Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

CHAPTER 5: INTELLECTUAL FORMATION | 71

cannot enter into the idea of any other sort of religion; religion, as a mere sentiment, is to me a dream and a mockery.” 153

184. Perhaps most importantly, intellectual formation nourishes our love for God. No one can love the unknown, and the one who loves can never know enough about the beloved. Our relationship with God is no exception. We learn directly about him through the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church. This study is the work of both grace and nature, culminating in a conversion of heart, a genuine renewal of mind. “Do not conform yourselves to this age,” St. Paul wrote to the Romans, “but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:2). We also learn about God indirectly through the wider panorama of intellectual formation. In a sense, every field of human knowledge can give us glimpses of the divine, whether we are captured by the beauty of a sunset, the stunning majesty of faraway galaxies, or the intricate beauty of organic cells—whether we are studying the great works of literature or music or sorting through the complexities of human history. For believers who know that nothing is outside the Providence of God, everything we learn becomes an occasion to find him in new ways. The intellect is made to grasp reality and penetrate its meaning. Since no part of our life falls outside its influence, ongoing intellectual formation is a thread that binds the four dimensions of priestly formation together. In the human dimension, for instance, study is a way for us priests to broaden our perspective, stimulate creativity, generate enthusiasm for new ideas, and encourage healthy habits. In the spiritual dimension, study increases our knowledge of God and the things of God, fostering a habit of theology in the widest sense, that is, seeing everything from a supernatural point of view. In disciplining the mind to focus, study promotes interiority as well as the self-control needed to live a regular plan of life, including the spiritual practices that are the “occasions of grace” described in chapter four. By providing matter for prayer and opening a space for solitude and quiet, study can contribute to a more contemplative life for us as priests. 185. 186. 187.

153 St. John Henry Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, 1865, chap. 2, newmanreader.org/works/apologia65/chap ter2.html.