Today is the feast day of my favorite saint: Anselm of Canterbury. Living in the mid 11th century, he was bishop during some difficult times, specifically the split between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics. He also had to contend with a mercurial monarchy in England. Exiled twice from England and denied resignation from his demanding position, he dealt with the politics and monetary concerns of his homeland while also serving a Church struggling with polarization. Despite these events, he is now known as Doctor of the Church, the Father of Scholasticism, and most importantly, a saint!
 
The title ‘Doctor of the Church’ has been given to 37 men and women whose intellect greatly impacted our understanding of God and His Church. Scholasticism is a system of logic and reasoning that led to the modern university system, the scientific method, and some of the greatest intellectual saints of all time. In his most famous work, the Proslogion, he uses the phrase Fides quarens intellectum or Faith seeking understanding, outlining the close relationship between Faith and Reason (Religion and Science), which helped to kick-off the development of Natural Philosophy, which is now simply known as science (specifically physics).
 
So celebrate with me a man who so greatly exemplified Faith and Reason together under one Lord, Jesus Christ!