Homily: Man of Holiness, Thomas Aquinas; Man of Head and Heart, Thomas Aquinas

Tuesday, January 27, 2009and will is implied in knowing.
· (4) As God knows himself as perfect good, he
Man of Holiness, Thomas Aquinas;wills himself to this end. God wills everything;
Man of head and heart, Thomas Aquinaseverything is brought by divine will in the relation of
A homily,means to an end.
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB· (5) God wills good to every being, which exists. He
Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)loves it. Therefore, love is the fundamental relation of
Mill Valley, CA USAGod to the world.
Wednesday Eucharist, January 28, 2009· The divine love exists for every creature in like
Wisdom 7:7-14measure. The good assured by love to the individual
Psalm 37: 3-6, 32-33exists for different beings in various degrees.
Matthew 13: 47-52· The loving God gives to every being what it
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy ghost.needs in relation to practical reason, affording the
Let me declare a few matters about the Saint,idea of moral law.
Thomas Aquinas. He believed that God lovedI want to emphasize that Christian living, and
mankind, that God was love. He was a brilliant man ofreceiving God’s love isn’t limited to Saints
mind and heart.and Holy men and women. They, too, strove and
Introductionpracticed living lives that in knowing the goodness of
Though a Dominican all his life, originally this Doctor ofGod, the life of Christ, and the redemption and need
the Church, was foiled and discouraged from living afor turning, turning, turning each day towards a way
life directed towards holiness, and in becoming aof life that is for neighbor and Christ, responded to
Dominican he became more so less presumptive ofthe New and Old Testament, The Bible (see Wisdom
God. By less presumptive I mean he did not presume7: 7-14). Though we fall and fail, we do again.
on God to be but a man. As history tells us, a yearThe Anglican divine
before the end of his life, St. Thomas stoppedRichard Hooker was influenced by Thomas
writing, burned much of his work, and said it was allAquinas’ natural law, and it is the Anglican Hooker
so much "straw." Seemingly extreme, the Saint andwho with this influence developed the theory of
Holy Man does in such ways abandon himself to God.“Via Media.” Both believed in the “natural
The kind of family efforts to dissuade him fromlight of reason.” A divine, Hooker wrote
becoming a Dominican included kidnapping. At one“…a signature work of reformed Anglican
time, Thomas on the way to Rome was seized bytheology entitled The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity.
his brothers and brought back to his parents at theThrough this work, Hooker connects scripture,
castle of S. Giovanni There he was held a captive fortradition and reason in an effort to assert the
a year or two and besieged with prayers, threats,authority of the Anglican Church hierarchy in the face
and even sensual temptation to make him relinquishof the Puritan challenge. The work not only marks a
his purpose. Finally the family yielded and thehigh point in Anglican theology, but its discussion of
Dominican order sent Thomas to Cologne to studynatural law influenced John Locke and the American
under Albertus Magnus, where he arrived probablyFounding Fathers.”
toward the end of 1244. He accompanied Albertus toThomas lived a life of Biblical wisdom, as did Hooker..
Paris in 1245, remained there with his teacher.Commonality of Christian and Biblical living
St. Thomas was frequently abstracted and inAfter all, as we think of Saint Thomas, we have
ecstasy. Towards the end of his life the ecstasiesmuch in common as Christians, and it is in part that
became more frequent. On one occasion, at Naples inwhich we have in common that is also indicative of
1273, after he had completed his treatise on theour living Communion with the Saints. Is this not a
Eucharist, three of the brethren saw him lifted inmiracle of Christ? A miracle of love?
ecstasy, and they heard a voice proceeding from theFor we Christians, love is the answer. There is also
crucifix on the altar, saying "Thou hast written well ofthe community of the moral, of ethics, of what we
me, Thomas; what reward wilt thou have?" Thomasknow as Christian living. This man has contributed
replied, "None other than Thyself, Lord"much to our way of Christian living. Let us remember
Another source says:him, and as one of our readings today says of his
The end of 1225 is usually assigned as the time of hisway of life as we celebrate him:
birth. …( 1227 is the more probable date.). All agreeHe lived a life of Humility— Do not say, “He
that he died in 1274.will consider the great number of my gifts, / and
The Saint, his ideaswhen I make an offering to the Most High God, he
Yes, we are talking about a man, a Saint of greatwill accept it.
thought, powerful heart, and relationship to God soHoly man he became and was, and he lived a life of
strong he is considered a Saint. Through the centuriesteaching, praying, and learning. His faith led him to
this man has been one of the seminal thinkers offulfill telling us Truth:
Christianity. We celebrate his Feast Day in ChurchHe lived a life of Truth— Do not devise a lie
today, January 28, 2009, and remember that heagainst your brother, /or do the same to a friend.
posited that there is God. His faith and arguments soHe lived a life considerate in speech and
strong, as I say, they influence Christianity today.self-control— Do not babble in the assembly of
That is more than 850 years after his death, and allthe elders, /and do not repeat yourself when you
the time between. That makes one think of thingspray.
that matter, those that last, the matters of theThe intentions of Thomas’ heart were good, as
Church and Christ.our Lectionary quote from the Bible implies. His
His life exemplified a pinnacle of mind, and his ideasprayers were of strong and pure intention. When he
on God and the natural world have been examinedprayed, he prayed so that he did please God through
through the centuries. Who is there who doesn’this respect of intention so that individual prayers
know the name Aquinas?were not repeated. This does not mean he did not
As reminder of his thought, his writings, assay repeated prayers, as a chant, or that he did not
summarized by one source:say prayers that were stated differently so that
In his Sacred doctrine, Thomas’ fivefold proof ofthey revealed the facets of his need and heart.
the existence of God posited the following. I’veThese things are presumed.
divided them here for the sake of emphasis on love.Thank you for your attention this day. As a say,
· (1) There is first the mover, unmoved, a firstThomas was a man of love in Christ, a man who
cause in the chain of causes. This absolutelybelieved and demonstrated with reason and through
necessary being, “an absolutely perfectionheart and head there is a God, we celebrate the life
being”, is a rational designer.and teachings of Thomas Aquinas.
· (2) In this connection thoughts of unity, infinity,May the Lord bless and keep us. May the Lord make
unchangeableness, and goodness of the highest exist.his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us. The
These matters are deduced.Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us
· (3) The spiritual being of God is defined as thinkingpeace.
and willing. His knowledge is absolutely perfect. HeNote on three images: The first and third are of
knows himself and all things appointed by him. EveryThomas Aquinas. The second shows a likeness of
knowing being strives after the thing known, as end,the Anglican divine Richard Hooker.