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by Mr. Benjamin Dominic Categories All  As a Catholic scientist, I fortunately have not struggled with reconciling my scientific profession with my Catholic faith. Truth cannot contradict truth, as Pope Leo XIII wrote in his encyclical Providentissimus Deus. Hence, whether truth comes from the use of reason (including the sciences) or Divine Revelation, it cannot contradict itself merely based on its source. This inspires confidence in any Catholic that the Catholic religion and science are ultimately harmonious, despite any seeming contradictions that may currently be present.
However, one obstacle I have faced as a Catholic scientist is of a vocational rather than intellectual nature. How can writing computer code, solving mathematical equations, or conducting laboratory experiments serve our Lord, lead others to Him, and foster my own growth in holiness? When I was discerning this vocation, it certainly felt that more “explicitly religious” choices (such as being a Catholic missionary or a teacher in a Catholic school) could serve our Lord and His will better. I found consolation in a Catholic astronomer whose cause of canonization has been opened. Paraphrasing his self-reflection on being a Catholic astronomer, he said, “I have the ability to take the stars into my hands, give them a voice, and make them praise their Creator.” [1] Something from this quote echoed the Canticle from the Book of Daniel (Dan 3:57-88, 56), which is prayed in the Liturgy of the Hours and includes invocations such as: Sun and moon, bless the Lord. Stars of heaven, bless the Lord. Nights and days, bless the Lord. Light and darkness, bless the Lord. Like the Catholic astronomer quoted above, is it not possible for every Catholic scientist -- astronomer, physicist, chemist, biologist, and more -- to similarly give voice to the natural objects they study, to praise and bless the Lord? Black holes and exoplanets, bless the Lord. Protons and electrons, bless the Lord. Hydrogen and helium, bless the Lord. DNA and RNA, bless the Lord. When viewed this way, pursuing a vocation to be a scientist may not appear to be “explicitly religious.” But, echoing the sentiments of St. Albert the Great (the patron saint of scientists) as well as Dominican priest-scientists I know personally, scientific research can be approached as an act of prayer, of praise, of worship of the Lord who made all the things I study. As a physicist, I too have the ability to take electrons and atoms “into my hands, give them a voice, and make them praise their Creator.” In this way, I can say with the writer of Wisdom, “For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator,” (Wis 13:5) or with St. Paul, “Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made.” (Rom 1:20) As I have found time and again, there is no real contradiction between being a Catholic and being a scientist. Even in this vocation, I can find a way to serve our Lord, bring others to know His grandeur through His creation, and grow in holiness through prayerful study myself. -------------- [1] Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I cannot relocate the article in which I read this! I believe it was from the official Vatican website. If it rings a bell and you find it, please let me know!
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by Mr. Benjamin Dominic Categories All St. Therese of Lisieux is a well-beloved saint of our modern times. Perhaps it is because she is the most recently living saint to be declared a Doctor of the Church. Perhaps it is a selection bias within my friend circle; they are mostly around the same age St. Therese was when she passed away, and might therefore be inspired by her combination of sanctity and youth. I think it is more likely that she is attractive because of her personality: simple, charming, endearing, and boldly confident in the Father’s love for her.
All of these aspects of her personality are reflected in her characteristic path of holiness, the “Little Way,” described as doing “small things with great love.” It is an inspiring truth for any person: holiness -- great holiness -- can be achieved by the simplest and smallest of us. It is the greatness of our love in even the smallest deed, and not necessarily the greatness of the deeds themselves, that matters most in light of eternity. Since this idea is so enlightening and inspiring for so many people, you can imagine my shock when I felt I had no idea what the Little Way really meant. In particular, I recall reading St. Therese say that “to pick up a pin for love of God can save souls,” but I did not understand what it meant (practically speaking) to “pick up a pin” with love. Did it mean to pick up a pin with the loving intention that someone else does not step on it and get hurt? That did not seem quite right! In my efforts to understand this, I found the letter of St. John and the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas to be helpful. St. John famously writes, "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. [...] God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." (1 Jn 4:7-8, 16) In parallel, consider the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas that God is Ipsum Esse, Being Itself (ST I, q.4, a.2). God is the First Cause; that is, no created thing is sufficient to explain its own existence. No created thing caused its own existence. Rather, any created thing is held in existence by the First Cause, by Being Itself, by God, without Whom it would cease to exist. And yet, putting the two together, Being Itself -- God -- is love. Every created thing that exists in the world is held in its existence by God’s continual love. In this way, everything we touch, see, and experience can serve as a constant reminder that God is loving us and holding all these things in existence through His love. And what is the proper response to this perpetual love? In my view, the Little Way is the proper response. If all that we are and all that we do is sustained by God’s perpetual love, the Love in which “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), then there is no action that cannot be offered back to God as a sign of our love for Him. [1] Every action, no matter how small, is simultaneously a reminder of God’s infinite love for us, and can be offered with great love back to Him. The Little Way is the presence of mind and will to say, with any action, “God, in this act I am aware that I am sustained and surrounded by Your infinite love for me. And, I respond by consecrating and offering my whole being, my whole self, and this act, back to You out of love for You. In this way, I abide in You and Your love, and invite You to abide in me and my acts.” Perhaps this drawn-out exposition has marred the simplicity of St. Therese’s writings and the Little Way. But, I hope it may be fruitful for those of you who think like me. -------------- [1] Of course, we cannot offer an act of sin out of love for God. As St. Thomas Aquinas teaches, evil (such as sin) is a privation of the good (ST I, q.49, a.1). |
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