Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

GOFP 194

Chapter 5: Intellectual Formation

calmness and poise. He has a healthy love for secular knowledge, both cultural and scientific, and cultivates an interest in social trends, public affairs, and his own intellectual passions. These are some ways that the priest can read “the signs of the times” and, as the Council taught, address them in “in the light of the Gospel.” 193 A wider intellectual vision also enables a priest to articulate the Catholic faith in a way that is beautiful and compelling. 161 Moreover, he can defend the truth of Catholic teaching because he has considered opposing arguments seriously, recognizing in many of them a well-intentioned desire to seek the truth. He assumes neither malice nor irrationality in those who object to Catholic doctrine. His presentation of the Gospel, in other words, satisfies the deepest longings of his people, because he has felt those longings himself. This mature open-mindedness, shared by all great apologists through the centuries, most effectively clears away others’ intellectual obstacles to belief and reinforces his own confidence in the truth taught by the Church. Thirst for Intellectual Growth 194 The third marker of the intellectual dimension is perhaps also the most difficult to articulate. It is an interior hunger for the truth, not as a private hobby or as an idiosyncratic and academic curiosity, but from a deep desire to know ever more about the One we love. This marker recognizes that intellectual formation is, like the other areas of formation, not a static achievement. Knowing our Catechism is not enough, nor is proficiency in the theological and mystical tradition. An atheist could memorize the Bible, the Catechism , and

161 “Since . . . human culture and the sacred sciences are making new advances, priests are urged to develop their knowledge of divine and human affairs aptly and uninterruptedly. In this way they will prepare themselves more appropriately to undertake discussions with their contemporaries.” PO, no. 19.

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