Word to the Wise
Monday, November 15, 2010 - St. Albert the Great, OP, theologian, scientist, bishop
[Revelation 1:1-4; 2:1-5 and Luke 18:35-43]As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man wa sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." He shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more...." [Luke]
When I was a young student brother (seminarian) studying theology in Dubuque, IA, there was a grand statue of St. Albert the Great in a courtyard. My recollection is that he had a book in one hand and a frog in the other! He is one of the great intellectual heroes of the Dominican order. He was a pioneer in the use of Aristotle's philosophy in theology as well as a noted scientist in his day. He was the principal mentor for the young Thomas Aquinas (and outlived him by six years). For the first 15 years of my Dominican life, I was a member of the Dominican province of St. Albert the Great, headquartered in Chicago, IL. I learned well about our brother, Albert! In his recently released "apostolic exhortation," which is meant to sum up the fruits of the synod on the role of scripture in the life of the church (2008!), Pope Benedict XVI points out - among many things - that the text of scripture may give birth to reflections that do not necessarily match the literal meaning but draw their inspiration from it. Today's gospel incident has done just that for me. The crowd surrounding Jesus tries to silence the beggar by the road. His loud persistence and faith gain him a hearing and a healing. Some of the greatest advances in theology in our church have come about in just that way. Albert and Thomas and many other great theologians in the church suffered and continue to suffer from those who crowd around the truth and try to keep other voices from being heard. But truth speaks to Truth and Jesus realized the truth of the faith in the blind beggar, even if the crowd considered the beggar a nuisance. The works of Thomas Aquinas were condemned and burned by the Bishop of Paris in 1277! In our own day, Fr. Yves Congar, O.P. was silenced and exiled because his teaching threatened certain "powers that be." He was to become one of the great theological architects of the Second Vatican Council. Fr. Marie-Joseph LaGrange, O.P., founder of the premier biblical research institution in the church, the Ecole Biblique de Jerusalen, was silenced for his writings on the Old Testament. He is now considered one of the greatest founders of modern biblical research! The powerful "crowd" that tries to surround and "protect" Jesus may mean well but it may have the ironic effect of "bottling up" the truth and keeping it from growing from the faith and insight and needs of others. Saint Albert the Great was a pioneer in theology, philosophy and natural science. His openness to new learning, represented by the texts of Aristotle's philosophy (ironically, an ancient resource), should serve as a example to any of us who may be in a crowd trying to provide bodyguards to the Truth! AMEN
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