Cardinal Burke: Become a Partner in this Work of Mercy

Dear Catholic Friend,

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, so rich in graces for all who seek them with a contrite heart, I want to introduce you to Thomas Aquinas College, an institution that is dedicated to one of the great spiritual works of mercy: the instruction of the ignorant in the truth.

The education of young people is of the utmost importance to Holy Mother the Church, for it is through Catholic educational institutions, in cooperation with Catholic families, that the Church’s teachings and discipline, her worship and devotion, and her traditions are handed down from one generation to the next. As essential as genuine Catholic education is to the life of the Church, it is also an indispensable tool in the transformation of our culture, so sorely in need of the truth and love communicated to us by Christ alone.

At the outset, I want you to know of my profound esteem for the Catholic higher education which is imparted at Thomas Aquinas College, a school founded on a loyalty to the Chair of Peter and to the Magisterium of the Church. I first visited its campus in 2001 and it has been my privilege to know the work of the College for many years now and to witness how it remains ever faithful to its Catholic identity.

Catholic Education is a Complete Education

I speak of Catholic education as a complete education, that is, the development of reason through the competent imparting of knowledge and skills within the context of the Faith.

Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical letter Divini Illius Magistri, described a Catholic or Christian education with these words:

…Christian education takes in the whole aggregate of human life, physical and spiritual, intellectual and moral, individual, domestic and social, not with a view of reducing it in any way, but in order to elevate, regulate and perfect it, in accordance with the example and teaching of Christ.

Hence the true Christian, product of Christian education, is the supernatural man who thinks, judges and acts constantly and consistently in accordance with right reason illumined by the supernatural light of the example and teaching of Christ; in other words, to use the current term, the true and finished man of character. …

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n my regular contact with Thomas Aquinas College, I have always been most deeply impressed by the tireless effort to impart just such an education.

The school’s curriculum itself is complete, spanning the breadth of the arts and sciences: logic, mathematics, natural science, Latin, literature, music, philosophy and theology. Instead of specializing in one small area, students at Thomas Aquinas College receive a comprehensive education much like what was offered by the great universities of the Middle Ages. These young people do not read textbooks; instead they study the Great Books, the original works of the greatest minds in Western Civilization: Euclid, Homer, Cicero, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, St. Augustine, and many more, including, of course, Saint Thomas Aquinas.

The College’s aim, however, is not simply that its students become familiar with the great Western Canon of thought, but that by studying the great works they come to an understanding — at least in a preliminary way — of the truth about nature, man, and God Who made them. And because all of the College’s classes are conducted as rigorous discussions, students become engaged in their own education. The give and take of the classroom conversation sharpens their powers of reason, analysis, and articulation — fundamental skills necessary for success in any discipline or profession.

Moreover, unlike many Catholic institutions of our day, which have lost their Catholic identity, Thomas Aquinas College, in its pursuit of truth, takes as its sure guide the Magisterium of the Church. It also takes care to appoint faculty members who are themselves Catholics and Christians, attested to by the Oath of Fidelity and the Profession of Faith that each makes. Moreover, theology teachers hold a Mandatum from the local ordinary, Archbishop José Gomez, ensuring that what they teach in the classroom is in accordance with the mind of the Church.

A Deep Love of Christ and His Church

Students at Thomas Aquinas College thus receive an outstanding education and are impressive in the breadth of their knowledge and their ability to defend the truth. Yet all the brilliance in the world and all the study in the world leave one absolutely bereft, if there is not first and foremost a deep love of Christ, God Incarnate, and of His Church. I am happy to report that this is just what I find in the graduates of Thomas Aquinas College.

Following the example of their faculty members, students regularly attend daily Mass and avail themselves of the sacrament of penance, of spiritual direction from chaplains who live on campus, and of a wide array of devotions that occur regularly on the College’s campus. These young people have a vibrant spiritual life, and I am deeply heartened by their reverence during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

An Education to Transform the Culture

The strong liberal arts education at Thomas Aquinas College, integrated with the vital practice of the Catholic faith, provides students with the intellectual and spiritual means to serve in the best possible way our Lord Jesus Christ in the vocation and work to which He calls them. I am convinced that it is only just such a complete education that can transform our culture. For these young people are able to give effective witness both in word and deed to the truth of natural marriage and family life — and to be champions of the unborn — all under serious assault in our time. Indeed, I have been witness to how graduates of Thomas Aquinas College are effective, joyous, and courageous agents of the transformation of culture in their homes and in their various endeavors.

Already, there are 65 priests among the College’s alumni, more than 20 seminarians, and over 40 professed religious sisters and brothers. Some have devoted their lives to prayer, while others are at work in the vineyard of the Lord as pastors of parishes, seminary professors, and teachers at all levels. What a tremendous influence they are having within the Church through their faithful transmission of her doctrine, prayer, worship, and devotions.

Formed by the Great Books, by the Sacraments, and by the devotional life of the Church, Thomas Aquinas College alumni who take up professions in law, medicine, public policy, journalism and more are well equipped to dispel the darkness of confusion and error, which sadly marks our society, in order to bring to our world the right order of divine truth and love. As these graduates live out their vocations and put their education at the service of the Church and the world, they truly are indispensable tools for the transformation of our culture.

Become a Partner in this Work of Mercy

I ask you, therefore, prayerfully to consider becoming a partner with Thomas Aquinas College in its mission to form well the minds and hearts of its students. The College particularly needs help with providing the financial assistance so many of its students need. Most come from large Catholic families with modest incomes and cannot afford the entire cost of tuition without help from like-minded friends.

Through your sacrificial gift to the College’s financial aid fund of $1,000, $500, $100, $50 — or whatever amount you can afford — you will not only be participating in one of the Church’s great spiritual works of mercy, you will also be helping to lift our culture from the depths into which it has fallen.

I thank you in advance for whatever amount you feel you are able to contribute to the indispensable work of Thomas Aquinas College. As we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, His victory over sin and death, and the myriad graces that flow to us from the Divine Mercy, I invoke God’s abundant blessings upon you and yours.

Yours devotedly in the Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta