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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Reason and Mystery

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · December 22, 2012

OMETIMES YOU HEAR people say that reasoning and mystery are opposed to each other—that the logical deductions one finds in, say, the Summa theologiae of Saint Thomas Aquinas, or even the precise dogmatic formulations of the Church’s Magisterium, are somehow at odds with the simple acceptance of mysteries of faith that human words can never explain. But this is to see things quite incorrectly. Doctrinal definition and theological exploration only intensify the ineffable truth that no formula can exhaust, by bringing its depth of mystery more fully to light. In Catholicism both “extremes” are given full play: reason, which may go as far as it dares and can, embracing the pagan wisdom of every land and time, trembling with its fragile power like a delicate blossom proud to have burst up through the cold ground of March; mystery, which exalts to infinity the caliginous light, the luminous darkness, the incomprehensible truth of God, precisely on account of, by means of, in the “face” of, questing reason. Saint Thomas on the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Eucharist, shows us human reason at its peak, where it bows down humbly in adoration. The form of the Summa and of its every article is the archetypal form of a quest for the Grail of truth, a quest made urgent not only by the inner joy of seeking but by the continual danger of perilous detours; a pilgrimage taken by the soul journeying into God, walking by its “own” power, sustained by the power and grace of God endowing it at every moment with the power that it may call its own (participated theonomy). Each extreme of theology is what it is because of the other, and to the questing soul the denial of the one is the loss of the other. Tell reason not to search, and the unsearchable mystery will become a mystery unsearched; let haughty reason tell itself that the divine is comprehensible, and at the same moment, as though by an evil spell one must never utter, it withers at its source, collapses inwardly and dies. Dispelling mystery, you take away the heart of the mind; dispelling reason, you take away the mind of the heart. And in either event, the mind and heart of love is also afflicted for its sins. This is when clerical dissipation, ecclesial polemics, and lukewarmness have their day in the sun. Let us pray and work for a full restoration of Catholic theology, Catholic spirituality, and Catholic culture—for these three stand or fall together.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

About Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (B.A. in Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy), Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is currently Professor at Wyoming Catholic College. He is also a published and performed composer, especially of sacred music.

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Quick Thoughts

Can You Spare 33 Seconds?

Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

—Jeff Ostrowski
5 April 2021 • When Girls Sing

Covid restrictions here in California are still extremely severe—switching “two weeks to flatten the curve” into “two years to flatten the curve.” Since 2020, we’ve had police breaking into our church to check if everyone is wearing a mask…even when only 5-6 people are present! But we were allowed to have a small percentage of our singers back on Easter Sunday, and here is their live recording of the ancient Catholic hymn for Eastertide: Ad Cenam Agni Providi. The girls were so very excited to sing again—you can hear it in their voices!

—Jeff Ostrowski
29 March 2021 • FEEDBACK

“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Except the psalms or canonical Scriptures of the new and old Testaments, nothing composed poetically shall be sung in church, as the holy canons command.”

— ‘Council of Braga, 563AD’

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