Faith Seeking Understanding

Today is the Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas.  A Doctor and Priest of the Church, his theology and philosophy has done much to influence the thought and practice of the Church, even today.  St. Thomas Aquinas' theological achievements are influenced by his great faith, as is evidenced in his homilies.

A great frustration of many in ministry is the lack of understanding of the basics of faith.  In sacramental preparation there is nary  a person who can define of describe a 'sacrament.'  Many times folks will use the phrase, "God blesses us."  while this is sort of correct, there are so many better descriptions.

The documents of Vatican II, the U.S. Bishops documents on Catechesis and on Evangelization, all speak about a faith which includes a full and active participation in the life of the Church.  This would include the knowledge of the 'what' and 'why' we do and teach as we do.  The instruction for the Ordination rite informs the candidate that they must believe and know what they are doing.  The same can be said in all of the sacraments which we receive.  The mission and ministry of the Church makes more sense when we have an understanding of the theology of the Church.

St. Paul's letters are meant to encourage people in their faith, especially in the midst of persecutions or community difficulties.  But they are also teaching tools that those hearers might have an understanding of sacraments, ecclesiology, and the paschal mystery.  Paul too understood that the deeper our understanding is of the mysteries that we celebrate, the better our faith response could be.   And that is Good News.