The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-03-27


q menace to faith, aids and assists it
in divers ways. These are the princi-
pies enunciated by the Angelic Doctor
to safeguard and control the legiti-
mate claims and potencies of reason
and faith, OF science and revelation.
At first sight these principles appear
so exceedingly simple that little cred
it is due for their discovery; but
theirs is the simplicity of truth the
,modesty of perfect art. They need
but fuller declaration and brief ex-
position to bring to light the profound
wisdom they contain, which il always
recognized would save many from
making shipwreck of the faith, and
would remove from the minds of
others these insuperable prejudices
which render obedience to the faith
impossible, because, forsooth, this sub
mission they regard as a complete
surrender Of the intellectual rights of
men. Fond delusion! For then only
does reason enter into the full enjoy
ment of its amplest rights when IL
lnmined by the light Of faith.
That reason has its rights st.
Thomas would be the last to deny; but
that it has its limitations he has also
the good sense to perceive. Herein
does his wisdom transcend the folly
of those who would place reason on
a pedestal and worship it as the high
est divinity. For while unaided rea-
son has achieved great conquests in
the domain of science and of phil
oSophy-which is reasons attempt to
solve the riddle of the universe, to
give an ultimate explanation of the
world-yet must it be confessed, as a
lesson taught by ages of sad expert
ence, that even in it's highest reaches
in the persons of those who have
done it greatest honor such as Aristo-
tie and Plato, it fell into egregious
knowledged it's inability to attain to a
knowledge Of the many truths of vital
import that lay beyond its ken. Here
enters the divine gift of faith to sup
ply the deficiencies of hating reason.
For" as st. Paul says, seeing that in
the wisdom Of God the world by wis
dow knew not God; it pleased God by
the foolishness of our preaching to
save them that believed" q Cor. I-21).
Thus did God i'll His infinite goodness
condescend to make known to man by
q supernatural revelation even those
natural truths Of momentouS spiritual
Importance to his salvation, and
ho could l, aithor,
through lack Of ability or lack of in
dustry or of opportunity, ever acquire
with the safe assurance of satisfying
certainty. What folly them for proud
reason to regard with suspicion the
blessing Of divine faith, and stand
aloof from the teachings of that revel-
alton which is the proffered gift of
Gods goodness to mans helplessness!
Well has Leo XIII said: "a wise man
would not accuse faith and look upon
it as opposed to reason and natural
truths, but would rather offer heart
felt thanks to God, and sincerely re-
joiee that, in the density of ignorance
and in the fIoodtide of error, holy
faith, like friendly star, shines down
upon his path and points out to him
the fair gate of truth beyond all dan
ger of wandering"
But what IL reason under the aegis
Of faith must accept some mysterious
doctrines which may be false? Per-
ish the thought! Never could revela-
ton offer for the acceptance of faith
aught that could contradict truth.
Revelation is but the voice of the ON
niscient, all-truthful God speaking to
the minds of men. Can the all-holy
God lie? Can truth itself deceive?
How then can revelation contain any
thing that is false, anything that can
conflict with the principles Of reason,
anything that can contradict the I'M
questionable conclusions of science?
For the same God that endowed man
with mind to know and created a
world which is capable of being
known, to that same mind imparts
the gift of faith and communicates
the truths of revelation. God, the
Author of the book of revelation, is
the same Who designed and inscribed
the book of nature; and He cannot
contradict Himself no more than truth
can be opposed to truth. Hence sci
ence aud faith must be in perfect
accord, and when apparent conflicts
arise, the cause is, as st. Thomas
points out, that the conclusion of rea.
son is not we'll established or the
doctrine revealed is not rightly un-
derStood.
Science and Faith not Isolated.
But while science and faith move
along two different planes the one
guided by the light of human reason,
the other blythe light Of divine reyela.
tion, the one concerned with the
natural order, the other with the
supernatural, yet are they not isolated
They render aid to each other even
within their Especial spheres-faith
enlightening reason in the pursuit OF
its proper object, natural TRUTH while
reason contributes assistance to faith
towards its production and the fuller
intelligence of revealed truth. The
history of philosophy bears emphatic
testimony to the fact that reason un-
aided by faith is liable to degen-
crate into all kinds of degrading
error even in regard to natural truths
of primary importance to the spiritual
welfare of humanity. Recall the
s gross religious and moral errors, and