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Navigating the Mysteries of our Faith: A Journey with Saint Thomas
Like the constellations in the night sky, the truths synthesized by Saint Thomas Aquinas remain fixed and bright
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March 06, 2026
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Whenever we take the time to look up and quietly gaze at the night sky, our hearts are almost inevitably drawn to deeper questions about reality, truth, and our place in the universe. In a recent Apostolic Letter, Pope Leo XIV , spoke of “Catholic educational constellations,” (Feb., 12, 2026) stars by which we can navigate our lives with hope. Gazing upon the truth, we are able to expand our understanding of reality, and come to a more intimate relationship with God who is Truth.
While the night sky opens our hearts to wonder, a seasoned star-gazer increases our appreciation of the intricacies of the heavens. For Sister Agnes Schreck, a Dominican Sister of Saint Cecilia, studying the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas increased her delight in and understanding of God and the mysteries of the faith. As a 2024 graduate of the Master of Arts in Thomistic Studies program at PFIC, Sister Agnes found immense joy in having time set aside to ponder the deeper mysteries of the faith and some of the more theologically complex questions.
Sister Agnes remembers that one professor described studying the truths of the faith as “developing an interior monastery” wherein one becomes oriented to the truths of the faith and how they are connected to each other. The principles are easier to access because they are interwoven within and integrated into the person. By studying the mysteries of the faith through the synthesis of Scripture and the Church Fathers provided by Aquinas, she explained that one can more easily develop an interior map or orientation to these sacred truths.
The Thomistic Studies program is an intensive journey, designed over four consecutive summers, yet Sister Agnes found it deeply renewing to study alongside other religious and laity. The summer courses helped Sister to to prepare for her apostolic work as well.
Working with university students in the Netherlands, she sees that they are bolstered by an approach to faith that shows that faith is not contrary to reason. They love learning the coherency of the faith. Previously, she taught middle schoolers. She noted that middle schoolers in particular raise objections and exceptions. Through her summer studies, she could see that these questions have been perennially asked, and that the great minds in the Church have pondered these questions. “There became rooted in me a deeper peace in the beauty of the deposit of our faith and reverence for the mysteries of our faith. I had more confidence to articulate and apply the principles I had studied.” The gift of study allows us to, in turn, be able to bring to hope to others who are seeking the Truth.
Sister was delighted to study Saint Thomas more deeply not only because she is a Dominican, but also because he had a special devotion to her own patroness, Saint Agnes. She shared that, in Father Torrell’s first volume on Saint Thomas, he explains that Thomas prayed for the healing of his assistant, Father Reginald through her intercession. When Father Reginald was healed, Saint Thomas asked that each year on the Feast of Saint Agnes, there would be a celebration feast. He also carried her relics around with him.
The “interior monastery” that Sister Agnes built through her studies helps her to see the fruitfulness of asking questions and being in dialogue with the teachings of the Church. Like the constellations in the night sky, the truths synthesized by Saint Thomas Aquinas remain fixed and bright, offering a reliable map for anyone seeking to navigate the mysteries of God with both reason and wonder.
