Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 28, 2012 - Jan. 28 - St. Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church
[Wisdom 7:7-10, 15-16 or Ephesians 3:8-12 and John 17:11b-19 or John 16:23-28 or Matthew 5L13-19]To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light [for all] what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things..... Eph.
The feast of St. Thomas Aquinas is an important one for Dominicans since he is one of our greatest and most influential heroes! But he is more than important for Dominicans. He is important to the Catholic church and for all who seek to understand Christian faith and the importance of the relationship between faith and reason! He stands as one of the greatest intellectual teacher/preachers in the history of the world! This is no exaggeration if one realizes that his thought and teaching have a daily impact on the way the Catholic faith is presented and taught in educational institutions around the world, let alone in official circles in the Vatican and in his influence in the preaching of the church. Yet his work appears in philosophy, religious studies and theology courses in non-Catholic environments as well.
Although Thomas was well-known in his lifetime, I think he would be astounded at the attention his teaching receives in our day. There was a time when he had become almost forgotten in academia. Pope Leo XIII, in the last quarter of the 19th century, placed Thomas' theological vision at the center of Catholic teaching and revived the intense interest that has continue to this day.
It is amazing to think that a younger son of lesser Italian nobility in the 13th century (1225-1274) would have such an influence in the 21st century! Yet, his teaching is very accessible if one is willing to make the effort to read it. His greatest work is the SUMMA THEOLOGICA and this has been presented in synopsis in the little classic MY WAY OF LIFE, which is still in print. One of the editors of that work, Fr. Walter Farrell, OP, was also the editor of a more ambitious classic: THE COMPANION TO THE SUMMA. I still recommend MY WAY OF LIFE to Catholics who need a book that presents the Catholic faith in a clear and intellectually respectable way. I often bring to mind one of Thomas' most profound statements in the SUMMA: "The new law of Christ is nothing other than the Holy Spirit working in our hearts through faith in Christ." [ST I-II, q. 106] Today we can rejoice in the gift that he has been and continues to be to our church [and to us Dominicans who are proud to call him "Brother Thomas."] AMEN