formation: studiousness

Saint Thomas Aquinas spoke about the virtue of “studiousness,” which entails “a determined effort to seek out the truth of things.”[12] That is, it requires the permanent attitude of cultivating a healthy curiosity to know our world in depth and striving to overcome the obstacles that prevent us from doing so. In any case, the important thing is never to lose sight of the greatness of the goal inspiring our efforts: to make Christ’s message our own in order to be able to sow it in the world around us.

The image of a battle can also lead us to consider the importance of having a strategy. How are we to achieve such a high aim when we lack the time and serenity needed to ponder in depth the great questions in life? For some, this strategy may involve making good use of the means of formation they are already participating in, striving to get more out of them. For others, the advice from a classical author that Saint Josemaría used in one of his books can be helpful: non multa sed multum[13]–not committing our efforts to many things, but putting a lot of effort into only one, or a few. This may involve asking for advice regarding a suitable plan of readings that leads us deeper into a specific topic. Moreover (with the order that is essential in any intellectual activity), we can also take advantage of the countless resources that the internet offers today. The image of the glove that adapts to one’s hand, which the founder of Opus Dei used when speaking about the plan of life, can also be applied to our personal plan of formation, aimed at deepening our knowledge of the faith