My novitiate took place at Saint Stephen Priory in Dover, Massachusetts; it was a phenomenal tract of land, some 70 acres, situated on the Charles River. To say that the Priory was "remote" is an understatement-especially if you ask Fr. O'Donnell and others who craved paved sidewalks and neon signs as markers of civilization. There is much lore associated with St. Stephen's Priory, and each generation of novices and formators contribute to the repository of stories, each generation (let us say) "enhancing" what has gone before.

One constant thread entails those, escapades, known and unknown, that constituted "breaking the canonical novitiate" constituted as a one year plus one day. Lest I reveal the invalidity of someone's novitiate year, permit me to describe the story told me eliminating certain circumstances without revealing identities. Let us say that two novices, somewhat tired of the tedium of the novitiate routine decided to "slip out" to the movies under the guise of performing some essential duties for the Priory. One novice signed out the car with permission. The second, took a leisurely "spiritual walk" in the woods, with an appointed hour and place to rendezvous. (So far, so good.) The movie times and locales properly researched, they settled in for some entertainment back in the "real world." But so did the assistant novice master who was a few rows behind them. A quick backward glance before the lights dimmed, evidently addled at having been caught, the two novices sheepishly exited their rows-genuflected to the movie screen-and walked out.

Each cohort of religious can tell their own similar stories. Humorous they are. But, they also reveal a very deep struggle within us; that struggle manifests itself in one's relationship to law (whether ceremonial, canonical or civil). And yet, this struggle points to a more profound conflict with far more serious consequences-because it betrays our capacity for intimacy with God.

In this gospel, Jesus upbraids the scribes and Pharisees: "woe to you blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated. Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.' You blind ones, which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?"

Jesus rightly calls those that teach such tenets as "blind" and as "hypocrites": people who work a deception by feigned piety. We should also remember that in the verses which follow, Jesus upbraids them for scrupulosity, meticulous observance of the law, "tithing mint and dill and cumin and ...straining out the gnat." These blind guides impose heavy burdens upon the people: they want to exploit the law in two ways-ignoring the inherent contradiction of their actions and counsel.

Jesus' rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees exposes the primitive conflict regarding law and observance: on the one had, scrupulous observance that seemingly earns salvation, on the other, legal minimalism (that is, whatever constitutes the least effort that will satisfy the obligation). However, the Lord's final words state: our activities do not terminate in the fulfillment or avoidance of a checklist; instead, human actions "terminate" in the One seated on the Throne of God. "One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and Him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and Him who is seated on it." There is a decidedly upward movement here: altar, temple, throne, God Himself. In sum, God is not deceived by human slight of hand.

The same primitive conflict can infect the pursuit of the intellectual life (especially for religious who rank study among the defining observances of their life). Study can become an end in itself, to be exhaustively undertaken, especially in The Academy. Or, during initial formation, study may aim at the most minimal grasp of Divine Truth-sufficient to pass summative evaluations, as something simply to be "gotten through" to get on with "real life." In the former case, when study becomes an end in itself, practitioners become experts in the "first thirteen seconds of the 13th century" with little or no relevance to the needs of the Church or assistance to the world in which we live. There is no explicit reference to God or He becomes a remote referent, at best. Academe is rife with people comfortable in the rabbit warrens of specialization: whether that be of the Sacred Page itself or subsequent commentators, including our esteemed brother Thomas Aquinas. Textual archaeological digs remain a "dead word", the history of theology, not theology itself. On the other hand, minimal effort simply to attain the lowest acceptable standards for "certification"-as measured by various ecclesial or civil accrediting criteria-- hardly equips one to serve the Church or to constructively engage the dominant culture. After all, one cannot give what one does not have-especially if the discipline of study is anemic. Neither approach is a suitable reply to the one seated on the Throne. The PFIC is not a trade school; what we do here does not terminate in a set of propositions simply to be memorized, but in the Triune God.

Erudite specialization may achieve secular notoriety; it does not render one "worthy". Nor does the pursuit of Divine Truth with minimal expectation and effort render one "worthy". It is well to recall as the beginning of this academic year that what we teach, what we learn, and what we ponder are the Truths about God through which God Himself speaks to us. This sacra doctrina is dynamic; it means to render us worth of the calling to which the Triune God has summoned us. It is not a set of propositions neatly memorized. It is not the parsing of verbs of ancient languages to no purpose. It is not an archaeological dig on the word esse. It is not about the acquisition of "professional skills" as certifiable competencies. Rather, studying the sacra doctrina and its sub alternated sciences is about responding to God's pursuit of us under grace. The Triune God reaching through all eternity to you: to render you worthy of His calling, to powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and effort of faith, so that the name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified in you...and through you, the call to faith arises in others. Mysteriously, but truly. How great is your dignity in the plan of God!

What the professors teach is meant to change them in the process of preparation and instruction. What students learn is meant to change them in appropriating, not simply the doctrinal formulae, but Divine Truth Himself. At the core of each role is God beckoning us to contemplation, to prayer, to ever deeper self-communication and understanding. St. Thomas Aquinas succinctly teaches: "Sacred Doctrine essentially treats of God viewed as the highest cause-not only so far as He can be known through creatures just as philosophers knew Him--...but also so far as He is known to Himself alone and revealed to others." (Ia. 1.6 resp.), that is, to us.

I believe it Providential that our academic year begins on the Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, who devoted her life to contemplation and penance. She serves as a reminder to us that knowledge of God should lead us to desire more ardently contemplation of Triune God--and, in light of that ever unfolding intimacy, repentance for those ways in which we have preferred our own pursuits rather than what God wishes to reveal to us. If we are not to be charged with hypocrisy, rather, we must accept the ongoing conversion that genuine contemplative study entails-for it is by that transformative process that we are rendered "worthy" (haxsios) by God Himself to fulfill every good purpose and plan, to the praise of His name. Made worthy, we do not prefer our own pursuits which of themselves-however sophisticated-are sterile. Made worthy, we no longer plot how little we must do (like our fugitive novices!) to satisfy God's legitimate claim upon us. St. Rose herself "was upset that the [friars themselves] took too much time off for only speculative studies and ... said that she would rather that the exertions, labors, vigils and difficulties which were necessarily expended in obtaining speculative knowledge would be consumed in the just as necessary desire for enflaming the will with the love of God." (Canonization Process of St. Rose of Lima In sum, without the latter, the former does not render us "worthy."

Contemplative study involves grace and discipline, penance and conversion. There is no shortcut. There is no "minimal standard." There is no erudition that saves. There is no rule keeping that makes one secure. There is no evasion that will be tolerated. Your own fidelity will become the evidence of the just judgment of God, so that you may be considered worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering and striving alike.

This transformative process is the dynamic for professor and student alike, each proper to one's state in life, in service to the Church. It is fitting therefore that we now call forth Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., the newly appointed instructor in Patristics and Ancient Languages, to make his profession of faith and pledge, by oath, his fidelity to the deposit of faith and the magisterium. This act signal's Father's willingness to be rendered "worthy" in his service to the Church, advancing the Kingdom of God.