In this article, Ong presents a summary of many of the issues discussed
in "The Catholic Church’s Interest in
Knowledge and Research" and "Scholarly
Research and Publication in the Jesuit College and University."
Ong asserts that knowledge is not a static entity but a growing thing,
a "living seed planted in man’s mind." In other words, knowledge
is something that must be cultivated, and the contemporary world, with
its technological advances that allow machines to do much of the work previously
done by humans, encourages this cultivation. While cultivating knowledge
is not an easy task, for it requires time and hard work, Ong asserts that
cultivating knowledge is extremely important; it is even part of a person’s
spiritual development. Although it is possible that evil can come
from cultivation of knowledge, Ong believes that this cultivation offers
as many possibilities for good as it does for evil. So when people
cultivate knowledge, they are doing the work of God.