Art Cordova
Staff Writer
“God gave you a mind … He wants you to give it back,” were words that impressed on every heart from Father Gregory Pine O.P. for the Thomistic Institute’s inaugural talk on Sept. 16 in Christ the Teacher conference hall.
The new Franciscan chapter of the Thomistic Institute hosted Pine on Monday, calling the student body to hear, “Does Study Save?” a lecture on the salvific aspects of studying. For working — and passionately Catholic — college students, many of us were dying to hear about the redeeming nature of our late-night study sessions.
He began simply and clearly, “You don’t need to be smart to be Holy, but you need to try.” We need to be in love with the Catholic intellectual tradition. He said, “It will always be easier to watch Netflix … but the Lord set a table of truth … and that’s hard. We’ve all opened up a book and thought, ‘You know what would be a great way to start this study session? YouTube shorts.’”
He told us that the road to salvation is hard, but that God wants us to grow in virtues, and when we ask for His assistance, He will give us the Gifts to live out those virtues well.
The talk consisted then of an explanation of what study is about. To Pine, it is about cultivating three essential virtues: Studiousness – the love for what we ought to know; Wisdom; and play – the ability to delight in things for their own sake.
Studying helps to bolster these virtues. Through studiousness, we cultivate a love for the Truth of the Lord in Himself and his creation. So keep up with those chem labs, book reports and presentations, students; you’re finding the truth of the Lord.
Through wisdom, we learn how to apply that knowledge. Pine approached wisdom under the lens of “how we act out the love of the Lord.” In Wisdom, we discern how we communicate God’s love to others, as our study, with all things, should be ordered here on earth to show God’s love to our fellow man.
Pine wrapped his definitions by describing how we seek to grow in our liberal education to ultimately free ourselves — what he describes as “play.”
To find how God wishes us to delight in Him as, eventually, in heaven we will simply delight in Him. While here on earth, though, we can grow in our delight of Him by learning more about Him, His creation, and His Wisdom.
He ended the night speaking to those who may have doubts about our vocations as students and our worries about what comes next after university. Pine said to us, “God doesn’t need you … and I say that to free you. He delights in you and is excited to see what comes out of your life.”
Afterward, I had the exceptional opportunity to interview the president of the Thomistic Institute chapter on campus, Grace Simcox, an undergraduate theology and philosophy major, and vice president Sam Tallen, an undergraduate theology student.
When asked what the mission of the institute was, they responded that “The Institute is meant to promote and teach the thinking of St. Thomas Aquinas, and for Franciscan, the goal is for our forming missionaries, priests and most especially parents. What we want to do is bring the Catholic intellectual tradition, the truths of the faith, both in and out of the classroom, and perpetuate the importance of that.”
Tallen added that the Institute offers “Intellectual formation and background of what (students) are already experiencing in the heart.”
When asked how their vision would work on the notably Franciscan and charismatic campus, Simcox responded, “The charismatic gifts are essential in building up the kingdom here on earth … as (Pine) said, ‘Our talents and gifts are our means, fulfilled in each of our discerned vocations.’ Thomism teaches that unity between the intellect and the heart, and this message is one to help the vocation-seeking hearts of our students.”
The Thomistic Institute will be promoting two book clubs, including one on G.K. Chesterton’s biography of St. Thomas Aquinas, a study of the Summa hosted by professor of theology, Dr. Michael Sirila.