Ruminations of an Irascible Hermit.: The Angelic Doctor

Saturday, January 28, 2023

The Angelic Doctor

Today we celebrate the Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas - The Angelic & Common Doctor. Angelic because of the heights of perception he achieved philosophically and theologically. Common because his teachings became the norm for Catholic theology especially after the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII.

St Thomas Aquinas is one of those figures in Church history that are either loved or hated. For those who love him - he is the model of wisdom and learning, the perfect combination of philosophy and wisdom who continues to teach the Church today. For those who hate him - he is a rigid, pedantic thinker who ruined theology by introducing Aristotelian philosophy and made it a dry intellectual exercise, thereby corrupting Catholicism.

But who is the real St Thomas Aquinas?

St Thomas Aquinas is arguably one of the greatest minds produced in the West. He was a Dominican friar who learnt philosophy and theology from his professor, St Albert the Great. It was St Albert who introduced him to the philosophy of Aristotle.

Christian philosophy in the West and the East had always primarily been influenced by Plato. Arguably it was Neoplatonism that influenced the majority of Christian language, terminology and thought. Neoplatonism is a highly mystical, abstract and spiritual philosophical school of thought that lent itself very well to the early Church Fathers as they were developing theology to explain the faith (especially regarding the mystery of Trinity).

The Church Fathers however, were not only influenced by Neoplatonism. Many were also influenced by Stoicism, especially St Clement of Alexandria and to a lesser degree it is argued that the Desert Fathers (especially Evagrius Ponticus) were too. In fact our understanding of the virtues, the deadly sins and the Logos all come from or developed out of Stoicism.

So why did St Thomas Aquinas begin to use and appropriate Aristotelian philosophy instead of sticking with Neoplatonism? He integrated it so much into his thought, that it is often said that Aquinas “baptised Aristotle” ie.. his thought.

Due to history, wars and tragedies - manuscripts were often lost, burnt or stolen. So in the West, the writings of Aristotle were mostly unknown, or only known through secondary sources up until the 1200’s. This is why Neoplatonism was the dominant influence in philosophy and theology. So this is the context of St Thomas Aquinas and his writings.

It was St Albert the Great, who taught St Thomas and introduced him to the philosophy of Aristotle. So with this foundation and example from his holy teacher and mentor, he learnt to synthesise Aristotelian philosophy with the faith and so find new ways to explain theology for new generations of students. This was such a novelty and ongoing controversy at the universities at the time, that he was even accused of heresy!

Philosophy is human language and reasoning trying to understand reality. Whereas theology is man’s response to the Revelation of God and so is faith trying to find expression is human language. So although St Thomas Aquinas found the philosophy of Aristotle useful - he only ever saw it as a means to an end. It was a way of explaining and understanding truth, to come to the ultimate Truth which is God.

It was St Thomas Aquinas who developed the so called “5 ways” of knowing/proving the existence of God (Motion, Efficient Cause, Necessity, Gradation/Degree, Design)
It was St Thomas Aquinas who developed our understanding of the full human person as a body and soul. Not a soul caged in a body, but an embodied soul. A body that cannot exist without a soul and a soul that cannot exist without a body - embodied soul and ensouled body. Personhood requires both, body and soul to be fully human.
It was St Thomas Aquinas who helped us to understand that if God is truth, then whatever is true can only lead is to God. Therefore there is no opposition between faith and reason. Through reason and the study of things (science) we can come to knowledge of reality, however that can only allow us to under understand things to a degree. So ultimately reason needs the illumination of Faith to be elevated to understand ultimate Truth which is God.
It was St Thomas Aquinas who formulated the famous phrase of “grace builds upon nature”. This means that nature (our physical body, dispositions etc) is good, and reflects the goodness of God in creation. However due to sin we are not able to have union with God, we need grace. So grace is what elevates and perfects us, so we can share in the friendship of God and have union with God. So the spiritual life requires development of the virtues and respecting the goodness of creation, that then through grace is elevated and perfected.
It was St Thomas Aquinas himself who helped developed the teaching and understanding of the mystery of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist - what we call Transubstantiation.

The most famous of the writings of St Thomas Aquinas is his Summa Theologiae. This was his systematic explanation of theology he wrote for his students (although it was never finished. He also wrote the Summa Contra Gentiles which is more of an apologetics books on theology, as well as biblical commentaries and commentaries on the writings of Aristotle. His rigorous application of logic when discussing theology and his insistence on defining terms is what has given him the reputation of his detractors of someone who is a dry intellectual with no soul or love. However this could not be further from the truth!

It is often forgotten or taken for granted that some of the most famous prayers and hymns in Catholicism were written by St Thomas Aquinas himself. Anytime you’ve been to Adoration with Benediction and sung O Salutaris Hostia at the beginning or ended with singing Tantum ergo - you are singing words written by St Thomas Aquinas. If you have ever been to a wedding and heard the song Panis Angelicus, that was also written by him!

These beautiful poetic hymns are packed with dense theological meaning. Only someone in love with God could have written such words. So don’t be fooled into thinking St Thomas was a boring, dry medieval philosopher. He was a true mystic!

God for St Thomas was not an abstract concept removed from everyday life. God reveals and manifests himself to us through creation, nature, beauty, friendships and truth. But for St Thomas Aquinas, none of this could match the mystery of Jesus in the Eucharist. It was the Eucharist that informed and permeated all his life and search for God, and it was the Eucharist that for him was the greatest expression and manifestation of God’s love for us.

May St Thomas Aquinas through his example and doctrine, help us to deepens our love for the Blessed Sacrament - so we too can grow in charity for God and our neighbour, this sharing in the beatitude we were all created for.

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Disclaimer

Please note. I am a Catholic layman, not a qualified theologian or philosopher. What I say and write here are my own personal thoughts and ideas, although I always try to conform my writings to the Magisterium of the Church.

I- with firm faith believe and profess everything that is contained in the symbol of faith: namely,

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: By the power of the Holy Spirit, he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. I believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

With firm faith I believe as well everything contained in God's word, written or handed down in tradition and proposed by the church--whether in solemn judgment or in the ordinary and universal Magisterium--as divinely revealed and called for faith.

I also firmly accept and hold each and every thing that is proposed by that same church definitively with regard to teaching concerning faith or morals.

What is more, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman pontiff or the college of bishops enunciate when they exercise the authentic Magisterium even if they proclaim those teachings in an act that is not definitive.