{"id":110255,"date":"2026-01-28T09:58:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=110255"},"modified":"2026-01-28T09:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:58:13","slug":"faith-and-reason-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/faith-and-reason-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith and Reason"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Faith and reason<\/a> are the shoes on your feet. You can travel further with both than you can with just one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(J. Michael Straczynski, “The Deconstruction of Falling Stars<\/a>“)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

T<\/span>oday<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> is the Feast of the Universal Doctor of the Church and one of my name Saints, Thomas Aquinas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When (certain) people, told of my conversion, said to me “oh, you’re Catholic – you don’t need to think any more”, I always pointed them to Thomas Aquinas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a guy who was observed simultaneously dictating three different books to three different scribes seated around him in a circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d like to share two quotes today for your reflection: one about a book about Saint Thomas (so that’s a third-class quote, yes?) and one by the Saint himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many years ago, my friend Father Bryan Dolejsi introduced me to a book on the spirituality of Saint Thomas<\/a> by Father (now Bishop) Robert Barron<\/a>, which I can highly recommend. In it, the author explores the intersection of faith and reason<\/a>, a topic that particularly fascinates me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bishop Barron uses the Saint’s writings to quickly dispel the notion that no such intersection exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greater part of the book, however, is aimed squarely at those who accuse Saint Thomas of overintellectualizing the faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s Bishop Barron himself taking the subject in hand:<\/p>\n\n\n\n