Pastor's Column 2-4-2024
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February 4, 2024Dear Parishioners,
Last Sunday I attended a celebration of St. Thomas Aquinas at Providence College. In attendance were the Dominican priests of the college, the Nashville Dominican Sisters who help at the college and at St. Pius V Parish in Providence, and many diocesan priests. Bishop Henning was also in attendance; once again showing that he is very active in the diocese. The celebration began with Sung Evening Prayer. When Seminarian Joseph Brodeur stayed with us one summer, we had Sung Evening Prayer at the parish. It is a great way to pray, and I hope to bring it back in the future. Following prayer everyone gathered for a nice meal and conversation. As Catholics we have a rich tradition of religious orders and communities and the Dominicans are a great example. We are fortunate that we have them here in the diocese.
I am an alumnus of Providence College. I graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s in philosophy. I attended PC while living at the seminary. It was a wonderful arrangement, and I am happy to say that the same system is in place today for seminarians studying to become priests at our local seminary in Providence. PC has many fine philosophy and theology teachers that will help them increase their knowledge. It has been said that philosophy is the “handmaid of theology;” that is, you need a solid philosophical grounding in order to do theology. Many a theology has gone awry because of bad philosophy.
Meanwhile over at our own school I have begun teaching 8th grade once a week. The content of my lessons is very philosophical. Before we even get into the truths of the faith we go over basic philosophical principals. For instance, we discuss logical fallacies, philosophical principles (e.g. Relativism, Utilitarianism, Realism, and so on), and ethics. We also debate the three main reasons why (according to Pew Research Institute) young people leave the faith: (1) the idea that science disproves religion; (2) the idea that religion is the cause of division and war; (3) the idea that religion exists just to make people feel good. Once we have a firm foundation in how to think, then we move on to learning about Christ.
In other news, our Parish Scout Troop held their Pinewood Derby and Pasta Dinner. It was a chance for our Scouts to demonstrate their engineering skills and have some fun competition. Our Scouts are an important part of the parish and help us in many ways. If you have a child or relative who would be interested, please contact Ray Chartier for more information.
God bless,
Fr. Barrow
