“After this word of thanks, a word of welcome to you all, who have come together here, driven by a desire to deepen your knowledge and a growing appetite to reflect on the problems that accumulate all around us in the world. Welcome to this gathering in which we shall gladly make a feeble attempt to initiate you into the primary and usually the most prominent issues of philosophical thinking. And this word of welcome is also a word of congratulations, not in the first place because you have the opportunity in these three days to listen to our explanations and through these learn something in mutual conversations, but because the longing for reflection and deepening is awakened in your heart and in your mind, and you have already grasped this primary concept that, from time to time, the great issues must be deeply and seriously considered. We do not ram this concept into you, we will not turn you into a philosopher, we can only favourably influence in you the development of that which, potentially, lies hidden in your cognitive and emotive faculty. God has created and disposed your nature for the sake of knowledge of the truth and the good, and for the love of that. I consider you fortunate, that you have become more vividly conscious of this disposition and understand that we all too superficially skate over many things into which the human being, with his mind, could penetrate far more deeply. That we may strengthen and affirm, nurture and develop in you that understanding, that consciousness, that longing and that love, is for us no small joy; not in order to mould you into our image but for you to become more and deeply who you are.”
St. Titus Brandsma
From the talk “The Concept of Philosophy” translated by Susan Verkerk-Wheatley and Anne-Marie Bos.
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