Role Models
Besides my two patron saints, St. Francis & St. Dominic, I have two, relatively new, role models. God is calling me to do a lot of stuff with my life, and in all honesty I have no clue how to go about it. That’s why I identify with these two: Pope John Paul II the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Pope John Paul II
I relate most of all to him, not least because he helped influence me to become a Catholic long before I knew what exactly Catholicism was all about in high school (also I’m pretty sure he prayed for my conversion in Heaven along with the Blessed Mother, Francis, and Dominic as well.). But also, I find a lot of inspiration in him. He was always joyful, sincere, loving, did not sway in his beliefs nor back down when it came to morality and other causes. He also wrote poetry and plays, under pseudonyms so that it would be judged on its own merits and wouldn’t be held against his theological & philosophical writings (He wanted both to be judged on its own merits). As someone who likes to write fiction & poetry, I’m glad to see that I don’t have to choose between a career in theology & a life of writing, because John Paul II went before me and did both.
St. Thomas Aquinas
He is the Church’s theologian. The guy that everyone at some point or the other
refers back to. God granted him the wisdom to write great things and write he did. He’s know for the Summa Theologiae and Summa Contra Gentiles. But, most of St. Thomas’ time was spent commenting on Scriptures as an university master of theology. He may have thought those commentaries as his most important work. He also thought of the science of theology (from moral theology to Christology) as being unified and the foundation of that science is Scripture. So, as someone who is going to be studying biblical theology for a career, it is good to know that no matter how much my mind says otherwise, causes like being pro-life, defending the faith philosophically, evangelization etc. doesn’t have to be left at the door because it all goes back to Scripture and back to God (my mind is still a little bit Protestant with the either/or thinking than the Catholic and/both). St. Thomas is the best example of someone who got it right and didn’t compartmentalize, so neither should I.
Good role models eh?
