The Dominican Order’s Intellectual Service in the Church

The Thomist 73 (2009): 129-43 THE DOMINICAN ORDER'S INTELLECTUAL SERVICE IN THECHURCH1 WOJCIECH GIERTYCH, 0.P. Theologian of the Papal Household Vatican City WHEN I WAS A CHILD, during the pontificate of Pius XII, as far as I can remember it seems that various realities in the Church were more distinct than they are now. Prayer, and in particular liturgical prayer, was understood as something very sacred and objective. Even though the priest was not hidden behind an iconostasis as in the Orthodox liturgy, he was in front of the high altar, celebrating in Latin, and the faithful joined in that celebration primarily through their acts of faith. Catechesis was understood to be an intellectual instruction in which children were required to memorize formulae, such as catechism answers, or the Creed, or certain prayers, the full meaning of which the children did not understand, the assumption being that bit by bit, throughout life, the significance of these formulae would be grasped. Catechesis was addressed to the mind, which had to adhere to truths that by no means are obvious. Moral formation was primarily given in the families and, to a lesser extent, in other social groups, like the school or the scout troop, where, somewhat like in the catechumenates of antiquity, one entered into a living way of life, being corrected on the way by the older and wiser so that the personal moral dispositions, the virtues, would be formed. 1 This article was presented at a convocation marking the formal dedication of the new Academic Center and Theological Library at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. (18 April 2009). 129 130 WOJCIECH GIERTYCH, O.P. The clear distinction between the supernatural dimension of prayer and liturgy, the intellectual dimension in faith of catechesis , and the moral dimension in life allowed for a comprehensive formation of the decisive components of the personality. It seems that now, these three realities have become more intermingled. The liturgy is often treated as a moment of catechesis or as a social gathering, or even worse, as a moment of artistic entertainment. Moral formation in families and schools has been grossly reduced, and catechesis seems to focus primarily on "experiences." The major focus seems to be on "happenings." One may wonder, what is the difference between a World Youth Day, a sacramental liturgy, a catechetical session, or even a mass demonstration? Everything seems to be addressed to an emotional , colorful, but ephemeral and transient "experience." We need liturgies that go beyond moral and pedagogical instruction and beyond social celebration, in which the objective, instrumental causality of the sacramental rites-celebrated in the name of Christ-is accessed through an active faith.2 We need an instruction that forms the mind, supplying clear, coherent, and cohesive concepts, even when they refer to a mysterious reality that one encounters through prayer, both private and liturgical. That instruction should furnish the mind, allowing one to have convictions, to be able to say: "We hold these truths!", thus offering a solid structure on which intellectual and moral virtues can be based. And we need schools of life in which growth in these virtues is nurtured by a living community. Just as in antiquity mature Christians enabled adult catechumens to work out the practical implications of the mystery into which they were about to be immersed, so similar catechumenates run by more experienced Christians need perhaps to be established, preparing for the grasping of and habituation in the practical implications of 2 STh III, q. 62, a. 1, ad 2: "Corporeal sacraments by their operation, which they exercise on the body that they touch, accomplish through the Divine institution an instrumental operation on the soul" ("Sacramenta corporalia per propriam operationem, quam exercent circa corpus quam tangunt, efficiunt operationem instrumentalem ex virtute divina circa animam"). Cf. David Berger, Thomas Aquinas and the Liturgy (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Sapientia Press, 2004), 77-78. THE DOMINICAN ORDER'S INTELLECTUAL SERVICE 131 the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, for the fruitful reception of penance and the Eucharist, and for Christian marriage, just as the Church provides a long and carefully tuned preparation for the holy priesthood. I. A FEW QUESTIONS...