+ St. Anselm was a 12th century archbishop of Canterbury and major theologian of the Church. He was equal to the task of being embroiled in temporal feudings and dealings with kings of England, and was loyal to the pope in a time of anti-popes and failed allegiance to the Holy See. Anselm never wavered, however, from the word of God's teachings and the built the house of his theological understanding on rock – and it has never failed. He wrote on topics such as: defining theology as "faith seeking understanding," his famous argument for the existence of God as "an idea greater than which no other idea can be conceived," and the description of Christ's death on the cross as an act of satisfaction, returning to God the honor stolen by human sin, and at a Church council he defended the double procession of the Holy Spirit "from the Father and the Son" (rather than "from the Father through the Son"). But what Anselm also knew beyond any doubt was that it was knowledge of the person of Jesus and his love for all of us that was of more value than any knowledge of simple facts; facts can only take one so far, but grace can fill us with God presence and a personal relationship with him. Anselm was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1734.
May Christ dwell in our hearts today through faith; that, rooted and grounded in loving actions, we may have the strength to comprehend with all the holy ones with is the breadth and length and height and depth of God's love for us!
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