Dominicans and Carmelites
If you read the excerpt from St. John of the Cross below, you will have a better understanding of the ground on which John da Fiesole and I stand when we cross swords on the question of what is the purpose of study and how much should be done. I would claim to be one of the least anti-intellectual people I know, and yet, I fully follow my mentor. I seek to know all about God, and so my desire to find out myself must be subsumed to His will for me, whatever that may be. At least that is how I understand it. My desire to pursue knowledge is actually a hindrance to the kind of knowledge (Love) that I really want. Difficult to imagine, but at least that is how I understand St. John of the Cross, and thus my attempts always to temper those who hold up study as one of the highest efforts of humankind. It is, and yet, if St. John is right, it also is quite likely to get in the way.
