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Fidelity & ExcellenceThomas Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities, offering a faithfully Catholic education comprised entirely of the Great Books and classroom discussions.
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What Can You Do with a Liberal Education?Nothing speaks more to the versatility of the College’s academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
President O’Reilly: “The Gifts of Community, Conscience, and Chaplains”
Dr. Paul O'Reilly
President, Thomas Aquinas College
Thanksgiving Address
November 23, 2025
The Gifts of Community, Conscience, and Chaplains
At this Thanksgiving dinner, we gather not only to enjoy a meal, to spend time with one another, and to remember our blessings; we come to give thanks to God — for the gifts He gives that are so woven into our daily lives we might not notice them. Today, I want to reflect on two of these gifts: the gift of living in this community and the gift of priests — particularly our chaplains — who shepherd and sanctify this campus.
In a significant way the TAC community is formed by our chaplains, especially as they help form our consciences and administer the sacraments to us.
The Gift of Living in Community
Cardinal Newman once observed something distinctly human: “Everyone likes his own way; and, of course, it becomes an impossibility for everyone to have his own way when there are a great many to be consulted.”
Newman calls community life “the collision of mind with mind.” This collision is not a flaw, but an advantage. This daily friction forms us, purifies us, matures us, and teaches us the charity we cannot learn alone.
Living in community forces us out of ourselves. It refuses to let us remain comfortable in our own tastes, habits, moods, and prejudices. It stretches us, tests us, and yes — sometimes irritates us. But Newman insists that this struggle becomes an opportunity for grace: “It is a temptation which turns to good from its being wrestled with and overcome.”
Especially today, let us thank God for the gift of not having everything our own way, for it is in that loss of self-will that we gain the deeper freedom of charity. This freedom is perfected as our consciences are perfected.
The Gift of Conscience — and Those Who Form It
Newman speaks about conscience, that inner voice that St. Thomas calls “the practical judgment of reason about what is to be done or avoided.” Newman famously says that conscience is “the highest of all teachers, yet the least luminous.”
It is noble, but vulnerable, “easily puzzled, obscured, perverted … impressed by education … biased by pride and passion.” In other words, we cannot trust ourselves entirely. And so, in God’s providence, He gives us the Church. He gives us objective truth, stable teaching, and priests who help us to see clearly when our own minds are confused.
When we give thanks today, let us not forget this extraordinary mercy “that God places shepherds in our lives who help to steady the gaze of conscience when it is obscured by sin, temptation, and doubt.”
The Gift of the Sacraments — and the Men Who Administer Them
Not only do our chaplains help form our consciences; they administer to us the sacraments — the very lifelines of grace. St. Thomas asks whether angels could administer the sacraments. His answer is striking: no.
Why? Because the sacraments flow from Christ’s Passion, and only men, not angels, share His human nature. It belongs to men — not angels — to distribute the graces won by the God-Man.
Newman marvels at this. The priest handles the sacred mysteries. He holds in his hands the Eucharistic Lord; he absolves sins; he blesses, guides, and guards. Newman asks: Who could be sufficient for such things? Surely, he says, one would expect an angel to be necessary for such a task.
And yet, Christ chose men, flesh and blood, to be instruments of divine reconciliation. Newman says:
Priests are men in order that they may [sympathize] with those who are in ignorance and error, because they too are [surrounded] with infirmity. Had angels been your priests … they could not have had compassion on you, felt tenderly for you, and made allowances for you … for they have been led on themselves as you are to be led, [they] know well your difficulties …[for] they have had experience, at least of your temptations … and can advise you most practically. …Therefore [Christ sent] you men to be the ministers of reconciliation and intercession.
A priest can have compassion because he knows human weakness from the inside. He struggles, hopes, prays, and suffers as we do. He is not distant like an angel might be; he is familiar with the very temptations that we have. This is why the words of the priest at the Offertory in the traditional Mass are so moving. The priest says:
Accept, O holy Father, almighty and eternal God, this unspotted host, which I, Thy unworthy servant, offer unto Thee, my living and true God, for my innumerable sins, offenses, and negligences, and for all here present: as also for all faithful Christians, both living and dead, that it may avail both me and them for salvation unto life everlasting. Amen.
The priest stands before God not as a flawless being, but as a human being, entrusted with holy things. His humble station does not weaken his ministry, it perfects it: as grace perfects nature.
Today let us give thanks for every chaplain, every confessor, every priest who has encouraged us, consoled us, corrected us, and lifted us up after we have fallen.
What Newman describes about the priest—his compassion, his firmness, his humanity—rings true for the chaplains who serve us. A good priest does not indulge us or flatter us. His compassion is not softness but strength: the desire to bring Christ to every soul and every sorrow. A beloved priest is not admired because he is perfect, but because he is faithful. He is there: at the altar, in the confessional, in our crises, in our joys.
At this Thanksgiving dinner, we thank God that He has sent us not angels, but men to lead us and bring His grace to us. Cardinal Newman urges us: “Forget not those who have been the ministers of your reconciliation … pray for them, that they may gain the great gift of perseverance.”
Thanksgiving is, at its heart, the recognition of the gifts that God has given us. This community is a gift; conscience, formed by truth, is a gift; the sacraments are a gift. And the men who bring us Christ — our priests — are a gift.
May God deepen our gratitude, strengthen our community, and bless those who minister to us. Today, as we give thanks for our blessings, let us pray for our priests — our chaplains — who pour out their lives in service of our salvation. And may we, with them, offer our prayers and our lives in thanksgiving to Him who is the giver of all good things.