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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On the Summa Theologiae
"In the School of the Saints...Let Us Be Enamored of the Eucharist"
H.H. Benedict XVI
June 23, 2010
www.zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today I would like to complete, with a third part, my catechesis on St.
Thomas Aquinas. Even after more than 700 years since his death, we can
learn much from him. We were reminded of this also by my predecessor,
Pope Paul VI, who, in an address given at Fossanova on Sept. 14, 1974,
on the occasion of the seventh centenary of St. Thomas' death, asked:
"Master Thomas, what lessons can you give us?" And he answered thus:
"Trust in the truth of Catholic religious thought, as he defended it,
explained it, [and] opened it to the cognitive capacity of the human
mind" (Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, XII [1974], pp. 833-834). And, on the
same day, in Aquino, still referring to St. Thomas, he affirmed: "All of
us, who are faithful children of the Church can and must, at least in
some measure, be his disciples!" (Ibid., p. 836).
Hence, let us also put ourselves in the school of St. Thomas and of his
masterpiece, the Summa Theologiae. It was never finished and yet it is a
monumental work: It contains 512 questions and 2,669 articles. It is
coherent reasoning, in which the application of human intelligence to
the mysteries of the faith proceeds with clarity and depth, interlacing
questions and answers, in which St. Thomas deepens the teaching that
comes from sacred Scripture and from the Fathers of the Church, above
all St. Augustine. In this reflection, in the encounter with true
questions of his time, which are often also our questions, St. Thomas,
also using the methods and thought of ancient philosophers, in
particular of Aristotle, thus arrives at precise, lucid and pertinent
formulations of the truth of the faith, where truth is a gift of faith,
[where it] shines and becomes accessible to us, through our reflection.
However, such effort of the human mind, Aquinas reminds us with his very
life, is always illumined by prayer, by the light that comes from on
high. Only one who lives with God and with the mysteries can also
understand what they say.
In the Summa of theology, St. Thomas begins from the fact that there are
three different modes of the being and essence of God: God exists in
himself; he is the beginning and end of all things, and thus all
creatures proceed from and depend on him, and God is present through his
grace in the life and activity of the Christian, of the saints; finally,
God is present in an altogether special way in the Person of Christ
really united here with the man Jesus, and operating in the sacraments,
which flow from his redemptive work.
Because of this, the structure of this monumental work (cf. Jean Pierre
Torrell, La "Summa" di San Tommaso, Milan, 2003, pp. 29-75), research
with a "theological look" at the fullness of God (cf. Summa Theologiae,
Ia, q. 1, a. 7), is articulated in three parts, and is illustrated by
the Doctor Communis himself -- St. Thomas -- with these words: The main
purpose of sacred doctrine is that of making God known, not only in
himself, but also inasmuch as he is beginning and end of things, and
especially of the reasoning creature. In the attempt to explain this
doctrine, we will first treat of God; then of the movement of the
creature toward God; and finally of Christ who, inasmuch as man, is for
us the way to ascend to God" (Ibid., I. q. 2). It is a circle: God in
himself, who comes out of himself and takes us by the hand, so that with
Christ we return to God, we are united to God, and God will be all in
all.
Hence, the first part of the Summa Theologiae studies God in himself,
the mystery of the Trinity, and God's creative activity. In this part we
also find a profound reflection on the authentic reality of the human
being inasmuch as he issued from the creative hands of God, fruit of his
love. On one hand we are a created, dependent being -- we do not come
from ourselves; but, on the other, we have a true autonomy, so that we
are not only something apparent -- as some Platonic philosophers say --
but a reality willed by God as such, and with value in itself.
In the second part St. Thomas considers man, driven by grace, in his
aspiration to know and love God to be happy in time and in eternity.
Firstly, the author presents the theological principles of moral action,
studying how, in man's free choice of carrying out good acts, reason,
will and passions are integrated, to which is added the strength that
the grace of God gives through the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit,
as well as the help that is given also by the moral law. Hence the human
being is a dynamic being that seeks himself, he seeks to become himself
and, in this connection, seeks to do acts that build him up, make him
truly man; and here the moral law, grace and one's reason, the will and
the passions come in. On this foundation St. Thomas delineates the
physiognomy of the man who lives according to the Spirit and thus
becomes an icon of God. Here Aquinas pauses to study the three
theological virtues -- faith, hope and charity -- followed by the acute
examination of more than 50 moral virtues, organized around the four
cardinal virtues -- prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. He then
ends with a reflection on the different vocations in the Church.
In the third part of the Summa, St. Thomas studies the mystery of Christ
-- the way and the truth -- by which we can return to union with God the
Father. In this section he writes pages as yet unparalleled on the
mystery of the incarnation and passion of Jesus, adding afterward a
thorough treatise on the seven sacraments, since in them, the incarnate
divine Word extends the benefits of the incarnation for our salvation,
for our path of faith toward God and eternal life. He remains almost
materially present with the realities of creation; he thus touches us in
what is most intimate.
Speaking of the sacraments, St. Thomas pauses particularly on the
mystery of the Eucharist, for which he had a very great devotion, to the
point that, according to ancient biographers, he used to lean his head
on the tabernacle, almost as if to hear the beating of the divine and
human Heart of Jesus. In one of his works commenting on Scripture, St.
Thomas helps us to understand the excellence of the sacrament of the
Eucharist, when he writes: "The Eucharist being the sacrament of the
passion of our Lord, is also an effect of this sacrament, it not being
other than the application in us of the passion of the Lord" (In Ioannem,
c.6, n. 963). Let us understand well why St. Thomas and other saints
celebrated the Holy Mass shedding tears of compassion for the Lord, who
offers himself in sacrifice for us, tears of joy and of gratitude.
Dear brothers and sisters, in the school of the saints, let us be
enamored of this sacrament! Let us participate in the Holy Mass with
recollection to obtain its spiritual fruits, let us nourish ourselves on
the Body and Blood of the Lord, to be incessantly nourished by divine
grace! Let us willingly and frequently converse, face to face, in the
company of the Most Blessed Sacrament!
All that St. Thomas illustrated with scientific rigor in his major
theological works, such as the Summa Theologiae and the Summa contra
Gentiles, was also explained in his preaching, addressed to students and
the faithful. In 1273, a year before his death, during the whole of
Lent, he preached in the San Domenico Maggiore Church in Naples. The
content of those sermons was collected and conserved: They are the
booklets in which he explains the Symbol of the Apostles, interprets the
prayer of the Our Father, illustrates the Decalogue and comments on the
Hail Mary. The content of the preaching of the Angelic Doctor
corresponds almost entirely to the structure of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church. In fact, in catechesis and in preaching, at a time like
ours of renewed commitment to evangelization, these fundamental
arguments must never be lacking: that is, what we believe, and here is
the Symbol of the faith; what we pray, and here is the Our Father and
the Hail Mary; and what we live as biblical revelation teaches us, and
here is the law of love of God and of our neighbor and the Ten
Commandments, as explanation of this mandate of love.
I would like to propose some simple, essential and convincing examples
of the content of the teaching of St. Thomas. In his booklet on the
Symbol of the Apostles he explains the value of faith. Through it, he
says, the soul is united to God, and something like a shoot of eternal
life is produced; life receives a sure orientation, and we overcome
temptations easily. To those who object that faith is nonsense, because
it makes one believe something that does not fall under the experience
of the senses, St. Thomas gives a very articulated answer, and recalls
that this is an inconsistent doubt, because human intelligence is
limited and cannot know everything. Only in the case that we could know
perfectly all visible and invisible things, would it then be genuine
nonsense to accept truths purely on faith. However, it is impossible to
live, St. Thomas observes, without trusting the experience of others,
where personal knowledge does not reach. Hence it is reasonable to have
faith in God who reveals himself and in the testimony of the Apostles:
they were few, simple and poor, dismayed by the Crucifixion of their
Teacher; and yet many wise, noble and rich persons were converted in a
short time upon listening to their preaching. It is, in fact, a
historically striking phenomenon, to which with difficulty one can give
any other reasonable answer, other than that of the Apostles' encounter
with the Risen Lord.
Commenting on the article of the Symbol regarding the incarnation of the
Divine Word, St. Thomas makes some considerations. He affirms that
Christian faith, when it considers the mystery of the incarnation, is
reinforced; hope rises more trustingly, with the thought that the Son of
God came among us, as one of us, to communicate to men his own divinity;
charity is revived, because there is no more evident sign of the love of
God for us than seeing the Creator of the universe make himself a
creature, one of us. Finally, considering the mystery of the incarnation
of God, we feel our desire inflamed to reach Christ in glory. Using a
simple and effective analogy, St. Thomas observes: "If the brother of a
king was far away, he certainly would long to live next to him. Well,
Christ is our brother: hence, we must desire his company, become one
heart with him" (Opuscoli teologico-spirituali, Rome, 1976, p. 64).
Presenting the prayer of the Our Father, St. Thomas shows that it is
perfect in itself, having all the five characteristics that a well made
prayer should have: trusting and tranquil abandonment; appropriateness
of content, because -- St. Thomas observes -- "it is quite difficult to
know exactly what it is appropriate to ask and what not, from the moment
that we are in difficulty in face of the choice of desires" (Ibid., p.
120); and then the appropriate order of requests; fervor of charity; and
sincerity of humility.
St. Thomas was, as all the saints, a great devotee of Our Lady. He
described her with a beautiful appellative: Triclinium totius Trinitatis,
triclinium, that is, place where the Trinity finds its rest, because,
due to the Incarnation, the three divine Persons dwell [in her] and
experience delight and joy to live in her soul full of grace as in no
other creature. Through her intercession we can obtain all help.
With a prayer, which traditionally is attributed to St. Thomas and that,
in any case, reflects the elements of his profound Marian devotion, we
also say: "O blessed and sweet Virgin Mary, Mother of God ... I entrust
my whole life to your merciful heart. ... Obtain for me, oh my most
sweet Lady, true charity, with which I will be able to love with all my
heart your Most Holy Son and you, after him, above all things, and my
neighbor in God and for God."
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted the people in several languages. In
English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our catechesis on the Christian culture of the Middle Ages, we turn
once more to the teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas. The Summa Theologiae,
his masterpiece, reflects Thomas' serene confidence in the harmony of
faith and reason, and in the ability of reason, enlightened by faith, to
come to an understanding of God and his saving plan. The Summa treats of
the Triune God in himself, in his work of creation, and in the person of
Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son, whose humanity is the means by which we
return to the Father. Thomas illustrates the working of divine grace,
which perfects our natural gifts and enables us, through the practice of
the virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to attain the eternal
happiness for which we were created. His description of Christ's saving
work stresses the importance of the seven sacraments, and especially the
Eucharist. These great theological truths are also reflected in Thomas'
preaching which in a clear and simple way presents the mysteries of the
faith, the content of Christian prayer, and the demands of a moral life
shaped by the natural law and the Gospel's new commandment of love. With
the Angelic Doctor, let us pray for the grace to love the Lord with all
our heart, and to love our neighbour, "in God and for God."
I offer a warm welcome to the numerous student groups present, and in a
special way to those taking part in the programmes sponsored by the
Foyer Unitas Lay Centre, the Anglican Centre of Rome and the Midwest
Theological Forum. I also thank the choirs for their praise of God in
song. Upon all the English-speaking visitors, especially those from
Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, the
Bahamas and the United States of America, I invoke God's abundant
blessings.
©Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[In Italian, he said:]
I now greet young people, the sick and newlyweds. Today is the
liturgical memorial of St. Joseph Cafasso and the 150th anniversary of
his death. May the example of this engaging figure of an exemplary
priest, to whom I would like to dedicate next Wednesday's catechesis,
help you, dear young people, to experience personally the liberating
force of the love of Christ, who renews profoundly the life of man; may
he sustain you, dear sick, to offer your sufferings for the conversion
of those who are prisoners of evil; may he encourage you, dear
newlyweds, to be a sign of the fidelity of God also with mutual
forgiveness, motivated by love.
Look
at the One they Pierced!
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