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definition of sacrament, which is ‘a visible sign natural world, ourselves, others, and God: “All
of an invisible reality,’ namely, of the spiritual, men by nature desire to know” (Aristotle, Me-
transcendent, and divine reality” (87:5). Such a taphysics, I.1). We are made to know, explore,
profound reverence for one’s own life and body and invent. We are entrusted with the task of
necessarily extends to reverence for the life and developing the mind, cultivating the intellect,
body of others. The Christian therapist seeks to and exercising the capacity to reason, including
instill within the client reverence and concern the uniquely human capabilities for language,
for the transmission, preservation, and promo- music, and art. We seek to develop the facul-
tion of life and health. ties of the soul recognized by Aquinas (ST I,
78.1) and studied as modalities of the mind by
Master emotion. In our contemplation of beauty modern neuroscience (Fodor, 1983), including
and wonder at life, we cannot help but to be mo- sensation, perception, imagination, memory,
ved in the depths of our being. This movement planning, cognition, and volition. We seek to
or emotion is both visceral and vital, involving foster love of learning and to overcome obsta-
both body and soul (cf. Aquinas, ST I-II, 22.1). cles to learning. We recognize and respect in-
Wojtyła (1969/1979) recognized a rich depth dividual differences and varieties of giftedness,
of human emotion in his description of three recognizing that intelligence may be analytical,
levels of emotional experience: sensual “excita- creative, and practical (Sternberg, 1985), or
bility,” “emotional stirring,” and deep “passions that there may be “multiple intelligences” that
of the soul” (pp. 237-239). Aquinas (1274/2012) are linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical,
described the sense appetites or passions, di- spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, in-
stinguishing between concupiscible appetites, terpersonal, naturalist, and even existential in
whereby “the soul is simply inclined to seek nature (Gardner, 1983, 1993). John of the Cross
what is suitable, according to the senses, and to (1585/1991b) recognized the limitations of hu-
fly from what is hurtful,” and irascible appeti- man understanding and the ultimate need for
tes whereby “an animal resists these attacks that purification in faith from the darkness of hu-
hinder what is suitable, and inflict harm….to man intellect to the enlightenment of God’s way
overcome and rise above obstacles” (ST I, 81.2 of understanding:
resp.). Wojtyła (1960/1981) similarly recogni- My intellect departed from itself, changing
zed that human emotion may be characterized from human and natural to divine. For united
by a positive or negative quality of pleasure or with God through this purgation, it no longer
pain (p. 32). Human emotions thus bring rich- understands by means of its natural vigor and
ness and depth to life; however, they may be eit- light, but by means of the divine wisdom to
her ruled or unruly. The human task is not to which it was united. (Dark Night, II.4.2)
neurotically repress nor pathologically express The Christian therapist seeks to assist the client
emotion, but rather to balance, manage, and in developing the gifts of human intellect, each
master emotion in service of truth, goodness, according to one’s abilities, and to prepare the
and beauty. According to Aquinas (1274/2012), way to receive the grace of divine wisdom.
“it belongs to the perfection of man’s good that
his passions be moderated by reason” (ST I-II, Purify memory. The gift of memory is the sub-
24.3 resp.). The limbic system enriches experi- strate of our personal identity and life narrative.
ence when the frontal lobe regulates emotion. Augustine (398/1991) marveled at mysterious
The Christian therapist seeks to help the client depths of human memory: “Memory’s huge
in the rich and balanced experience, expression, cavern, with its mysterious, secret, and inde-
and mastery of emotion. scribable nooks and crannies, receives all these
perceptions, to be recalled when needed and
Truth reconsidered” (Confessions, X.viii.13). Memo-
ry is the metronome of our uniquely human re-
Seek truth. Given our nature as rational beings, lationship to time, as we integrate in the present
we are created to pursue the truth about the our memory of the past, our awareness of the

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