Faith Counts, by Michael Pakaluk

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*Image: The Appearance of Christ on Lake Tiberias and the Miraculous Draught of Fishes by Duccio (di Buoninsegna), c. 1308-11 [Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana, Siena, Italy] 

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing, August 18, 2020

Michael Pakaluk, an Aristotle scholar and Ordinarius of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, is a professor in the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America. …

 

Michael Pakaluk

When we care about something, we say it “counts,” and indeed we count it.  Every married couple can tell you exactly how many years they have been married. If you truly care about losing weight, you must count calories.  Good examinations of conscience involve assigning numbers (how many times did I remember Mary today?), at least the binary pair, 1 = yes and 0 = no.

We have it on good authority that the being who loves us the most keeps count of the number of hairs on our heads.

Numbers count because nothing can be real without being countable. In science, quantification is necessary for mathematical modeling and precision, yes, but ultimately to separate out what is true (“empirical reality”), from what we might think is true (“mere theory”).  Likewise, in the spiritual life, a number implies that a reality is impinging upon us, which we haven’t invented or constructed.  …

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