Intellectual Formation: Understanding the Faith
51. Intellectual formation has its own characteristics, but
it is also deeply connected with, and indeed can be seen as a necessary
expression of, both human and spiritual formation: It is a fundamental demand
of the human intelligence by which one "participates in the light of God's
mind" and seeks to acquire a wisdom which in turn opens to and is directed
toward knowing and adhering to God.(156)
The intellectual formation of candidates for the priesthood
finds its specific justification in the very nature of the ordained ministry,
and the challenge of the "new evangelization" to which our Lord is
calling the Church on the threshold of the third millennium shows just how
important this formation is. "If we expect every Christian," the synod
fathers write, "to be prepared to make a defense of the faith and to
account for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pt. 3:15), then all the more should
candidates for the priesthood and priests have diligent care of the quality of
their intellectual formation in their education and pastoral activity. For the
salvation of their brothers and sisters they should seek an ever deeper
knowledge of the divine mysteries."(157) The present situation is heavily
marked by religious indifference, by a widespread mistrust regarding the real
capacity of reason lo reach objective and universal truth, and by fresh
problems and questions brought up by scientific and technological discoveries.
It strongly demands a high level of intellectual formation, such as will enable
priests to proclaim, in a context like this, the changeless Gospel of Christ
and to make it credible to the legitimate demands of human reason. Moreover,
there is the present phenomenon of pluralism, which is very marked in the field
not only of human society but also of the community of the Church herself. It
demands special attention to critical discernment: It is a further reason
showing the need for an extremely rigorous intellectual formation.
These "pastoral" reasons for intellectual
formation reconfirm what has been said above concerning the unity of the
educational process in its diverse aspects. The commitment to study, which
takes up no small part of the time of those preparing for the priesthood, is
not in fact an external and secondary dimension of their human, Christian,
spiritual and vocational growth. In reality, through study, especially the
study of theology, the future priest assents to the word of God, grows in his
spiritual life and prepares himself to fulfill his pastoral ministry. This is
the many sided and unifying scope of the theological study indicated by the
Council (158) and reproposed by the synod' s Instrumentum Laboris: "To be
pastorally effective, intellectual formation is to be integrated with a
spirituality marked by a personal experience of God. In this way a purely
abstract approach to knowledge is overcome in favor of that intelligence of
heart which knows how 'to look beyond,' and then is in a position to
communicate the mystery of God to the people."(159)
52. A crucial stage of intellectual formation is the study
of philosophy, which leads to a deeper understanding and interpretation of the
person, and of the person's freedom and relationships with the world and with
God. A proper philosophical training is vital, not only because of the links between
the great philosophical questions and the mysteries of salvation which are
studied in theology under the guidance of the higher light of faith,(160) but
also vis - a - vis an extremely widespread cultural situation which emphasizes
subjectivism as a criterion and measure of truth: Only a sound philosophy can
help candidates for the priesthood to develop a reflective awareness of the
fundamental relationship that exists between the human spirit and truth, that
truth which is revealed to us fully in Jesus Christ. Nor must one underestimate
the importance of philosophy as a guarantee of that "certainty of
truth" which is the only firm basis for a total giving of oneself to Jesus
and to the Church. It is not difficult to see that some very specific questions,
such as that concerning the priest's identity and his apostolic and missionary
commitment, are closely linked to the question about the nature of truth, which
is anything but an abstract question: If we are not certain about the truth,
how can we put our whole life on the line, how can we have the strength to
challenge others' way of living?
Philosophy greatly helps the candidate to enrich his
intellectual formation in the "cult of truth," namely, in a kind of
loving veneration the truth, which leads one to recognize that the truth is not
created or measured by man but is given to man as a gift by the supreme truth,
God; that, albeit in a limited way and often with difficulty, human reason can
reach objective and universal truth, even that relating to God and the radical
meaning of existence; and that faith itself cannot do without reason and the
effort of "thinking through" its contents, as that great mind
Augustine bore witness: "I wished to see with my mind what I have
believed, and I have argued and labored greatly."(161)
For a deeper understanding of man and the phenomena and
lines of development of society, in relation to a pastoral ministry which is as
"incarnate" as possible, the so - called "human sciences"
can be of considerable use, sciences such as sociology, psychology, education,
economics and politics, and the science of social communication. Also in the
precise field of the positive or descriptive sciences, these can help the
future priest prolong the living "contemporaneousness" of Christ. As
Paul VI once said, "Christ became the contemporary of some men and spoke
their language. Our faithfulness to him demands that this contemporaneousness
should be maintained."(162)
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