Pope Benedict: St. Anselm and 'the Quest For Truth'

Pope Benedict XVI called on Christians to imitate Saint Anselm, Father of Scholasticism and Defender of the Rights of the Church.

GLADE PARK, Colorado (Catholic Online) - Pope Benedict XVI, on September 23, 2009, in an address to Wednesday's general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, called on Christians to imitate Saint Anselm. The saint is one of 33 Doctors of the Catholic Church, and is named the Father of Scholasticism, and Defender of the Rights of the Church.

Our Holy Father said that, in St. Anselm's view, "a true theologian's work is divided into three stages: faith, God's gratuitous gift to be welcomed with humility; experience, which consists in incarnating the Word of God into daily life; and true knowledge, which is never the fruit of sterile reasoning but of contemplative intuition."

At present, though, our society is moving in the opposite direction of that for which St. Anselm stood. Many seek knowledge precisely in contradiction to his principles. That is, through "sterile reasoning" lacking "contemplative intuition," our society moves further from true theology toward a corrupted view of reality as it is. One common cause of such a perilous situation is that humility is regularly jettisoned in favor of the god of "me". Thus, the majority of Americans prefer to forge an individualistic path, rather than walk the path of obedience in the way of the Cross. When one sets out in such a manner, relativism, destitute moral principles, and pernicious belief systems become the norm.

If there is any doubt as to just how far down the path of strangeness society has traveled, try a web search of terms such as "spirituality"; "religious beliefs"; or "the power of prayer". Next time you're in a bookstore, notice the shelves laden with books offering advice on everything from "setting free the inner self" to "merging inner potential and spiritual power for financial success".

Further, the New Age movement is worming its way into the minds of many unwary Christians, influencing their thoughts on worship, the afterlife, the nature of sin, and just about every other doctrine our Catholic Church has guarded for two-thousand years. Even the corporate world is hard at work employing New Age tenets, such as is found in the Human Potential Movement, in the disordered hope that such ideologies may glean greater productivity from workers. All this is, of course, no surprise to Catholics whose energetic, diligent focus on the truth of what our Lord Jesus Christ revealed allows for the penetration of the Father's light into the intellect.

Now, it is evident that there are many who are cutting themselves off from true reality as it is; by stubborn, willful and persistent errors in thinking, belief, and action. Let me expand on that:

Reality is what God says it is. And, God has revealed what we need to know of reality in the Deposit of Faith his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, left us that is guarded within the Catholic Church. This Deposit of Faith, which is divine public revelation, is our key to a life immersed in reality. That is, to live in reality is to assent completely and wholly to the faith and moral teachings of the Church. If we embrace dissent, we set ourselves against God, we remove ourselves from what is real. Rejection of what the Church teaches is to reality what water is to fire. Disobedience rips the fabric of reality; it quenches the action of the Holy Spirit; and can even sever our union with the Mystical Body of Christ. A pertinent example of this is found in the fact that disobedience can effect the eternal loss of the ultimate reality for which we were created; i.e., the loss of heaven.

We see severe manifestations of rejection and disobedience in the errors of pro-choice Christians who will say, "Well, I'm not for abortion," as they add with a shrewd smile, "But I'm not about to tell a woman she has no right to choose."

When we reject reality in dissent of the Catholic Church life itself erodes away into lifelessness, much as a branch cut off from its nourishing mother vine immediately begins to wither. Creation is, then, seen only under the cold, secular eye. Rather than the sky reflecting the eternal beauty and majesty of God, it becomes merely an occasionally interesting collection of condensed water vapors mixed with atmosphere. The divine glint in a child's eye goes unnoticed, while the nearly incessant, sinfully sensual images projected from a television are lusted after. Beauty becomes crudeness, light becomes darkness, truth becomes falseness. It is as if one is gazing out at the world through a sooted windowpane. The sun is out there somewhere, but only a dull glow remains.

What is the cure for such an illness?

"May I seek Thee, O Lord, by my desires - may I desire none but Thee in all my quest! May I find Thee by loving Thee, and may I love Thee when found" (Eadmer in St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, London: Sands & Co., 1911).

If we are to find God we must squarely face the fact that without Christ we are nothing, shall accomplish nothing, will become nothing. To find God is to seek in obedience; to love is to live for God under the law of obedience. Disobedience to Christ's Bride, which he gave to men in order to feed them truth in her words and life in her sacraments, separates us from all that is possible, relegating man to a beastly existence, where it becomes legal to kill the youngest, marry men to men, experiment on the voiceless, and convince the frail to end their life.

Saint Anselm, in his quest for truth, rejected what must be rejected, embraced what is, and set his gaze upon the light in the heights. His life was a continuous, flowing movement of intellect and will directed toward that open tundra where the Sun truly shines. Moreover, his existence was directed by theology; not any theology, but true theology. By applying himself in obedience to the Catholic Church, living in fervent prayer, and contemplating the mysteries of God and the Faith, St. Anselm grew in wisdom. He became a true theologian.

The true theologian welcomes God's "gratuitous gift" with "humility". True humility is not an impoverished view of self, but rather, to see one's self as a child of God in submission to His Majesty's authority in every way, in every aspect of one's life. This is accomplished by firmly willing of ourselves that we will learn what the Catholic Church teaches, assent to those truths, and live by them. Period. Even if it means the loss of career, friends, and earthly life itself.

In a letter to Pope Paschal II, St. Anselm wrote: 'I do not fear exile, or poverty, or torture or death: for being strong in God, my heart is ready to bear all these for obedience to the Apostolic See and the liberty of my mother, the Church of Christ."

In humble obedience we flower, displaying all the beautiful colors of love as persons existing to their fullest, truly infused with the divine life of sanctifying grace. What wonder! What Light! What Love you are, O God!

To be Catholic is to strive toward truth with our whole heart, mind and will, as St. Anselm. It is then we see clearly. It is then that we are truly children of God living in His Majesty's unfathomable reality of fiery love. It is then that the quest for truth merges with our thoughts and actions, with our very self. In that moment of union, Christ makes his home with us; the quest for truth culminates in a secure marriage of God to man. The world takes on new light, life becomes LIFE, and the soul soars in exhilaration under God's wings. Set out on the quest for truth.

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Author Bio: F. K. Bartels is a Catholic freelance writer who operates www.catholicpathways.com, and may be reached via email at bartels@catholicpathways.com. He is a new contributing writer for Catholic Online.

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