a light by his head, the bodily seat of wisdom, but near his heart, the bodily seat of the passions and of love. 
            If St. John of the Cross is true, and at the end of our lives we will be judged on our loves, then it makes perfect sense that iconographers and religious artists focus on the heart, rather than on the mind.  And while St. Thomas’ mind certainly did not hurt his cause of sanctity, one is welcomed into heaven not because of knowledge (even the demons know the precepts of the faith), but because of the love of God and love of neighbor. 
            Why did St. Thomas study and write so much?  Because he loved so much.  But love and knowledge are not two opposed avenues, but work in symphony with each other.  Those of you who are married: think back to when you met your spouse, and when you first had an inkling that the person you wed was not just any relationship, but was “the one.”  You probably had a great desire to get to know that person much better: favorite food, favorite movies, outlook on life, faith, etc.  Even those who aren’t really in love, but think they are, the young who have a crush on someone, want to know all they can about the person for whom they have fallen head-over-heels. 
            When I talk about discerning my vocation, I use the imagery of dating someone as I learned more about the Church.  The more I can to know about her, the more I fell in love with her, truly, madly, deeply in love, and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and at her service.  I had to learn a lot in my years in seminary, but I loved it, because I could learn about her and be with her and love her. 
            Even the Biblical phrase for the greatest expression of love between a husband and wife, the height of a physical expression of love, is connected with knowledge of the other.  Knowledge and love are not two separate things, but are intimately connected and intertwined with each other. 
            Love of God and the love which flows from and gives witness to it, the love of neighbor, cannot be divorced from knowledge of God.    Both love and knowledge have to be emphasized.  Why have people stopped going to Mass?  While there are a variety of reasons, no small reason is the fact that, due to a lack of catechesis and formation, more and more people are estranged from God.  They do not know Him.  They may know about Him, but they do not know Him.  And when times become difficult, simply knowing about someone doesn’t heal the pain, doesn’t provide support, doesn’t comfort.  This is, perhaps, most true at times of death.  If people only know that there’s this guy whom others say came back from the dead, that doesn’t help.  If people know Jesus, and have experienced His love in very personal, real ways, then when death comes, as it does for us all, they can truly lean on Jesus for support, and know that His love is stronger than death, and will remain forever, even after the presence of friends and family withdraws, and the cards and the dinners, have started to decrease. 
            Now, we don’t have to be a St. Thomas Aquinas and write copious volumes of theological instruction to have that real relationship with God.  But we have to know God.  We have to know Jesus.  We have to know the Holy Spirit, not just on paper, but in real life.  We have to be as comfortable with God as we are with a spouse or a best friend.  Only that way will we be truly happy.
            This week we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas.  He is our model, not just because he was smart, but because he knew God and loved God intensely, which gave him the motivation to write about God, and then even to realize that all that he wrote was like straw compared to the love and majesty of God.  While other public schools, especially those in our parish, can tend to the academic needs of a child, it is my firm conviction that Catholic schools, with the necessary and foundational support of parents in the home, do the best job of helping children to love God and love their neighbor.  It certainly cannot happen without the support of the first teachers of a child, his or her parents, but with that support, a child can not only learn about God, but can get to know God personally, and then share that love with others.
            In the end, that’s what this Year of Faith is all about: the pastors of the Church, from Pope Benedict XVI all the way down to me, the parochial vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas parish, want all of you to know the joy and peace of knowing and loving God.  We can’t force you to get to know and love God, any more that we can force you to truly get to know and love another person.  But we want to offer you opportunities to know God and love God, so that you, like St. Thomas Aquinas, can have that ray of light emanating from your heart out to others, that light that comes, not just from knowing about God, but from truly knowing God, and falling in love with Him, just as He knows you, and is in love with you.  Lord, help us to want nothing other than you; nothing other than you.