Spring 2025 - St. Bernard's Magazine (1) - Flipbook - Page 13
“Truth is but one, yet for us it comes apart into truths that
we must master one by one. At some point we must plunge
in to tap more resources, but once we have access to this
broader horizon, new depths will open to us at another
point.”
— Edith Stein
Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein, ca. 1938-1939), Cologne Carmel Archives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This became a moment of grace for me. I began to
approach philosophy and theology not merely as
intellectual tasks, but as opportunities for interior
transformation. I slowed down, re-read and prayed over
these works that they might shape my disposition, and
not just inform my mind.
I now increasingly move beyond passive learning into a
more contemplative and transformative pursuit of
wisdom — one that forms how I think, live, minister, and
discern the presence of God.
What aspects of your growth and formation would you
like to continue to develop after graduation?
I have always admired Dr. Stango’s ability to recall key
philosophical concepts and thinkers with such clarity,
ease, and fluidity. His ability to speak with precision and
depth revealed not just knowledge, but a kind of
intellectual mastery rooted in years of disciplined
engagement. I realize how far I still have to go in
acquiring these abilities. More than simply building
memory or recall, I hope to deepen my grasp of the
methods and structures of philosophical analysis — to
think more critically, read more contemplatively, and
grow in my ability to teach and witness to the faith.
This desire reflects a broader commitment to lifelong
formation — not only as a student of Catholic
philosophy, but as someone who desires that it shape
every dimension of his vocation. It is my hope to
continue unfolding these deep truths through serious
study, reflection, and contemplation, with the hope of
becoming a fruitful being of love: one whose very
existence participates more consciously in the act of
being given by God.
I’ve come to see that to philosophize within the Catholic
tradition is not merely to think about truth abstractly, but
to enter into communion with it — to be gradually
conformed to the Logos that sustains all things. In this
light, contemplation becomes the highest exercise of the
intellect, where knowing is no longer driven by mastery
but by wonder, receptivity, and the humble gaze upon
being itself.
If love is willing the good of the other, then the
philosopher must ultimately become a lover of being —
not only by seeking to understand it, but by standing in
reverence before its sheer givenness. I don’t always
succeed at this. But increasingly, I find myself drawn
toward a quieter posture — one that listens more than
asserts, contemplates more than explains. In this, I hope
to be formed not merely as a thinker, but as someone
whose very presence — unfinished, but attentive —
might one day reflect something of the harmony between
truth and charity.
Fred Rodriguez is from the Pacific Island
of Guam and is a 2025 graduate from St.
Bernard’s. He is currently a teacher at an
all-boys Catholic high school and serves
the Archdiocese of Agaña.
13
