flying elephants and lying friars
For this homily I would like to thank Paul for coming to my room last night and told me this little anecdote which happened in the life of St. Thomas Aquinas. The story as Paul told it to me goes this way.
One day St. Thomas Aquinas, a student just like you, was caught sleeping while his teacher, a friar, was giving a lecture. The friar upon seeing him asleep suddenly shouted pointing towards the window, “there’s an elephant flying.” Thomas suddenly woke up and in excitement run to the window to see the flying elephant pass by. His classmates and the friar laughed saying, “only a dumb fool would believe that an elephant can fly.” St. Thomas, terribly slighted and embarrassed looked at his teacher and said, “It is easier to believe that an elephant can fly than to believe that a friar can tell a lie.”
Today in this feast of St. Thomas Aquinas I would like to speak about his first love and the only thing that mattered to him most in his life - the truth. That is all that mattered for him. As he said, “to seek the truth in charity”. That would be his lifetime mission. He studied it, labored for it, and sought it. Because of it he will be called the Angelic Doctor because of the loftiness of his doctrine, and Doctor Communis because of the depth and breadth of his teaching. His heroic struggle to understand and grasp the truth would land him the title, Patron of all Catholic schools, and his love for the truth would make him, as canon law would say, the teacher of seminarians preparing for the priesthood. The truth – to seek the truth.
Today in contrast, the first reading speaks about the exact opposite of what St. Thomas sought. For if Thomas sought to seek the truth, David sought to perpetuate the lie. If Thomas sought to uncover the truth, David sought to cover and hide the lie. It is providence guiding us today to make us know the truth by putting it side by side with the lie for one can only see the brilliance of a diamond when it is placed side by side with mud and mire.
Last night I was disturbed – disturbed because I got angry with some of you High School seminarians who did not have a fork and a spoon. Disturbed to the point that I asked Ivan Latumbo to buy for you fork and spoon so that you can eat properly come breakfast. Disturbed because I didn’t know that some of you, or even most of you would have a bigger problem to handle and face in the days ahead, bigger, much, much bigger than simply having no fork and spoon. I am sorry if I did not recognize it at first. I am sorry for that insensitivity so to say for indeed you have a problem.
Your problem is lying in its worst forms – dishonesty and cheating, both of which are rooted in a lack of love for the truth or to be more blunt about it your fear of the truth. The days ahead will be difficult for all of us, and our community will again be disturbed. Why? Because we have violated the truth, we have violated trust, we have destroyed integrity, we have maligned our honor, we have destroyed the very thing that binds us together. From now on we will hold each other in mutual suspicion. From now on we will be watching and scrutinizing each others act, bantayanay naman kita.
I have talked to you just the other night about dishonesty in the form of stealing. Now we have to confront once more the same evil of dishonesty in the form of cheating. Indeed it is more believable that an elephant can fly than a seminarian to tell a lie – the lie in all its forms. I am not talking about white lies. I am talking about dishonesty.
The patron of our school – all catholic schools and seminarians who prepare themselves for the priesthood – Thomas Aquinas is a lover of the truth and yet we have become so low we are fast becoming into a community of liars, cheaters and dishonest men.
And so where are we going from here? I don’t know, but God is teaching us something so important a lesson today. The event that happened to the HS is an eye opener for all of us. It tells us where we are at the moment, it tells us who we are, and we are ashamed by what we see considering especially the number of those involved and the scandal that it must have caused most of the first year HS.
The first reading reminds us of the danger of living in the lie, the danger of covering the truth and of living dishonest lives. Like David we will not be free again until we face the truth with courage. Like David we will jump from sin to sin, from lie to another lie, from dishonesty to another dishonesty in our attempt to cover things up. That is why I could not understand why some of you would still want to go to Janiuay for the fiesta. This is not the time to feast. This is the time to fast.
Lastly, the feast of St. Thomas encourages us to seek the truth always. The man who makes it his life’s business and mission to seek the truth and live it, will have nothing to fear. The truth will set you free. Now we can all better understand this phrase, because today we are no longer free. Today we live in fear. Today we suffer the consequences of living in the lie.
One day St. Thomas Aquinas, a student just like you, was caught sleeping while his teacher, a friar, was giving a lecture. The friar upon seeing him asleep suddenly shouted pointing towards the window, “there’s an elephant flying.” Thomas suddenly woke up and in excitement run to the window to see the flying elephant pass by. His classmates and the friar laughed saying, “only a dumb fool would believe that an elephant can fly.” St. Thomas, terribly slighted and embarrassed looked at his teacher and said, “It is easier to believe that an elephant can fly than to believe that a friar can tell a lie.”
Today in this feast of St. Thomas Aquinas I would like to speak about his first love and the only thing that mattered to him most in his life - the truth. That is all that mattered for him. As he said, “to seek the truth in charity”. That would be his lifetime mission. He studied it, labored for it, and sought it. Because of it he will be called the Angelic Doctor because of the loftiness of his doctrine, and Doctor Communis because of the depth and breadth of his teaching. His heroic struggle to understand and grasp the truth would land him the title, Patron of all Catholic schools, and his love for the truth would make him, as canon law would say, the teacher of seminarians preparing for the priesthood. The truth – to seek the truth.
Today in contrast, the first reading speaks about the exact opposite of what St. Thomas sought. For if Thomas sought to seek the truth, David sought to perpetuate the lie. If Thomas sought to uncover the truth, David sought to cover and hide the lie. It is providence guiding us today to make us know the truth by putting it side by side with the lie for one can only see the brilliance of a diamond when it is placed side by side with mud and mire.
Last night I was disturbed – disturbed because I got angry with some of you High School seminarians who did not have a fork and a spoon. Disturbed to the point that I asked Ivan Latumbo to buy for you fork and spoon so that you can eat properly come breakfast. Disturbed because I didn’t know that some of you, or even most of you would have a bigger problem to handle and face in the days ahead, bigger, much, much bigger than simply having no fork and spoon. I am sorry if I did not recognize it at first. I am sorry for that insensitivity so to say for indeed you have a problem.
Your problem is lying in its worst forms – dishonesty and cheating, both of which are rooted in a lack of love for the truth or to be more blunt about it your fear of the truth. The days ahead will be difficult for all of us, and our community will again be disturbed. Why? Because we have violated the truth, we have violated trust, we have destroyed integrity, we have maligned our honor, we have destroyed the very thing that binds us together. From now on we will hold each other in mutual suspicion. From now on we will be watching and scrutinizing each others act, bantayanay naman kita.
I have talked to you just the other night about dishonesty in the form of stealing. Now we have to confront once more the same evil of dishonesty in the form of cheating. Indeed it is more believable that an elephant can fly than a seminarian to tell a lie – the lie in all its forms. I am not talking about white lies. I am talking about dishonesty.
The patron of our school – all catholic schools and seminarians who prepare themselves for the priesthood – Thomas Aquinas is a lover of the truth and yet we have become so low we are fast becoming into a community of liars, cheaters and dishonest men.
And so where are we going from here? I don’t know, but God is teaching us something so important a lesson today. The event that happened to the HS is an eye opener for all of us. It tells us where we are at the moment, it tells us who we are, and we are ashamed by what we see considering especially the number of those involved and the scandal that it must have caused most of the first year HS.
The first reading reminds us of the danger of living in the lie, the danger of covering the truth and of living dishonest lives. Like David we will not be free again until we face the truth with courage. Like David we will jump from sin to sin, from lie to another lie, from dishonesty to another dishonesty in our attempt to cover things up. That is why I could not understand why some of you would still want to go to Janiuay for the fiesta. This is not the time to feast. This is the time to fast.
Lastly, the feast of St. Thomas encourages us to seek the truth always. The man who makes it his life’s business and mission to seek the truth and live it, will have nothing to fear. The truth will set you free. Now we can all better understand this phrase, because today we are no longer free. Today we live in fear. Today we suffer the consequences of living in the lie.
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