Mk 4:21-25
Jesus also said to them, “When the light comes, is it put under a basket or a bed? Surely it is put on a lamp stand. Whatever is hidden will be disclosed, and whatever is kept secret will be brought to light. Listen then, if you have ears!”
And he also said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. In the measure you give, so shall you receive, and still more will be given to you. For to the one who produces something, more will be given; and from him who does not produce anything, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
REFLECTION
We usually associate courage with action: the discovery of new lands, the facing of dangers on the high seas, the undertaking of tasks against impossible odds. And here we have dozens of novels and movies staging swashbuckling daredevils ready for adventure and excitement. That is courage, we spontaneously think. However, in reality that is merely physical courage. But there are other forms of courage, one of them being intellectual courage. Naturally it is much less impressive than physical courage, for it is not displayed in feats of action. Yet, it is every bit—and perhaps more—admirable than physical courage.
Today’s saint was a giant of the mind who, in his self-effacing manner, dared to attempt almost impossible goals: use the pagan philosophical system of Aristotle to express the Christian mystery in intelligible terms, plumb the ineffable being of God and explain his findings in simple and luminous words, utter about our whole human adventure definitions and descriptions which no one uttered before or after him. Aquinas-the-Courageous faced God’s mystery at every turn and never flinched from the challenge of trying to explore what is bottomless.
“For to the one who produces something, more will be given.”
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