DSPTonline

An Interview with Iconographer and Adjunct DSPT Professor, Fr. Brendan McAnerney, OP

2010-03-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

Fr. Brendan McAnerney will be offering two courses during DSPT Summer Session: Icon-Sacred Image and Introduction to Icon Painting.

DSPT: What do people want to know about icons?

Fr. Brendan: Most of the people to whom I speak are Roman Catholics. They come from a tradition that encounters icons with increasing frequency, but they don’t really know about the theology and the tradition of the holy icons. They want to know where holy icons come from and how the Eastern churches understand and appreciate them.

DSPT: Where do icons come from?

Fr. Brendan: Formal iconography, as we now think of it, had its real beginnings in the Eastern churches, certainly in Constantinople among other centers of Christianity. Holy iconography matured and was codified in a way that was never really explored by the Western churches. In the East, iconography grew up as a systemic part of the faith, and as it developed, was theologized through disputation and because it had to be defended against heretical attack in the 8^th and 9^th centuries, became an integral part of the faith of the East. The Eastern Church does not regard icons as merely decorative, or as a part of liturgical or personal spiritual life that may be or may not be incorporated. Icons are a necessary component in Eastern Christianity, like Sacred Scripture. Iconography is regarded as a sacred craft in the East, one that cannot be divorced from the spiritual and liturgical lives of Eastern Christians.

DSPT: What do icons mean?

Fr. Brendan: Iconography, through the guidance of the worshipping community, its theologians, and its councils, has, over the centuries, developed an alphabet - a grammar that is profound. It’s easily taught and easily read, but it speaks profoundly… on many levels.

Icons are understood to be the vicarious presence of the one depicted. An icon is a proxy, if you will, or a mimesis, of the individual. It is not just a picture of a holy individual (Christ, the Mother of God, any of the saints), but the vicarious presence of the one depicted, the transfigured, transformed human being who now enjoys the life of the Trinity. For the Eastern Christians to approach an icon, is not simply to approach a work of art about the saint or God himself, it is to approach that individual who is present through the similarity of image. This is why we treat icons with reverence… why we incense them, pray and sing before them, bow before them… because they don’t simply represent - in the Western sense- the individuals, they are the vicarious presence of those individuals.

DSPT: Are icons an Eastern or Western tradition?

Fr. Brendan: Holy icons are not just the patrimony of the Eastern churches, they belong to the Universal Church of Jesus Christ, of which the West is an integral part. Painted images have been used and venerated in the West since the beginnings of Christianity.

One can see the artistic bedrock of iconography in the Hellenistic tradition that permeated what would become the Christian East. One example is paintings that come from a location in Egypt now called Al-Fayoum, the Fayum portraits. They are Hellenistic portraits attached to Egyptian mummies. They were painted in a style brought to Egypt by Alexander the Great about 300 BC. That style, tradition, is certainly one of the ancestors of iconography.

Christians typically met and celebrated the Eucharist on the tombs of the martyrs. After the persecutions ended with the edict of Milan (313 AD) the tradition of celebrating the Eucharist on the tombs of the martyrs was carried into the liturgical traditions of both the Eastern and the Western churches by having a martyr-saint relic in an altar-stone. Contiguous with the tradition of holy relics in the East was the tradition of holy images, another way of maintaining a continuity between the worshiping community and the Communion of Saints in the Church Triumphant, an icon being the vicarious presence of the one depicted.

DSPT: What is the spiritual meaning behind the icons?

Fr. Brendan: Icons, by their presence in a space sanctify that space. This is why most Orthodox and Eastern Catholic homes, have a corner or dedicated place where family icons are hung. The principal or patronal icon may be hung in a corner so that it can look over the entire room. In Russian it is called the “red corner,” because the word for red in Russian is the same as the word for beautiful, so it’s the beautiful corner, the spiritual heart of the house. That doesn’t mean other icons aren’t present in other places - in the bedroom, in the kitchen where one may find an icon of St. Euphrosynos, patron saint of cooks, etc.

DSPT: I have heard people refer to “reverse perspective” describing icons. What does that mean?

Fr. Brendan: In the West we have all grown up with the influence of Italian Renaissance… and so looking at a painting or photograph we anticipate a perspective that has a vanishing point in the distance. We allow the painting to draw the viewer in… so we can imagine what it would be like to walk down that country road or what it would be like to sit next to the Virgin with her Divine Child as she sits on the bench in an Italian Renaissance painting. It is very different with an icon where the “orientation point,” rather than a “vanishing point,” is the viewer… creating what is called “reverse perspective.”

An icon functions as a point of contact between the material and glorified worlds… a permeable membrane where the material and spiritual meet and sometimes cross over. It attempts to show the viewer more than “natural time,” but “transfigured” space and time. In addition, the depicted individual - whether it is Christ God, the Mother of God or one of the saints - is not simply inviting one to come into that pictorial space, but is eagerly trying to come out of that space to meet the viewer. This represents God’s initiative in establishing a relationship with a person.

This is not a passive but an active posture by God or the saints, where the one depicted, through the use of “reverse perspective,” eagerly seeks to meet the viewer in the space between the icon and the individual. Some of the old icons, painted on wooden boards that retained natural growth rings, (instead of planed, flat boards that we have today) were curved outward, towards the viewer, convex never concave. The shape of the board and “reverse perspective,” and other parts of the iconographic grammar attempt to convey the eagerness of God and His saints to be in communion with the viewer.

DSPT: So a good icon actually interacts in a metaphysical way with the viewer?

Fr. Brendan: Any “good” icon moves a viewer towards prayer. If an icon doesn’t do that, and doesn’t do that with regularity, then it’s probably not a very good icon. This doesn’t mean that a good icon needs to be complicated or of high artistic quality. In the Eastern tradition there are many “wonder-working” icons, i.e. icons that have levitated, been the occasion for cures, have wept tears, run with perfumed oil, any number of other wonders. Many of them are not artistically beautiful icons. The lesson, I suppose, is that in His providence God often chooses the lowly as instruments or occasions of particular graces… an encouragement to us all.

DSPT: Why do some use the term, “icon writing”, instead of “icon painting”?

Fr. Brendan: The term “icon writing” begins with the Greek verb graphein, “to write.” Some iconographers see the term as a significant linguistic link to the writing of Sacred Scripture, understanding holy iconography as an extension of that “writing.” However, when we speak of the “graphic arts” today we mean drawing and painting, so some iconographers fine the term “to write an icon” needlessly esoteric. In addition, holy iconography is not limited to images constructed on surfaces with paint. Icons can be woven, stitched, carved, molded and cast, making the term “writing” unnecessarily restrictive.

DSPT: How did you become interested in icon writing?

Fr. Brendan: I don’t remember not being interested in icons. I painted my first icon for my grandmother when I was 12 years old—I’m sure it was “primitive.” Then I studied art, art history, and entered the Dominican Order. As a novice I was asked to paint an icon that in the west is called Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in the East the Theotokos of the Passion, for a Filipino community in Ketchikan, Alaska. When I was serving at the Newman Center in Eugene, Oregon we needed an image of Christ the King, so I painted what I thought was an icon. Finally, my sister battled cancer for a number of years, and I prayed to St. Peregrine, the Latin patron for people with cancer. Thanks to God, she was cured, and has been cancer-free for over 20 years now. When I was assigned to Blessed Sacrament Parish in Seattle, I wanted to do something to thank St. Peregrine, so we established a novena to him. For the novena I painted what I imagined was an icon of St. Peregrine. I really didn’t know what I was doing… so went looking for formal instruction. I was fortunate to find the Antiochian Orthodox in Ligonier, Pennsylvania who were willing to teach a Roman Catholic priest. Then I studied with Vladislav Andrejev, a Russian iconographer, and have since studied with other people in the Byzantine Greek tradition of Photis Kontoglou.

DSPT: Who can write icons?

Fr. Brendan: Anyone who is called to encounter the Incarnate God in a tradition that has a particular grammar and parameters… anyone who respects the venerable and holy tradition of iconography. It is not for the “artist” who wishes to express him or her “self,” but one who wishes to serve. No previous artistic experience is necessary. That statement often intimidates people, and I can understand why… but God is not interested in how beautiful a finished icon is. Rather, He is interested in the intention of the iconographer. If the intention is not “ego-centric” but “theo-centric” the resulting icon will be “beautiful.” That’s why I am a teacher, to guide people in their iconography. People often have more facility with painting than they think they do. But even if an individual has little graphic ability… if one prayerfully follows the instruction, all will be well. I have never had anyone in a class who did not produce a credible icon, and virtually everyone loves the icon he or she creates.

DSPT: Who have you taught?

Fr. Brendan: I have taught principally Roman Catholics, but I’ve also taught Protestants and others of “non-specific affiliation.” One of my biggest supporters has been Church of the Ascension, Episcopal in Knoxville, Tennessee. I’ve been going there to teach every year for over 10 or 12 years… I’ve lost count. On their own they formed the East Tennessee Iconographers Guild. They get together once a month to pray and paint together and encourage one another… an edifying group.

Text Seminar, April 8 at DSPT

2010-03-08T15:37:00.000-08:00

The Northern California Chapter of the St. John's College Alumni Association has the pleasure and honor of inviting you to the following text seminar at the DSPT, thanks to its president and staff, on the evening of Thursday, April Eighth, 2010, from 7:30 to 9:30 PM: Two brief, closely linked texts by Jacob Klein (1899, Libau, Latvia [then Russia] - 1978, Annapolis, Maryland), the lecture text "Modern Rationalism" (9 pp.) delivered to a class on rationalism and capitalism in the US sometime in 1938-1940, and "Phenomenology and the History of Science" (19 pp.) first published as ch. III in Philosophical Essays in Memory of Edmund Husserl, ed. Marvin Faber (Harvard University Press, 1940). Both can be found in Jacob Klein: Lectures and essays, ed. Robert B. Williamson and Elliott Zuckerman (St. John's College Press, 1985), pp. 53-84. Seminar will be led by Reynaldo Miranda, President of the Northern California Chapter. RSVP to reynaldo.miranda@gmail.com at your earliest convenience as participation is limited, and he will send you the two texts in PDF.

How might rationalism be distinctly modern, if there is such a thing: How can modern rationalism be different from ratio? What can some of the basic relations between science and philosophy be, by way of phenomenology? Why did Husserl think European science had reached a crisis long-latent in that science? How does Husserlian phenomenology and de-sedimentation of thought provide a unique way out of this impasse. Please join us in discussing these two important texts written 70 years ago on issues that still press upon us.

Jacob Klein, PhD 1922 by University of Berlin under Nicolai Hartmann; visiting lecturer in the history of mathematics, University of Prague, 1934-35; fellow of the Moses Mendelssohn Stiftung zur Fordering der Geisteswissenchaften, 1935-37; Tutor, St, John's College at Annapolis, 1938-1978, and Dean, St. John's College at Annapolis, 1949-58, considered the re-founder of the New Program at St. John's. His books include: A Commentary on Plato's Meno (University of North Carolina Press, 1965, and University of Chicago Press, 1989), perhaps the best commentary on that dialogue written in any language; Greek Mathematical Thought and the Origin of Algebra (MIT Press, 1968, kept in print by Dover), a translation by Eva T. H. Brann of his "Die griechische Logistik und die Entstehung der Algebra" published in two parts in the Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der Mathematik, Astronomie und Physik in 1934 and '36 (the first part was his Habilitation thesis that would certainly have taken place at the University of Berlin in October 1932 had it not been for the political changes in Germany, a pioneering work in that field that is still required reading); Plato's Trilogy: Theaetetus, the Sophist, and the Statesman (University of Chicago Press, 1977); and, the above mentioned Jacob Klein: Lectures and essays. Other important contributions include: "The Idea of Liberal Education" in The Goals of Higher Education, ed. W. D. Weatherford, Jr. (Harvard University Press, 1960); "Aristotle, An Introduction" in Ancients and Moderns: Essays on the Tradition of Political Philosophy, in honor of Leo Strauss, ed. Joseph Cropsey (Basic Books, 1964), perhaps the finest general introduction to Aristotle available in English; "On Liberal Education" in The Bulletin of the Association of American Colleges, vol. 52, no. 2 (Washington, D.C., 1966), text of a lecture first delivered to a Colloquium held at St. Mary's College of California in Moraga; "A Note on Plato's Parmenides" in Orbis Scriptus, Dimitrij Tschizewskij zum 70. Geburstag (Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1966); and, many articles in journals such as Interpretation, Claremont Journal of Public Affairs, Cesare Barbieri Courier, Independent Journal of Philosophy, and The Saint John's Review. His younger colleagues, students, and grand students who have carried on his work include Eva T. H. Brann, Br. Sixtus Robert Smith FSC, the Rev. J. Winfree Smith, Simon Kaplan, Robert Sacks, Robert Goldwin, David R. Lachterman, Robert B. Williamson, Curtis Wilson, and Joshua Kates.

Jacob Klein, Jasha to his friends, was educated at gymnasia in Lipetsk, Brussels, and graduated from the Friedrichs Realgymnasium, Berlin in 1917. He studied mathematics, physics, and ancient philosophy in the universities of Berlin and Marburg/Lahn. He met Leo Strauss at Marburg in 1920 and the two became life-long, close friends. He and Strauss audited Martin Heidegger's lectures at Marburg from 1923. Klein never became a Heideggerian but credited Heidegger with showing him how to read Aristotle, confident of understanding Aristotle's intentions. His devoted his life's scholarship to the recovery of classical thought, to inquiring into how the classical mode of thought had been transformed into the modern mode--one of his themes was the sedimentation of thought. His teachers and colleagues in Germany had included Jaeger, Husserl, Scheler, Hartmann, Cassirer, Heidegger, Arendt, Stein, von Hildebrand, Gadamer, Schmidt, Lowith, Jonas, Marcusse, and Levinas.

Dr. Cathleen Kaveny at DSPT

2010-01-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

Dr. Cathleen Kaveny will present "Law, Morality and the Culture Wars" at DSPT, Monday, January 25 at 7:30 pm in Classroom 1 as part of the Commonweal Lecture Series.

“Many of the most contentious issues in our society - abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia-involve the relationship of law and morality. While we can't get rid of the controversy, we might be able to alleviate it by developing a more sophisticated understanding of how law operates.” Dr. Kaveny introduces the subject of her upcoming talk at DSPT and she continues, “St. Thomas and the common law help us move beyond the dominant - and too crude -image of law as society's moral police officer."

Dr. Kaveny serves as the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law and Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. As a columnist for Commonweal Magazine and a scholar, she explores the relationship between morality and law, reconciling and analyzing the role religion and ethics play in current events. She takes on controversial issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, confronting issues ranging from torture and medical conscience clauses to Catholic academic freedom and electoral politics. A decorated scholar, Dr. Kaveny has published over forty articles and essays, served as a clerk under the Honorable John T. Noonan Jr., and earned her undergraduate and multiple graduate degrees in philosophy, theology and law from Princeton and Yale, respectively.

Current Student Profile, Br. Justin Charles Gable, OP

2010-01-07T15:34:00.001-08:00

I was born and raised in Orange County, California. God has blessed me with two loving, faith-filled parents and an older sister who continues to be my closest friend. My high school years found me seriously questioning my beliefs, but through the guidance of the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael’s Abbey, I became convinced of the powerful truth of the Faith and returned to the Catholic Church. I attended the University of San Francisco, first majoring in physics and then, after discovering the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, in philosophy. I continued my study of philosophy at Fordham University in New York City, earning a master’s degree and doctorate. I made my first profession of vows as a Dominican brother this past September.

I am currently working toward a concurrent Master’s Degree in Theology and Divinity at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, taking advantage of the School’s excellent academic and pastoral courses in preparation for ordination to the priesthood. I continue to be passionately interested in philosophy and the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. These interests are fostered at the Dominican School, whose faculty understands the importance of St. Thomas’ rich synthesis of faith and reason and actively fosters ongoing dialogue between the Faith of the Church and modern and contemporary thought. It is my privilege to be a student at the Dominican School, and I am proud to be part of its extraordinary mission of cultivating the great intellectual riches of our Catholic Faith for the transformation of the modern world. I hope to teach both philosophy and theology after ordination, perhaps at the Dominican School itself!

The relics of St. John Bosco traveling through California and making a stop at DSPT!

2010-01-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

In the tradition of pilgrimage, the relics of St John Bosco are being carried into the towns and villages, neighborhoods and centers where the Gospel is announced among the young today. This pilgrim journey through 130 nations prepares for the 200^th anniversary of the saint’s birth near Turin on 16 August 1815.

The pilgrim journey began last 31 January and in September 2010, Don Bosco’s relics will journey through several U.S. cities. The proposed itinerary for the journey through California follows.

· Saturday, 11 September 2010: arrival of the relics at SFO from Tijuana, with transport to Corpus Christi Parish (2 hour reception and veneration), continuing on to SS. Peter and Paul, North Beach (reception, veneration, groups)

· Sunday, 12 September 2010: SS Peter & Paul (veneration, parish celebrations, invitation to religious and parish priests of San Francisco; ecumenical celebration; participation of Archbishop George Niederauer; youth celebration; Chinese community; Italian community; Marian societies; cultural communities of North Beach).

· Monday, 13 September 2010: SS Peter & Paul school (morning); journey from San Francisco to East Bay – Richmond, departure SSPP at 2:00 pm; arrival Salesian High School Richmond, evening (receiving the relics)

· Tuesday, 14 September 2010: Salesian High School, Richmond: triduum celebration (early morning); journey to Berkeley (DSPT) arriving 11:30; journey to Watsonville (Our Lady Help of Christians Church), arriving 4:30 pm.

· Wednesday, 15 September 2010: St Francis School, Watsonville (mass and reception for students of St Francis, Salesian Sisters, friends of St Francis); departure (11:30) from Watsonville to Los Angeles (St Mary’s Parish, Boyle Heights).

· Thursday, 16 September 2010: St Mary’s Church: mass for students of Salesian High School and volunteers from Salesian Boys and Girls Club/Salesian Family Youth Center; journey from Los Angeles to Rosemead: receiving of relics and veneration at St Brigit’s Church (11:00 pm); receiving of relics and veneration at Don Bosco Tech (1:00 pm); receiving of relics and veneration at St Joseph Youth Renewal Center (4:00 pm) with religious services and socio-cultural celebrations by a succession of groups (Search Community; Cooperators; Don Bosco Tech alumni group…).

· Friday, 17 September 2010: journey from Rosemead to Bellflower. Receiving the relics and veneration at St John Bosco High School (9:30 am); receiving the relics at St Dominic Savio School (1:30 pm), and veneration in St Dominic Savio Parish Church. Evening and night vigil services.

· Saturday, 18 September 2010: St Dominic Savio, Bellflower: religious services and socio-cultural celebrations by a succession of groups: Religious Education, Damas Salesianas, Adma, Alum (Filipino Bosconians; Vietnamese Past Pupils; Ex-alumnas latinoamericanas; Ex-alumnos de Don Bosco; alum of St Dominic Savio), ADMA, Don Bosco Volunteers; Young Adult Volunteers; SYLC – Salesian Youth Movement, parishioners, Cooperator Salesians, FMA, SDB.

· Sunday, 19 September 2010: transport by air to New Orleans.

Don Bosco’s relics arrive first in San Francisco – port of arrival of Don Bosco’s sons in the United Sates in 1897 – then gradually travel to Los Angeles. Local committees will coordinate celebrations.

Faculty News: Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC

2010-01-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Sr. Marianne Farina and three of her students were chosen as delegates from DSPT to attend The Council of the Parliament of World's Religions held in Melbourne, Australia from December 3 through December 9, 2009. Over 6,000 people gathered from 213 countries, representing 225 religions. Their travel and expenses were funded by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

The Parliament, established in 1893, was the first major gathering of leaders from Eastern and Western spiritual traditions and it gave birth to formal world-wide interreligious dialogue. The first Parliament of World's Religions met in Chicago. It was the largest conference of the World Columbian Exposition (an early version of the world's fair). In his opening address, Swami Vivekananda spoke eloquently about the need to promote religious understanding. His words also speak to today's reality:

"Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful Earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now."

Recognizing the need to create interreligious dialogue programs, various national and international meetings followed these initial efforts. Since its reconstitution, the Council has met every five years and has expanded by including more religious communities and countries from around the world.

The 1993 Parliament opened with a keynote address on the ecological crisis and the need to promote environment justice. In light of this call, Hans Kung introduced, Towards a Global Ethic, a document offering a comprehensive approach to justice and later ratified by both faith communities and theological centers. In 1999, the Parliament met in Cape Town, South Africa, focusing on ways religions could address the AIDS epidemic. In 2004, the Parliament met in Barcelona, and representatives addressed issues about religiously motivated violence, diminishing natural resources e.g., safe water, the fate of migrants/refugees worldwide, and the elimination of external debt in developing countries.

The theme of the 2009 Parliament was Making a World of Difference: Hearing Each Other, Healing the Earth emphasizing the need for religions, civic groups, scientific, economic, and political thinkers to form partnerships capable of addressing critical needs raised in this forum since 1893. The hosts for this fifth gathering were the Aboriginal leaders of the Wurundjeri tribe, original owners of the land on which Melbourne resides.

The 2009 Council focused on ways to transform thought and action so that faith communities can "make a difference in the world and make a world out of differences." The Council's activities were divided into seven major sub-themes, program clusters, and a daily routine investigating ways to address the needs of global communities. (See http://www.parliamentofreligions.org)

The DSPT delegates prepared a question for the group regarding the virtues and skills needed for multi-faith ministry. They stated that multi-faith leadership requires the theological virtue of caritas, love of God and love of one another in God. Love of God calls us to greater solidarity with all people. We need to see another person or religion as a neighbor and partner. Connected to caritas and solidarity are virtues of sincerity, humility (which includes the ability to critique oneself), and reciprocity, which requires openness, forgiveness, and reconciliation within and among faith communities.

In addressing the skills needed for multi-faith education, the group spoke of the need for training in compassionate listening and the development of linguistic tools to "speak" a common language. They also noted the importance of developing a pastoral vision for multi-faith ministry that, informed by the historical, cultural realities of religious traditions, will dynamically engage faith communities. The specific content of the DSPT delegate’s response sparked a lively conversation, recognizing that developing virtues and skills for multi-faith leadership is critical because it calls for the formation of the character, i.e., concentrating on ways of friendship within and among faiths.

During the final plenary of the gathering, Sr. Marianne found herself reflecting on the entire week through the lens of the indigenous people, the first custodians of Earth. Their respect for creation and their openness to discover the truths Earth teaches are models for the type of holistic networking central to the Parliament's gathering. The indigenous communities teach us ways to protect the bond we share with all creation and to acknowledge and share the gift of Earth. Pope Benedict XVI's recent encyclical, Caritas in veritate, and his 2010 Peace message highlights this important aspect stating that “The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice versa” (CV #51).

As the theme of the 2009 Council of the Parliament of World's Religions illustrates, "Hearing Each Other and Healing Earth" are not two separate projects. In light of this truth, perhaps the next generation of religious leaders, will be versed in ways to "counsel" with all creation and all world religions. In closing, the Dali Lama, Spiritual Leader of Tibet, sent the Parliament's attendees forth to "Go, Go, and Do, Do" what all had learned.

Faculty News: Sr. Barbara Green, OP

2009-12-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

On November 21-23, Sr. Barbara attended the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in New Orleans. The SBL is the largest and probably most representative association of academic biblical scholars in the world. Sr. Barbara was invited to offer a paper in a section called Writing/Reading Jeremiah, since she has been working on that prophet for about three years and presented two papers on the book of Jeremiah at last year's SBL meeting in Boston. Her paper "Sunk in the Mud: Literary Correlation and Collaboration between King and Prophet," focused on the material where the prophet interacts with the last king of Judah, Zedekiah (350 verses, with the main portion in 38:14-28). Sister’s thesis was that the apparent opponents—the prophet Jeremiah and the king Zedekiah—deeply resemble each other and are in fact comprehensively interlocked (each is, at a given moment, described as "sunk in the mud";) their common striving makes visible a project larger than either of them: the characterization of prophecy and the survival of God’s biblical people; the failure of Jeremiah’s speech offers insight into coercive language. The paper concluded with the implication that the interlocked characterization heightens the prophet’s inability to do his apparent job well; at a moment he might have spoken effectively his word—lacking empathy—seems to boomerang; maybe that’s the point for his re-readers, then and now.

Current Student Profile, Hannah Mecaskey

2009-12-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

My explorations of Catholicism intensified during my undergraduate studies at a Baptist Bible school, propelling me to consider my graduate studies at a Catholic institution. Hoping for a philosophical exploration of faith, I began searching for a small school fostering a dialogical academic tradition in an intellectual community. The DSPT was a lucky find, its numbers, mission statement, and the approachability of faculty and staff convinced me that these people were sincere in their academic questions and faith traditions. The degree of openness between classmates and professors has demonstrated to me a working model of academic and spiritual community that has inspired various approaches I plan to pursue with my own future students.

Part of my academic journey my first year as an MA Theology Candidate was preparing myself to finally embrace the Catholic Church as my immediate family. My questions have changed since entering the Church this past May, but the Marian devotion and heartfelt adherence of the Dominican community to Church teaching have begun to inform not only my course of study, but my spiritual life as well. I feel very welcome in the Dominican community as a fellow sojourner in theological pursuits, and as a sister in the larger body of Christ.

Current Student Profile: Jacob Washabaugh

2009-11-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

I come from a small farm town in the western part of the Sacramento Valley. A few years after high school I joined the United States Navy as a communications electrician, and was honorably discharged after four years of service on a guided missile frigate. Shortly after my military service I began work as a union electrician, but I was not satisfied with this profession. I wanted to do something that would have a positive impact on others. At the age of twenty-six, i decided to leave the trades and a good paying job, and return to school in the hope of earning my PH.D in order to teach at the university level. I'm the first person in my family to recieve a college degree, and i am currentlypursuing my M.A. in Philosophy at the DSPT. When I was looking into Master's Programs, it was important that I find a school that bases its appraoch to learning on Catholics principles, and a school that approaches modern ideas and problems with the philospcial and theoligical ideas of of the Catholic faith. I believe I've found that at the DSPT. Every clas I have in opened with an invocation, and there is an oncampus Mass where students come together in communion with Christ every Tuesday. We are taught by devout and academically accomplished Domincans who desire to help their students in the pursuit of truth. I really enjoy the small class size, and tha small campus whicvh gives the school a real sense of community. It really is a great academic environment. I enjoy, and value, my time in class as well as outside of class. DSPT was an excellent choice for higher education and I look forward to the coming semesters.

Culture of Philantropy: Sunday in Spain

2009-11-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

On October 18th, we held our annual fund kickoff event at the DSPT campus. Although the weather was cool and not particularly Mediterranean, we nonthless celebrated an ode to a traditional Spanish afternoon, replete with Paella, Spain-themed tables, Sangria, community and good times. The auction raised over $20,000 even with the not-so Spanish weather.

A few highlights: Mike Bentovogilio won the Gourmet Dinner for 10 with Fr. Michael at Marilyn Knight's home in Tiburon. Eunice Jackson's bid prevailed on the weekend retreat with Fr. Sweeney, O.P. at the spectacular Sweetwater property in Guerneville, CA. Eileen Bitten sponsored a student for a semester for our "Fund-a-Need.: Maria Vickroy-Peralta won a Tuscan Dinner for Eight with Fr. Chris Renz and Joe Vanderlit walked away a Monterey Get-away and other prizes.

To see a video synopsis of the event along with interview highlights including DSPT President, Fr. Michael Sweeney and current DSPT students, please click here.

Faculty News: Fr. Michael Sweeney, OP

2009-11-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Just recently, on October 27th, Fr. Michael traveled to Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage, Alaska to deliver a talk about the state of Catholic Education in America and why DSPT is so exceptional. His presentation was entitled "Reading the Signs of the Times: Dominican Education and the Challenge of Contemporary Culture." The presentation will be announced at www.dspt.com with a link to the full text if yor are interested in viewing it. It will be available within the coming week.

Father Michael Sweeney, OP, will be presenting a paper at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture's 10th annual fall conference The Summons of Freedom: Virtue, Sacrifice, and the Common Good taking place November 12-14. Father Michael's presentation, "Expressing the Good," will address the problem of the insufficient grasp of the good in our culture resulting in the inability to understand or apply the notion of the common good, and will suggest principles of a pedagogy that could address this problem.

For full schedule of the conference, go to

www.nd.edu/~ndethics/events/fallconfs.sof.documents/abstract.pdf

or

ethicscenter.nd.edu/events/fallconfs/sof/sof.shtml

DSPT and the World Parliament of Religions

2009-11-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC and 3 of her students from the Christian-Muslim Dialogue course have been invited to attend the Parliament of World Religions on December 3-9, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia.

This delegation will be part of the consultation on "Educating Religious Leaders for a Multi-Religious World." The goal of this consultation is to address ways that seminaries foster significant teaching/learning opportunities for the development of a new generation of leaders equipped to serve in the challenging milieu of today's mult-cultural, multi-religious world. The planning team of the World Parliament of Religions chose 15 seminary institutions to participate because of each institution's significant and creative studies in dialogue and comparative religions.

It is hoped that throughout this consultation, these schools will make their experience available to other theological communities. The attendees will write a final document to be shared with national theological associations and institutions in the United States.

For more information go to www.parliamentofreligions.org/index.cfm

Support the DSPT through Online Shopping

2009-11-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

Giving Cart and Amazon.com

Did you know that you can help raise money DSPT through online and retail purchases?

Givingcart.com is a portal for Catholic internet shoppers. When you register for a free membership, you choose the Catholic project or charity that will benefit from your transactions, with the option to change your beneficiary at any time. A running tally keeps you posted on how much money you have raised for your charity as well as the total amount raised by all GivingCart.com members.

eScrip.com is a fund raising program where participating business contribute a percentage of your purchases to the school, group, or organization of your choice. Just register any one or all of you existing retail cards (Safeway card, etc.) as well as debit and credit cards for use in the program. To learn more, go to www.eScrip.com. To register, go to the eScrip Registration Page and enter GroupID# 500000450 for the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology.

Amazon.com

For DSPT students as well as those looking to support the school, we have an Amazon store which donates a percentage of your purchase directly towards us! Just go to http://astore.amazon.com/dspt-20 and start shopping. This page contains course specific listings as well as having Faculty Recommendations, Faculty and Alumni Publications and a "Thomism Bibliography" with writings by and about St. Thomas Aquinas. In addition, if you click on the Amazon logo on the upper left hand corner of our storefront site, you will be taken to the main Amazon website where you can purchase any other items you might be interested in with the same benefits of supporting the school

Seminar Discussion of Plato's "Phaedo" led by Prof. John Dragstedt

2009-11-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

This seminar-discussion of Plato’s Phaedo is modeled after the educational methods of the “Great Books” programs of St. John’s College, Thomas Aquinas College, and St. Mary’s College’s Integral Program. The professor leading the discussion, John Albert Dragstedt, will lead off with a question which provokes inquiry into the heart of the text, and the discussion thereafter is a matter of the participants engaging the text and each other, with Prof. Dragstedt as “facilitator”. Space is limited so RSVP to Reynaldo Miranda at reynaldo.miranda@gmail.com if you can and desire to join us.

Although any translation is welcome, a recommended one is by St. John's Tutors Eva Brann, Peter Kalkavage, and Eric Salem, in the Focus Philosophical Library series, from R. Pullins Company, 1998, an inexpensive paperback.
Various translations of the text can also be found online, e.g. at http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/plato_phaedo01.htm

Discussion led by Prof. John Albert Dragstedt, PhD in Classical Languages by UC Berkeley, Professor of Classical Languages, and Tutor in the Integral Program, at St. Mary's College of California. Prof. Dragstedt studied under Leo Strauss at the University of Chicago, and has taught at St. Mary's College in Moraga for over 45 years in the faculties of philosophy, history, classics, and the Integral Program (founded 1956 by St. John's Annapolis Tutor Brother Robert Sixtus Smith, FSC). Prof. Dragstedt has lectured at the Santa Fe campus of St. John's College, and participated in the "three dialogues on Liberal Education" held there in April, 1977 (published by the St. John's College Press, 1979).

The event is organized by St. John's College Alumni Association - Northern California Chapter.

Alumni Profile: Carla Zilaff, MA Theology, 2009

2009-10-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

Carla Zilaff, MA Theology, 2009
Campus Minister at St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

While living in Eugene, OR for five years I had the pleasure of meeting many Dominican priests and brothers who had received their education from the DSPT. They were a constant example to the community at the Newman Center in Eugene of the quality education that one receives at the DSPT.

When looking at various masters programs in theology, I chose the DSPT because of the solid theological and philosophical foundations that the school provides. In addition, I appreciated the small school atmosphere with the support of a larger institution (the GTU) next to a major university (UC Berkeley). Overall, it is a well-rounded education which equips students for various career and education goals after leaving the DSPT.

I am now the Campus Minister at the (Dominican run) Newman Center in Salt Lake City which ministers to the University of Utah, Westminster College, and Salt Lake Community College. Being a Catholic in Utah is a constant challenge for our students who often come to the Newman Center searching for answers. All aspects of my education at the DSPT are tested and utilized in my work at the Newman Center and I am constantly thankful for the education I received.

Faculty News: Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC

2009-10-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

Sr. Marianne and 3 of her students from the Christian-Muslim Dialogue course have been invited to attend the Parliament of World Religions on December 3-9, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia.

This delegation will be part of the consultation on "Educating Religious Leaders for a Multi-Religious World." The goal of this consultation is to address ways that seminaries foster significant teaching/learning opportunities for the development of a new generation of leaders equipped to serve in the challenging milieu of today’s multi-cultural, multi-religious world. The planning team of the World Parliament of Religions chose 15 seminary institutions to participate because of the institution’s significant and creative studies in dialogue and comparative religions.
It is hoped that throughout this consultation, these schools will make their experience available to other theological communities. The attendees will write a final document to be shared with national theological associations and institutions in the United States. For more information go to
http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/index.cfm

Faculty News: Fr. Richard Schenk, O.P.

2009-10-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

Fr. Richard Schenk recently took part in the colloquium, Revelation and Salvific History - J. Ratzingers Studies on Bonaventure in the Context of Systematics and the History of Theology. Held in Bagnoregio, the birthplace of St. Bonaventure, this conference was organized by the Institute Pope Benedikt XVI of Regensburg, which is responsible for the edition of the complete writings of the current pope. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the content, context and significance of young J. Ratzinger’s second major work, his 1955 habilitation on St. Bonaventure. The faculty of the time at the University of Munich had accepted only the final third of the work dealing with Bonaventure’s view of history. The first sections on Bonaventure’s sense of revelation continued to be of interest and would have an important impact on the dogmatic constitution on revelation at the Second Vatican Council, which began in 1962; three years after the short version of the text had appeared in print. Prof. Ratzinger was present at the Council first as an advisor to Cologne’s Archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Frings, and then as an official expert or “peritus”. Frings made sure that the young theologian’s voice was heard, notably in a famous lecture on revelation the day before the Council opened. It helped move the Council to rework thoroughly its statements on revelation. Fr. Richard Schenk spoke on the ecumenical theological program connected with the interpretation of Bonaventura developed by the young Ratzinger and his theological mentor, Gottlieb Söhngen. The colloquium ended in Castelgandolfo with the presentation to Pope Benedict XVI of this second volume of his collected works, including the first publication of the entire draft of the monograph on St. Bonaventure.

Faculty News: Fr. Joseph Boenzi, SDB

2009-10-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

Fr. Joseph spent the first week of September offering two three-day workshops to the Salesian Family in Thailand, at Hua Hin, 200 km south of Bangkok. He was invited to Thailand by a committee of Alumni from DSPT and the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome.

Joseph delivered four presentations each day centered on evangelization and education of the young in the style of St John Bosco and according to the spirit of St Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal. Over 160 women and men participated. The majority of the participants were Thai, but there were also delegations from the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and Cambodia.

2009 marks the 150th year since St John Bosco launched the Salesian Society. The reflections built on this event, asking the Salesian Family in Thailand and Southeast Asia how they might re-launch Don Bosco's mission for the young of the next 150 years.

Faculty News: Fr. Augustine Thompson, OP

2009-10-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

At the recommendation of Mr. Manu Radhakrishnan in the history department of Princeton University, Wiph and Stock Publishers of Oregon has decided to republish Fr. Augustine Thompson's book Revival Preachers and Politics in Thirteenth-Century Italy, originally published by Oxford University Press and out of print since 2005. His book examines the nature of revivalistic preaching by early Dominicans and Franciscans and how it resulted in their appointment as city managers charged with reforming civic laws and constitutions to promote peacemaking and social justice.

Report of 2nd Annual Tee It Up for Truth Golf Tournament

2009-10-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Beautiful weather, a long-driving Dominican, and the steadfast support of our community made for a perfect day at Oakland Metropolitan Golf Course. Twenty-two foursomes hit the links after an energizing breakfast. All were determined to beat Br. Peter Hannah’s 349-yard long drive, a shot that landed only a few yards from the green but none came within 40 yards of Br. Peter’s shot.

At the end of the day, participants gathered for a delicious BBQ dinner followed by a successful auction and raffle draw. The evening wrapped up with an awards ceremony for first and second place teams, longest-putt, longest-drive and closest-to-the-hole winners. Congratulations to the winning team that came in with a 56 - Lance Russum, Philip Boehm, Ron Scalise and Bill Westernoff.

From all of us at DSPT, a special thank you to those who helped to make this year’s tournament a huge success. The money raised will go directly to providing scholarships for clerical and lay students, resources for student recruitment, curriculum development, advertising and much more. We look forward to next year’s golf event. If you have any recommendations for how to make the event bigger or better or are interested in volunteering to organize it, please contact us at advancement@dspt.edu.

In This Light Which Gives Light by Fr. Chris Renz, OP

2009-10-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

Father Chris Renz recently published an inspiring and quite beautiful historical account of St. Albert’s College. His 225 page work In This Light Which Gives Light contains many rarely seen photographs of the friars and the school that help to tell a marvelous story of religious and academic devotion.

Originally founded in 1851 as the House of Studies for the Western Dominican Province, the College of St. Albert the Great was civilly incorporated in the State of California in 1932 with the hope that it would become "a lighthouse of religion and learning to the regions around," and in so doing open up a conversation between the Church and contemporary culture.

As its growth continued, the College became well situated both academically and geographically to respond to the ecumenical movement of the mid-twentieth century. Ideas which served as the seedbed for the Graduate Theological Union (1962) also provided the means for the College to be the first Catholic institution to join the GTU in 1964. Shortly thereafter, the College changed its name to the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, moving classrooms and administration to the GTU campus.

For more information about the book and how to order it, please go to http://www.dspt.edu/ and click on the About Us section or call 510-883-2030.

Jon Stewart Lecture

2009-10-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

"Kierkegaard and Hegel on Faith and Knowledge"
When: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 7:00 pm
Where: DSPT Classroom 1

One of Kierkegaard's main objections to Hegel's philosophy is that it misunderstands the nature of religion by placing it on a par with various forms of scholarship and knowing. Through his pseudonymous authors, Kierkegaard stubbornly insists that faith is fundamentally different from knowledge. How would Hegel respond to Kierkegaard's objection? I wish to argue that Hegel would find Kierkegaard's conception of faith to be a pure formalism with no determinate content.For this reason, it cannot be properly designated as Christian faith since it has no content by which it can be distinguished from the faith of other religions.

Save-the-Date! DSPT’s 2nd Annual Sunday in Spain Dinner & Auction

2009-09-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

WHEN: Sunday, October 18, 2009, 2:00 - 7:00pm
WHERE: DSPT Courtyard – 2301 Vine Street, Berkeley, CA (free parking)

Please join friends, benefactors, faculty, students, and staff of the Dominican School of Philosophy and communities that support the School for an afternoon of fun and camaraderie as DSPT kicks off its 2009 Annual Fund.

Our Sunday in Spain dinner and auction event now serves as an important part of our new effort to bring our donors closer to what we do and to give members of our community of friends and supporters a chance to help us sustain and grow our mission. Let's celebrate the beginning of the academic year in honor of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of the Preachers (O.P.) and connect with old and new friends with good food and great company. Tapas and wines of Spain will be served and the cooking of traditional Spanish Paellas will be demonstrated by Eduardo of Venga Paella.

There are many ways in which you can help us ensure the success of this effort. If you'd like to learn more, e-mail Ciel Mahoney at mmahoney@dspt.edu or call (510) 883-2085.

* Become a Table Sponsor! If you'd like to select the seven people who will sit at your table, we invite you to consider becoming a table sponsor. For $350 per table, sponsors get to fill their table with friends and family.

* Volunteer to Help! If you'd like to volunteer to work at the event, please fill out the attached volunteer registration form.

Stay tuned for more information. See you on October 18th!

SMASH HIT PRODUCTION THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS

2009-09-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

“Wickedly Witty…It is one Hell of a Good Show!”
- Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, the entertaining hit theatre production is being presented by Fellowship for the Performing Arts at The Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA. The play has enjoyed sold-out runs in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. and now makes its way to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tickets range in price from $29.00 to $45.00. Tickets are available by calling The Lesher Center for the Arts Box Office at 925.943.7469,
A limited number of $20 student tickets are available for each performance. You must show valid ID at the box office.

RECEIVE $10 OFF WHEN YOU BUY TWO TICKETS TO SMASH HIT PRODUCTION OF C.S. LEWIS’ THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS
Valid on following performances: Friday, Oct. 2, 8PM and Saturday, Oct. 3, 4PM & 8PM
This offer is only available by calling the Lesher Center for the Arts Box Office at 925.943.7469. Mention code E103. Subject to availability and not valid on previously purchased tickets. Service fees apply. OFFER EXPIRES September 18, 2009.

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is a funny, provocative and wickedly witty theatrical adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ brilliant novel that explores the theme of spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view.

Adapted for the stage by Jeffrey Fiske and Max McLean, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, which runs 90 minutes without intermission, is set in an office in hell. The engaging play follows a senior devil, Screwtape, played by Max McLean, and his secretary, Toadpipe, played by Karen Eleanor Wight,as they train an apprentice demon, Wormwood, on how to “undermine faith and prevent the formation of virtues” in a young man who has just converted to Christianity. As Screwtape ridicules Wormwood and devilishly dictates his letters to Toadpipe, the fantastical creature transforms into laughingly recognizable figures with whimsical movement and wordless wit.

Critics have raved that the show is “Very smart…richly rewarding…exuberant theatricality!,” (Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune), “THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is just about everything you want in a night at the theatre…,” (Daniel Kelly, NYTheatre.com), “A first rate production…Terribly entertaining… Screwtape boils over with wit” (Jayne Blanchard, The Washington Times), a “Hell of a good time…imaginative theatricality…wonderful performances” (Frank Scheck, New York Post), “Sly, funny, handsomely produced” (Celia Wren, Washington Post) and “Pure genius… an outstanding piece of work,” (John J. Miller, National Review)

When first published in 1942. THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS brought immediate fame to C.S. Lewis, a little known Oxford don whose field of study was Medieval English and literature. Over the past sixty-five years its wit and wisdom have made it one of his most widely read and influential works. One of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day, C.S. Lewis was a Fellow and Tutor of English literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement.

His major contributions in literary criticism, children’s literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract millions of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include: The Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, and Mere Christianity.

The initial production of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS opened at Theatre 315 in New York City in January 2006 for a limited three-week run. Due to popular demand it ran for ten sold-out weeks. After building on its success it reopened in the fall of 2007 at the larger Theatre at St. Clement’s for another twelve sold-out weeks to rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. In April 2008 it transferred to The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre in Washington, D.C. for a five week run. Again it played for sold out and standing room-only audiences. In October 2008, it transferred again to the Mercury Theater in Chicago for a scheduled six week run that grew to six months. The Chicago Tribune called it “the most successful show in the history of the Mercury Theater.”

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is directed by Jeffrey Fiske and stars Max McLean as Screwtape and Karen Eleanor Wight as Toadpipe. Scenic design is by Cameron Anderson, costumes are by Michael Bevins, lighting by Jesse Klug, and sound is by Bart Fasbender. For more biographical or production information, visit http://www.screwtapeonstage.com/.

America Needs You, Thomas Aquinas

2009-09-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

By Rev. Robert Barron

Just last week I was in Toulouse France, filming for my ten part documentary on Catholicism. I will admit that I was in Toulouse for fairly personal reasons. In the Dominican church of the Jacobins, in a golden casket situated under a side altar, are the remains of my hero, St. Thomas Aquinas. I spent a good amount of time in silent prayer in front of Thomas’s coffin, thanking him for giving direction to my life. When I was a fourteen year old freshman at Fenwick High School, I was privileged to hear from a young Dominican priest the arguments for God’s existence that Thomas Aquinas formulated in the thirteenth century. I don’t entirely know why, but hearing those rational demonstrations lit a fire in me that has yet to go out. They gave me a sense of the reality of God and thereby awakened in me a desire to serve God, to order my life radically toward him. I’m a priest because of God’s grace, but that grace came to me through the mediation of Thomas Aquinas.

As I prayed before the tomb of Aquinas, I found myself ruminating on the importance for our own time of the one whom the church calls its “common doctor.” What can this thirteenth century Dominican master teach us? First, Thomas Aquinas saw with utter clarity that since all truth comes from God, there can never be, finally, any conflict between the data of the sciences and the facts of revelation. In his own time, there were advocates of the so-called “double truth theory,” which held that the “truths” of philosophy and science were in one category and the “truths” of the faith in another. On this interpretation, one could hold mutually exclusive positions as long as one remained cognizant that the opposing views were in separate departments of the mind.

Well, Thomas saw this as so much nonsense and said so. Apparent conflicts between science and religion (to use our terms) are born of either bad science or bad religion, and they should compel the puzzled thinker to dig deeper and think harder. Following Augustine, Thomas said that if an interpretation of the Bible runs counter to clearly established findings of the sciences, we should move to a more mystical and symbolic reading of the Scriptural passage. How important this is today when forms of fundamentalism have given rise to a terrible rationalist counter-reaction. Biblical literalism—a modernism, alien to the patristic and medieval minds—produces a variety of views repugnant to physics, evolutionary biology, cosmology, etc. And this has led to the sequestration of some religious types and some scientific types into separate and mutually hostile camps. Thomas Aquinas would see how foolish and counter-productive this is for both science and religion. The faith, he claimed, should always go out to meet the culture with confidence, and the culture should see its own deepest aspirations realized in the faith.

Secondly, Thomas knew that the Creator God of the Bible is the only finally satisfying explanation for the existence of the contingent things of the world. He was deeply impressed by the actual existence of those things that do not contain within themselves the reason for their being. Clouds, trees, plants, animals, human beings, buildings, planets, and stars certainly exist, but they don’t have to exist. This means, he saw, that their being is not self-explanatory, that it depends, finally, on some primordial reality which does exist through the power of its own essence. This “necessary” being is what Thomas called “God.” He was moved by the correspondence between this philosophical sense of God and the self-designation that God gives in Exodus 3:14: “I am who I am.” How significant this is in our time when “new” atheists have raised their voices to dismiss belief in God as a holdover from a pre-scientific time. Thomas would remind the Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins of the world that no scientific advance could ever, even in principle, eliminate the properly metaphysical question to which God is the only satisfying answer. God is not a superstitious projection of human need; rather, God is the reason why there is something rather than nothing.

Thirdly, Thomas Aquinas was a deep humanist, precisely because he was a Christian. He saw that since God became human in Christ, the destiny of the human being is divinization, participation in the inner life of God. No other religion or philosophy or social theory has ever held out so exalted a sense of human dignity and purpose. And this is why, Aquinas intuited, there is something inviolable about the human person. How indispensably important that teaching is in our era of stem-cell research, euthanasia, legalized abortion, and pre-emptive war, practices that turn persons into means.Thomas’s bones lie in that golden casket in Toulouse, but his mind and his spirit, thank God, still inform the counter-cultural voice of the church.