We have Aquinas

In my life I have been blessed by the presence of many good Dominican priests and nuns. Some were pastors, some teachers, and many just good friends. I don't say things like this lightly but I thank God all the time for sending them my way. They have been a great help and comfort to myself and my entire family in too many ways to count.

This Tuesday December 1st one of them, Sr. Willard Reagan, passed away. She was the guidance counselor at my kids' High School, St Alphonsus in Dearborn, Michigan. The school is gone but the memories and the relationships live on, even in death.

This probably means more to me than most folks can ever appreciate, and it has meaning on such a profound level that I doubt I can really fully explain it, but as soon as I learned of her passing I heard her voice in my head telling me, "We have Aquinas. We know."

A bit of background, which I'll keep as brief as I can. St. Thomas Aquinas is perhaps the greatest philosopher in Catholic history. His writings and preaching on life, the universe, and everything are a treasure trove of right thought on all the trouble in the world. He was also a Dominican monk, and the Dominican order of priests and sisters are justly proud of him. On a more personal note I take it as a mark of the Divine that Aquinas's feast day is me Pops birthday, January 28. I like that kind of serendipity.

One day as I was hanging around St. Alphonsus for whatever reason Sr. Willard spotted me. She was excited that a nephew of hers had been given the command of a ship in the US Navy. She was proud of that, and told me that of everyone she knew she thought I would appreciate the news best. I did; I was happy for her.

This led to a conversation about things of this Earth. We soon agreed that some things are really right, and others really wrong, no matter what any one person might think. Truth exists. And that's when she remarked, in a quietly confident tone, "We have Aquinas. We know."

Yes we do, Sr. Willard. We know. Not only from Aquinas, but from good teachers and leaders such as yourself. Godspeed.