Some thirty years ago the author Tom Follett wrote a novel entitled "Pillars of the Earth." This was a historical novel set in a fictional town in England called "Kingsbridge." In this novel, the setting is a priory where a cathedral is being built. If you have read the novel you realize that the story takes place over a fory year time span, give or take. And in this time a cathedral is being constructed in Kingsbridge. The primary person who is first in charge of building this cathedral is the character known as "Tom Builder." It is Tom's lifelong dream to build a cathedral. And through misfortune Tom finds himself in Kingsbridge where that dream actually becomes a reality. There is one part in the story where Tom is sitting down with his sons (one his biological son and the other his step-son) well after the construction of the cathedral has begun. In this conversation with his two sons he begins explaining to both of them that he will never see the completion of the cathedral. He goes on to say that they (meaning the sons) will probably not see the completion of the cathedral either. He stated that it will probably be his grandchildren who will be the ones to see the completion of the cathedral. What he said to his sons is the point that I would like to focus on. He said to his two sons that since the cathedral will take an entire lifetime to build, that they should never stop learning. He said to never stop learning because it is through learning that we will be given the tools for what we need to do. I found this to be profound because it is so true. How many of us "learn" because we are told to do so while growing up. When we are younger, we go to school because we are told we must go to school. Learning, in that sense, is not done voluntarily. We go to school. We learn. Because we are told to go to school.
"An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." (Proverbs 18:15)
How many of us make a point to never learn again. We may not phrase it that way but we may say that we will never go to school again. Not if we can help it, anyway. I know I was one of those people. I never did well in school, quite frankly, growing up. As a result, I swore I would never set foot in school again when I graduated high school. Little did I know that God had the seminary set for my future. And the young man who swore that he would never set foot in school again ended up being in the seminary for eight and a half years. But the point is that when we are young most of us fight against it, quite frankly. And why is this? It is because we are being told to learn. We are being forced to learn, so to speak. Our parents tell us we have to go to school. The state tells us we have to go to school. The society says that we have to go to school. In other words, we go to school because we have to. But I know in my own case, at least, I found when I actually did start attending classes in college everything had changed. I discovered I was in that class because I chose to be there. I chose to learn. I chose to be a student. No-one was telling me to take these classes. Certainly, no-one was forcing me to attend these classes. I was taking them because I wanted to take them. I chose to take these classes. And that made all the difference in the world. I did not feel that I was being "forced" to learn. I was choosing to learn. How many people have a similar story to mine?
What "Tom Builder" said to his sons in regards to never stop learning is sound advice for us in a Christian sense as well. How many of us have stopped learning about God? How many of us refuse to learn about God because no-one is compelling us to learn? As children . . . . well, at least when I was growing up . . . . most children took religious instruction. Children were enrolled in catechism classes. Children went to Sunday school. Today, how many children do these things? And even if they do, how many of these children continue to learn about God once they grow up and no-one "compels" them to attend Sunday school or catechism class? Learning about God should be a life-long pursuit. Learning about Scripture should be something we continue to do as long as we live.
"Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance." (Proverbs 1:5)
When we learn, we certainly do grow and increase. As Christians, we need to follow God's command but we need to know what God desires for us in our life. So often as we get older we think we know what is best. The problem is that we soon discover that what we actually seek is what we want, what we desire, what we crave in life. Increase in learning about God. Increase in learning about the ways of God. And, most importantly, increase in the knowledge of what God has in store for each one of us. As I like to say that each and every one of us is a unique instrument that God uses for His will. Each and everyone of us has a part to play in promoting the Kingdom of God. But it is up to us to be willing and to be open so that we can become the "instrument of God" that we are meant to be.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7)
We need to continue to learn. We need to continue to grow in wisdom. So many of us in today's society seek to grow in the ways of the world. So many of us seek to grow in the world's wisdom. From what I have seen, the "wisdom of the world" is very fickle. What is considered "wise" in one generation is tossed out the next generation. Or vice versa. Seek to grow in the wisdom of God. St James tells us: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (St James 1:5) Yes, let us ask God. Let us seek God. Let us search for God's wisdom. Let us ask for God to teach us. So many people in today's world stopped seeking wisdom. So many of these people do not ask to be taught. They either do not want to learn or, even worse, they do not believe they need instruction. These people think they know everything. They think they know it all already. I know as I continued taking classes and as I continued learning, I came to understand one thing: the more I came to learn, the more I realized that I did not know. In other words, the learned man realizes that there is always so much more to learn in order to grow in understanding. And this comes from a desire to learn. We have to be the ones to choose to learn, to want to learn. Let us ask God to send the Holy Ghost to instruct us and to help us learn the things that God would have us learn. And let us pray that we be open to this learning. And Our Blessed Lord assured us that this will happen if we are open: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (St. John 14:26)
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