The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-03-08
THE FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS

in prayer. His purity of mind and
heart was of such remarkable type as
to merit for him the title of angelic"
OF the many mighty intellects that
have made an immortal impression
upon the thought of the world his was
the most sanity, and never saint
walked the high ways of perfection
that sounded greater depths of reason
ing than those his searching intellect
examined. And not only did his re-
ligious ardor not assume the form of
an obstacle to intellectual progress
but the singular purity Of his soul
clarified and exalted his vision.
In this consideration of the work of
st. Thomas we should find lesson
which should produce fruit in our
hearts. We should never forget that
there is a twofold aspect to our edu
cation, that we must cultivate the sci
ence of the soul as we'll as of the
mind. Education without religion is
destructive rather than a construc
tive force. 1t strikes deadly blow
at the most essential part of human
life by developing poisoned faculties
and giving strength to malign forces.
1t is comparable to the insane effort
to erect stable building on rotten
foundations. 1t embodies the IRA
! tionalism of endeavoring to give
health to a diseased part whilst neg
lecting the whole in which the root
and principle of weakness thrives.
And yet all the world over there is
evidence that such an insanity pre-
walls in many leading centers of learn
ing. 1t is our duty now so to equip
ourselves in soul that in later years
we may not be jeopardized by this
false intellectualism but that, on the
contrary, we may be a leaven of truth
and light amongst our fellowmen,
strong in the defense of truth against
| falsehood. We should realize that
everything our faith teaches is highly
reasonable and that the greatest and
most ennobling of rational thought is
the light that emanates from revealed
truth, the clearness of vision that di-
vine wisdom gives.
And just as Thomas showed the de-
pendence Of secular on spiritual en-
| lightenment SO with that terrible logic
that was his he made the hardest
facts of human life with their wealth
of detail reveal the truth of his spec.
ulations. AS in theory he was subtle
SO in the application of theory he was
eminently clear and convincing. He
descended from the heavens of high
| thought to tell men that even in their
most. commonplace activities they
were not a law unto themselves. He
| showed them how the law of things
invisible was written on the face o1
1.-the world within the ken of sense
how human society was the product
of nature which itself was the result
ant of divine intelligence, and how al
rational actions must be referred tx
! the Divine Reason Itself as the ulti
mate principle by which their gen
uineness is to be tested
Question of Authority
Of the matters so manipulated WI
pIOpoSC W COHSluSl luS queollou "
authority In the ethics of Christian
society there was no problem to which
ST. Thomas conceded a higher position
than to that of authority. AS thu
champion of this governing principle
of society he was the unrelentins
enemy of all who advocated the righ
of the human mind to act in isolation
from the wisdom of the Almighty. AL
such efforts he regarded as rebelliou
and in the strength of that conviction
he smote and oyerthrew the rational
ism of Abelard in the University o
Continued on page 81