Jacopo del Casentino (–1358), Saint
Thomas d'Aquin, circa 1325, tempera and gold on poplar wood, 96 x 43, Musée du Petit Palais, Avignon
Saint Thomas d'Aquin
Frère prêcheur, docteur de l'Église (+ 1274)
Né dans une noble famille napolitaine, élevé à l'abbaye bénédictine du Mont-Cassin, Thomas choisit cependant, à 19 ans, d'entrer chez les Frères Prêcheurs. Ce n'est guère du goût de sa famille, qui le fait enlever et enfermer. L'ordre dominicain est un ordre mendiant, fondé quelques années plus tôt, et il n'avait pas bonne presse dans l'aristocratie. Au bout d'un an, Thomas peut enfin suivre sa vocation. On l'envoie à Paris pour y suivre les cours de la bouillonnante Université. Il a comme professeur saint Albert le Grand. Pour ce dernier, il faut faire confiance à la raison et à l'intelligence de l'homme pour chercher Dieu. Le philosophe le plus approprié à cette recherche est Aristote. Saint Thomas retient la leçon. Devenu professeur, il s'attelle à un gigantesque travail pour la mettre en œuvre. Connaissant très bien Aristote et ses commentateurs, mais aussi la Bible et la tradition patristique chrétienne, il élabore une pensée originale, qu'il expose dans de multiples ouvrages, dont le plus connu est la "Somme Théologique". Comme professeur, il doit aussi soutenir de véhémentes controverses avec des intellectuels chevronnés. Il voyage aussi à la demande des Papes. Mais c'est l'étude qui a toute sa faveur : à la possession de "Paris la grande ville", il dit préférer "le texte correct des homélies de saint Jean Chrysostome sur l'évangile de saint Matthieu". Il meurt sur la route, en chemin vers Lyon où il devait participer au grand concile de 1274.
Le 23 juillet 2010 - catéchèse sur saint Thomas d'Aquin consacrée à la Summa Theologiae, l'apogée de son œuvre en 512 questions et 2.669 articles. Le Docteur Angélique y expose avec précision et pertinence les vérités de la foi découlant de l'Écriture et des Pères, principalement de saint Augustin. "Comme la vie entière, rappelle Thomas, l'esprit humain doit être sans cesse éclairé par la prière et par la lumière qui vient du Ciel". Dans la Somme, a dit Benoît XVI, saint Thomas décrit les trois modes d'existence de Dieu: Dieu existe en lui même, il est principe et fin de toute chose, tout vient de lui et en dépend. Ensuite, Dieu se manifeste par la grâce dans la vie et l'action du chrétien et des saints. Enfin il est tout particulièrement présent en la personne du Christ et dans les sacrements découlant de sa mission rédemptrice".
Puis le Pape a rappelé que saint Thomas s'est tout spécialement intéressé au mystère eucharistique, pour lequel il avait une grande dévotion... A la suite des saints, attachons-nous à ce sacrement. Participons avec ferveur à la messe afin d'en retirer des fruits spirituels. Nourrissons nous du corps et du sang du Seigneur afin de recevoir continuellement la grâce divine. Arrêtons nous souvent devant le Saint Sacrement! Ce que Thomas d'Aquin a exposé avec rigueur dans son œuvre, et en particulier dans la Somme, il l'a également transmis dans sa prédication. Son contenu...correspond pratiquement entièrement à la structure du Catéchisme de l'Église Catholique... Dans une époque marquée par un fort souci de reévangélisation, ces thèmes fondamentaux ne doivent pas manquer car ils sont ce en quoi nous croyons, le symbole de la foi, ce que nous récitons comme le Pater et l'Ave Maria, ce que nous vivons en vertu de la révélation biblique, ainsi que la loi de l'amour...de Dieu et du prochain".
Dans son "opuscule sur le Symbole des Apôtres", Thomas explique la valeur de la foi. Grâce à elle les âmes s'unissent à Dieu..., la vie trouve sa juste voie et nous le moyen d'éviter les tentations. A qui pense que la foi est obtuse car on ne peut la prouver par nos sens, il offre une réponse complète. Ce doute est sans consistance car l'intelligence est limité et ne saurait tout connaître. Seulement si nous pouvions tout connaître du visible comme de l'invisible, ce serait une véritable faute d'accepter des vérités sur la simple base de la foi. Il est d'ailleurs impossible de vivre sans l'expérience de l'autre, là où la connaissance personnelle n'arrive pas. Il est donc raisonnable de croire en un Dieu qui se révèle, et dans le témoignage des apôtres".
Revenant sur l'article de la Somme consacré à l'incarnation du Verbe de Dieu, le Saint-Père a rappelé que pour saint Thomas la foi chrétienne doit être renforcée par le mystère de l'incarnation. L'espérance s'accroît et se renforce en pensant que le Fils de Dieu est venu parmi nous, comme un de nous, pour communiquer sa divinité aux hommes. La charité est renforcée car il n'y a pas de signe plus évident de l'amour que nous porte Dieu, ni de voir le Créateur se faire créature". Saint Thomas d'Aquin, a conclu Benoît XVI, "fut comme tous les saints un grand dévot de Marie, qu'il a magnifiquement baptisée trône de la Trinité, lieu où elle trouve son repos. Par l'incarnation, dans aucune créature autre qu'elle les trois personnes divines ne séjournent en plénitude de grâce et n'accordent d'aide par l'intercession de la prière". (source: VIS 20100623 610)
- Audiences générales du pape Benoît XVI, catéchèse sur la méditation de certains grands penseurs du Moyen-Age - Saint Thomas d'Aquin.
le 2 juin 2010 - le 16 juin 2010 - le 23 juin 2010
- Site officiel de l'Académie pontificale de Saint Thomas d'Aquin (en anglais)
- livres de Jean-Pierre Torrell (ordre des dominicains)
- Les œuvres de Thomas d'Aquin disponibles en ligne à la Éditions du Cerf (Dominicains)
Mémoire de saint Thomas d'Aquin, prêtre de l'Ordre des Prêcheurs et docteur de
l'Église. Doué des plus hautes qualités intellectuelles, il transmit aux
autres, par ses prières et ses écrits, sa sagesse éminente. Appelé par le pape
lui-même, le bienheureux Grégoire
X, au deuxième Concile général de Lyon, il s'y rendait, quand il mourut au
monastère de Fossanova dans le Latium, le 7 mars 1274 et, bien des années
après, en 1369, son corps fut transféré à Toulouse en ce jour.
Martyrologe romain
La paix entre les hommes est mieux garantie si chacun
se trouve satisfait de ce qui lui appartient. Ce qui convient le mieux à
l'homme par rapport aux biens extérieurs, c'est de s'en servir. Sous cet angle,
toutefois, l'homme ne doit pas posséder ces biens comme s'ils lui étaient
propres, mais comme étant à tous. Il doit donc être disposé à en faire part aux
plus pauvres, suivant le conseil de saint Paul.
Saint Thomas - Somme théologique
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/524/Saint-Thomas-d-Aquin.html
Bernardo Daddi (1290–1348), Die
Versuchung des Heilige Thomas von Aquin, 1338, 38 x 34, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Saint Thomas
d'Aquin, prêtre et docteur de l'Eglise
Né dans une noble famille
napolitaine, élevé à l'abbaye bénédictine du Mont-Cassin, Thomas choisit
cependant, à 19 ans, d'entrer chez les Frères Prêcheurs. Sa famille,
contrariée, le fait enlever et enfermer. Au bout d'un an, Thomas peut enfin
suivre sa vocation. On l'envoie à Paris pour y suivre les cours en Sorbonne où
il étudie sous la férule de saint Albert le Grand. Devenu professeur à son
tour, Thomas s'attelle à un gigantesque travail pour mettre en œuvre la
correspondance entre la philosophie d’Aristote, la Bible et la tradition
patristique ; il élabore une pensée originale, qu'il expose dans de
multiples ouvrages, dont le plus connu est la "Somme Théologique". Il
déploie une activité prodigieuse entre l’enseignement, la participation aux
débats philosophiques et théologiques du temps, les missions à l’étranger,
l’étude et la vie spirituelle qui reste première et où il puise les ressources
de son génie. Il meurt en Italie sur la route de Lyon où il devait participer
au grand concile de 1274.
%2C_san_tommaso_d'aquino_in_cattedra%2C_1323_ca._02.jpg)
Master of Saint Cecilia (fl. 1250–1350),
Saint Thomas Aquinas at his desk, circa 1323, fresco
painting, Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, Florence. Durante
la sua prima lezione all'Università di Parigi contornato dai simboli dei
quattro evangelisti ed ispirato da s. Domenico. La cattedra è una bella prova
di rappresentare la profondità degli oggetti nello spazio. Questo e gli altri
affreschi dietro le pale cinquecentesche sono visibili solo la prima domenica
del mese, nel pomeriggio
BENOÎT XVI
AUDIENCE GÉNÉRALE
Place Saint-Pierre,
Mercredi 2 juin 2010
Saint Thomas d'Aquin (1)
Chers frères et sœurs,
Après quelques catéchèses
sur le sacerdoce et mes derniers voyages, nous revenons aujourd'hui à notre
thème principal, c'est-à-dire la méditation de certains grands penseurs du
Moyen-Age. Nous avions vu dernièrement la grande figure de saint Bonaventure,
franciscain, et je voudrais aujourd'hui parler de celui que l'Eglise appelle le
Doctor communis: c'est-à-dire saint Thomas d'Aquin. Mon vénéré prédécesseur,
le Pape
Jean-Paul II, dans son encyclique Fides
et ratio, a rappelé que saint Thomas "a toujours été proposé à juste
titre par l'Eglise comme un maître de pensée et le modèle d'une façon correcte
de faire de la théologie" (n. 43). Il n'est donc pas surprenant que, après
saint Augustin, parmi les écrivains ecclésiastiques mentionnés dans le
Catéchisme de l'Eglise catholique, saint Thomas soit cité plus que tout autre,
pas moins de soixante et une fois! Il a également été appelé Doctor Angelicus,
sans doute en raison de ses vertus, en particulier le caractère sublime de sa
pensée et la pureté de sa vie.
Thomas naquit entre 1224
et 1225 dans le château que sa famille, noble et riche, possédait à Roccasecca,
près d'Aquin, à côté de la célèbre abbaye du Mont Cassin, où il fut envoyé par
ses parents pour recevoir les premiers éléments de son instruction. Quelques
années plus tard, il se rendit dans la capitale du Royaume de Sicile, Naples,
où Frédéric II avait fondé une prestigieuse Université. On y enseignait, sans
les limitations imposées ailleurs, la pensée du philosophe grec Aristote,
auquel le jeune Thomas fut introduit, et dont il comprit immédiatement la
grande valeur. Mais surtout, c'est au cours de ces années passées à Naples, que
naquit sa vocation dominicaine. Thomas fut en effet attiré par l'idéal de
l'Ordre fondé quelques années auparavant par saint Dominique. Toutefois,
lorsqu'il revêtit l'habit dominicain, sa famille s'opposa à ce choix, et il fut
contraint de quitter le couvent et de passer un certain temps auprès de sa
famille.
En 1245, désormais
majeur, il put reprendre son chemin de réponse à l'appel de Dieu. Il fut envoyé
à Paris pour étudier la théologie sous la direction d'un autre saint, Albert le
Grand, dont j'ai récemment parlé. Albert et Thomas nouèrent une véritable et
profonde amitié, et apprirent à s'estimer et à s'aimer, au point qu'Albert voulut
que son disciple le suivît également à Cologne, où il avait été envoyé par les
supérieurs de l'Ordre pour fonder une école de théologie. Thomas se familiarisa
alors avec toutes les œuvres d'Aristote et de ses commentateurs arabes,
qu'Albert illustrait et expliquait.
A cette époque, la
culture du monde latin avait été profondément stimulée par la rencontre avec
les œuvres d'Aristote, qui étaient demeurées longtemps inconnues. Il s'agissait
d'écrits sur la nature de la connaissance, sur les sciences naturelles, sur la
métaphysique, sur l'âme et sur l'éthique, riches d'informations et
d'intuitions, qui apparaissaient de grande valeur et convaincants. Il
s'agissait d'une vision complète du monde, développée sans et avant le Christ,
à travers la raison pure, et elle semblait s'imposer à la raison comme
"la" vision elle-même: cela était donc une incroyable attraction pour
les jeunes de voir et de connaître cette philosophie. De nombreuses personnes
accueillirent avec enthousiasme, et même avec un enthousiasme acritique, cet
immense bagage de savoir antique, qui semblait pouvoir renouveler
avantageusement la culture, ouvrir des horizons entièrement nouveaux. D'autres,
toutefois, craignaient que la pensée païenne d'Aristote fût en opposition avec
la foi chrétienne, et se refusaient de l'étudier. Deux cultures se
rencontrèrent: la culture pré-chrétienne d'Aristote, avec sa rationalité
radicale, et la culture chrétienne classique. Certains milieux étaient conduits
au refus d'Aristote également en raison de la présentation qui était faite de
ce philosophe par les commentateurs arabes Avicenne et Averroès. En effet,
c'était eux qui avaient transmis la philosophie d'Aristote au monde latin. Par
exemple, ces commentateurs avaient enseigné que les hommes ne disposaient pas
d'une intelligence personnelle, mais qu'il existe un unique esprit universel,
une substance spirituelle commune à tous, qui œuvre en tous comme
"unique": par conséquent, une dépersonnalisation de l'homme. Un autre
point discutable véhiculé par les commentateurs arabes était celui selon lequel
le monde est éternel comme Dieu. De façon compréhensible, des discussions sans
fin se déchaînèrent dans le monde universitaire et dans le monde
ecclésiastique. La philosophie d'Aristote se diffusait même parmi les personnes
communes.
Thomas d'Aquin, à l'école
d'Albert le Grand, accomplit une opération d'une importance fondamentale pour
l'histoire de la philosophie et de la théologie, je dirais même pour l'histoire
de la culture: il étudia à fond Aristote et ses interprètes, se procurant de
nouvelles traductions latines des textes originaux en grec. Ainsi, il ne
s'appuyait plus seulement sur les commentateurs arabes, mais il pouvait
également lire personnellement les textes originaux, et commenta une grande
partie des œuvres d'Aristote, en y distinguant ce qui était juste de ce qui
était sujet au doute ou devant même être entièrement rejeté, en montrant la
correspondance avec les données de la Révélation chrétienne et en faisant un
usage ample et précis de la pensée d'Aristote dans l'exposition des écrits
théologiques qu'il composa. En définitive, Thomas d'Aquin démontra qu'entre foi
chrétienne et raison, subsiste une harmonie naturelle. Et telle a été la grande
œuvre de Thomas qui, en ce moment de conflit entre deux cultures - ce moment où
il semblait que la foi devait capituler face à la raison - a montré que les
deux vont de pair, que ce qui apparaissait comme une raison non compatible avec
la foi n'était pas raison, et que ce qui apparaissait comme foi n'était pas la
foi, si elle s'opposait à la véritable rationalité; il a ainsi créé une
nouvelle synthèse, qui a formé la culture des siècles qui ont suivi.
En raison de ses
excellentes capacités intellectuelles, Thomas fut rappelé à Paris comme
professeur de théologie sur la chaire dominicaine. C'est là aussi que débuta sa
production littéraire, qui se poursuivit jusqu'à sa mort, et qui tient du
prodige: commentaires des Saintes Ecritures, parce que le professeur de
théologie était surtout un interprète de l'Ecriture, commentaires des écrits
d'Aristote, œuvres systématiques volumineuses, parmi elles l'excellente Summa
Theologiae, traités et discours sur divers sujets. Pour la composition de ses
écrits, il était aidé par des secrétaires, au nombre desquels Réginald de Piperno,
qui le suivit fidèlement et auquel il fut lié par une amitié sincère et
fraternelle, caractérisée par une grande proximité et confiance. C'est là une
caractéristique des saints: ils cultivent l'amitié, parce qu'elle est une des
manifestations les plus nobles du cœur humain et elle a quelque chose de divin,
comme Thomas l'a lui-même expliqué dans certaines quaestiones de la Summa
Theologiae, où il écrit: "La charité est l'amitié de l'homme avec Dieu
principalement, et avec les êtres qui lui appartiennent" (II, q. 23, a.
1).
Il ne demeura pas
longtemps ni de façon stable à Paris. En 1259, il participa au Chapitre général
des Dominicains à Valenciennes, où il fut membre d'une commission qui établit
le programme des études dans l'Ordre. De 1261 à 1265, ensuite, Thomas était à
Orvieto. Le Pape Urbain iv, qui nourrissait à son égard une grande estime, lui
commanda la composition de textes liturgiques pour la fête du Corpus Domini,
que nous célébrons demain, instituée suite au miracle eucharistique de Bolsena.
Thomas eut une âme d'une grande sensibilité eucharistique. Les très beaux
hymnes que la liturgie de l'Eglise chante pour célébrer le mystère de la
présence réelle du Corps et du Sang du Seigneur dans l'Eucharistie sont
attribués à sa foi et à sa sagesse théologique. De 1265 à 1268, Thomas résida à
Rome où, probablement, il dirigeait un Studium, c'est-à-dire une maison des
études de l'ordre, et où il commença à écrire sa Summa Theologiae (cf.
Jean-Pierre Torell, Thomas d'Aquin. L'homme et le théologien, Casale Monf.,
1994).
En 1269, il fut rappelé à
Paris pour un second cycle d'enseignement. Les étudiants - on les comprend -
étaient enthousiastes de ses leçons. L'un de ses anciens élèves déclara qu'une
très grande foule d'étudiants suivaient les cours de Thomas, au point que les
salles parvenaient à peine à tous les contenir et il ajoutait dans une remarque
personnelle que "l'écouter était pour lui un profond bonheur".
L'interprétation d'Aristote donnée par Thomas n'était pas acceptée par tous,
mais même ses adversaires dans le domaine académique, comme Godefroid de
Fontaines, par exemple, admettaient que la doctrine du frère Thomas était
supérieure à d'autres par son utilité et sa valeur et permettait de corriger
celles de tous les autres docteurs. Peut-être aussi pour le soustraire aux
vives discussions en cours, les supérieurs l'envoyèrent encore une fois à
Naples, pour être à disposition du roi Charles I, qui entendait réorganiser les
études universitaires.
Outre les études et
l'enseignement, Thomas se consacra également à la prédication au peuple. Et le
peuple aussi venait volontiers l'écouter. Je dirais que c'est vraiment une
grande grâce lorsque les théologiens savent parler avec simplicité et ferveur
aux fidèles. Le ministère de la prédication, d'autre part, aide à son tour les
chercheurs en théologie à un sain réalisme pastoral, et enrichit leur recherche
de vifs élans.
Les derniers mois de la
vie terrestre de Thomas restent entourés d'un climat particulier, mystérieux
dirais-je. En décembre 1273, il appela son ami et secrétaire Réginald pour lui
communiquer sa décision d'interrompre tout travail, parce que, pendant la célébration
de la Messe, il avait compris, suite à une révélation surnaturelle, que tout ce
qu'il avait écrit jusqu'alors n'était qu'"un monceau de paille".
C'est un épisode mystérieux, qui nous aide à comprendre non seulement
l'humilité personnelle de Thomas, mais aussi le fait que tout ce que nous
réussissons à penser et à dire sur la foi, aussi élevé et pur que ce soit, est
infiniment dépassé par la grandeur et par la beauté de Dieu, qui nous sera
révélée en plénitude au Paradis. Quelques mois plus tard, absorbé toujours
davantage dans une profonde méditation, Thomas mourut alors qu'il était en
route vers Lyon, où il se rendait pour prendre part au Concile œcuménique
convoqué par le Pape Grégoire X. Il s'éteignit dans l'Abbaye cistercienne de
Fossanova, après avoir reçu le Viatique avec des sentiments de grande piété.
La vie et l'enseignement
de saint Thomas d'Aquin pourrait être résumés dans un épisode rapporté par les
anciens biographes. Tandis que le saint, comme il en avait l'habitude, était en
prière devant le crucifix, tôt le matin dans la chapelle "San Nicola"
à Naples, Domenico da Caserta, le sacristain de l'Eglise, entendit un dialogue.
Thomas demandait inquiet, si ce qu'il avait écrit sur les mystères de la foi
chrétienne était juste. Et le Crucifié répondit: "Tu as bien parlé de moi,
Thomas. Quelle sera ta récompense?". Et la réponse que Thomas donna est
celle que nous aussi, amis et disciples de Jésus, nous voudrions toujours lui
dire: "Rien d'autre que Toi, Seigneur!" (Ibid., p. 320).
* * *
Je confie à votre prière,
chers pèlerins francophones, mon Voyage
Apostolique à Chypre et tous les Chrétiens du Moyen Orient. Priez
aussi pour les prêtres et les séminaristes. Puisse le Seigneur Jésus vous
accompagner dans votre vie! Que Dieu vous bénisse!
APPEL DU PAPE
C'est avec
une profonde inquiétude que je suis les tragiques épisodes qui ont eu lieu à
proximité de la Bande de Gaza. Je ressens le besoin d'exprimer mes sincères
condoléances pour les victimes de ces douloureux événements, qui inquiètent
tous ceux qui ont à cœur la paix dans la région. Encore une fois, je répète
avec une grande tristesse que la violence ne résout pas les différends, mais
qu'elle en accroît au contraire les douloureuses circonstances et engendre
d'autres violences. Je fais appel à tous ceux qui ont des responsabilités
politiques au niveau local et international afin qu'ils recherchent sans
attendre des solutions justes à travers le dialogue, de manière à garantir aux
populations de la région de meilleures conditions de vie, dans la concorde et
la sérénité. Je vous invite à vous unir à moi dans la prière pour les victimes,
pour leurs proches et pour tous ceux qui souffrent. Que le Seigneur soutienne
les efforts de ceux qui ne se lassent pas d'œuvrer pour la réconciliation et
pour la paix.
© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Lippo
Memmi (1291–1356), Le Triomphe de Saint Thomas Aquinas, circa 1340, 375 x 258, Santa Caterina, Pisa
BENOÎT XVI
AUDIENCE GÉNÉRALE
Place Saint-Pierre, Mercredi 16 juin 2010
Saint Thomas d'Aquin (2)
Chers frères et sœurs,
Je voudrais aujourd'hui
continuer la présentation de saint Thomas d'Aquin, un théologien d'une telle
valeur que l'étude de sa pensée a été explicitement recommandée par le Concile
Vatican II dans deux documents, le décret Optatam
totius, sur la formation au sacerdoce, et la déclaration Gravissimum
educationis, qui traite de l'éducation chrétienne. Du reste, déjà en 1880,
le Pape Léon
XIII, son grand amateur et promoteur des études thomistes, voulut déclarer
saint Thomas Patron des écoles et des universités catholiques.
La principale raison de cette estime réside non seulement dans le contenu de
son enseignement, mais aussi dans la méthode qu'il a adoptée, notamment sa
nouvelle synthèse et distinction entre philosophie et théologie. Les Pères de
l'Eglise se trouvaient confrontés à diverses philosophies de type platonicien,
dans lesquelles était présentée une vision complète du monde et de la vie, y
compris la question de Dieu et de la religion. En se confrontant avec ces
philosophies, eux-mêmes avaient élaboré une vision complète de la réalité, en
partant de la foi et en utilisant des éléments du platonisme, pour répondre aux
questions essentielles des hommes. Cette vision, basée sur la révélation
biblique et élaborée avec un platonisme corrigé à la lumière de la foi, ils
l’appelaient «notre philosophie». Le terme de «philosophie» n'était donc pas
l'expression d'un système purement rationnel et, en tant que tel, distinct de
la foi, mais indiquait une vision d'ensemble de la réalité, construite à la
lumière de la foi, mais faite sienne et pensée par la raison; une vision qui,
bien sûr, allait au-delà des capacités propres de la raison, mais qui, en tant
que telle, était aussi satisfaisante pour celle-ci. Pour saint Thomas, la
rencontre avec la philosophie pré-chrétienne d'Aristote (mort vers 322 av.
J.-C.) ouvrait une perspective nouvelle. La philosophie aristotélicienne était,
évidemment, une philosophie élaborée sans connaissance de l’Ancien et du
Nouveau Testament, une explication du monde sans révélation, par la raison
seule. Et cette rationalité conséquente était convaincante. Ainsi, l'ancienne
formule de «notre philosophie» des Pères ne fonctionnait plus. La relation
entre philosophie et théologie, entre foi et raison, était à repenser. Il
existait une «philosophie» complète et convaincante en elle-même, une
rationalité précédant la foi, et puis la «théologie», une pensée avec la foi et
dans la foi. La question pressante était celle-ci: le monde de la rationalité,
la philosophie pensée sans le Christ, et le monde de la foi sont-ils
compatibles? Ou bien s'excluent-ils? Il ne manquait pas d'éléments qui
affirmaient l'incompatibilité entre les deux mondes, mais saint Thomas était
fermement convaincu de leur compatibilité — et même que la philosophie élaborée
sans la connaissance du Christ attendait en quelque sorte la lumière de Jésus
pour être complète. Telle a été la grande «surprise» de saint Thomas, qui a
déterminé son parcours de penseur. Montrer cette indépendance entre la
philosophie et la théologie et, dans le même temps, leur relation réciproque a
été la mission historique du grand maître. Et on comprend ainsi que, au XIXe
siècle, alors que l'on déclarait avec force l'incompatibilité entre la raison
moderne et la foi, le Pape Léon
XIII indiqua saint Thomas comme guide dans le dialogue entre l'une et
l'autre. Dans son travail théologique, saint Thomas suppose et concrétise cette
relation. La foi consolide, intègre et illumine le patrimoine de vérité que la
raison humaine acquiert. La confiance que saint Thomas accorde à ces deux
instruments de la connaissance — la foi et la raison — peut être reconduite à
la conviction que toutes deux proviennent de l'unique source de toute vérité,
le Logos divin, qui est à l'œuvre aussi bien dans le domaine de la création que
dans celui de la rédemption.
En plus de l'accord entre la raison et la foi, il faut reconnaître, d'autre
part, que celles-ci font appel à des processus de connaissance différents. La
raison accueille une vérité en vertu de son évidence intrinsèque, médiate ou
immédiate; la foi, en revanche, accepte une vérité sur la base de l'autorité de
la Parole de Dieu qui est révélée. Saint Thomas écrit au début de sa Summa
Theologiae: «L'ordre des sciences est double; certaines procèdent de principes
connus à travers la lumière naturelle de la raison, comme les mathématiques, la
géométrie et équivalents; d'autres procèdent de principes connus à travers une
science supérieure, c'est-à-dire la science de Dieu et des saints» (I, q. 1, a.
2).
Cette distinction assure l'autonomie autant des sciences humaines que des
sciences théologiques. Celle-ci n'équivaut pas toutefois à une séparation, mais
implique plutôt une collaboration réciproque et bénéfique. La foi, en effet,
protège la raison de toute tentation de manquer de confiance envers ses propres
capacités, elle l'encourage à s'ouvrir à des horizons toujours plus vastes,
elle garde vivante en elle la recherche des fondements et, quand la raison
elle-même s'applique à la sphère surnaturelle du rapport entre Dieu et l'homme,
elle enrichit son travail. Selon saint Thomas, par exemple, la raison humaine
peut sans aucun doute parvenir à l’affirmation de l'existence d'un Dieu unique,
mais seule la foi, qui accueille la Révélation divine, est en mesure de puiser
au mystère de l'Amour du Dieu Un et Trine.
Par ailleurs, ce n'est pas seulement la foi qui aide la raison. La raison elle
aussi, avec ses moyens, peut faire quelque chose d'important pour la foi, en
lui rendant un triple service que saint Thomas résume dans le préambule de son
commentaire au De Trinitate de Boèce: «Démontrer les fondements de la foi;
expliquer à travers des similitudes les vérités de la foi; repousser les
objections qui sont soulevées contre la foi» (q. 2, a. 2). Toute l'histoire de
la théologie est, au fond, l'exercice de cet engagement de l'intelligence, qui
montre l'intelligibilité de la foi, son articulation et son harmonie interne,
son caractère raisonnable, sa capacité à promouvoir le bien de l'homme. La
justesse des raisonnements théologiques et leur signification réelle de
connaissance se basent sur la valeur du langage théologique, qui est, selon
saint Thomas, principalement un langage analogique. La distance entre Dieu, le
Créateur, et l'être de ses créatures est infinie; la dissimilitude est toujours
plus grande que la similitude (cf. DS 806). Malgré tout, dans toute la
différence entre le Créateur et la créature, il existe une analogie entre
l'être créé et l'être du Créateur, qui nous permet de parler avec des paroles
humaines sur Dieu.
Saint Thomas a fondé la doctrine de l'analogie, outre que sur des thèmes
spécifiquement philosophiques, également sur le fait qu'à travers la
Révélation, Dieu lui-même nous a parlé et nous a donc autorisés à parler de
Lui. Je considère qu'il est important de rappeler cette doctrine. En effet,
celle-ci nous aide à surmonter certaines objections de l'athéisme contemporain,
qui nie que le langage religieux soit pourvu d'une signification objective, et
soutient au contraire qu'il a uniquement une valeur subjective ou simplement
émotive. Cette objection découle du fait que la pensée positiviste est
convaincue que l'homme ne connaît pas l'être, mais uniquement les fonctions qui
peuvent être expérimentées par la réalité. Avec saint Thomas et avec la grande
tradition philosophique, nous sommes convaincus qu'en réalité, l'homme ne
connaît pas seulement les fonctions, objet des sciences naturelles, mais
connaît quelque chose de l'être lui-même, par exemple, il connaît la personne,
le Toi de l'autre, et non seulement l'aspect physique et biologique de son
être.
A la lumière de cet enseignement de saint Thomas, la théologie affirme que,
bien que limité, le langage religieux est doté de sens — car nous touchons
l'être — comme une flèche qui se dirige vers la réalité qu'elle signifie. Cet
accord fondamental entre raison humaine et foi chrétienne est présent dans un
autre principe fondamental de la pensée de saint Thomas d'Aquin: la Grâce
divine n'efface pas, mais suppose et perfectionne la nature humaine. En effet,
cette dernière, même après le péché, n'est pas complètement corrompue, mais
blessée et affaiblie. La grâce, diffusée par Dieu et communiquée à travers le
Mystère du Verbe incarné, est un don absolument gratuit avec lequel la nature
est guérie, renforcée et aidée à poursuivre le désir inné dans le cœur de chaque
homme et de chaque femme: le bonheur. Toutes les facultés de l'être humain sont
purifiées, transformées et élevées dans la Grâce divine.
Une application importante de cette relation entre la nature et la Grâce se
retrouve dans la théologie morale de saint Thomas d'Aquin, qui apparaît d'une
grande actualité. Au centre de son enseignement dans ce domaine, il place la
loi nouvelle, qui est la loi de l'Esprit Saint. Avec un regard profondément
évangélique, il insiste sur le fait que cette loi est la Grâce de l'Esprit
Saint donnée à tous ceux qui croient dans le Christ. A cette Grâce s'unit
l'enseignement écrit et oral des vérités doctrinales et morales, transmises par
l'Eglise. Saint Thomas, en soulignant le rôle fondamental, dans la vie morale,
de l'action de l'Esprit Saint, de la Grâce, dont jaillissent les vertus
théologales et morales, fait comprendre que chaque chrétien peut atteindre les
autres perspectives du «Sermon sur la montagne» s’il vit un rapport authentique
de foi dans le Christ, s'il s'ouvre à l'action de son Saint Esprit. Mais —
ajoute saint Thomas d'Aquin — «même si la grâce est plus efficace que la
nature, la nature est plus essentielle pour l'homme» (Summa Theologiae, Ia,
q.29. a. 3), c'est pourquoi, dans la perspective morale chrétienne, il existe
une place pour la raison, qui est capable de discerner la loi morale naturelle.
La raison peut la reconnaître en considérant ce qu'il est bon de faire et ce
qu'il est bon d'éviter pour atteindre le bonheur qui tient au cœur de chacun,
et qui impose également une responsabilité envers les autres, et donc, la
recherche du bien commun. En d'autres termes, les vertus de l'homme,
théologales et morales, sont enracinées dans la nature humaine. La Grâce divine
accompagne, soutient et pousse l'engagement éthique, mais, en soi, selon saint
Thomas, tous les hommes, croyants et non croyants, sont appelés à reconnaître
les exigences de la nature humaine exprimées dans la loi naturelle et à
s'inspirer d'elle dans la formulation des lois positives, c'est-à-dire de celles
émanant des autorités civiles et politiques pour réglementer la coexistence
humaine.
Lorsque la loi naturelle et la responsabilité qu'elle implique sont niées, on
ouvre de façon dramatique la voie au relativisme éthique sur le plan individuel
et au totalitarisme de l'Etat sur le plan politique. La défense des droits
universels de l'homme et l'affirmation de la valeur absolue de la dignité de la
personne présupposent un fondement. Ce fondement n'est-il pas la loi naturelle,
avec les valeurs non négociables qu'elle indique? Le vénérable Jean-Paul
II écrivait dans son encyclique Evangelium
vitae des paroles qui demeurent d'une grande actualité: «Pour l'avenir
de la société et pour le développement d'une saine démocratie, il est donc
urgent de redécouvrir l'existence de valeurs humaines et morales essentielles
et originelles, qui découlent de la vérité même de l'être humain et qui
expriment et protègent la dignité de la personne: ce sont donc des valeurs
qu'aucune personne, aucune majorité ni aucun Etat ne pourront jamais créer,
modifier ou abolir, mais que l'on est tenu de reconnaître, respecter et
promouvoir» (n.
71).
En conclusion, Thomas nous propose un concept de la raison humaine ample et
confiant: ample, car il ne se limite pas aux espaces de la soi-disant raison
empirique-scientifique, mais il est ouvert à tout l'être et donc également aux
questions fondamentales et auxquelles on ne peut renoncer de la vie humaine; et
confiant, car la raison humaine, surtout si elle accueille les inspirations de
la foi chrétienne, est promotrice d'une civilisation qui reconnaît la dignité
de la personne, le caractère intangible de ses droits et le caractère coercitif
de ses devoirs. Il n'est pas surprenant que la doctrine sur la dignité de la
personne, fondamentale pour la reconnaissance du caractère inviolable de
l'homme, se soit développée dans des domaines de pensée qui ont recueilli
l'héritage de saint Thomas d'Aquin, qui avait une conception très élevée de la
créature humaine. Il la définit, à travers son langage rigoureusement
philosophique, comme «ce qui se trouve de plus parfait dans toute la nature,
c'est-à-dire un sujet subsistant dans une nature rationnelle» (Summa
Theologiae, Ia, q. 29, a. 3).
La profondeur de la pensée de saint Thomas d'Aquin découle — ne l'oublions
jamais — de sa foi vivante et de sa piété fervente, qu'il exprimait dans des
prières inspirées, comme celle où il demande à Dieu: «Accorde-moi, je t'en
prie, une volonté qui te recherche, une sagesse qui te trouve, une vie qui te
plaît, une persévérance qui t'attend avec patience et une confiance qui
parvienne à la fin à te posséder».
* * *
Je suis heureux de vous accueillir, chers pèlerins de langue française, venus
particulièrement de France et de Belgique. Que votre pèlerinage à Rome soit
pour vous l'occasion de découvrir toujours plus profondément le visage du
Seigneur. Que Dieu vous bénisse!
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100616_fr.html
Fra Angelico (circa 1395 –1455). Saint Thomas Aquinas, 1438-1440, Cini Foundation $ Fondazione Giorgio Cini, located in the former San Giorgio Monastery on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
BENOÎT XVI
AUDIENCE GÉNÉRALE
Salle Paul VI, Mercredi 23 juin 2010
Saint Thomas d'Aquin (3)
Chers frères et sœurs,
Je voudrais aujourd’hui
compléter, par une troisième partie, mes catéchèses sur saint Thomas d’Aquin.
Même à 700 ans de sa mort nous pouvons beaucoup apprendre de lui. C’est ce que
rappelait également mon prédécesseur, le Pape Paul
VI, qui, dans un discours prononcé à Fossanova le 14 septembre 1974, à
l’occasion du septième centenaire de la mort de saint Thomas, se demandait:
«Maître Thomas, quelle leçon peux-tu nous donner?». Et il répondit ainsi: «La
confiance dans la vérité de la pensée religieuse catholique, telle qu’il la
défendit, l’exposa, l’ouvrit à la capacité cognitive de l’esprit humain»
(Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, XII [1974], pp. 833-834). Et, le même jour, à Aquin,
se référant toujours à saint Thomas, il affirmait: «Tous, nous qui sommes des
fils fidèles de l'Eglise, nous pouvons et nous devons, au moins dans une
certaine mesure, être ses disciples!» (ibid., p. 836).
Mettons-nous donc nous aussi à l’école de saint Thomas et de son chef-d’œuvre,
la Summa Theologiae. Celle-ci, bien qu’étant inachevée, est une œuvre
monumentale: elle contient 512 questions et 2669 articles. Il s’agit d’un
raisonnement serré, dans lequel l’application de l’intelligence humaine aux
mystères de la foi procède avec clarté et profondeur, mêlant des questions et
des réponses, dans lesquelles saint Thomas approfondit l’enseignement qui vient
de l'Ecriture Sainte et des Pères de l'Eglise, en particulier saint Augustin.
Dans cette réflexion, dans la rencontre de vraies questions de son époque, qui
sont aussi et souvent des questions de notre temps, saint Thomas, utilisant
également la méthode et la pensée des philosophes antiques, en particulier
Aristote, arrive à des formulations précises, lucides et pertinentes des
vérités de la foi, où la vérité est don de la foi, où elle resplendit et nous
devient accessible, ainsi qu’à notre réflexion. Cependant, cet effort de
l’esprit humain — rappelle saint Thomas à travers sa vie elle-même — est
toujours éclairé par la prière, par la lumière qui vient d’En-haut. Seul celui
qui vit avec Dieu et avec ses mystères pour comprendre ce qu’ils disent.
Dans la Summa de théologie, saint Thomas part du fait qu’il existe trois différentes
façons de l'être et de l’essence de Dieu: Dieu existe en lui-même, il est le
principe et la fin de toute chose, c’est pourquoi toutes les créatures
procèdent et dépendent de Lui; ensuite, Dieu est présent à travers sa Grâce
dans la vie et dans l’activité du chrétien, des saints; enfin, Dieu est présent
d’une manière toute particulière en la Personne du Christ et dans les
Sacrements, qui naissent de son œuvre rédemptrice. Mais la structure de cette
œuvre monumentale (cf. Jean-Pierre Torrell, La «Summa» di San Tommaso, Milan
2003, pp. 29-75), une recherche de la plénitude de Dieu avec un «regard
théologique» (cf. Summa Theologiae, Ia, q. 1, a. 7), est articulée en trois
parties, et est illustrée par le Doctor Communis lui-même — saint Thomas — avec
ces mots: «Le but principal de la sainte doctrine est celui de faire connaître
Dieu, et pas seulement en lui-même, mais également en tant que principe et fin
des choses, et spécialement de la créature raisonnable. Dans l’intention
d’exposer cette doctrine, nous traiterons en premier de Dieu; en deuxième du
mouvement de la créature vers Dieu; et en troisième du Christ, qui, en tant
qu’homme, est pour nous le chemin pour monter vers Dieu» (ibid., i, q. 2).
C’est un cercle: Dieu en lui-même, qui sort de lui-même et nous prend par la
main, afin qu’avec le Christ nous retournions à Dieu, nous soyons unis à Dieu,
et Dieu sera tout en tous.
La première partie de la Summa Theologiae enquête donc sur Dieu en lui-même,
sur le mystère de la Trinité et sur l’activité créatrice de Dieu. Dans cette
partie, nous trouvons également une profonde réflexion sur la réalité
authentique de l’être humain en tant que sorti des mains créatrices de Dieu,
fruit de son amour. D’une part nous sommes un être créé, dépendant, nous ne
venons pas de nous-mêmes, mais de l’autre, nous avons une véritable autonomie,
ainsi nous ne sommes pas seulement quelque chose d’apparent — comme disent
certains philosophes platoniciens — mais une réalité voulue par Dieu comme
telle, et qui possède une valeur en elle-même.
Dans la deuxième partie, saint Thomas considère l’homme, animé par la grâce,
dans son aspiration à connaître et à aimer Dieu pour être heureux dans le temps
et pour l’éternité. L’auteur présente tout d’abord les principes théologiques
de l’action morale, en étudiant comment, dans le libre choix de l’homme
d’accomplir des actes bons, s’intègrent la raison, la volonté et les passions,
auxquelles s’ajoute la force que donne la Grâce de Dieu à travers les vertus et
les dons de l’Esprit Saint, ainsi que l’aide qui est offerte également par la
loi morale. Ainsi, l'être humain est un être dynamique qui se cherche lui-même,
qui aspire à être lui-même et cherche, de cette manière, à accomplir des actes
qui l’édifient, qui le font devenir vraiment homme; et celui qui pénètre dans
la loi morale, pénètre dans la grâce, dans sa propre raison, sa volonté et ses
passions. Sur ce fondement, saint Thomas trace la physionomie de l’homme qui
vit selon l’Esprit et qui devient, ainsi, une icône de Dieu. Saint Thomas
s’arrête ici pour étudier les trois vertus théologales — la foi, l’espérance et
la charité —, suivies de l’examen approfondi de plus de cinquante vertus
morales, organisées autour des quatre vertus cardinales: la prudence, la
justice, la tempérance et la force. Il termine ensuite par une réflexion sur
les différentes vocations dans l'Eglise.
Dans la troisième partie de la Summa, saint Thomas étudie le Mystère du Christ
— le chemin et la vérité — au moyen duquel nous pouvons rejoindre Dieu le Père.
Dans cette section, il écrit des pages presque uniques sur le Mystère de
l’Incarnation et de la Passion de Jésus, en ajoutant ensuite une vaste
réflexion sur les sept Sacrements, car en eux le Verbe divin incarné étend les
bénéfices de l’Incarnation pour notre salut, pour notre chemin de foi vers Dieu
et la vie éternelle et demeure presque présent matériellement avec la réalité
de la création et nous touche ainsi au plus profond de nous-mêmes.
En parlant des Sacrements, saint Thomas s’arrête de manière particulière sur le
Mystère de l’Eucharistie, pour lequel il eut une très grande dévotion, au point
que, selon ses antiques biographes, il avait l’habitude d’approcher son visage
du Tabernacle comme pour sentir battre le Cœur divin et humain de Jésus. Dans
l’une de ses œuvres de commentaire de l'Ecriture, saint Thomas nous aide à
comprendre l’excellence du Sacrement de l’Eucharistie, lorsqu’il écrit:
«L’Eucharistie étant le Sacrement de la Passion de notre Seigneur, elle
contient Jésus Christ qui souffrit pour nous. Et donc, tout ce qui est l’effet
de la Passion de notre Seigneur, est également l’effet de ce sacrement, n’étant
autre que l’application en nous de la Passion du Seigneur» (In Ioannem, c.6,
lect. 6, n. 963). Nous comprenons bien pourquoi saint Thomas et d’autres saints
ont célébré la Messe en versant des larmes de compassion pour le Seigneur, qui
s’offre en sacrifice pour nous, des larmes de joie et de gratitude.
Chers frères et sœurs, à l'école des saints, tombons amoureux de ce Sacrement!
Participons à la Messe avec recueillement, pour en obtenir des fruits
spirituels, nourrissons-nous du Corps et du Sang du Seigneur, pour être sans
cesse nourris par la Grâce divine! Entretenons-nous volontiers et fréquemment,
familièrement, avec le Très Saint Sacrement!
Ce que saint Thomas a illustré avec une grande rigueur scientifique dans ses
œuvres théologiques majeures, comme justement la Summa Theologiae, et également
la Summa contra Gentiles a été exposé dans sa prédication, adressée aux
étudiants et aux fidèles. En 1273, un an avant sa mort, pendant toute la
période du Carême, il tint des prédications dans l'église San Domenico Maggiore
à Naples. Le contenu de ces sermons a été recueilli et conservé: ce sont les
Opuscules, où il explique le Symbole des Apôtres, interprète la prière du Notre
Père, illustre le Décalogue et commente l'Ave Maria. Le contenu des
prédications du Doctor Angelicus correspond presque tout entier à la structure
du Catéchisme de l'Eglise catholique. En effet, dans la catéchèse et dans la prédication,
à une époque comme la nôtre d'engagement renouvelé pour l'évangélisation, ces
arguments fondamentaux ne devraient jamais faire défaut: ce que nous croyons,
et voici le Symbole de la foi; ce que nous prions, et voici le Notre Père et
l'Ave Maria; et ce que nous vivons comme nous l'enseigne la Révélation
biblique, et voici la loi de l'amour de Dieu et du prochain et les Dix
Commandements comme explication de ce mandat de l’amour.
Je voudrais proposer quelques exemples du contenu, simple, essentiel et
convaincant, de l'enseignement de saint Thomas. Dans son Opuscule sur le
Symbole des Apôtres, il explique la valeur de la foi. Par l'intermédiaire de
celle-ci, dit-il, l'âme s'unit à Dieu, et il se produit comme un bourgeon de
vie éternelle; la vie reçoit une orientation sûre, et nous dépassons avec
aisance les tentations. A qui objecte que la foi est une stupidité, parce
qu’elle fait croire en quelque chose qui n'appartient pas à l'expérience des
sens, saint Thomas offre une réponse très articulée, et il rappelle que cela
est un doute inconsistant, parce que l'intelligence humaine est limitée et ne
peut pas tout connaître. Ce n'est que dans le cas où nous pourrions connaître
parfaitement toutes les choses visibles et invisibles, que ce serait alors une
authentique sottise d'accepter des vérités par pure foi. Par ailleurs, il est
impossible de vivre, observe saint Thomas, sans se fier à l'expérience des
autres, là où la connaissance personnelle n'arrive pas. Il est donc raisonnable
de prêter foi à Dieu qui se révèle et au témoignage des Apôtres: ils étaient un
petit nombre, simples et pauvres, bouleversés par la Crucifixion de leur
Maître; pourtant beaucoup de personnes sages, nobles et riches se sont
converties en peu de temps à l'écoute de leur prédication. Il s'agit, en effet,
d'un phénomène historiquement prodigieux, auquel on peut difficilement donner
une autre réponse raisonnable, sinon celle de la rencontre des Apôtres avec le
Christ ressuscité.
En commentant l'article du Symbole sur l'Incarnation du Verbe divin, saint
Thomas fait certaines considérations. Il affirme que la foi chrétienne, si l'on
considère le mystère de l'Incarnation, se trouve renforcée; l'espérance s'élève
plus confiante, à la pensée que le Fils de Dieu est venu parmi nous, comme l'un
de nous pour communiquer aux hommes sa divinité; la charité est ravivée, parce
qu'il n'y a pas de signe plus évident de l'amour de Dieu pour nous, que de voir
le Créateur de l'univers se faire lui-même créature, un de nous. Enfin, si l'on
considère le mystère de l'Incarnation de Dieu, nous sentons s'enflammer notre
désir de rejoindre le Christ dans la gloire. Pour faire une comparaison simple
mais efficace, saint Thomas observe: «Si le frère d'un roi était loin, il
brûlerait certainement de pouvoir vivre à ses côtés. Eh bien, le Christ est
notre frère: nous devons donc désirer sa compagnie, devenir un seul cœur avec
lui» (Opuscoli teologico-spirituali, Rome 1976, p. 64).
En présentant la prière du Notre Père, saint Thomas montre qu'elle est en soit
parfaite, ayant les cinq caractéristiques qu'une oraison bien faite devrait
posséder: l'abandon confiant et tranquille; un contenu convenable, car —
observe saint Thomas — «il est très difficile de savoir exactement ce qu'il est
opportun de demander ou non, du moment que nous sommes en difficulté face à la
sélection des désirs» (Ibid., p. 120); et puis l'ordre approprié des requêtes,
la ferveur de la charité et la sincérité de l'humilité.
Saint Thomas a été, comme tous les saints, un grand dévot de la Vierge. Il l'a
appelée d'un nom formidable: Triclinium totius Trinitatis, triclinium,
c'est-à-dire lieu où la Trinité trouve son repos, parce qu'en raison de
l'Incarnation, en aucune créature comme en elle, les trois Personnes divines
habitent et éprouvent délice et joie à vivre dans son âme pleine de Grâce. Par
son intercession nous pouvons obtenir tous les secours.
Avec une prière qui est traditionnellement attribuée à saint Thomas et qui,
quoi qu'il en soit, reflète les éléments de sa profonde dévotion mariale, nous
disons nous aussi: « O bienheureuse et très douce Vierge Marie, Mère de
Dieu..., je confie à ton cœur miséricordieux toute ma vie... Obtiens-moi, ô ma
très douce Dame, la véritable charité, avec laquelle je puisse aimer de tout
mon cœur ton très saint Fils et toi, après lui, par dessus toute chose, et mon
prochain en Dieu et pour Dieu ».
* * *
Je salue les pèlerins francophones, particulièrement les jeunes collégiens et
les Vietnamiens présents. Puissions-nous suivre avec générosité le chemin que saint
Thomas d’Aquin nous indique ! Que la Vierge Marie vous accompagne ! Bon
pèlerinage à tous !
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100623_fr.html
Giovanni di Paolo, Saint Thomas d'Aquin confond Averroès, 1445, 24,7 x 26,2, Saint-Louis, Art museum
750 ans après sa mort, le
formidable héritage de saint Thomas d’Aquin
Mathilde de Robien - publié
le 06/03/24
Le 7 mars 2024 marque les
750 ans de la mort de saint Thomas d’Aquin, survenue le 7 mars 1274 alors qu’il
était en route pour le Concile de Lyon. Déclaré docteur de l’Église en 1567,
son héritage théologique et philosophique continue d’éclairer l’Église
universelle.
De "bœuf muet"
à "docteur angélique". Une sacrée évolution ! Thomas
d’Aquin est né à Aquino en 1225, dans la région de Naples, et est issu d’une
grande famille italienne. Il fait ses études chez les Dominicains et, à 19 ans,
entre au noviciat de l’Ordre des Prêcheurs contre l’avis de ses parents. Il
poursuit sa formation à Paris puis à Cologne sous la direction d’Albert le
Grand. À Cologne, il est affublé par ses pairs du sobriquet de "bœuf muet", en raison de sa stature imposante et de
son caractère taciturne. Il consacre sa vie à l’enseignement universitaire en
France et en Italie, et à la rédaction de sa grande œuvre La Somme
théologique. Thomas d'Aquin est canonisé le 18 juillet 1323 par le pape Jean
XXII, et proclamé docteur de l'Église en 1567 par le pape Pie V. C’est à cette
époque qu’il reçoit le titre de "docteur angélique".
La Somme théologique
Œuvre majeure de saint Thomas d’Aquin, la Somme
théologique ou Somme de théologie est un
traité théologique et philosophique qui présente, de manière
organique, l’ensemble de la doctrine chrétienne. Un ouvrage conséquent (trois
fois la taille de la Bible !), destiné initialement à l’instruction des
jeunes clercs, et à la formation continue de religieux, de prêtres et de laïcs.
Il demeure néanmoins accessible aux moins "avancés", comme saint
Thomas le souligne dans le Prologue : "Le docteur de la vérité
catholique doit non seulement enseigner les plus avancés, mais aussi instruire
les commençants, selon ces mots de l’Apôtre (1 Co 3, 1-2) :
"Comme à de petits enfants dans le Christ, c’est du lait que je vous ai
donné à boire, non de la nourriture solide." Notre intention est
donc, dans cet ouvrage, d’exposer ce qui concerne la religion chrétienne de la
façon la plus convenable à la formation des débutants."
En répondant à 512
questions, saint Thomas essaie d’opérer une synthèse entre la foi et l’ensemble
de la sagesse chrétienne. La Somme se compose de trois parties : la
première est consacrée à la connaissance de Dieu, à la fois Un et Trinité de personnes, la deuxième, plus longue, à
l’agir de l’homme en tant que créature à l’image de Dieu, et la troisième au
Christ et à sa vie sur terre, et aux sacrements. Rédigée durant les dernières
années de sa vie, en pleine maturité intellectuelle, elle représente sept ans
de travail. Elle est inachevée car après avoir vécu une extase pendant la messe
le 6 décembre 1273, saint Thomas cesse d’écrire. Tout ce qu'il a écrit lui
paraît "comme de la paille", comparé à ce qu'il a
"vu".
Même inachevée, la Somme
théologique rayonne dans toute l’Europe et bien au-delà du Moyen Âge. Six
siècles plus tard, en 1879, le pape Léon XIII déclare que les écrits
de saint Thomas d'Aquin expriment adéquatement la doctrine de l'Église. Il
écrit dans son encyclique Æterni Patris : "Les
Pères du concile de Trente voulurent que, au milieu de leur assemblée, avec le
livre des divines Écritures et les décrets des pontifes suprêmes, sur l'autel
même, la Somme de Thomas d'Aquin fut déposée ouverte, pour pouvoir y
puiser des conseils, des raisons, des oracles." Le Concile Vatican II
recommande explicitement l'étude de sa pensée dans deux documents, le
décret Optatam totius sur la formation au sacerdoce, et la
déclaration Gravissimum educationis qui traite de l'éducation
chrétienne.
Le Docteur angélique
Au XVIe siècle, saint
Thomas reçoit le titre de "docteur angélique". Réputé pour sa pureté,
(Léon XIII souligne son "intégrité parfaite de mœurs"), doté d’une
intelligence lumineuse, saint Thomas est comparé à un ange. Dans son motu
proprio Doctoris Angelici, le pape Pie X évoque en ce sens "la
qualité presque angélique de son intellect". Mais saint Thomas doit sans
doute aussi ce qualificatif à sa profonde réflexion sur les anges. Il est le
premier à avoir défini l’ange comme une créature purement immatérielle, purement
spirituelle. Il a également développé une pensée sur les anges gardiens. Pour saint Thomas, les
anges gardiens sont des amis fidèles, des tuteurs personnels. À la naissance,
chaque être reçoit un tuteur. Tant qu’il pèlerine sur la terre, l’homme, menacé
par de nombreux dangers qui viennent "de l’intérieur et de
l’extérieur", se voit attribuer un gardien spécial : "son ange
gardien" (Somme I, 113, 4).
Saint patron des écoles
catholiques
Le 4 août
1880, Léon XIII déclare saint Thomas patron des écoles
catholiques. "Le patronage de cet homme très grand et très saint sera très
puissant pour la restauration des études philosophiques et théologiques, au
grand avantage de la société. Car, dès que les écoles catholiques se seront
mises sous la direction et la tutelle du Docteur Angélique, on verra fleurir
aisément la vraie science", écrit-il dans Cum hoc sit. Voilà pourquoi tant
d’établissements de l’enseignement catholique sont placés sous la protection de
saint Thomas d’Aquin.
Le pape Pie X va plus
loin en demandant avec forte insistance aux professeurs italiens de philosophie
d’enseigner les principes du thomisme. Dans son motu proprio Doctoris
Angelici pour encourager l'étude de la philosophie de saint Thomas d'Aquin
dans les écoles catholiques du 29 juin 1914, il exhorte : "Les
principes de philosophie posés par saint Thomas d'Aquin doivent être observés
religieusement et inviolablement, car ils sont le moyen d'acquérir une
connaissance de la création la plus conforme à la foi". Et d’affirmer
fermement : "Nous souhaitions donc que tous les professeurs de
philosophie et de théologie sacrée soient avertis que s'ils s'écartaient ne
serait-ce qu'un pas, en métaphysique notamment, de Thomas d'Aquin, ils
s'exposaient à de graves risques."
Le thomisme
Comme l'indique son nom,
le thomisme est une école de pensée qui s'inspire directement des écrits de
saint Thomas d'Aquin. Il consiste en un réalisme philosophique. L'originalité
de sa pensée réside dans la conciliation entre les acquis de la pensée
d’Aristote et les exigences de la foi chrétienne. Elle met en pleine lumière la
cohérence entre foi et raison. "À une époque où les penseurs chrétiens
redécouvraient les trésors de la philosophie antique, et plus directement
aristotélicienne, il eut le grand mérite de mettre au premier plan l'harmonie
qui existe entre la raison et la foi", souligne Jean Paul II dans Fides et ratio. "La lumière de
la raison et celle de la foi viennent toutes deux de Dieu, expliquait-il; c'est
pourquoi elles ne peuvent se contredire."
Au fil des siècles, le
thomisme a revêtu plusieurs formes, s'éloignant plus ou moins des réflexions
initiales développées dans la Somme théologique. À la fin du XIXe, à
l'initiative du pape Léon XIII, le thomisme se renouvelle en un mouvement
appelé le néothomisme, dont les représentants les plus importants
sont Jacques Maritain et Étienne Gilson.
Ses reliques
Le corps de saint Thomas
d’Aquin est conservé sous le maître-autel de l'église de l'ancien couvent
des Dominicains de Toulouse. L’une de ses reliques, son crâne, conservé depuis 1369 dans le couvent des
Jacobins à Toulouse, a été confié en 2023 pour trois ans aux Dominicains de la
Ville Rose, en l’honneur des trois années jubilaires qui célèbrent les 700 ans
de sa canonisation (1323), les 750 ans de sa mort (1274) et les 800 ans de sa
naissance (1225).
Nouveau reliquaire pour le
crâne Saint Thomas d'Aquin I Dominican Province of Toulouse I YouTube
Le chef de saint Thomas a
donc déjà entamé des visites dans toute la France, organisées par l’Association pour
le Centenaire Saint Thomas d’Aquin (ACTA). Il est actuellement à Paris
(du samedi 2 au 9 mars 2024), exposé à l’église saint Étienne du Mont puis à
Stanislas, avant de rejoindre la Lorraine du 13 au 19 mars, à Nancy puis Metz.
"Les paroisses, les communautés, les diocèses qui veulent actualiser
quelque chose de la grâce reçue par saint Thomas peuvent recevoir ces reliques
et organiser des veillées de prière, mais aussi vivifier leur recherche de Dieu
à travers la figure de saint Thomas", expliquait le père Olivier de
Saint-Martin, supérieur du couvent des dominicains de Toulouse. Par décret du
pape François, une indulgence plénière est
accordée aux fidèles qui vénèrent ces reliques.
Les dix plus belles
citations de saint Thomas d'Aquin :
Lire aussi :Le
saint cordon de Thomas d’Aquin
Lire aussi :Alcool
: quand s’arrêter ? La juste limite de saint Thomas d’Aquin
Lire aussi :La
prière de saint Thomas d’Aquin juste avant de mourir
_-_Pinacoteca_San_Domenico_-_Fano.jpg)
Master of the Urbino Coronation (fl. 14th century ). Madonna con il
Bambino, un frate domenicano, i Santi Giacomo Maggiore, Tommaso d'Aquino,
Leonardo e un committente, Pinacoteca San Domenico
Les plus belles citations
de saint Thomas d’Aquin
Mathilde de Robien - publié
le 06/03/24
Grand philosophe,
brillant théologien, docteur de l'Église... Grâce à ses nombreux écrits, saint
Thomas d'Aquin nous éclaire encore aujourd'hui sur notre rapport à Dieu, à la
foi, au bien et au mal.
Saint Thomas d'Aquin mérite
à plus d'un titre le qualificatif de docteur "angélique". Ce frère prêcheur italien,
proclamé docteur de l’Église en 1567 par le pape Pie V, était réputé pour sa
pureté, - Léon XIII souligne son "intégrité parfaite de mœurs" -, et
son intelligence lumineuse. Dans son motu proprio Doctoris Angelici, le
pape Pie X évoque "la qualité presque angélique de son intellect".
Florilège de citations, extraites de la Somme de théologie, de la Somme
contre les Gentils et des Sermons catéchétiques sur le Symbole des
Apôtres, qui reflètent merveilleusement la clarté de son âme :
Lire aussi :750
ans après sa mort, le formidable héritage de saint Thomas d’Aquin
Lire aussi :Jubilé
de saint Thomas d’Aquin : comment obtenir l’indulgence plénière ?
Lire aussi :Le
saint cordon de Thomas d’Aquin
SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/2024/03/06/les-plus-belles-citations-de-saint-thomas-daquin
Beato Angelico, San Tommaso d'Aquino con la
"Summa Theologiae", circa 1442, affresco; Firenze, Museo di San Marco, chiostro di S. Antonino,
lunetta
Les cinq voies de Saint
Thomas d'Aquin
PROLOGUE DE SAINT JEAN
« Dans le Principe était Le Logos, et le Verbe était tourné vers Dieu. Et c’est
Dieu qui était Verbe. Ainsi en était-il dans le Principe en Dieu. Et tout ce
qui devient est par lui, et rien de ce qui est devenu n’est devenu sans Lui. Et
ce qui est devenu était vie en lui. Et la Vie était la Lumière des hommes. Et
la Lumière luit dans la Ténèbre, et la Ténèbre n’a pas compris. [...] La
Lumière véritable existait, éclairant tout homme qui vient dans ce monde. Elle
était dans le monde, et le monde a été fait par elle et le monde ne la
connaissait pas. Et elle vint dans son domaine, et ses vassaux ne la reçurent
point. Mais à ceux qui la reçurent elle donna le pouvoir de devenir enfants de
Dieu : à ceux qui croient en son nom qui sont nés, non pas du mélange des
sangs, ni de la volonté de la chair ni de la volonté de l’homme, mais de Dieu.
Car le Verbe s’est fait chair et a habité parmi nous ; et nous avons vu sa
gloire : une gloire digne de l’Unique Engendré du Père ; la plénitude de la
grâce et de la Vérité ».
PREMIERE VOIE : Elle est fondée sur « l’observation du mouvement des êtres dans
le monde ». Le mouvement, défini comme le passage à l’acte d’un être en
puissance relativement à cet acte, est causé par un autre être qui joue le rôle
de moteur ou d’agent du changement, celui-ci à son tour est mû par un autre,
mais on ne saurait remonter à l’infini dans la série des mouvements, car alors
on ne pourrait assigner un commencement (fini) au mouvement. Mais si
éternellement rien ne se meut, éternellement rien ne se mouvra et il n’y aurait
pas de mouvement. Il faut donc poser l’existence d’un « Moteur Premier » non mû
seul à même d’expliquer le mouvement, que tous reconnaissent comme Dieu !
DEUXIEME VOIE : Elle est fondée sur la notion et la réalité tout aussi
aristotélicienne de cause. Tout être ou toute modification d’être advient comme
l’effet d’un être antérieur (logique !) qui joue à son égard le rôle de cause
et qui est lui-même l’effet d’un autre et ainsi de suite… Toutefois, comme le
première voie, on ne peut aller à l’infini dans la série des causes, cela
signifierait qu’il n’y aurait pas de commencement assignable et donc pas de
suite ni de série causale. Il faut donc poser l’existence d’une « Cause
Première » incausée « que tous appellent Dieu » !
TROISIEME VOIE : Elle est fondée sur la distinction qui n’avait pas retenu
l’attention d’Aristote de « l’être possible » ou contingent et de « l’être
nécessaire » (Dieu). Ici, Saint Thomas tire une partie de la pensée des
philosophes arabes, en particulier d’Avicenne. Pour ce dernier, parmi les
objets intelligibles que contemple le métaphysicien, il en est un qui jouit
d’un privilège particulier : c’est l’être. Etre un homme n’est pas être un
cheval ou un arbre, mais dans les trois cas, c’est être un être ou un existant
! Pourtant, cette notion n’est pas simple : elle se dédouble immédiatement en
être nécessaire et être possible. On appelle possible un être qui peut exister
mais qui n’existera jamais s’il n’est pas produit par une cause, on appelle
nécessaire ce qui n’a pas de cause et, en vertu de sa propre essence, ne peut
pas ne pas exister. Dans une métaphysique dont l’objet propre est l’essence,
ces distinctions conceptuelles équivalent à une division des êtres. En fait,
l’expérience ne nous fait connaître que des êtres dont l’existence dépend de
certaines causes : chacun est possible mais leur causes aussi. La série totale
des êtres est donc un simple possible. Il ne sert à rien d’allonger
indéfiniment la série des causes : si les possibles existent, c’est qu’existe
aussi un être nécessaire, cause de leur existence. Le Dieu d’Avicenne est donc
le « Necesse esse » par définition, l’Être Nécessaire : il possède l’existence
en vertu de sa seule essence ou encore, dit autrement, essence et existence ne
font qu’un en lui, c’est pourquoi il est indéfinissable. Il est, quod est, mais
si l’on demande ce qu’il est, quid est, il n’y a pas de réponse ! Son cas est
unique. Dans cette troisième voie, (un peu longue, désolé !) Saint Thomas
reprend donc à son compte non seulement la distinction entre le possible et le
nécessaire mais aussi la marche générale de la preuve qui conduit à poser
l’existence d’un Être Nécessaire que tous appellent Dieu !
QUATRIEME VOIE : « On voit en effet dans les choses du plus ou moins bon, du
plus ou moins vrai, du plus ou moins noble » (Saint Thomas). Elle part de la
constatation qu’il y a des degrés dans les êtres. En effet, il y a des degrés
de beauté, de bonté dans les choses, qui ne s’entendent que par rapport au
Beau, au Vrai, au Bon en soi. D’inspiration platonicienne et donc assez
différente des trois premières, cette voie ne s’écarte pas néanmoins de
l’inspiration aristotélicienne. Pour être clair, cette voie peut-être mise sous
la forme syllogistique suivante : Des êtres possédant imparfaitement leur
perfection la tiennent d’un être qui la possède par soi, ou sont causés par un être
qui possède cette perfection dans ce genre (du bon, du vrai, du beau). Donc
quelque Être possédant la perfection par soi est existant. En conclusion, « il
y a donc un être qui est, pour tous les êtres, causes d’êtres, de bonté et de
toute perfection. C’est lui que nous appelons Dieu ! »
CINQUIEME VOIE : Elle part de la constatation de « l’ordre du monde ». Elle
peut-être considérée comme une application de la cause finale (quatrième cause
reconnue par Aristote). Les divers êtres que nous voyons, les astres, les
plantes, les animaux suivent un ordre qui délimite leur place, c’est l’ordre
statique ou structurel, et leur mouvement ou évolution, c’est l’ordre
dynamique. Il y a donc un Être intelligent par lequel toutes choses naturelles
sont ordonnées à leur fin, et cet Être, c’est lui que nous appelons tous Dieu !
POUR CONCLURE… Si le mouvement (première voie), les causes efficientes
(deuxième voie), ce qui naît et meurt ou le devenir des êtres (troisième voie),
les degrés de perfection des êtres (quatrième voie), l’ordre manifesté par les
choses inanimées (cinquième voie) permettent de conclure à l’existence de Dieu,
c’est parce qu’ils existent ! Il suffit d’assigner la raison suffisante
complète d’une seule existence quelconque empiriquement donnée pour prouver
l’existence de Dieu.
--> En conclusion finale, pour continuer dans la pure logique de ce qui
vient d’être dit, tout ce qui existe vient nécessairement de Dieu. Ceux qui
affirmeraient le contraire même par un discours rationnellement
"décoré" se trouvent dans l’erreur et non dans la Vérité. Ne
l’oublions pas, notre Vérité Incarnée, c’est seulement Jésus-Christ, notre «
LOGOS SUPRÊME » à tous !
SOURCE : http://notredamedesneiges.over-blog.com/article-3574621.html
Carlo Crivelli (circa 1435–circa 1495), Saint Thomas Aquinas, 1476, 61 x 40, tempera on poplar panel, National Gallery, City of Westminster, Central London
Thomas d’Aquin :
antidote au divorce entre foi et raison
par Simon Lessard
28 janvier 2025
Religion et science
sont-elles condamnées à s’opposer ? Saint Thomas d’Aquin (1225-1274), figure
emblématique de la théologie chrétienne, a montré qu’elles peuvent au contraire
dialoguer et même collaborer. Alors que nous célébrons en 2025 les 800 ans de
sa naissance, Le Verbe vous invite à redécouvrir la vie de celui qui
a su marier foi et raison avec brio.
« Défendre la
vérité, la proposer avec humilité et conviction et en témoigner dans la vie
sont des formes exigeantes et irremplaçables de la charité. » Ces mots du
pape Benoît XVI expriment parfaitement l’appel spécifique du saint docteur
de l’Église, Thomas d’Aquin, qui fut toute sa vie fidèle à cette vocation de
chercher, de contempler et de prêcher la vérité. Né vers 1225 au sein de la noble
famille d’Aquin dans le royaume de Sicile, Thomas est offert comme oblat aux
moines du Mont-Cassin dès l’âge de cinq ans par ses parents. Durant ses neuf
années au monastère où saint Benoît a jeté les bases de la vie contemplative en
Occident, le jeune Thomas apprend naturellement la grammaire, premier outil de
la pensée, mais il développe surtout le gout de Dieu, premier moteur de la vie
humaine.
Qu’est-ce que Dieu ?
Sa première parole connue
est une question : « Qu’est-ce que Dieu? », demande-t-il un jour
à l’un de ses instituteurs. Le reste de sa vie n’est que la recherche de la
réponse à cette question sur celui qui est la cause première et ultime de toute
chose. « Tous les hommes sont tenus de chercher la vérité, surtout en ce
qui concerne Dieu et son Église; et quand ils l’ont connue, de l’embrasser et
de lui être fidèles » (Dignitatis humanae, paragr. 1).
En 1239, alors que
l’empereur Frédéric II se trouve en guerre contre le pape Grégoire IX
et que le monastère où il étudie est menacé, Thomas est envoyé poursuivre ses
études à l’académie de Naples. Cette école est alors le refuge de tous les
penseurs les moins orthodoxes d’Europe, que l’empereur se plaît à rassembler et
à protéger en signe de résistance à l’Église. Les maitres de cette école sont
pour la plupart des philosophes qui, par désir d’indépendance, se coupent de la
faculté de théologie, amorçant ainsi une rupture entre foi et raison que le
saint docteur passera sa vie à vouloir résorber. Ainsi, entre 13 et
18 ans, Thomas se trouve exposé aux erreurs de la vie intellectuelle de
son temps, ce qui ne fait qu’augmenter son amour de la vérité, en plus de
l’exercer à répondre aux objections des dissidents.
Contempler et prêcher
En 1244, alors âgé de
19 ans, Thomas décide de se joindre à l’ordre des Prêcheurs, fondé moins
de trente ans auparavant par saint Dominique. Il est attiré par cette nouvelle
forme de vie religieuse imitant la vie des apôtres, toute consacrée à la
prédication dans la pauvreté mendiante, l’amitié fraternelle et l’étude
priante. Plus question pour le religieux de rester enfermé silencieusement dans
un cloitre : il faut sortir, marcher et parler pour enseigner la vérité en
des temps et des lieux où l’erreur se répand. Il écrira ainsi : « Il
est plus beau d’éclairer que de briller seulement, de transmettre aux
autres ce qu’on a contemplé que de contempler seulement » (Somme
théologique, IIa-IIae, q. 188, a. 6).
Le choix de Thomas
déplait à sa mère Théodora, qui voit plutôt son fils devenir le successeur de
saint Benoît à l’abbaye du Mont-Cassin. Avec la complicité de ses autres fils,
cette mère à l’amour contrôlant fait enlever puis enfermer Thomas dans le
donjon du château familial de Roccasecca. Mais la Providence ne permettant un
mal que pour en tirer du bien, c’est au cœur de cette « roche sèche »
que jaillit en abondance l’eau de sa sagesse.
Durant une année que l’on
peut comparer à un noviciat, Thomas, avec pour seul maitre le Saint-Esprit, médite
la Bible, faisant de la Parole de Dieu le principe de toute sa théologie.
« Pour saint Thomas, nous confie le dominicain Serge-Thomas Bonino,
professeur à l’université pontificale Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin, la théologie
n’est pas une simple « science religieuse », mais une exigence
spirituelle de la foi. Elle s’enracine dans la méditation de l’Écriture et de
la Tradition et veut être un regard de sagesse qui ressaisit toutes choses sous
la lumière de Dieu. »
Le « bœuf
muet »
Après une étrange année
de « noviciat » reclus au terme de laquelle Thomas ne change pas
d’idée, sa famille accepte de lui redonner sa liberté. Dès lors, il entame des
études à Paris, puis à Cologne, où il se fait disciple du maitre Albert le
Grand. On dit qu’il parle peu, étudie beaucoup et prie sans cesse, ce qui lui
vaut de la part de ses confrères le sobriquet de « bœuf muet ». À ce
sujet, saint Albert prophétise: « Vous l’appelez le « bœuf
muet », et moi je vous dis que le mugissement de sa science ébranlera
l’univers! »
À 26 ans, Thomas
entreprend son enseignement à l’université de Paris, où il commente entre
autres le livre d’Isaïe et les Sentences de Pierre Lombard. Sa vive
intelligence lui permet de distinguer et d’ordonner là où d’autres ne sont
capables que d’opposer et de confondre. À 30 ans, il devient le plus jeune
« maitre-régent » de Paris. Ses cours connaissent un « succès
bœuf » auprès des étudiants parisiens grâce à leur profondeur et à leur
clarté, deux qualités qu’il est très rare de voir si bien réunies. « On
apprend plus avec saint Thomas en une année qu’avec tous les autres saints
ensemble pendant toute la vie », confia ainsi le pape Jean XXII
(bulle de canonisation de saint Thomas d’Aquin).
Durant les 17 années
qui suivent, le jeune docteur enseigne partout où l’obéissance religieuse
l’appelle. Entre la France et l’Italie, il rédige des œuvres – à l’aide de
secrétaires, parfois jusqu’à trois en même temps! – qui illuminent encore
aujourd’hui tous ceux qui cherchent sincèrement la vérité. Toujours selon le
professeur Bonino : « La foi chrétienne est, entre autres choses, une
lumière et une nourriture pour l’intelligence en quête de vérité. Le Verbe,
Sagesse de Dieu, vient s’incarner aussi dans l’intelligence. C’est pourquoi le
croyant ne peut pas se dispenser de chercher l’intelligence de la foi. Non
seulement il scrute les raisons de croire, mais il cherche aussi à mettre en
évidence la cohérence et la beauté des mystères révélés et la manière dont ils
répondent aux interrogations de l’humanité. Sur ce chemin, saint Thomas est
exemplaire. »
Une cathédrale
théologique
Entre 1263 et 1265,
Thomas d’Aquin planche sur sa première synthèse théologique, la Somme contre les gentils, comme on
appelait à l’époque tous ceux qui, n’étant ni juifs ni chrétiens, ne croyaient
pas aux Saintes Écritures. À ce jour, cet ouvrage demeure l’un des plus utiles
pour entrer en dialogue avec les musulmans et les non-croyants, puisqu’il
s’appuie non pas sur la foi, mais sur « la raison naturelle à laquelle
tous sont obligés de donner leur adhésion »
(livre 1, ch. 2). « Thomas d’Aquin, nous explique, depuis
l’université de Fribourg, le professeur Gilles Émery, o. p., est un modèle
qui nous montre comment une réflexion croyante peut et doit faire appel à la
philosophie, sans contradictions et sans soumettre la foi à la raison humaine,
mais en élevant la raison humaine par la lumière qu’apporte la
foi. »
En 1266, il amorce son chef-d’œuvre
inachevé, la Somme théologique. Souvent comparé à une
cathédrale gothique en raison de leur comparable structure, grandeur, splendeur
et orientation céleste, ce monument de plus de 3 000 articles vise à
présenter aux débutants en théologie l’essentiel de la doctrine sacrée de
manière brève, claire et ordonnée, tout en évitant les répétitions et les
questions inutiles. Aujourd’hui encore, la Somme demeure l’une des
plus belles démonstrations de l’harmonie possible entre la foi surnaturelle et
la raison naturelle. Si l’on doit en croire le pape Jean XXII, qui
écrivait dans sa bulle de canonisation « autant ce Docteur a composé
d’articles, autant il a opéré de miracles », on peut conclure qu’il est
l’un des saints les plus prolifiques en prodiges de tout le Moyen Âge!
« Rien d’autre que
toi! »
Le matin du
6 décembre 1273 à Naples, le sacristain de la chapelle Saint-Nicolas
surprend Thomas en train de léviter alors qu’il contemple le crucifix. Le
témoin entend le Christ lui dire : « Tu as bien écrit de moi, Thomas.
Que désires-tu en récompense? » Le saint Docteur lui répond en extase,
avec la simplicité et l’amour d’un enfant: « Rien d’autre que toi,
Seigneur! » Toute sa spiritualité se trouve résumée en cette brève
demande: la charité n’est rien d’autre qu’une amitié avec Dieu; le bonheur de
l’homme, que la vision de cet ami divin. Cette doctrine de la béatitude humaine
est l’un des points les plus actuels de la pensée de saint Thomas. En effet,
selon le frère dominicain Thomas Joseph White, recteur de l’Angelicum, qui nous
écrit de Rome: « Saint Thomas est important aujourd’hui, car il nous
présente une éthique du bonheur, plutôt qu’une simple éthique du devoir ou de
l’obligation. Il souligne que la vie chrétienne conduit à un bonheur plus
profond et intime, celui de la possession de l’amitié avec Dieu et avec les
autres dans la charité qui ne passera jamais. »
À la suite de cette expérience
mystique, Thomas comprend que Dieu est bien au-delà de tout ce qu’il a pu en
dire. Il cesse ses activités d’écriture et d’enseignement. « Ne cherche
pas ce qui te dépasse » est d’ailleurs l’un des célèbres seize conseils
qu’il donne aux frères désirant comme lui acquérir le trésor de la science. Il
confie à son frère Réginald, qui s’inquiète de son silence : « Le
terme de mes travaux est venu. Tout ce que j’ai écrit et enseigné me semble de
la paille auprès de ce que j’ai vu et de ce qui m’a été dévoilé. » Loin de
rejeter lui-même la valeur de son œuvre, le saint Docteur voit simplement,
comme vient de le déclarer le IVe concile du Latran en 1215,
qu’« entre le Créateur et la créature, on ne peut marquer tellement de
ressemblance que la dissemblance entre eux ne soit pas plus grande
encore ». Bref, le mystère de Dieu surpassera toujours ce qu’on peut en
dire.
Fils de la lumière
Malgré sa santé
déclinante et son silence, frère Thomas répond quelques semaines plus tard à
l’appel du pape Grégoire IX, qui réclame sa présence au deuxième concile
de Lyon. En chemin à pied vers la ville des Lumières, il tombe malade et fait
escale au monastère cistercien de Fossanova, près de Rome, pour s’y reposer.
Les fils de saint Bernard le supplient alors de leur expliquer le Cantique des
cantiques. « Donnez-moi le cœur de Bernard et je vous redirai ses
leçons », leur répond le maitre en Écritures saintes, avant de céder à
leur désir malgré sa faiblesse. Cet ultime commentaire sera son chant du cygne,
dont il ne nous reste qu’une seule citation, issue du texte sacré :
« Mon âme s’est liquéfiée lorsque mon bienaimé a parlé »
(Ct 5,6). Liquéfié par l’amour après avoir reçu une dernière fois la
sainte communion, il s’éteint à 49 ans, le 7 mars 1274, en nous
laissant ces dernières paroles : « Je vous reçois en la sainte
Communion, ô prix infini de la rédemption de mon âme; ô Vous pour
l’amour de qui j’ai étudié, veillé, travaillé; ô Vous que j’ai prêché et
enseigné ! Je n’ai jamais rien dit volontairement contre votre vérité, et d’ailleurs,
je ne m’obstine pas dans mes pensées. »
Si, comme le croit
l’écrivain anglais G. K. Chesterton, chaque génération se convertit
face au saint qui la contredit le plus catégoriquement, saint Thomas d’Aquin
est probablement le signe de contradiction le plus actuel et nécessaire de
notre temps. À une époque marquée par le scepticisme et le relativisme, le
Docteur angélique a tout pour nous redonner confiance en la foi et la raison,
ces « deux ailes qui permettent à l’esprit humain de s’élever vers la
contemplation de la vérité » (Jean-Paul II, Fides et ratio).
+ Cet article a été
produit en collaboration avec l’équipe de 1000 raisons de croire et publié dans
leur magazine d’avril-mai 2024.
Simon aime engager le
dialogue avec les chercheurs de sens. Diplômé en philosophie et théologie, il
puise dans les trésors de la culture occidentale, combinant neuf et ancien pour
interpréter les signes des temps. Il est responsable des partenariats au Verbe
médias.
SOURCE : https://le-verbe.com/portrait/thomas-d-aquin-antidote-au-divorce-entre-foi-et-raison/
Sassetta,
Stefano di Giovanni (1392–1450),
La Vision de Saint Thomas d’Aquin, 1423, tempera on
walnut wood, 25 x 28.8, Pinacoteca
Vaticana. Web
Gallery of Art: Arte della Lana Altarpiece (Altar of the Eucharist). 1423-1426:
Commissioned by the Arte della Lana (Wool Merchants’ Guild), for the altarpiece
of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Siena, for the feast of Corpus
Christi, and completed by 1426 ; 1517: removed to the chapel adjoining the
Church of San Pellegrino, Siena ; 1816 the
altarpiece was dismantled in 1816 and subsequently dispersed as a result of the
earthquake that destroyed both the Chapel and the larger San Pellegrino Church
in 1798
Saint Thomas d'Aquin
Issu d’une vieille
famille féodale d’origine normande et germanique, saint Thomas d’Aquin naquit
vers la fin de l’année 1224 ; son père, Landolphe, comte d’Aquin, seigneur de
Loretto et de Belcastro, était allié à la famille impériale (le père de
Landolphe, Thomas, avait épousé Françoise de Souabe, sœur de l’Empereur),
tandis que sa mère, Théodora , comtesse de Teano, descendait des princes
normands qui s’étaient taillé un royaume, au sud de l’Italie. Alors qu’elle
était enceinte, Théodora reçut au château de Rocca Secca un ermite qui, lui
montrant un portrait de saint Dominique [saint Dominique était déjà mort (6
août 1221) mais il n’était pas encore canonisé (3 juillet 1234)], lui dit : «
Réjouissez-vous, Madame, vous donnerez le jour à un enfant que vous nommerez
Thomas ; vous songerez à en faire un moine du Mont-Cassin, mais Dieu en a
disposé autrement ; l’enfant deviendra un frère de l’ordre des frères prêcheurs
et il brillera d’un tel éclat de science et de sainteté qu’il n’aura pas son
pareil au monde. »
L’enfant dont le parrain
fut le pape Honorius III, reçut le prénom de Thomas et fut très tôt confié au
monastère bénédictin du Mont-Cassin dont son oncle, Sunnibald, était l’abbé.
Thomas se fit autant remarquer par sa piété que son intelligence ; l’abbé du
Mont-Cassin et son père décidèrent de l’inscrire à l’université de Naples pour
étudier les Arts libéraux. C’est à l’université de Naples qu’il s’initia aux
écrits d’Aristote et à l’antique droit romain.
C’est aussi à Naples
qu’il rencontra l’ordre des frères prêcheurs. Contre l’avis de sa famille, il
reçut l’habit des Dominicains. Sa mère qui était ulcérée que son fils entrât
dans un ordre mendiant, se plaignit sans succès au prieur du couvent de Naples,
au maître général de l’Ordre et au Pape. Abandonnant les plaintes, elle se
décida à venir chercher elle-même Thomas mais, lorsqu’elle arriva au couvent de
Naples, il s’était enfui à Rome, au couvent de Sainte-Sabine, d’où le maître
général de l’Ordre le firent discrètement partir pour Paris. Rattrapé par ses
deux frères, Landolphe et Raynald, entre Sienne et le lac de Bolsenne, près
d’Aquapendente, il fut enfermé au château du Mont-Saint-Jean. Ni ses frères ni
sa mère ne réussirent à fléchir sa décision, quant à ses deux sœurs, elles
prirent secrètement son parti au point que l’aîné résolut de se faire
religieuse à Sainte-Marie de Capoue. Pour perdre sa réputation, ses frères
firent entrer une prostituée dans sa chambre ; Thomas prit un tison enflammé,
traça une croix sur le mur et se mit à genoux pour renouveler son vœu de
chasteté ; il tomba alors en sommeil et eut l’apparition de deux anges qui
ceignirent ses reins en lui disant : « Nous venons à toi de la part de Dieu
pour te conférer le don de la virginité perpétuelle qu’il t’accorde dès ce
moment. » Il était enfermé depuis deux ans quand les Dominicains portèrent
plainte auprès du pape Innocent IV et de l’Empereur qui venaient de se
réconcilier : l’empereur Frédéric exigea sa libération. La famille ne voulant
pas perdre la face, les deux sœurs prièrent les dominicains de Naples de se
rendre nuitamment au pied de la tour dont Thomas descendit dans un panier.
On s’étonne que les
ecclésiastiques français ne fassent plus grand cas de saint Thomas d’Aquin dont,
pourtant, le deuxième concile du Vatican qu’ils font mine de regarder comme la
référence absolue de la religion toute entière, recommande par deux fois
l'étude1. Cet ignorant mépris est d’autant plus surprenant que saint Thomas
d'Aquin vécut treize ans à Paris, qu’il fut canonisé en Avignon, et que la plus
grande part de ses reliques sont à Toulouse2.
Thomas d’Aquin qui,
depuis deux ans, était retourné en Italie, fut invité par le pape Grégoire X à
se rendre au deuxième concile de Lyon qui devait s’ouvrir le 1° mai 1274. Le 28
janvier 1274, il quitta Naples à pied, accompagné de deux autres frères
prêcheurs. Il passa par Aquin où il était né, et par le château de Maenza où
habitait sa nièce. Arrivé aux confins de la Campanie et du Latium, entre Terracina
et Rome, pris d'un mal mystérieux, il demanda l'hospitalité à l'abbaye
cistercienne de Fossanova où il mourut le 7 mars 1274.
Une quarantaine d'années
plus tard, Dante3 rapporte que Thomas d’Aquin aurait été empoisonné par ordre
de Charles d'Anjou4, roi de Naples, frère de saint Louis. Giovanni Villani5,
contemporain de Dante, affirme que l’assassin de Thomas d’Aquin avait cru être
agréable au roi Charles, puisqu’il appartenait à la famille des seigneurs
d'Aquin6 qui étaient en rébellion contre lui. Vers 1328, le Bolognais Jacopo
della Lana, l’un des premiers commentateurs de la Commedia, raconte que Thomas
d’Aquin, avant de quitter Naples, vint prendre congé du roi Charles, et lui
demanda s'il avait quelque commission à lui confier ; le roi lui dit : « Si le
pape vous questionne sur moi, quelle réponse ferez-vous ? » Thomas répondit : «
Je dirai la vérité » ; craignant que cette vérité ne soit pas à son avantage,
le roi Charles fut si préoccupé que ses médecins s'aperçurent de sa mélancolie
; il en révéla la cause à l'un d'eux qui affirma que le remède était trouvé ;
après avoir chevauché jour et nuit, il rejoignit Thomas d’Aquin, et lui dit que
le roi ne voulait pas le laisser voyager sans la compagnie d'un médecin ; il
lui fut facile d'employer le poison qui devait tuer Thomas d’Aquin.
Thomas d’Aquin jouissait
déjà d'une réelle réputation de sainteté qui explique que les moines de
Fossanova voulurent tant garder son corps. Le procès de canonisation, commencé
à l’initiative de la province dominicaine de Sicile (1317-1318), fut
immédiatement soutenu par Jean XXII7 qui, à peine élu, avait enrichi la
bibliothèque pontificale des écrits de Thomas d’Aquin. La première enquête fut
menée à Naples où, à partir du 23 juillet 1319, on entendit quarante-deux les témoins8.
Une enquête supplémentaire fut faite à Fossanova (du 10 au 26 novembre 1321).
La Bulle de canonisation fut donnée le 18 juillet 1323.
« Placer sur les autels
l'illustre Docteur était une mesure d'une gravité extrême, parce que c'était
consacrer définitivement une hégémonie doctrinale sans pareille... Avec le
Docteur commun, il s'agissait d'un génie puissant et ordonnateur qui avait posé
une emprise unique sur la pensée profane et sacrée. Déclarer sa sainteté,
c'était jeter dans un des plateaux de la balance le poids d'un suffrage qui
fixerait la position déjà acquise par l'excellence seule de sa doctrine... Le
Saint-Siège, conscient des forces de dissolution qui travaillaient déjà le
monde et désagrégeaient son unité religieuse, chercha à parer au danger en
opposant aux puissances de destruction la puissance de résistance et de
stabilité qu'était l'œuvre de Thomas d'Aquin9 ».
Sous le pontificat de
Jean XXII, « tout le monde semble irrité, prompt aux critiques amères et aux
invectives violentes. L'injure est partout, dans le geste des princes, dans la
bouche des docteurs, dans les écrits des lettrés et chacun, pourrait-on
ajouter, milite contre tous les autres... Dans ce régime général de conflits
c'est l'autorité pontificale qui est finalement en butte à la plupart des
agressions. C'est elle qui est, non seulement menacée, mais encore gravement
atteinte et avec elle, et par elle, la constitution même de l'Eglise. Les
clercs lettrés, séculiers et réguliers, dont l'activité doctrinale devrait être
une force de conservation et de défense, subissent, en grand nombre, chacun à
sa manière et dans son domaine, la contagion anarchique de l'époque et
fourbissent, inconsciemment ou non, des armes dangereuses. L'Université de
Paris est devenue, depuis le règne de Philippe le Bel, l'arsenal où se forgent
ces armes... C'est en présence du désarroi des évènements et des idées que le
Saint-Siège cherche le point d'appui ferme et stable qu'il pourrait donner à la
société chrétienne, surtout en matière de doctrine. A vrai dire, il n'a pas à
chercher. L'œuvre philosophique et théologique de Thomas d'Aquin s'est déjà
universellement imposée au monde intellectuel. Il s'agit seulement de faire un
pas de plus : confirmer et promouvoir la doctrine en déclarant la sainteté du
maître. »
Jean XXII avait dit que
Thomas d’Aquin avait plus illuminé l'Eglise que tous les autres docteurs et que
l'on profite plus en une année avec ses livres qu'en toute une vie avec la
doctrine des autres10 ; il avait ajouté : « Nous croyons que Frère Thomas est
au ciel, car sa vie fut sainte et sa doctrine est un miracle. »
En présence du roi Robert
de Naples11, de sa mère et de sa femme, les cérémonies de la canonisation de
saint Thomas d’Aquin, en même temps que celle de saint Louis d’Anjou, commencèrent
le jeudi 14 juillet, dans le palais pontifical. Jean XXII fit le panégyrique de
saint Thomas d’Aquin12 et fut suivi par sept orateurs : le dominicain Pierre
Cantier13, le roi Robert de Naples, le patriarche d'Antioche qui était
dominicain, l'archevêque de Capoue, un évêque dont le nom n'est pas donné,
l'archevêque d'Arles et l'évêque de Lodève qui était franciscain.
Le lundi suivant (18
juillet), à Notre-Dame des Doms, Jean XXII lut la bulle de canonisation où,
après avoir résumé la vie de saint Thomas d’Aquin et exalté ses vertus
éminentes, il énuméra les principaux miracles constatés. Le Pape célébra la
messe où il prêcha, puis il retint à sa table le roi Robert et dix-sept
cardinaux. Le roi Robert avait fait annoncer que ce jour serait célébré comme
la fête de Noël. Pendant tous les jours suivants, des fêtes solennelles furent
célébrées au couvent des Frères Prêcheurs d'Avignon par le roi et la reine et
divers prélats.
La proclamation de la
sainteté de Thomas d'Aquin repose sur son intense piété eucharistique, sa
chasteté précieusement gardée par l'ascèse, sa vénération pour les docteurs
anciens, son esprit d'obéissance. Saint Thomas d’Aquin a parfaitement conjugué
la connaissance de la vérité et la perfection spirituelle, montrant qu’elles s'aident
mutuellement, car Dieu est à la fois la Vérité et le Bien. De même qu'on ne
peut prétendre bien connaître un pays lointain sans y avoir soi-même séjourné,
on ne peut obtenir une science religieuse sans vivre dans l'intimité de Dieu ;
« si quelqu'un veut avoir l'intelligence de ce qu'il a entendu, qu'il
s'empresse d'accomplir ce qu'il a déjà pu entendre14. » La sagesse divine ne
nous est pas communiquée par le travail abstrait de l’intelligence mais par la
fidélité à Dieu. Il faut des efforts méritoires pour désirer la vérité malgré
d'autres sollicitations qui l'obnubilent ; il faut toute l’application de
l’intelligence, de la volonté et du cœur pour faire sérieusement attention à la
vérité, pour s’assurer des intentions droites et pures, une parfaite probité
intellectuelle ; il faut une résolution sincère et généreuse de changer de
conduite si l'on découvre que la nôtre n'est pas conforme aux vérités que le
Seigneur nous a révélées. La lumière est la récompense de l’effort, de
l’observance et de la pratique des grâces. Il s’agit d’écouter Dieu plutôt que
nous-mêmes, de croire en Dieu plutôt qu’aux hommes.
« Porter un jugement vrai
sur les réalités divines d'après la recherche de la raison appartient à la
sagesse, vertu intellectuelle ; mais porter sur elles un jugement vrai selon
une certaine connaturalité avec elles appartient à la sagesse, don du
Saint-Esprit... Or cette sorte de conformité de nature avec les réalités
divines est produite par la charité, qui nous unit à Dieu, selon ces paroles de
saint Paul dans la première épître aux Corinthiens15 : Celui qui est uni à Dieu
ne fait qu'un esprit avec lui. »16
Par la limpidité de son
âme, saint Thomas d'Aquin nous rappelle le sermon de Jésus sur la montagne : «
Heureux les cœurs purs, car ils verront Dieu17. » A cause de son humilité, il a
reçu les révélations réservées aux petits. Ces valeurs évangéliques sont d'un
ordre supérieur à celui de la simple cogitation, et leur acquisition est plus
difficile donc plus rare. Il n'en reste pas moins qu'en raison du rapport entre
l'objet connu et le sujet connaissant, le Docteur Angélique demeure, par sa
sainteté même, un modèle à imiter pour tous ceux qui s'adonnent à la théologie.
La pensée du Docteur
Angélique a joué un rôle décisif et bienfaisant dans l'élaboration de la
science sacrée et des idées philosophiques. Affirmant la valeur de
l'intelligence, il établit les preuves rationnelles de l'existence de Dieu ; il
précise la distinction entre les ordres naturel et surnaturel ; tout en
proclamant l'immutabilité des données de la foi, connues grâce à la Révélation,
il répand des lumières sur les dogmes qui les énoncent ; il formule les
principes de la morale individuelle et sociale et du droit naturel ; il
enseigne les voies de la perfection chrétienne ; il rappelle les droits de la
Vérité première et l'autorité souveraine de Dieu ; il voit dans l'amour
créateur et sauveur un seul amour, qui crée pour sauver et subordonne toute la
création au salut.
Par la pénétration et la
subtilité de son intelligence, par sa prodigieuse puissance de travail, en un
temps où les moyens techniques dont nous disposons n'existaient pas et devaient
être suppléés par la mémoire, par la lucidité dans l'exposé des questions les
plus abstruses, et surtout par l'excellence de sa doctrine, saint Thomas
d’Aquin, mort à quarante-neuf ans, constitue en lui-même un miracle.
Déjà dans sa plus tendre
enfance, quand on l'avait confié aux bénédictins du Mont-Cassin18, saint Thomas
d’Aquin était hanté par le problème de la Divinité, demandant sans cesse : «
Qu'est-ce que Dieu ? » Adulte, il donna lui-même une réponse à cette question
essentielle : dans presque tous les livres qu'il composa, qu'il s'agisse de la
création du monde, de l'homme, des lois, des vertus ou des sacrements, il
traite toujours de Dieu, auteur du salut éternel. Nul ne pourrait lire avec
profit les œuvres de saint Thomas d’Aquin, s’il ne veut pas être porté à la vie
intérieure, désirant grandir dans la prière, la méditation et la contemplation.
Thomas d'Aquin s'est élevé à la sainteté parce que ses études l'ont fait vivre
assidûment dans la familiarité de Dieu, s’offrant tout entier à l'objet de sa
foi et de sa contemplation. C'est cette union intime à Dieu fut obtenue par le
renoncement à soi-même qui l'a rendu capable d'entrevoir quelque chose du
mystère divin.
Dans sa prière
habituelle, il demandait à Dieu de dissiper les ténèbres de son intelligence
pour lui faire désirer, rechercher, connaître et accomplir ce qui plaît à Dieu.
Parce que cette domination absolue de Dieu est radicalement incompatible avec
l'orgueil, saint Thomas d’Aquin fut très humble ; parce que cette disponibilité
de l'esprit pour les réalités divines s'acquiert grâce à la maîtrise de soi,
saint Thomas d’Aquin fut très mortifié. Sa piété envers le mystère de
l’Eucharistie lui valut d’être l’auteur de l'admirable « Office du
Saint-Sacrement » et d’être appelé le Docteur eucharistique. En plus du Saint
Sacrifice de la messe qu’il célébrait dévotement chaque jour, il assistait à
une autre messe que, très souvent, il servait lui-même. Enfin, dans sa prière,
comme dans celle de tous les véritables hommes de Dieu, la Vierge Marie, Mère
de Dieu, tenait une place éminente.
La vie de saint Thomas
d'Aquin nous invite à l'imitation. Comment pourrions-nous mieux le vénérer
qu'en nous inspirant de ses exemples et de ses enseignements, afin que, dans ce
monde qui se désagrège parce qu'il veut être sa propre fin, chacun de nous
contribue, dans la mesure de son pouvoir, à établir en tout, et d'abord en
soi-même, le règne de Dieu ?
1 « Puis pour mettre en
lumière, autant qu’il est possible, les mystères du salut, ils apprendront à
les pénétrer plus à fond, et à en percevoir la cohérence, par un travail
spéculatif, avec saint Thomas pour maître » (Vatican II : décret sur la
formation des prêtres, « Optatam totius Ecclesiæ renovationem », n° 16).
« On ne fera que suivre
la voie ouverte par les docteurs de l’Eglise et spécialement par saint Thomas »
(Vatican II : déclaration sur l’éducation chrétienne, « Gravissimum educationis
momentum », n° 10).
2 Malgré bien des
revendications, le corps de Thomas d’Aquin était resté chez les Cisterciens de
Fossa Nova où il était mort ; après 1366, Elie de Toulouse, devenu maître
général des Dominicains, monta une opération pour s’emparer du corps qui fut
déposé au couvent des Dominicains de Fondi. L’abbé de Fossa Nova en appela au
Pape qui fit comparaître Elie de Toulouse. Après avoir représenté au Pape que
Thomas d’Aquin était le frère des Dominicains, Elie s’en remit à sa décision.
Urbain V donna le corps de Thomas d’Aquin aux Dominicains pour qu’ils le
portassent en France, leur laissant le soin de décider entre Paris et Toulouse
; le lendemain, comme Elie de Toulouse venait le remercier, Urbain V luit dit :
« Il me semble préférable pour vous éviter tout ennui que je détermine moi-même
le lieu. Je décide donc et je veux que le corps de saint Thomas repose dans
votre église conventuelle de Toulouse. » La translation du corps de saint
Thomas d’Aquin fut faite dans l’église des Dominicains de Toulouse le 28
janvier (très curieusement alors que la fête de saint Thomas d’Aquin était
autrefois célébrée au jour anniversaire de sa mort, le 7 mars, la réforme du
calendrier qui a ordinairement mis la fête des saints au jour de leur mort,
fixa celle de saint Thomas d’Aquin au jour de la translation de ses reliques).
Après avoir été sauvées des profanations protestantes, les reliques de saint
Thomas furent sauvées des destructions de la révolution française, et
transportées à Saint-Sernin où elles sont toujours.
3 « Il envoya Thomas au ciel, par pénitence » (Dante Alighieri : « La Divine Comédie », le Purgatoire, XX 69).
4 Charles I° d’Anjou,
dixième fils de Louis VIII le Lion et de Blanche de Castille, naquit posthume
en février 1227 ; il fut fait comte du Maine et d'Anjou (1232) ; il devint
comte de Provence (1246) par son mariage avec Béatrice, fille de
Raymond-Bérenger IV. Il participa à la septième croisade avec saint Louis et
fut, comme lui, fait prisonnier en Egypte (1248-1250). A son retour de
croisade, avec l’aide de son frère, Alphonse de Poitiers, il dut réprimer les
désirs d’indépendance de l’aristocratie provençale : il prit Arles (1251),
Marseille (1252), Tarascon (1256) et Apt (1258) ; il supprima les institutions
et les libertés municipales, mit l’administration sous l’autorité d’un sénéchal
; il annexa le comté de Vintimille (1258) et imposa sa suzeraineté au marquisat
de Saluces (1260). Malgré les réticences de saint Louis, il accepta les
propositions du pape Clément IV, qui, dès 1253, offrait de lui inféoder le
royaume de Sicile. Charles d'Anjou se constitua un parti en Italie, devint
sénateur de Rome (1263) et prit la tête de la Ligue guelfe. Vainqueur de
Manfred à Bénévent, il fut reconnu, en janvier 1266, comme roi de Naples et de
Sicile. Après qu’il eut battu Coradin Hohenstaufen à Tagliacozzo (23 août 1268)
et qu’il eut fait exécuter (29 octobre 1268), il fut totalement maître de son
royaume. Vicaire impérial en Toscane et podestat de Florence, maître de
l'Italie méridionale et de la Sicile, Charles d'Anjou reprit la politique
traditionnelle des souverains siciliens contre Byzance. Il obtint la
principauté d'Achaïe en 1267 puis acheta le titre de roi de Jérusalem (1277).
L’énergie avec laquelle Charles d'Anjou instaura dans son royaume sicilien des
cadres administratifs rigoureux et une fiscalité inadaptée à l'économie locale
le rendit impopulaire. La révolte dite des Vêpres siciliennes (31 mars 1282) et
l'intervention d'une armée aragonaise firent passer l'île sous la domination de
Pierre III d'Aragon, gendre de Manfred. Charles conserva la partie continentale
du royaume et sa capitale, Naples dont il avait fait le siège d'une cour
brillante. Malgré d'âpres compétitions, dues en grande partie aux interventions
du Saint-Siège, de qui il était tenu en fief, le royaume de Naples survécut
deux siècles à son fondateur. Il mourut à Foggia le 7 janvier 1285.
5 Giovanni Villani :
Chronique (IX. C. CCXVIII).
6 Thomas d’Aquin était
issu d’une vieille famille féodale d’origine normande et germanique : son
père-père (Thomas) avait épousé Françoise de Souabe, sœur de l’Empereur ; son
père, Landolphe, comte d’Aquin, seigneur de Loretto et de Belcastro ; sa mère,
Théodora, comtesse de Teano, descendait des princes normands qui s’étaient
taillé un royaume, au sud de l’Italie.
7 Le 7 août 1316, le
cardinal Jacques Duèse est élu à l’unanimité et prend le nom de Jean XXII.
Jacques Duèse naquit à Cahors, vers 1245. Il étudia chez les Dominicains de
Cahors puis à Montpellier où il prit ses grades en droit canonique, et à
Orléans où il prit ses grades en droit civil. Docteur utriusque juris, il
s’inscrivit à la faculté de théologie de Paris mais n’y passa aucun examen.
Enseignant le droit à Toulouse et, peut-être, à Montpellier, il reçut de
nombreux bénéfices ecclésiastiques : archiprêtre de Saint-André de Cahors,
chanoine de Saint-Front de Périgueux et de Sainte-Cécile d’Albi, archiprêtre de
Sarlat et doyen du Puy. Quand saint Louis d’Anjou arriva à Toulouse comme
archevêque, il le choisit comme collaborateur. Remarqué par Charles II d’Anjou
qui le prit comme conseiller et le fit élire évêque de Fréjus (4 février 1300),
il fut, après la mort de Pierre de Ferrières, nommé chancelier du royaume de
Naples (1308), ce qu’il resta jusqu’à ce que le Pape l’appelât à l’évêché
d’Avignon (18 mars 1310). Clément V l’employa pour des missions diplomatiques
auprès de Philippe le Bel, singulièrement autour du procès de Boniface VIII,
puis lui confia la préparation du concile de Vienne. Le 24 décembre 1312, il
fut créé cardinal-prêtre au titre de Saint-Vital et, vers le mois de mai
suivant, nommé cardinal-évêque de Porto.
8 Seize religieux
cisterciens du monastère de Fossanova, onze religieux de l'ordre des Prêcheurs,
douze laïcs et trois des clercs séculiers ; douze de ces témoins avaient connu
personnellement Thomas d'Aquin (cinq Cisterciens, cinq Prêcheurs et deux
laïcs).
9 R.P. Mandonnet :
Mélanges Thomistes publiés par les Dominicains de la Province de France à
l'occasion du VI° centenaire de la canonisation de saint Thomas d'Aquin (18
juillet 1323), Le Saulchoir, Kain (Belgique), Revue des Sciences Philosophiques
et Théologiques, 1923. Vol. III de la Bibliothèque Thomiste.
10 Au consistoire, en
1318.
11 Robert I° d’Anjou, dit
le Sage (né vers 1275, mort à Naples le l9 janvier 1343), fut duc d'Anjou,
comte de Provence et roi de Naples. Troisième fils de Charles II le Boiteux
auquel il succéda (1309), il fut le défenseur des intérêts pontificaux et le chef
du parti guelfe contre les empereurs allemands. Sénateur de Rome et protecteur
de Florence, chef de la ligue toscane, il s'opposa à l'empereur Henri VII lors
de l'expédition de celui-ci en Italie (1311-1313) ; après la mort d'Henri VII,
Clément V le nomma vicaire impérial (1313). Il contribua à l'élection à la
papauté de Jean XXII (1316) qu’il défendit contre Louis de Bavière. Cependant,
il ne put ni vaincre les gibelins d'Italie du Nord ni reconquérir la Sicile.
Son règne fut très bénéfique à la Provence, où il fit d'assez longs séjours.
Prince savant et protecteur des lettres, il avait accueilli à sa cour Pétrarque
et Boccace.
12 « Ce glorieux docteur
est celui qui, après les apôtres et les premiers docteurs, illumina le plus
l’Eglise... Il y avait dans la Somme Théologique autant de miracles que
d’articles... »
13 Pierre Cantier menait
toute l'affaire, en l'absence du procureur, malade, Jean de Naples.
14 Homélie de saint
Grégoire le Grand sur les disciples d'Emmaüs qui ne reconnurent le Christ qu'à
la fraction du pain.
15 Saint Paul : première
Epître aux Corinthiens, VI 1.
16 Saint Thomas d’Aquin :
« Somme théologique », IIa-IIae, question 45, a. 2, c.
17 Evangile selon saint
Matthieu, V 6.
18 Thomas d’Aquin dont le
parrain fut le pape Honorius III, fut très tôt confié au monastère bénédictin
du Mont-Cassin dont son oncle, Sunnibald, était l’abbé. Thomas se fit autant
remarquer par sa piété que son intelligence ; l’abbé du Mont-Cassin et son père
décidèrent de l’inscrire à l’université de Naples pour étudier les Arts
libéraux. C’est à l’université de Naples qu’il s’initia aux écrits d’Aristote
et à l’antique droit romain. C’est aussi à Naples qu’il rencontra l’ordre des
frères prêcheurs où, contre l’avis de sa famille, il reçut l’habit. Sa mère,
ulcérée que son fils entrât dans un ordre mendiant, se plaignit sans succès au
prieur du couvent de Naples, au maître général de l’Ordre et au Pape. Elle
décida de venir chercher elle-même Thomas mais, lorsqu’elle arriva au couvent
de Naples, il s’était enfui au couvent Rome d’où le maître général le fit
partir pour Paris. Rattrapé par ses deux frères, entre Sienne et le lac de
Bolsenne, près d’Aquapendente, il fut enfermé au château du Mont-Saint-Jean. Ni
ses frères ni sa mère ne réussirent à fléchir sa décision, quant à ses deux
sœurs, elles prirent secrètement son parti au point que l’aînée résolut de se
faire religieuse à Sainte-Marie de Capoue. Pour perdre sa réputation, ses
frères firent entrer une prostituée dans sa chambre ; il prit un tison enflammé,
traça une croix sur le mur et se mit à genoux pour renouveler son vœu de
chasteté ; il tomba alors en sommeil et eut l’apparition de deux anges qui
ceignirent ses reins en lui disant : « Nous venons à toi de la part de Dieu
pour te conférer le don de la virginité perpétuelle qu’il t’accorde dès ce
moment. » Il était enfermé depuis deux ans quand les Dominicains portèrent
plainte auprès du pape Innocent IV et de l’Empereur qui venaient de se
réconcilier : l’empereur Frédéric exigea sa libération. La famille ne voulant
pas perdre la face, les deux sœurs prièrent les dominicains de Naples de se
rendre nuitamment au pied de la tour d’où Thomas descendit dans un panier.
De l’usage de l’encens
Nous ne pratiquons pas l’encensement comme un précepte cérémoniel de l’ancienne
Loi, mais comme une institution de l’Eglise. C’est pourquoi nous le pratiquons
pas de la manière dont il était prescrit dans l’ancienne Loi.
L’encensement a un double objet. D’abord le respect envers ce sacrement : en
répandant un parfum agréable, on chasse la mauvaise odeur corporelle qui
règnerait dans le lieu du culte et pourrait provoquer le dégoût.
Ensuite l’encensement sert à représenter l’effet de la grâce, dont le Christ
fut rempli comme d’un parfum agréable, selon la parole de la Genèse : « Voici
que le parfum de mon fils est comme le parfum d’un champ fertile. » Et du
Christ elle découle jusqu’aux fidèles par l’office des ministres, selon cette
parole de la deuxième Epître aux Corinthiens : « Par nous (le Christ) répand en
tous lieux le parfum de sa connaissance. » Et c’est pourquoi, lorsqu’on a
encensé de tous côtés l’autel, qui symbolise le Christ, on encense tout le
monde selon l’ordre hiérarchique.
Saint Thomas d’Aquin
Des offrandes
Le prêtre est établi comme un négociateur et un intermédiaire entre le peuple
et Dieu, selon ce qui est dit de Moïse (Deutéronome V 5). C’est pourquoi il lui
appartient de transmettre au peuple les enseignements divins et les saints
mystères ; et aussi de présenter à Dieu ce qui, venant du peuple, doit passer
par lui : prières, sacrifices, oblations, selon l’Epître aux Hébreux (VI) : «
Tout pontife, pris parmi les hommes, est établi pour intervenir en leur faveur
dans leurs relations avec Dieu, afin d’offrir dons et sacrifices pour le péché.
» Les oblations que le peuple présente à Dieu sont donc remise aux prêtres, non
seulement pour qu’ils les emploient à leur usage, mais pour qu’ils en soient
les fidèles dispensateurs. Ils les emploieront en partie aux frais du culte
divin ; une autre part sera destinée à leur propre subsistance, car « ceux qui
servent à l’autel partagent avec l’autel » (I Corinthiens IX 13) ; une autre
partie sera allouée aux pauvres qui doivent, autant que faire se peut, être
entretenus sur les biens de l’Eglise, car notre Seigneur lui-même avait une
bourse pour les pauvres, remarque saint Jérôme.
Il ne semble pas qu’ici le prêtre prie pour que la consécration s’accomplisse,
mais pour qu’elle soit fructueuse. Aussi dit-il expressément : « Qu’elle
devienne pour nous le Corps et le Sang... » Et c’est le sens des paroles qu’il
prononce auparavant : « Sanctifie pleinement cette offrande par la puissance de
ta bénédiction » selon saint Augustin, c’est-à-dire : « par laquelle nous
soyons bénis », à savoir par la grâce ; adscriptam, c’est-à-dire « par laquelle
nous soyons inscrits dans le ciel » ; ratam, c’est-à-dire « par laquelle nous
soyons reconnus comme appartenant au christ » ; rationabilem, c’est-à-dire «
par laquelle nous soyons dépouillés du sens charnel » ; acceptabilem,
c’est-à-dire « que nous, qui nous déplaisons à nous-mêmes, nous soyons
agréables par elle à son Fils unique ».
Le prêtre ne demande pas que les espèces sacramentelles soient transportées au
ciel ; ni le corps réel du Christ, qui ne cesse pas d’être présent sur l’autel.
Mais il demande cela pour le Corps mystique, car c’est lui qui est signifié
dans ce sacrement ; c’est-à-dire que l’ange qui assiste au divin mystère
présente à Dieu les prières du prêtre et du peuple, selon ce texte de
l’Apocalypse : « La fumée des parfums monta des mains de l’ange avec les
offrandes des saints. » L’autel céleste signifie soit l’Eglise triomphante
elle-même, où nous demandons d’être transférés ; ou bien Dieu lui-même, à qui
nous demandons d’être unis ; car il est dit de cet autel, dans l’Exode : « Tu
ne monteras pas à mon autel par des degrés », c’est-à-dire : « Tu ne feras pas
de degrés dans la Trinité. »
Par l’ange on peut encore comprendre le Christ lui-même, qui est « l’Ange du
grand conseil », qui unit son corps mystique à Dieu le Père et à l’Eglise
triomphante. (Saint Thomas d’Aquin).
La fraction de l’hostie a une triple signification. D’abord la division subie
par le corps du Christ dans sa passion ; ensuite la répartition du Corps
mystique selon divers états ; enfin la distribution des grâces qui découlent de
la passion du Christ, comme dit Denys dans la Hiérarchie Ecclésiastique. Cette
fraction n’introduit donc pas de division dans le Christ.
Comme dit le pape Sergius, dans un texte qu’on trouve dans le Décret : « Le
corps du Seigneur est triple. La partie de l’oblation qui est mise dans le
calice désigne le corps du Christ qui a déjà ressuscité », c’est-à-dire le
Christ lui-même et la sainte Vierge, et les autres saints, s’il y en a, qui
sont entrés corporellement dans la gloire. « La partie qui est mangée
représente le Christ qui est encore sur la terre », c’est-à-dire que ceux qui
vivent sur terre sont unis par le sacrement et sont broyés par les épreuves,
comme le pain qu’on mange est broyé par les dents. « La partie qui demeure sur
l’autel jusqu’à la fin de la messe est le corps du Christ demeurant au sépulcre
: car jusqu’à la fin du monde les corps des saints seront dans les sépulcres »,
tandis que leurs âmes sont soit au purgatoire, soit au ciel. Cependant ce
dernier rite - qu’une partie de l’hostie soit réservée jusqu’à la fin de la
messe - n’est plus observé car il présentait des risques. Mais ce symbolisme
des parties reste valable. On l’a exprimé en vers : « L’hostie est divisée en
parties : celle qui est trempée désigne ceux qui sont pleinement bienheureux ;
celle qui est sèche, les vivants ; celle qui est réservée, les ensevelis. »
Cependant certains disent que la partie mise dans le calice symbolise ceux qui
vivent en ce monde ; la partie gardée hors du calice, ceux qui sont pleinement
bienheureux dans leur âme et leur corps ; et la partie mangée symbolise les
autres.
Saint Thomas d’Aquin
_-_WGA13137.jpg)
Filippino Lippi (1457–1504), Scene from the Life of St Thomas Aquinas (detail), circa 1489, fresco, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome
De la prière
Auprès d'un homme, la prière s'impose d'abord pour lui faire connaître le désir
de celui qui prie et son indigence ; elle a ensuite pour but de fléchir,
jusqu'à le faire céder, le cœur de qui l'on prie. Or, ces deux choses n'ont
plus leur raison d'être quand la prière s'adresse à Dieu. Nous ne voulons pas,
en effet, quand nous le prions, lui faire connaître notre indigence ou nos
désirs : il connaît tout. Le Psalmiste dit en effet : Seigneur, devant toi se
trouve placé tout mon désir. Et dans l'Évangile de saint Matthieu, nous lisons
: Votre Père sait ce dont vous avez besoin. Il ne s'agit pas non plus, par des
paroles humaines, d'infléchir la divine volonté jusqu'à lui faire vouloir ce
qu'elle rejetait auparavant. Car il est dit au livre des Nombres : Dieu n'est
point un homme pour mentir, ni un fils de l'homme, pour changer. - Il n'est pas
sujet au repentir, ajoute le premier livre des Rois.
Si la prière est nécessaire à l'homme pour obtenir les bienfaits de Dieu, c'est
qu'elle exerce une influence sur celui-là même qui l'utilise. Il doit en effet s'attarder
à la considération de ses propres pauvretés et incliner son âme à désirer avec
ferveur et dans un esprit filial ce qu'il espère obtenir par la prière. Il se
rend par là même capable de le recevoir.
Une autre différence se remarque entre la prière adressée à Dieu et celle
adressée à un homme. Avant de se disposer à cette deuxième, il faut déjà la
familiarité qui donne accès auprès de celui que l'on prie. Tandis que prier
Dieu, c'est aussitôt nous introduire dans son intimité ; car alors notre esprit
s'élève jusqu'à lui, l'adore en esprit et en vérité.
Et ainsi, en cette familière amitié que produit la prière, s'ouvre la voie pour
une prière plus confiante encore. D'où l'on dit dans le Psaume : J'ai crié, -
c'est-à-dire, j'ai prié avec foi, - parce que vous m'avez exaucé. On dirait
que, reçu dans l'intimité divine par l'effet d'une première prière, il priait
ensuite avec une confiance accrue.
Et c'est pourquoi, dans la prière adressée à Dieu, l'assiduité ou l'insistance
dans la demande n'est pas importune ; au contraire, Dieu l'agrée. Car il faut
toujours prier et ne pas se lasser, lisons-nous dans saint Luc. De là aussi, le
Seigneur nous invite à la prière : Demandez et il vous sera donné ; frappez et
l'on vous ouvrira.
Saint Thomas d'Aquin
SOURCE : http://missel.free.fr/Sanctoral/01/28.php
Flügelretabel der Thomasbruderschaft der Brauerknechte (Thomas-Altar), Lübeck, Sulpturen: Meister der Burgkirchenaltäre zugeschrieben; Gemälde Meister des Thomasaltars; Standflügel: Erhart Altdorfer, um 1520, aus der Burgkirche, vor 1848 im Sammlungsbestand der Lübecker Musseen, heute im St.-Annen-Museum; Detail: unteres Bildfeld der Innenseite des rechten Aussenflügels: Vision des Albert von Brescia
Prières de saint Thomas
d'Aquin
Saint Thomas d'Aquin
Flügelretabel der Thomasbruderschaft der Brauerknechte (Thomas-Altar), Lübeck, Sulpturen: Meister der Burgkirchenaltäre zugeschrieben; Gemälde Meister des Thomasaltars; Standflügel: Erhart Altdorfer, um 1520, aus der Burgkirche, vor 1848 im Sammlungsbestand der Lübecker Musseen, heute im St.-Annen-Museum; Detail: unteres Bildfeld des rechten Flügels: Thomas von Aquin übergibt dem Papst seine Evengelienkommentare
Prière avant la communion
Dieu tout-puissant et
éternel, voici que je m'approche du sacrement de votre fils unique Notre
Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Malade, je viens au médecin dont dépend ma vie ;
souillé, à la source de la miséricorde ; aveugle, au foyer de la lumière
éternelle ; pauvre et dépourvu de tout, au Maître du Ciel et de la terre.
J'implore donc votre
immense, votre inépuisable générosité, afin que vous daigniez guérir mes
infirmités, laver mes souillures, illuminer mon aveuglement, combler mon
indigence, couvrir ma nudité ; et qu'ainsi je puisse recevoir le Pain des
Anges, le Roi des rois, le Seigneur des seigneurs, avec toute la révérence et
l'humilité, toute la contrition et la dévotion, toute la pureté et la foi,
toute la fermeté de propos et la droiture d'intention que requiert le salut de
mon âme.
Donnez-moi, je vous prie,
de ne pas recevoir simplement le sacrement du Corps et du Sang du Seigneur,
mais bien toute la vertu et l'efficacité du sacrement. Ô Dieu plein de douceur,
donnez-moi de si bien recevoir le Corps de votre Fils Unique, Notre Seigneur
Jésus-Christ, ce corps charnel qu'il reçut de la Vierge Marie, que je mérite
d'être incorporé à son Corps Mystique et compté parmi ses membres.
Ô Père plein d'amour, accordez-moi que ce Fils Bien-Aimé que je m'apprête à recevoir maintenant sous le voile qui convient à mon état de voyageur, je puisse un jour le contempler à visage découvert et pour l'éternité, Lui, qui, étant Dieu, vit et règne avec vous dans l'unité du Saint-Esprit, dans les siècles des siècles.
Ainsi soit-il
!
Flügelretabel
der Thomasbruderschaft der Brauerknechte (Thomas-Altar), Lübeck, Sulpturen:
Meister der Burgkirchenaltäre zugeschrieben; Gemälde Meister des Thomasaltars;
Standflügel: Erhart Altdorfer, um 1520, aus der Burgkirche, vor 1848 im
Sammlungsbestand der Lübecker Musseen, heute im St.-Annen-Museum; Detail
Unteres Bildfled des linken flügels: thomas von Aquin schwebt während des
Gebets vor dem Altar
Prière après la communion
Je vous rends grâces, Seigneur
saint, Père tout-puissant, Dieu éternel, de ce que vous avez daigné me
rassasier du Corps et du Sang précieux de votre Fils, notre Seigneur
Jésus-Christ, moi pécheur, votre indigne serviteur, sans aucun mérite de ma
part, mais par votre pure miséricorde. Et je vous supplie que cette sainte
communion ne soit pas pour moi un sujet de châtiment, mais un titre salutaire
de pardon.
Qu'elle me soit une
armure de foi, et un bouclier de bonne volonté. Qu'elle soit l'expulsion de mes
vices, l'extinction de la concupiscence et des désirs impurs, l'augmentation de
la charité et de la patience, de l'humilité et de l'obéissance, et de toutes
les vertus ; une ferme défense contre les embûches de mes ennemis, visibles
aussi bien qu'invisibles, un apaisement complet de ma chair comme de mon
esprit, une adhésion très ferme à vous, Dieu unique et véritable, un heureux
achèvement de ma fin.
Et je vous supplie de daigner me conduire, moi pécheur, à ce banquet ineffable où, avec votre Fils et le Saint-Esprit, vous êtes pour vos saints la lumière vraie, le rassasiement complet, la joie éternelle, le bonheur consommé, la félicité parfaite. Par le même Christ notre Seigneur.
Ainsi soit-il.
Très doux Jésus, que votre Corps très sacré et votre Sang soient douceur et suavité pour mon âme, salut et sainteté en toute tentation, joie et paix en toute tribulation, lumière et force en toute parole ou action, et suprême protection à ma mort.
Ainsi soit-il.
Giovanni
Battista Bertucci (1495-1516), Saint Thomas Aquinas, circa 1512, 138.4 x 54.3, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Prières pour chaque jour
Prière que saint Thomas
récitait chaque jour devant l'image du Christ
Accordez-moi, Dieu
miséricordieux, de désirer ardemment ce qui vous plaît, de le rechercher
prudemment, de le reconnaître véritablement et de l'accomplir parfaitement, à
la louange et à la gloire de votre nom.
Mettez de l'ordre en ma
vie, accordez-moi de savoir ce que vous voulez que je fasse, donnez-moi de
l'accomplir comme il faut et comme il est utile au salut de mon âme.
Que j'aille vers vous,
Seigneur, par un chemin sûr, droit, agréable et menant au terme, qui ne s'égare
pas entre les prospérités et les adversités, tellement que je vous rende grâces
dans les prospérités, et que je garde la patience dans les adversités, ne me
laissant ni exalter par les premières, ni déprimer par les secondes.
Que rien ne me réjouisse
ni me m'attriste, hors ce qui me mène à vous ou m'en écarte. Que je ne désire
plaire ou ne craigne de déplaire à personne, si ce n'est à vous. Que tout ce
qui passe devienne vil à mes yeux à cause de vous, Seigneur, et que tout ce qui
vous touche me soit cher, mais vous, mon Dieu, plus que tout le reste.
Que toute joie me dégoûte
qui est sans vous, et que je ne désire rien en dehors de vous. Que tout
travail, Seigneur, me soit plaisant qui est pour vous, et tout repos ennuyeux
qui est sans vous. Donnez-moi souvent de diriger mon cœur vers vous, et, dans
mes défaillances, de les peser avec douleur, avec un ferme propos de m'amender.
Rendez-moi, Seigneur
Dieu, obéissant sans contradiction, pauvre sans défection, chaste sans corruption,
patient sans protestation, humble sans fiction, joyeux sans dissipation,
sérieux sans abattement, retenu sans rigidité, actif sans légèreté, animé de
votre crainte sans désespoir, véridique sans duplicité, faisant le bien sans
présomption, reprenant le prochain sans hauteur, l'édifiant de parole et
d'exemple sans simulation.
Donnez-moi, Seigneur
Dieu, un cœur vigilant que nulle curieuse pensée ne détourne de vous, un cœur
noble que nulle indigne affection n'abaisse, un cœur droit que nulle intention perverse
ne dévie, un cœur ferme que nulle épreuve ne brise, un cœur libre que nulle
violent affection ne subjugue.
Accordez-moi, Seigneur
mon Dieu, une intelligence qui vous connaisse, un empressement qui vous
cherche, une sagesse qui vous trouve, une vie qui vous plaise, une persévérance
qui vous attende avec confiance, et une confiance qui vous embrasse à la fin.
Accordez-moi d'être affligé de vos peines par la pénitence, d'user en chemin de vos bienfaits par la grâce, de jouir de vos joies surtout dans la patrie par la gloire. Vous qui, étant Dieu, vivez et régnez dans tous les siècles des siècles.
Ainsi soit-il.
Prière d'action de grâces
Je vous loue, je vous
glorifie, je vous bénis, mon Dieu, pour les immenses bienfaits que vous m'avez
accordés, à moi indigne.
Je loue votre clémence si
patiente à m'attendre, votre douceur qui ne fait que simuler la vengeance,
votre tendresse qui m'appelle, votre bénignité qui me reçoit, votre miséricorde
qui pardonne mes péchés, votre bonté qui me comble au-delà de mes mérites,
votre patience qui ne se souvient pas de l'injure, votre humilité qui me
console, votre longanimité qui me protège, votre éternité qui me conserve,
votre vérité qui me récompense.
Que dirai-je, mon Dieu,
de votre générosité ineffable ? Fugitif, vous m'appelez, à mon retour, vous me
recevez, titubant, vous m'aidez, désespérant, vous me réjouissez, négligent,
vous me stimulez, combattant, vous m'armez, triomphant, vous me couronnez,
pécheur, vous ne me méprisez pas après la pénitence, vous n'avez pas souvenance
de mon injure.
Vous me délivrez
d'innombrables périls, vous adoucissez mon cœur pour qu'il se repente, vous
m'effrayez par des supplices, vous m'attirez par des promesse, vous me corrigez
par des châtiments, vous me gardez par le ministère des anges, vous me procurez
les biens temporels et me réservez les biens éternels.
Vous m'exhortez par la
dignité de la création, vous m'invitez par la clémence de la Rédemption, vous
me promettez les biens de la rémunération.
Pour tout cela, mes louanges ne suffisent pas. A votre Majesté je rends grâces pour l'abondance de votre immense bonté, afin que toujours vous multipliiez en moi la grâce, et, multipliée, que vous la conserviez, et, conservée, que vous la récompensiez.
Ainsi soit-il.
Prière fervente pour la
rémission des péchés
A vous fontaine de
miséricorde, ô Dieu, voici que je viens, moi pécheur ; daignez donc me laver,
moi impur. O soleil de justice, illuminez un aveugle. O médecin éternel,
guérissez un blessé. O Roi des rois, revêtez un dépouillé. O médiateur de Dieu
et des hommes, réconciliez un coupable. O bon Pasteur, ramenez un errant.
Accordez, ô Dieu, la
miséricorde à un misérable, l'indulgence à un criminel, la vie à un mort, la
justification à un impie, l'onction de la grâce à un endurci.
O très clément,
rappelez-moi quand je fuis, attirez-moi quand je résiste, relevez-moi quand je
tombe, soutenez-moi quand je marche. Ne n'oubliez pas quand je vous oublie, ne
m'abandonnez pas quand je vous abandonne, ne me méprisez pas quand je pèche.
Car en péchant, je vous ai offensé, mon Dieu, j'ai lésé mon prochain, je ne me
suis pas épargné moi-même.
J'ai péché, mon Dieu, par
fragilité contre vous, Père tout-puissant, par ignorance contre vous, Fils très
sage, par malice contre vous, Esprit-Saint clément ; en tout cela je vous ai
offensé, Trinité sublime.
Ah ! malheureux, combien
nombreuses et grandes, combien diverses ont été mes fautes ! Je vous ai
abandonné, Seigneur, et devant votre bonté je le déplore, par un amour mauvais,
par une mauvaise crainte, et je préférai vous perdre que manquer de ce que
j'aimais ou affronter ce que je craignais. O mon Dieu, que j'ai fait de mal en
parole et en action, péchant secrètement, ouvertement et opiniâtrement !
Je vous supplie donc, eu égard à ma fragilité, de ne pas regardez à mon iniquité, mais à votre immense bonté, et de remettre avec clémence ce que j'ai fait, me donnant la douleur du passé et une efficace vigilance pour l'avenir.
Ainsi soit-il.
Fra Bartolomeo, San
Tommaso d'Aquino, circa 1517, olio su tela
Prière pour obtenir les
vertus
O Dieu qui pouvez tout,
qui savez tout, qui n'avez ni commencement ni fin, vous qui donnez les vertus,
les conservez et les récompensez, daignez me stabiliser sur le sol ferme de la
foi, me protéger de l'inexpugnable bouclier de l'espérance, me parer du vêtement
nuptial de la charité.
Donnez-moi par la justice
de vous être soumis, par la prudence d'éviter les pièges du diable, par la
tempérance de garder un juste milieu, par la force de supporter patiemment
l'adversité.
Donnez-moi de partager
volontiers le bien que j'ai avec celui qui en manque, le bien que je n'ai pas,
de le demander humblement à qui en est pourvu ; le mal que j'ai fait, de
l'avouer loyalement, le mal que je souffre, de le supporter avec égalité d'âme,
le bien du prochain, de le regarder sans envie, vos bienfaits, de vous en
rendre toujours grâces.
Apprenez-moi à garder la
règle dans ma tenue, ma démarche et mes gestes, retenir sur mes lèvres toute
parole vaine, préserver mes pas de tout écart, empêcher mes yeux de divaguer,
défendre mes oreilles des rumeurs, tenir le front humblement incliné, élever
mon esprit vers le ciel, mépriser ce qui passe, ne désirer que vous seul,
dompter ma chair, purifier ma conscience, honorer les saints, vous louer
dignement, progresser dans le bien et couronner mes bonnes actions par une
sainte mort.
Plantez en moi les
vertus, Seigneur, en sorte que je sois dévoué aux choses divines, prévoyant
dans les choses humaines, et à charge à personne pour l'usage de mon corps.
Donnez-moi, Seigneur, la
ferveur dans la contrition, l'intégrité dans la confession, la plénitude dans
la satisfaction. Mettez de l'ordre au-dedans de moi par une bonne vie, afin que
je fasse ce qui convient, ce qui sera profitable à moi comme mérite, et aux
autres comme exemple.
Donnez-moi de ne jamais désirer des actions sans sagesse, ni me lasser des choses fastidieuses, afin qu'il ne m'arrive pas de désirer avant le temps ce que je dois faire, ou de le délaisser avant de l'avoir mené à bonne fin.
Ainsi soit-il.
Prière pour les âmes
contemplatives
Que saint Thomas lui-même
disait en pleine contemplation
Je vous invoque, Dieu de
toute consolation, vous qui ne trouvez en nous que vos propres dons, pour qu'au
terme de cette vie, vous daignez me donner la connaissance de la Vérité
première, la jouissance de la divine Majesté.
Donnez aussi à mon corps,
ô généreux Rémunérateur, la beauté de la clarté, la promptitude de l'agilité,
la pénétration de la subtilité, la force de l'impassibilité. Ajoutez-y
l'abondance des richesses, l'affluence des délices, l'accumulation des biens,
afin que je puisse me réjouir au-dessus de moi de votre consolation, au-dessous
de moi de la douceur du séjour, au-dedans de moi de la glorification de mon
corps et de mon âme, auprès de moi de l'exquise compagnie des anges et des
hommes.
Qu'auprès de vous, Père
très clément, je trouve pour mon esprit les illuminations de la sagesse, pour
ma sensibilité l'accomplissement de mes désirs, pour mes puissances de combat
la gloire du triomphe ; auprès de vous, dis-je, là où est l'absence de tout
péril, la variété des demeures, la concorde des volontés ; là où est la douceur
du printemps, la lumière de l'été, la fertilité de l'automne, et le repos de
l'hiver.
Donnez-moi, Seigneur Dieu, la vie qui ne connaît plus la mort, la joie qui est sans douleur, là où réside la souveraine liberté, la livre sécurité, la sûre tranquillité, la joyeuse félicité, l'heureuse éternité, l'éternelle béatitude, la vision et la louange de la vérité : Dieu.
Ainsi soit-il.
Prière à la bienheureuse
Vierge Marie
O bienheureuse et très
douce Vierge Marie, Mère de Dieu, pleine de toute bonté, fille du Roi des rois,
Souveraine des Anges, mère du Créateur de l'univers, je jette dans le sein de
votre bonté, aujourd'hui et tous les jours de ma vie, mon corps et mon âme,
toutes mes actions, mes pensées, mes volontés, mes désirs, mes paroles, mes
œuvres, ma vie tout entière et ma mort, afin que, par vos suffrages, tout cela
tende au bien, selon la volonté de votre cher Fils, notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ,
afin que je vous aie, ô ma très sainte Souveraine, pour alliée et pour
consolatrice, contre les embûches et les pièges de l'antique adversaire et de
tous mes ennemis.
De votre cher Fils, notre
Seigneur Jésus-Christ, daignez m'obtenir la grâce qui me permettra de résister
aux tentations du monde, de la chair et du démon, et d'avoir toujours le ferme
propos de ne plus pécher à l'avenir, mais de persévérer en votre service et en
celui de votre cher Fils.
Je vous prie aussi, ô ma
très sainte Souveraine, de m'obtenir une vraie obéissance et une vraie humilité
du cœur, afin que je me reconnaisse en vérité comme un misérable et fragile
pécheur, impuissant non seulement à faire la moindre bonne œuvre, mais encore à
résister aux attaques continuelles, sans la grâce et le secours de mon Créateur
et vos saintes prières.
Obtenez-moi aussi, ô ma
très douce Souveraine, une perpétuelle chasteté d'esprit et de corps, afin que
d'un cœur pur et d'un corps chaste, je puisse servir votre Fils aimé et
vous-même selon ma vocation.
Obtenez-moi de lui la
pauvreté volontaire, avec la patience et la tranquillité d'esprit, afin que je
sache supporter les travaux de ma condition pour mon salut et celui de mes
frères.
Obtenez-moi encore, ô
très douce Souveraine, une charité vraie qui me fasse aimer de tout cœur votre
très saint Fils, notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ, et vous, après lui, par-dessus
toutes choses, et le prochain en Dieu et à cause de Dieu, sachant me réjouir de
son bien, m'affliger de son mal, ne mépriser personne, ne jamais juger
témérairement, ne me préférer dans mon cœur à quiconque.
Apprenez-moi en outre, ô
Reine du Ciel, à toujours unir dans mon cœur la crainte et l'amour de votre
très doux Fils ; à toujours rendre grâces de tant de bienfaits qui me viennent
non de mes mérites, mais de sa pure bonté ; à faire de mes péchés une
confession pure et sincère, une pénitence vraie, pour mériter ainsi miséricorde
et grâce.
Je vous supplie enfin, ô Mère unique, porte du ciel et avocate des pécheurs, de ne pas permettre qu'à la fin de ma vie, moi, votre indigne serviteur, je dévie de la sainte foi catholique, mais que vous me secouriez selon votre grande miséricorde et amour, et que vous me défendiez des esprits mauvais ; que par la glorieuse Passion de votre Fils béni, et par votre propre intercession, mon cœur plein d'espérance, vous m'obteniez de Jésus le pardon de mes péchés, de sorte que, mourant dans votre amour et le sien, vous me dirigiez dans la voie de la délivrance du salut.
Ainsi soit-il.
Prière que saint Thomas
disait souvent avant de dicter, d'écrire ou de prêcher
Créateur ineffable, qui
des trésors de votre sagesse avez choisi les trois hiérarchies angéliques et
les avez placées en un ordre admirable au-dessus du ciel empyrée ; vous qui
avez disposé avec tant d'harmonie les parties de l'univers ; vous, dis-je,
qu'on nomme à juste titre source de lumière et de sagesse, et principe suprême,
daignez projeter sur les ténèbres de mon intelligence un rayon de votre clarté,
chassant de moi les doubles ténèbres dans lesquelles je suis né, celle du péché
et celle de l'ignorance.
Vous qui rendez diserte la langue des enfants, formez ma langue et versez sur mes lèvres la grâce de votre bénédiction. Donnez-moi la pénétration pour comprendre, la capacité de retenir, la méthode et la facilité pour apprendre, la subtilité pour interpréter, une grâce abondante pour parler. Disposez le commencement, dirigez le progrès, couronnez la fin. Vous qui êtes vrai Dieu et vrai homme, qui vivez et régnez dans les siècles des siècles.
Ainsi soit-il.
Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli (1500–1569),
Ritratto di frate in veste di San Tommaso d’Aquino (Portrait of friar,
possibly Antonio Michele Ghislieri, as st. Thomas), 1543, oil on canvas,86 x 81, Pinacoteca di Brera
Oraisons
Oraisons de la messe du
très saint Sacrement
Dieu qui, sous un
sacrement admirable, nous avez laissé le mémorial de votre Passion,
accordez-nous, nous vous en supplions, de vénérer tellement les mystères sacrés
de votre Corps et de votre Sang, que nous en ressentions continuellement en
nous le fruit de votre Rédemption. Vous qui vivez et régnez avec Dieu le Père,
en l'unité du Saint-Esprit, dans tous les siècles des siècles. Ainsi soit-il.
Nous vous en supplions,
Seigneur, accordez à votre Église les dons de l'unité et de la paix figurés
mystiquement par ces offrandes que nous vous présentons. Par notre Seigneur
Jésus-Christ votre Fils qui, étant Dieu, vit et règne avec vous, en l'unité du
Saint-Esprit, dans tous les siècles des siècles. Ainsi soit-il.
Faites, nous vous en
supplions, Seigneur, que nous soyons rassasiés par l'éternelle jouissance de
votre divinité, que figure ici-bas la réception de votre Corps et votre Sang
précieux. Vous qui, étant Dieu, vivez et régnez avec Dieu le Père, en l'unité
du Saint-Esprit, dans tous les siècles des siècles. Ainsi soit-il.
Séquence de la messe
Lauda Sion
Loue, Sion, ton Sauveur,
Loue ton chef et ton
pasteur
Par des hymnes et des
cantiques.
Ose de tout ton pouvoir,
Car il est plus grand que
toute louange
Et à le louer tu ne
suffis pas.
Un thème de louange
spéciale,
Le pain vivant et
vivifiant,
Aujourd'hui nous est
proposé.
Lors du repas de la sainte
Cène,
Aux Douze ses frères
Il fut donné, nous n'en
doutons pas.
Que la louange soit
pleine, qu'elle soit sonore ;
Qu'elle soit joyeuse,
qu'elle soit parfaite,
La jubilation de
l'esprit.
Car nous vivons ce jour
solennel
Qui de cette table entend
célébrer
L'institution première.
A cette table du nouveau
Roi,
La nouvelle pâque de la
nouvelle loi
Met un terme à la phase
ancienne.
La nouveauté chasse la
vieillerie,
La vérité l'ombre,
La lumière dissipe la
nuit.
Ce que fit le Christ à la
Cène,
Il nous ordonna de le
faire
en mémoire de lui.
Instruits par ses saints
préceptes,
Nous consacrons le pain
et le vin
En hostie salutaire.
Ce dogme est donné aux
chrétiens
Que le pain se change en
chair,
Et le vin en sang.
Ce que tu ne comprends ni
ne vois,
Une ferme foi te
l'assure,
Hors de l'ordre naturel.
Sous diverses espèces,
Signes seulement et non
réalités,
Des choses sublimes se
cachent.
La chair est une
nourriture, le sang un breuvage,
Pourtant le Christ total
demeure
Sous l'une et l'autre
espèce.
On le prend sans le
déchirer,
Le briser, ni le diviser,
Il est reçu intègre.
Un seul le prend, mille
le prennent :
Autant celui-ci, autant
ceux-là
Le reçoivent sans le
consumer.
Les bons le prennent, les
méchants le prennent,
Mais d'un sort inégal,
Ici de vie, là de ruine.
Il est mort aux méchants,
vie aux bons,
Vois d'une même
manducation
Combien l'effet est
dissemblable !
Le sacrement enfin rompu,
Ne vacille pas, mais
souviens-toi
Qu'il est sous chaque
fragment
Comme sous le tout il se
cache.
Nulle division n'est
réelle,
Le signe seulement se
fractionne,
Et par là, de ce qui est
signifié
Ni l'état ni la stature
n'est amoindri.
Voici le pain des anges
Fait aliment des
voyageurs,
Vrai pain des enfants
A ne pas jeter aux
chiens.
D'avance il est désigné
en figures,
Lorsqu'Isaac est immolé,
L'agneau pascal sacrifié,
La manne, donnée à nos
pères.
Bon Pasteur, vrai pain,
Jésus, ayez pitié de nous
;
Nourrissez-nous,
défendez-nous,
Faites-nous voir nos
biens
Dans la terre des
vivants.
Vous qui savez et pouvez
tout,
Qui nous nourrissez
ici-bas mortels,
Rendez-nous là-haut les
commensaux,
Les cohéritiers et les
compagnons
De la cité des saints.
Ainsi soit-il.
Pintura sobre tabla de Pedro de Villegas Marmolejo (ca. 1575) destinada a una puerta de un realejo. Santo Tomás de Aquino, Santa Catalina de Siena y una visión de la gloria celestial. Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla.
.jpg)
Pedro de Villegas Marmolejo (1519–1596), Santo Tomás de Aquino y Santa Catalina de Siena, circa 1575, oil on panel, 90 x 75, Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla
Hymne des matines
Sacrais solins
Que la joie accompagne
ces saintes solennités,
Et que les louanges
résonnent du fond des cœurs,
Arrière le passé, que
tout soit nouveau,
Les cœurs, les voix et
les œuvres.
Nous célébrons la
dernière cène nocturne
En laquelle nous le
croyons, le Christ donna à ses frères
L'agneau et les azymes,
selon les lois
Jadis prescrites à leurs
pères.
Après l'agneau typique,
le festin achevé,
Nous confessons que le
corps du Seigneur même,
De ses propres mains fut
donné aux disciples,
Entier pour tous et pour
chacun.
Faibles, il leur donna
son Corps pour mets,
Tristes, il leur donna
son Sang pour breuvage,
Disant : Prenez la coupe
que je vous livre,
Buvez en tous.
Ainsi institua-t-il ce
sacrifice,
Voulant que le ministère
en fût confié
Aux seuls prêtres. A eux
donc
De s'en nourrir et de le
donner aux autres.
Le pain des anges devient
le pain des hommes.
Le pain du ciel met un
terme aux figures.
Chose admirable ! Il
mange son Seigneur,
Le pauvre, l’esclave et
l'humble.
O Déité trine et une,
nous vous en supplions,
Visitez-nous tandis que
nous vous honorons,
Par vos chemins,
conduisez-nous où nous tendons,
A la lumière que vous
habitez.
Ainsi soit-il.
Willem Kerricx (1652–1719), Saint Thomas of Aquinas, circa 1674, terracotta, paint (coating), Museum aan de Stroom, Antwerp
Hymne des laudes
Verbum supernum
Le Verbe descend des
cieux
Sans quitter la droite du
Père ;
Sorti pour accomplir son
œuvre,
Il vient au soir de sa
vie.
Avant d'être livré par un
disciple
Aux ennemis pour mourir,
Le premier, il se livre
lui-même
Aux disciples, aliment de
vie.
A eux, sous une double espèce,
Il donne sa chair et son
sang,
afin de nourrir tout
l'homme
En sa double substance
Naissant, il se fait
notre compagnon,
Commensal, notre
nourriture,
Mourant, notre rançon,
Régnant, notre
récompense.
Antonio e Giovanni Sarnelli, San Tommaso d'Aquino, circa 1750, Museo Civico di Taverna
O salutaris hostia
O salutaire hostie,
Qui ouvrez la porte du
ciel,
Des guerres violentes
nous pressent,
Donnez-nous force et
secours.
Au Seigneur trine et un,
Soit gloire à jamais !
Qu'il nous donne dans la
patrie,
La vie sans terme.
Ainsi soit-il.
Jacopo
Ruphon, Francisco Macedo, Collationes doctrinae S. Thomae et Scoti, cum
differentiis inter utrumque, 1671, p.3. Bavarian State Library
Bartolomeo degli Erri (1431–1482), Scene from the Life of Saint Thomas Aquinas : The Debate with the Heretic, circa 1470, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Rythme pour l'élévation
du corps du Christ
Adoro te
Je vous adore dévotement,
Déité cachée,
Qui sous ces figures êtes
réellement présent.
A vous mon cœur tout
entier se soumet,
Car en vous contemplant
tout entier il défaille.
Vue, toucher, goût sont
ici déroutés,
Mais par l'ouïe toute
seule ma foi se rassure.
Je crois tout ce qu'a dit
le Fils de Dieu,
Rien n'est plus vrai que
ce verbe de Vérité.
Sur la croix se cachait
la seule Déité,
Ici se cache aussi
l'humanité.
Pourtant, croyant et
confessant l'une et l'autre,
J'implore ce qu'implora
le larron pénitent.
Je n'inspecte pas vos
plaies comme Thomas,
Pourtant, je confesse que
vous êtes mon Dieu.
Faites que de plus en
plus en vous je croie,
Qu'en vous j'espère, que
je vous aime.
O mémorial de la mort du
Seigneur,
Pain vivant donnant la
vie à l'homme,
Donnez à mon âme de vivre
de vous,
Et de toujours vous
goûter avec douceur.
Bon pélican, Seigneur
Jésus,
Purifiez-moi, impur, par
votre sang
Dont une seule goutte
peut sauver
Le monde entier de ses
crimes.
Jésus, que j'aperçois
maintenant voilé,
Je vous prie, faites ce
dont j'ai tant soif :
Que, contemplant à
découvert votre face,
Je sois heureux de la vue
de votre gloire.
Ainsi soit-il.
SOURCE : http://missel.free.fr/Sanctoral/01/28bis.php
Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510), Saint Thomas Aquinas
St Thomas d’Aquin, confesseur et docteur
Mort le 7 mars 1274. Canonisé en 1323. Fête à la même date. Docteur en 1567.
Leçons des Matines avant
1960
Quatrième leçon. Le
bienheureux Thomas, l’insigne ornement du monde chrétien et la lumière de
l’Église, était fils de Landulphe, comte d’Aquin, et de Théodora de Naples,
tous deux de noble extraction. Petit enfant, il donna une marque de la tendre
dévotion qu’il devait avoir pour la Mère de Dieu. Ayant trouvé un papier sur
lequel était écrite la salutation angélique, il le retint serré dans sa main,
malgré les efforts de sa nourrice pour le lui enlever ; et quand sa mère le lui
eut ravi de force, il le réclama par ses pleurs et par ses gestes, et l’avala sitôt
qu’il lui eut été rendu. A l’âge de cinq ans, on le conduisit au Mont-Cassin et
on le confia aux moines de saint Benoît. De là, il fut envoyé à Naples, pour y
achever ses études, et il n’était encore qu’adolescent lorsqu’il s’engagea dans
l’Ordre des Frères Prêcheurs. Sa mère et ses frères en conçurent une vive
indignation : ceux-ci s’emparèrent de lui, comme il se rendait à Paris, et
l’enfermèrent au château de Saint-Jean. Là, on n’omit aucune vexation pour le
faire renoncer à sa sainte résolution ; on alla jusqu’à introduire auprès de
Thomas une courtisane, mais il la chassa avec un tison ardent. Aussitôt après,
le bienheureux jeune homme, priant à genoux devant l’image de la croix, entra
dans un doux sommeil, pendant lequel il lui sembla que les Anges lui ceignaient
les reins. Depuis ce moment il fut exempt des révoltes de la chair. Il persuada
à ses sœurs, venues dans ce château pour le détourner de son pieux dessein, de
mépriser les embarras du siècle et de se consacrer aux exercices d’une vie toute
céleste.
Cinquième leçon. On
l’aida à s’échapper du château par une fenêtre, et on le ramena à Naples. Ce
fut de là que frère Jean le Teutonique, Maître général de l’Ordre des Frères
Prêcheurs, le conduisit à Rome, puis à Paris, où il étudia la philosophie et la
théologie sous Albert le Grand. Ayant atteint sa vingt-cinquième année, il
reçut le titre de Maître, et il expliqua publiquement avec le plus grand
succès, les écrits des philosophes et des théologiens. Jamais il ne se livra à
l’étude ou à la composition, sans avoir prié auparavant. Lorsque certains
passages de la sainte Écriture lui offraient des difficultés, il ajoutait le
jeûne à l’oraison. Il avait même coutume de dire à frère Reginald, son
compagnon, que ce qu’il savait, il l’avait plutôt appris par inspiration divine
qu’il ne l’avait acquis par l’étude et par son travail. Un jour qu’il priait
avec ardeur, à Naples, devant l’image de Jésus crucifié, il entendit cette
parole : « Tu as bien écrit de moi, Thomas, quelle récompense désires-tu ? » Il
répondit : « Point d’autre, Seigneur, que vous-même ». Il lisait assidûment les
recueils des Pères, et il n’y avait point d’auteur qu’il n’eût approfondi avec
soin. Ses ouvrages, remarquables par leur multitude et leur variété, sont si
excellents, les difficultés y sont si bien éclaircies, que sa doctrine féconde,
exempte de toute erreur et admirablement d’accord avec les vérités révélées,
est plus efficace que toute autre pour combattre victorieusement les erreurs de
tous les temps.
Sixième leçon. Appelé à
Rome par le souverain Pontife Urbain IV, Thomas composa, sur son ordre,
l’Office ecclésiastique qui devait se célébrer dans la solennité du corps du
Christ. Mais il refusa les honneurs qu’on lui offrit et même l’archevêché de
Naples que lui proposa Clément IV. Il ne cessait d’annoncer la parole de Dieu :
un jour dans l’Octave de Pâques, après un de ses sermons à la basilique de
Saint-Pierre, une femme toucha le bord de sa robe, et fut ainsi guérie d’un
flux de sang. Envoyé par le bienheureux Grégoire X au concile de Lyon, il tomba
malade au monastère de Fosse-Neuve ; c’est là qu’il a commenté, au milieu de
ses souffrances, le Cantique des cantiques. Il mourut en ce lieu, dans la
cinquantième année de son âge, l’an du salut mil deux cent soixante-quatorze,
le jour des nones de mars. Des miracles le rendirent encore illustre après sa
mort, et quand ils eurent été examinés et prouvés, Jean XXII le mit au nombre
des Saints en l’année mil trois cent vingt-trois. Plus tard son corps fut
transporté à Toulouse par ordre du Pape Urbain V. Comparé aux esprits
angéliques, tant à cause de son innocence que de son génie, Thomas a obtenu à
juste titre le nom de Docteur angélique, qui lui a été confirmé par l’autorité
de saint Pie V. Enfin, pour répondre favorablement aux suppliques et aux vœux
de presque tous les Prélats du monde catholique, pour combattre surtout la
contagion de tant de systèmes philosophiques éloignés de la vérité, pour
l’accroissement des sciences et l’utilité commune du genre humain, Léon XIII,
après avoir consulté la Congrégation des Rites sacrés, l’a déclaré et institué,
par lettres apostoliques, le céleste patron de toutes les écoles catholiques.
Bernardo Daddi, Vergine Maria tra i Santi Tommaso d'Aquino e Paolo, circa 1330, ancona portabile a trittico, a tempera su tavola. La Vergine Maria tiene in mano un testo che contiene le prime parole del Magnificat, mentre Tommaso, autore di uno dei più importanti commenti medievali sull'epistolario paolino, tiene in mano una delle sue opere.
Dom Guéranger, l’Année Liturgique
Saluons aujourd’hui l’un des plus sublimes et des plus lumineux interprètes de
la Vérité divine. L’Église l’a produit bien des siècles après l’âge des
Apôtres, longtemps après que la parole des Ambroise, des Augustin, des Jérôme
et des Grégoire, avait cessé de retentir ; mais Thomas a prouvé que le sein de
la Mère commune était toujours fécond ; et celle-ci, dans sa joie de l’avoir
mis au jour, l’a nommé le Docteur Angélique. C’est donc parmi les chœurs des
Anges que nos yeux doivent chercher Thomas ; homme par nature, sa noble et pure
intelligence l’associe aux Chérubins du ciel ; de même que la tendresse
ineffable de Bonaventure, son émule et son ami, a introduit ce merveilleux
disciple de François dans les rangs des Séraphins. La gloire de Thomas d’Aquin
est celle de l’humanité, dont il est un des plus grands génies ; celle de
l’Église, dont ses écrits ont exposé la doctrine avec une lucidité et une
précision qu’aucun Docteur n’avait encore atteintes ; celle du Christ lui-même,
qui daigna de sa bouche divine féliciter cet homme si profond et si simple
d’avoir expliqué dignement ses mystères aux hommes. En ces jours qui doivent
nous ramener à Dieu, le plus grand besoin de nos âmes est de le connaître,
comme notre plus grand malheur a été de ne l’avoir pas assez connu. Demandons à
saint Thomas « cette lumière sans tache qui convertit les âmes, cette doctrine
qui donne la sagesse même aux enfants, qui réjouit le cœur et éclaire les yeux
[1] ». Nous verrons alors la vanité de tout ce qui est hors de Dieu, la justice
de ses préceptes, la malice de nos infractions, la bonté infinie qui
accueillera notre repentir.
La Liturgie Dominicaine a consacré les trois Hymnes suivantes au grand Docteur
qui est une des premières gloires de l’Ordre des Frères-Prêcheurs :
HYMNE.
Que l’assemblée des fidèles se livre à l’allégresse ; qu’elle fasse entendre un
chant de louange ; qu’elle célèbre le nouveau soleil dont les rayons dissipent
les nuages de l’erreur. Thomas, sur le soir du monde, a répandu des trésors de
grâce ; rempli des dons célestes, la sainteté et la sagesse ont éclaté en lui. Source
de lumière, il nous fait connaître les splendeurs du Verbe, les Écritures que
Dieu même a dictées, et les règles de la Vérité. Ceint de l’auréole de la
doctrine, il brille par la pureté de sa vie ; la gloire des miracles
l’environne ; il est la joie du monde entier. Louange au Père, au Fils et au
Saint-Esprit ; daigne la Trinité Sainte, par les mérites de Thomas, nous réunir
aux chœurs, célestes ! Amen.
HYMNE.
Thomas, issu de noble race, embrasse en un âge encore tendre la milice des
Prêcheurs. Semblable à l’astre du matin, il resplendit du sein des nues ; il
réfute les erreurs des Gentils plus pleinement que ne l’avaient fait avant lui
les docteurs. Il sonde la profondeur des abîmes, il met au jour les choses les
plus cachées ; il éclaircit les saintes obscurités qui dépassent l’intelligence
de l’homme. Il est un fleuve de Paradis qui s’épanche en quatre rameaux ; il
possède l’armure complète de Gédéon : le glaive, la trompette, le vase et le
flambeau. Louange au Père, au Fils et au Saint-Esprit ; daigne la Trinité
Sainte, par les mérites de Thomas, nous réunir aux chœurs célestes ! Amen.
HYMNE.
Célèbre, ô Église Mère, l’heureuse mort de Thomas, lorsqu’il fut admis à
l’éternel bonheur par les mérites du Verbe de vie. Fosse-Neuve reçut la
dépouille mortelle de celui qui était un trésor de grâces, au jour où le Christ
appela Thomas à l’héritage du royaume de gloire. Sa doctrine de vérité nous
reste avec son corps précieux, le parfum merveilleux qu’il exhale, et la santé
qu’il rend aux infirmes. Ses prodiges le rendent digne des louanges de la
terre, des mens et des cieux ; qu’il daigne nous aider par ses prières, nous
recommander à Dieu par ses mérites. Louange au Père, au Fils et au Saint-Esprit
; daigne la Trinité Sainte, par les mérites de Thomas, nous réunir aux chœurs
célestes ! Amen.
Gloire à vous, Thomas, lumière du monde ! vous avez reçu les rayons du Soleil
de justice, et vous les avez rendus à la terre. Votre œil limpide a contemplé
la vérité, et en vous s’est accomplie cette parole : Heureux ceux dont le cœur
est pur ; car ils verront Dieu [2]. Vainqueur dans la lutte contre la chair,
vous avez obtenu les délices de l’esprit ; et le Sauveur, ravi des charmes de
votre âme angélique, vous a choisi pour célébrer dans l’Église le divin
Sacrement de son amour. La science n’a point tari en vous la source de
l’humilité ; la prière fut toujours votre secours dans la recherche de la
vérité ; et après tant de travaux vous n’aspiriez qu’à une seule récompense,
celle de posséder le Dieu que votre cœur aimait.
Votre carrière mortelle fut promptement interrompue, et vous laissâtes inachevé
le chef-d’œuvre de votre angélique doctrine ; mais, ô Thomas, Docteur de
vérité, vous pouvez luire encore sur l’Église de Dieu. Assistez-la dans les
combats contre l’erreur. Elle aime à s’appuyer sur vos enseignements, parce
qu’elle sait que nul ne connut plus intimement que vous les secrets de son
Époux. En ces jours où les vérités sont diminuées parmi les enfants des hommes
[3], fortifiez, éclairez la foi des croyants. Confondez l’audace de ces vains
esprits qui croient savoir quelque chose, et qui profitent de l’affaissement
général des intelligences, pour usurper dans la nullité de leur savoir le rôle
de docteurs. Les ténèbres s’épaississent autour de nous ; la confusion règne
partout ; ramenez-nous à ces notions qui dans leur divine simplicité sont la
vie de l’esprit et la joie du cœur.
Protégez l’Ordre illustre qui se glorifie de vous avoir produit ; fécondez-le
de plus en plus ; car il est un des premiers auxiliaires de l’Église de Dieu.
N’oubliez pas que la France a eu l’honneur de vous posséder dans son sein, et
que votre chaire s’est élevée dans sa capitale : obtenez pour elle des jours
meilleurs. Sauvez-la de l’anarchie des doctrines, qui a enfanté pour elle cette
désolante situation où elle périra, si la véritable science, celle de Dieu et
de sa Vérité, ne lui est rendue.
La sainte Quarantaine doit voir les enfants de l’Église se disposer à rentrer
en grâce avec le Seigneur leur Dieu ; révélez-nous, ô Thomas, cette souveraine
Sainteté que nos péchés ont offensée ; faites-nous comprendre l’état d’une âme
qui n’est plus en rapport avec la justice éternelle. Saisis d’une sainte
horreur à la vue des taches qui nous couvrent, nous aspirerons à purifier nos
cœurs dans le sang de l’Agneau immaculé, et à réparer nos fautes par les œuvres
de la pénitence.
[1] Psalm. XVIII.
[2] Matth. V, 8.
[3] Psalm. XI.
Giovanni
Battista Bertucci (1495/1516). Saint Thomas Aquinas, 1512-1516, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Bhx Cardinal Schuster, Liber Sacramentorum
L’ange de l’École et de la théologie catholique commença sa vie religieuse au
Mont-Cassin à l’ombre du tombeau du Patriarche du monachisme occidental, et la
consomma, presque avec la gloire du martyre, au milieu des fils du même saint
Benoît dans l’abbaye de Fossanova (+ 1274). Il convenait que saint Thomas vînt,
en plein Carême, nous réconforter dans notre lassitude et confirmer par son
exemple ce que chante l’Église à la louange du jeûne : Vitia comprimis, mentem
élevas.
La gloire particulière de saint Thomas, sa vertu la plus éminente, c’est le
profond amour qu’il nourrit pour la tradition de l’Église. Il s’identifia si
bien avec elle qu’il en est devenu le représentant le plus autorisé. De fait,
il est difficile de trouver, dans les annales du christianisme, un esprit plus
lumineux, représentant mieux les perfections des esprits angéliques que celui
de saint Thomas, qui, se basant sur les anciens Pères, donna, avec une
précision admirable, une forme définitive à notre science de Dieu. L’admiration
augmente quand on pense que ce monument de sagesse, de foi et de contemplation
théologique n’est pas tant le fruit d’une étude longue et infatigable des
livres, qu’une œuvre de foi, l’effet d’une prière habituelle, d’une intime
union avec Dieu. Pour que l’œil de saint Thomas pût fixer avec assurance la
lumière divine sans en être ébloui, il fallait qu’il fût fort et pur ; force et
pureté qu’il obtint grâce à son parfait détachement de tout le créé et le
sensible, et à sa vie intérieure intense en Jésus-Christ.
La fête de saint Thomas entra d’abord dans le calendrier de l’Église avec le
rite simple ; mais saint Pie V, qui appartenait aussi à l’Ordre des Prêcheurs,
lui accorda, à l’occasion de la réforme du Bréviaire romain, le rite double,
avec l’office du Commun des Docteurs.
L’Ange de l’École qui, durant sa vie, avait illustré la Ville éternelle par sa
demeure temporaire, par sa prédication et par ses miracles, eut, dès le XIVe
siècle, une église à lui dédiée près du palais des Savelli, donc peu éloignée
de son couvent de Sainte-Sabine. Aujourd’hui ce monument n’existe plus, mais, le
culte de Rome envers le Saint se manifeste par la splendide chapelle qu’on lui
a érigée dans le Titre de Sainte-Marie in Minervium, et par la petite église
située près du Théâtre de Pompée, et qui est dédiée à sainte Barbe et à saint
Thomas d’Aquin.
La messe est celle du Commun des Docteurs, sauf la première collecte et la
première lecture qui sont propres.
Voici le texte de la belle collecte : « O Dieu qui, en illustrant votre Église
par la merveilleuse science de votre bienheureux confesseur Thomas, avez voulu
rendre cette doctrine féconde en saintes vertus, accordez-nous non seulement de
pénétrer ses enseignements, mais d’imiter aussi ses œuvres. »
Sur cette splendide collecte reflètent leur lumière inspirée toutes les
récentes encycliques et les documents pontificaux relatifs à l’enseignement de
la théologie et de la philosophie thomiste, obligatoire dans toutes les
académies catholiques. L’Église considère donc le Docteur angélique comme
l’interprète autorisé et officiel de sa propre doctrine et de sa science de
Dieu, si bien qu’elle met d’emblée en relation avec un éloignement des
principes de saint Thomas, toutes les opinions et toutes les doctrines qui
s’éloignent d’elle ; et cela, en vertu de sa longue expérience.
Dans la lecture (Sap., VII, 7-14), est exposé dans toute sa lumière le
caractère surnaturel de ce qu’on appelle la science des saints, qui n’est pas
simplement spéculative, mais agit efficacement sur la volonté, qu’elle plie et
pousse au bien. Cette science, d’un caractère absolument gratuit, ne nous rend
pas simplement doctes, mais elle fait de l’âme qui en est enrichie l’amie de
Dieu. A la lumière de cette science, le charme des choses de ce monde se
dissipe, et le jugement formé par l’âme au sujet des créatures est tout
différent de celui qui est commun parmi les hommes. La raison en est que cette
science met toutes choses dans leur vrai jour, quand elle les considère comme
ordonnées à Dieu. Là réside l’harmonie de la vérité intégrale, la sagesse très
haute et véritable, c’est-à-dire la connaissance de toutes choses par leur
cause première et suprême qui est Dieu.
C’est surtout par l’aveuglement de l’ignorance que le démon fait de si grands
ravages parmi les âmes. Qui ignorant et errant. Aussi les saints Docteurs qui,
avec le flambeau de la sagesse de Dieu, dissipent parmi les pécheurs ces
ténèbres de mort, remportent sur l’ennemi commun une splendide victoire et
méritent donc un triomphe particulier. Par suite, les maîtres, les savants de
l’Église et tous ceux qui, au moyen de la doctrine sacrée, formèrent les autres
à la justice, resplendissent non seulement dans le ciel d’une gloire
particulière, mais aussi dans la sainte liturgie, où ils sont célébrés par un
culte spécial.
Reliquary displaying the right thumb by Thomas Aquinas, crafted in France in the 17th/18th century, on display in the church museum in Sant'Eustorgio (Milan, Italy). Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, March 1 2007
Dom Pius Parsch, le Guide dans l’année liturgique
La liturgie est la foi manifestée par la prière.
Saint Thomas : Jour de mort : 7 mars 1274. — Tombeau : à Toulouse ; son bras
droit est à Rome. Image : On le représente en dominicain, avec un soleil ou une
étoile sur la poitrine (symbole de l’illumination divine). Vie : Saint Thomas
compte parmi les plus grands savants et les plus grands théologiens de tous les
temps. Son œuvre la plus importante, la Somme théologique, qui contient
l’exposé et les preuves de toute la doctrine catholique, est devenue dans les
siècles suivants et est restée jusqu’à nos jours un livre classique. Au concile
de Trente, la Somme était ouverte sur l’autel à côté de la Sainte Écriture. Sa
profonde spéculation ne l’empêchait pas d’avoir une merveilleuse vie de prière
dont il nous a laissé un précieux monument dans l’office du Saint-Sacrement.
Malgré toute sa science, déjà fort admirée de son temps, il était modeste,
d’une simplicité enfantine et d’une grande bonté de cœur. Il était doux en
paroles et charitable dans ses actions. Il croyait tous les hommes aussi
innocents que lui. Si quelqu’un avait péché par faiblesse, il pleurait le péché
d’autrui comme si c’était le sien. La bonté de son cœur se reflétait sur son
visage ; aussi personne ne le regardait sans être consolé. Il avait une compassion
merveilleuse pour les pauvres et les nécessiteux. Tout ce qu’il pouvait donner
en fait de linge ou d’autres objets, il le donnait volontiers. Il ne gardait
pour lui rien de superflu afin de pouvoir subvenir aux besoins d’autrui. Son
compagnon ordinaire, qui fut aussi son confesseur, attesta après sa mort : « Je
l’ai toujours connu aussi pur qu’un enfant de cinq ans. Jamais un mouvement
charnel ne l’a souillé et il n’a jamais consenti à un péché mortel. » Ce qui
est remarquable, c’est la tendre dévotion de saint Thomas pour sainte Agnès. Il
portait constamment sur lui les reliques de cette sainte, vierge et martyre. Il
mourut le 7 mars 1274, à l’âge de 50 ans, à l’abbaye de Fossanova, près de
Terracine en Campanie. Il est le patron des écoles catholiques et des
théologiens.
Pratique : La liturgie est la foi manifestée par la prière. Nous devons
cultiver en nous la foi et pénétrer toujours plus profondément dans ses
mystères. — Nous prenons la messe du Carême et faisons mémoire du saint.
SOURCE : http://www.introibo.fr/07-03-St-Thomas-d-Aquin-confesseur#nh3
Santi
di Tito (1536–), La Vision de Saint Thomas d’Aquin, 1593, 362 x
233, Basilica
of St. Mark
Saint Thomas d'Aquin
Dominicain, Docteur
Commun l’Eglise, aussi appelé le Docteur Angélique (1225–1274). Le plus grand
théologien de l’Eglise, auteur de la Somme Théologique.
Fête le 7 mars.
Saint Thomas d’Aquin est
le plus grand théologien de l’Eglise, la gloire incomparable de l’Ordre des
Frères Prêcheurs et de son siècle ; on ne compte plus les documents
officiels dans lesquels les Souverains Pontifes ont loué la doctrine et
recommandé l’étude des œuvres de ce philosophe et théologien de génie.
Un enfant d’esprit vif et
réfléchi.
Il naquit à Rocca-Secca,
dans le royaume de Naples, au début de 1225 ou à la fin de 1224 ; il était
le cousin de l’empereur Frédéric II.
Le comte Landolphe, son
père, vivait militairement au château fort de Rocca-Secca (roche aride),
dominant à pic la petite ville d’Aquino, véritable nid d’aigle, qui fait face à
l’abbaye du Mont-Cassin. La comtesse Théodora d’Aquin, femme d’une admirable
pureté de vie, remit Thomas, tout innocent aux mains des Bénédictins du célèbre
monastère ; l’enfant avait alors cinq ans.
Dans un âge si tendre, il
étonnait déjà ses maîtres par sa réflexion et la vivacité de son esprit.
Souvent, il adressait aux moines cette interrogation : « Qu’est-ce
que Dieu ? » Une telle question sera la passion de toute sa vie. A huit
ans, elle dénote déjà son tour d’esprit. Remarquons-le bien. Il ne dira
pas : Qui est Dieu ? comme tout enfant de son âge aurait dit à sa
place, mais bien : « Qu’est-ce que Dieu ? » Tout
l’intellectualisme de saint Thomas d’Aquin est déjà là.
Il montra donc une
extraordinaire ardeur à connaître Dieu. Il se retirait même souvent de la
compagnie des jeunes nobles pour étudier le manuscrit où se trouvaient les
rudiments de la science. Dès lors, il était peu empressé aux conversations
mondaines, mais plutôt méditatif et taciturne, distrait même. Il gardera toute
sa vie d’ailleurs cette attitude absorbée et comme indifférente aux objets extérieurs.
On le verra, par exemple, silencieux et tout préoccupé à la table du roi saint
Louis, qui l’aimait beaucoup. Entraîné par la force d’un raisonnement
théologique qu’il poursuivait intérieurement, il interrompit soudain la
conversation engagée autour de lui et il frappa sur la table, comme sur sa
chaire de professeur, en s’écriant : « Voilà qui est décisif contre
l’hérésie des manichéens ! »
A l’âge de dix ans, il
fut inscrit à un cours de belles-lettres et de dialectique à Naples ; il
prit quelque connaissance de la langue grecque et étudia la physique, la
métaphysique et la morale. Les matières les plus ardues ne furent qu’un jeu
pour cet enfant. Dans les exercices pratiques qui étaient imposés aux
étudiants, il se faisait remarquer par la clarté, la profondeur et ce don de la
formule nette et adéquate qui lui est si personnelle. Il n’avançait pas moins
en sainteté.
L’attrait de son âme pour
une vie religieuse de contemplation et d’action, telle que la menaient les
Dominicains de Naples, le conduisit dans leur maison. C’était vers le mois
d’août 1243.
Rudes épreuves de sa
vocation et glorieux triomphe.
Thomas avait dix-huit ans
quand il donna aux élèves de l’Université napolitaine l’étrange spectacle d’un
fils de famille, héritier d’un grand nom, allant ensevelir sous le froc d’un
Ordre mendiant un avenir qui s’annonçait brillant. Mais la consternation fut
plus profonde encore à Rocca-Secca.
Pour détourner le jeune
homme de sa vocation, le démon se servit d’un moyen qui l’a souvent rendu
victorieux : la tendresse ennemie d’une mère. La comtesse Théodora se mit
en route pour Naples, voulant dire un tendre adieu à son cher transfuge, mais
avec la pensée secrète de le faire changer de résolution ; car le dépit
lui avait fait oublier ses pieuses dispositions d’autrefois. De pareilles
contradictions se voient tous les jours. Mais les Frères Prêcheurs, devançant
ces desseins, firent secrètement partir le jeune religieux pour Rome, où
Théodora le poursuivit vainement, car, avant d’avoir revu sa mère, Thomas avait
pris la route de France.
La comtesse ne se tint
pas pour battue ; où l’aveugle tendresse avait échoué, la violence
réussirait peut-être. Elle écrivit à ses deux autres fils, Landulphe et
Raynald, brillants capitaines de l’armée de Frédéric II, les conjurant de
saisir leur frère au passage des Alpes et de le lui ramener de force. On mit,
en effet, la main sur lui, au moment où il se reposait au bord d’un ruisseau,
non loin d’Acquapendente.
A partir du mois de
septembre 1243, Thomas devint donc à Rocca-Secca le captif de Théodora, mais
non le prisonnier de toutes les séductions de tendresse qu’une mère peut
inventer. Dans son étroite cellule, il devint tout à fait homme d’étude et
d’oraison. Il avait pu se procurer quelques manuscrits : la Bible et
plusieurs livres de théologie. Il lut et apprit entièrement les Saintes
Ecritures, de telle façon qu’en sortant de prison, il en avait à peu près
élucidé tous les passages difficiles et obscurs. Il apprit aussi de mémoire le
texte du cours de théologie de Pierre Lombard, mort évêque de Paris en 1160 et
glorieusement surnommé « le Maître des Sentences ». Il étudia enfin
le traité d’Aristote sur les Sophismes.
En vain Théodora fit
livrer à Thomas un assaut plus tenace encore par ses deux sœurs. Il prit à son
tour l’offensive, et réfuta si bien leurs objections affectueuses qu’il les
convertit. L’une d’entre elles, Marozia, à la suite de ce triomphe, devait
prendre plus tard le voile des Bénédictines.
Il restait aux deux
frères du jeune Saint d’user d’une arme plus perfide. Ces deux fratricides, on
peut les nommer ainsi, de leur propre initiative tentèrent d’essayer d’une ruse
infâme, celle dont usaient en dernier ressort les Domitien ou les Néron.
Persuadés qu’ils auraient tout gagné s’ils venaient à faire succomber sa vertu,
ils lui envoyèrent une créature effrontée, dont les paroles empoisonnées
jetteraient le trouble dans son coeur. C’était alors l’hiver. Thomas, sans
hésiter, saisit dans l’âtre un tison enflammé, s’élance et met en fuite la vile
courtisane. Puis, fier de sa victoire comme un chevalier avec son épée, il
trace avec l’extrémité du tison, sur la muraille, un large et glorieux signe
de croix.
Puis il demande à Dieu le
don d’une virginité perpétuelle supérieure à toutes les attaques. Un sommeil
extatique s’empare de lui ; et cette même nuit il voit apparaître deux
anges qui ceignent ses reins d’un cordon de chasteté. C’est en mémoire de ce
fait que les Dominicains ont le privilège de conférer le « cordon de
Saint-Thomas », précieuse sauvegarde de la chasteté, surtout chez les
jeunes gens.
Finalement, après une
année de captivité, le comte et la comtesse d’Aquin ayant fermé les yeux sur
son évasion, Thomas descendit pendant la nuit par une fenêtre du donjon. Des
chevaux tout sellés étaient prêts au pied de la tour, et le jeune homme, rendu
à sa famille spirituelle, prit en toute hâte le chemin de Naples.
Il avait alors un peu
plus de dix-neuf ans.
Saint Thomas et saint
Albert le Grand.
Après ce rude noviciat,
Thomas fut envoyé à Cologne pour suivre des cours qu’il devait fréquenter en 1244
et 1245. Saint Albert le Grand, le futur évêque de Ratisbonne, y fut son
professeur.
Les écoliers rhénans
furent vivement frappés de la haute taille du nouveau venu et de son
obstination à se tenir recueilli et silencieux. Ils crurent y voir la marque d’un
esprit lourd et tardif, et ils l’appelaient en riant : le bœuf muet de
Sicile. Maître Albert « lisait », c’est-à-dire commentait alors le
livre difficile de saint Denis sur les Noms divins. Un des étudiants
eut compassion de la peine que le « bœuf muet » devait sans doute
trouver à comprendre une leçon si relevée, et il lui offrit des répétitions.
Mais le complaisant répétiteur s’étant tout à fait égaré dans sa matière,
Thomas dut venir à son secours et il répéta la leçon du maître avec une surprenante
clarté, voire avec des additions nombreuses, de sorte que son compagnon, frappé
d’une admiration soudaine, le conjura d’intervertir les rôles. Thomas y
consentit, en faisant promettre le secret. La condition, on le pense bien, ne
fut pas observée. Une autre fois, le distrait Thomas perdit, devant la porte de
sa cellule, la rédaction d’un problème très difficile qui lui avait été
imposée. Elle fut portée à maître Albert, qui, convaincu d’avoir parmi ses
auditeurs un homme de génie, le désigna le lendemain pour soutenir une thèse
des plus ardues. Il lui proposa quatre difficultés très embarrassantes. Mais
l’admirable soutenant les résolut d’une manière extrêmement brillante, avec la
plus parfaite modestie, et Albert ne put s’empêcher de conclure : « Nous
l’appelons un bœuf muet, mais son enseignement deviendra un tel mugissement
qu’il retentira dans le monde entier. »
Saint Thomas docteur.
Les cours de théologie
terminés, on l’envoya à Paris, au couvent de Saint-Jacques, où Albert restait
encore son maître. Puis il revint à Cologne en 1248, non plus comme étudiant,
mais comme professeur ; il y enseigna, au titre de « lecteur biblique »,
pendant quatre années. C’est là qu’il composa ses traités de l’Etre et de
l’Essence, des Principes de la nature, et quelques autres opuscules qui
feraient, même de nos jours, le plus grand honneur à des métaphysiciens
vieillis dans l’étude de la philosophie. Et il avait vingt-cinq ans !
Rappelé de nouveau à Paris, pour y prendre ses grades supérieurs de licence
(1251), il revint au couvent de Saint-Jacques enseigner publiquement le texte
du Maître des Sentences. Ce fut le temps où il rédigea ses doctes Commentaires
sur Pierre Lombard. Il y enseigna longtemps, passa ensuite à Rome (1261),
puis derechef à Paris (1269) et enfin à Naples (1272).
On peut partager ses
nombreux écrits en plusieurs catégories.
Dans ses écrits
polémiques, il répond aux attaques de Guillaume de Saint-Amour contre la vie
religieuse, les moines et les Ordres mendiants. Il combattit l’erreur des
Fraticelles avec non moins d’énergie pour établir contre eux que l’Evangile de
Jésus-Christ est définitif et que l’état présent de l’Eglise est une préparation
immédiate et complète à la gloire du ciel. Aux dangereuses théories à la mode,
de l’averrhoïsme, d’après lesquelles tous les hommes n’ont qu’une seule et même
intelligence, tout entière en chacun et à travers tous les siècles, il
répondait par son opuscule : De l’unité de l’intellect contre les
averrhoïstes.
Au groupe des ouvrages
apologétiques, destiné à réfuter les païens, les mahométans et les
schismatiques, appartiennent surtout les quatre livres de la Somme contre
les Gentils, incomparable préface de la Somme de
théologie ; il y démontre aux incrédules que ceux-ci n’ont pas un
seul motif sérieux de se refuser à entrer dans le temple de la foi.
Parmi ses ouvrages
exégétiques, il faut rappeler la fameuse Chaîne d’or, vrai joyau de
science biblique et de piété, dont les innombrables chaînons, formés avec les
plus beaux textes des saints Pères et des écrivains ecclésiastiques, illustrent
les quatre Evangiles et les Epîtres de saint Paul. Aux écrits poétiques
appartient l’Office du Saint Sacrement, chef‑d’œuvre de la poésie didactique,
liturgique et mystique dont il faut dire un mot.
Urbain IV avait résolu
d’étendre à l’univers entier la belle fête du Saint Sacrement, célébrée depuis
quelques années dans le seul diocèse de Liège. Pour ce grand mystère, il
voulait un office tout à fait excellent. Dans ce dessein il s’adressa à Thomas
d’Aquin, et celui-ci, alliant au plus haut degré le génie artistique et le
génie théologique, composa cet office incomparable où les figures de l’Ancienne
Loi et les réalités de la Nouvelle sont enchâssées dans une forme très simple
et en même temps très solennelle, pleine de piété, de force et de lumière. Car,
même quand il prie, dit un contemporain, saint Thomas éclaire.
Au sujet de la
composition de cet office on cite volontiers une anecdote édifiante, dont on ne
peut pourtant attester la véracité absolue : le Pape aurait confié la même
tâche à la fois à saint Thomas d’Aquin et à un autre docteur non moins
illustre, un Franciscain, saint Bonaventure. Les deux religieux se seraient
présentés à la fois devant Urbain IV, apportant leurs manuscrits, et tandis que
Fr. Thomas, le premier, lisait sa composition, Fr. Bonaventure, plein
d’admiration et d’humilité, déchirait la sienne.
Mais l’œuvre capitale de
saint Thomas d’Aquin, c’est l’immortelle Somme
théologique, exposition scientifique du christianisme ; vaste
ensemble (summa) de toute la théologie divisé en trois parties :
la première, appelée par l’auteur « naturelle », la deuxième « morale »
et la troisième « sacramentelle ». La première est consacrée à Dieu
et à ses œuvres. La deuxième a pour objet la relation essentielle de l’homme
avec Dieu, sa fin dernière. La troisième expose les mystères de l’Incarnation
et de la Rédemption, et la doctrine sur la Grâce ; vient ensuite un traité
des Sacrements, inachevé.
La Somme
théologique marque le point culminant, le plus haut sommet où aient jamais
atteint la pensée humaine et la pensée chrétienne. La doctrine s’y trouve
expliquée avec une clarté, une force et une méthode inégalables. Telle était
l’estime des Pères du Concile de Trente (XVIème siècle) pour cette œuvre
admirable qu’un exemplaire en fut déposé sur leur table à côté de
la Bible.
Dans les cours que le
maître professa étant régent à Paris de 1261 à 1258, la doctrine se déroule
d’un mouvement égal, en divisions infinies et méthodiquement coupées où
s’affirme la tranquille possession de soi. Jamais un mot plus haut, une
division inachevée qui laisserait deviner que ce jour-là, peut-être, il fut
insulté à la porte de son couvent par un antagoniste appartenant à
l’Université ; il reste calme, de cette sérénité intérieure qui n’est pas
de la terre, car on a pu dire : « Rien n’approche autant de la vision
claire et béatifique du ciel que la Somme théologique. » Saint Thomas
n’aborde jamais une question sans lui donner toute la lumière dont elle est
susceptible, il n’attaque pas une erreur sans la détruire dans ses racines.
Chose admirable, depuis le XIIIème siècle pas une erreur n’a surgi qu’il
ne l’ait prévue, comme par une sorte d’esprit prophétique, et réfutée sans
réplique. Le protestantisme était réfuté dans la Somme longtemps
avant son apparition. C’est pourquoi Léon XIII, voulant mettre une digue aux
erreurs de la pensée moderne, n’a pas trouvé d’autre moyen que la restauration
de la doctrine de saint Thomas, et en a affirmé la nécessité.
Maître des études, il
l’est, en effet, au degré le plus éminent. Tous ceux qui ont parlé depuis saint
Thomas lui doivent ce qu’ils ont de bon, et quiconque a voulu s’écarter de lui
s’est toujours égaré.
L’homme et le saint.
Au physique, Thomas
d’Aquin était d’une stature très élevée, assez corpulent. Son teint bistré
rappelait, dit naïvement un contemporain, la couleur du froment. Il avait la
tête large, bien dessinée, le front très accentué et prolongé encore par une
légère calvitie.
L’ensemble de sa
personne, la noblesse de sa démarche d’où toute trace d’orgueil était absente,
dénotait un équilibre parfait entre le physique et le moral. En réalité son
corps était tout à fait soumis à l’esprit. N’est-ce pas, en effet, un miracle
étonnant que cette vie constamment remplie par la prière, l’oraison, la
prédication, les exercices multiples de l’état religieux, et néanmoins si
féconde en travaux d’une profondeur et d’une érudition sans égales ? Pour
intelligent que soit un homme, il ne parviendra qu’avec peine à lire et surtout
à comprendre les ouvrages de saint Thomas, en aussi peu d’années que le grand
Docteur en a mis à les préparer, à les composer, à les dicter.
Un tel génie n’est pas
uniquement le don d’une heureuse nature. Le principe en est bien supérieur, il
appartient à l’ordre surnaturel : Thomas est en toute vérité le Docteur
Angélique.
Angélique, il l’était par
sa pureté et nous connaissons les combats qu’il eut à soutenir. L’opinion commune
est qu’il mourut dans toute la gloire de sa virginité, et il résulte des pièces
déposées au procès de canonisation, que sa confession générale au moment de la
mort avait été comme la confession d’en enfant de cinq ans, parce qu’il n’avait
jamais commis un seul péché mortel. Son innocence virginale se communiquait,
dit un témoin, même à ceux qui le considéraient, et un autre témoin déposa
qu’il lui avait suffi de se recommander au Saint pour être délivré de graves
tentations.
Angélique, saint Thomas
mérite aussi ce titre décerné par la postérité, parce qu’il reçut directement
de Dieu même une immédiate communication de la science des anges. En effet, il
entend plus qu’il n’argumente et a plus d’intuition que de raisonnement. Il est
plus ange qu’homme. Rencontrait-il des points douteux, il allait prier devant
l’autel avec beaucoup de larmes ; puis, rentré dans sa chambre, il
continuait facilement ses sublimes écrits.
Est-il besoin de le
dire ? La science de saint Thomas n’altérait jamais sa douceur et son
affabilité. Quand il descendait des hauteurs de la contemplation, il était d’un
commerce souriant et joyeux.
A une courtoisie
parfaite, rappelant le descendant d’une des plus nobles races d’Italie, il
joignait une habitude admirable de réserve et de dignité, ne cherchant point à
se créer des relations extérieures, évitant toutes les paroles inutiles, ne se
mêlant point des affaires temporelles à moins d’une extrême nécessité.
A table, la délicatesse
des mets ne lui importait nullement. Il ne mangeait qu’une fois par jour et
très peu, en sorte que son jeûne était perpétuel. Pendant les repas, il était
souvent en contemplation et l’on pouvait lui changer sa nourriture sans qu’il
s’en aperçut.
Il dormait très peu. Au
lieu de reposer comme les autres après Complies, il faisait de longues prières
dans l’église, et dès que la cloche allait sonner Matines, il regagnait à la
hâte et adroitement sa cellule pour en redescendre avec la communauté. Quand il
célébrait la sainte messe, fréquemment on pouvait le voir pleurer d’amour au
moment de la Communion.
Saint Thomas cesse
d’écrire. — Sa mort.
A l’âge de quarante-neuf
ans, le Docteur Angélique avait terminé la tâche immense que Dieu avait confiée
à son génie et à son amour. Un jour, priant avec ardeur devant un Crucifix, au
couvent de Naples, il entendit ces paroles sortir de la bouche du
Sauveur : « Tu as bien écrit de moi, Thomas, quelle récompense
désires-tu recevoir ? » Et le Saint, pénétré d’amour, s’écria :
« Point d’autre que vous-même, Seigneur · »
Il fut appelé comme
théologien par le Pape Grégoire X, au Concile de Lyon (1274). C’est en s’y
rendant qu’il tomba malade au couvent des Cisterciens de Fossanuova, diocèse de
Terracine, dans la province romaine. En y entrant, il annonça sa mort, redisant
avec le Psalmiste : « C’est ici le lieu de mon repos pour
toujours… »
Les religieux
l’entourèrent de soins ; Thomas paya la dette de la reconnaissance en leur
expliquant, sur son lit de mort, le Cantique des cantiques. Il reçut avec une
grande dévotion les derniers sacrements. Le 7 mars 1274 s’éteignait cette
lumière éclatante.
La canonisation de saint
Thomas ne devait pas tarder. Dès l’an 1318, des apparitions, des miracles dus à
son intercession avaient décidé le Siège apostolique, alors fixé à Avignon, à
commencer le procès canonique. La sentence définitive fut rendue par le Pape
Jean XXII, le 18 juillet 1323, dans la cathédrale d’Avignon.
A la demande du maître
général des Dominicains Elie de Raymond, le Pape Urbain V contraignit en 1368
les Cisterciens de Fossanuova de rendre le corps et la tête de saint Thomas
d’Aquin à sa famille religieuse ; ces reliques furent transférées à
Toulouse. Son bras droit, offert à Paris, passa ensuite au couvent des
Saints-Dominique et Sixte, à Rome.
On le représente
ordinairement avec un soleil sur la poitrine, symbole de la vérité qui est en
lui, peut-être aussi à cause d’étoiles merveilleuses qui apparaissent plusieurs
fois dans son histoire, soit de son vivant, soit après sa mort.
Saint Pie V a mis saint
Thomas au rang des Docteurs de l’Eglise, avec le titre spécial de
« Docteur Angélique », en 1567 ; Léon XIII, le
4 août 1880, l’a donné pour patron aux écoles catholiques, tandis que les
Pontifes suivants n’ont cessé de prescrire l’étude de ce Maître des maîtres.
A. Poirson.
Sources consultées. —
Chanoine Didiot, Le Docteur Angélique saint Thomas d’Aquin (Lille,
1894). — Th. Pègues, O. P., Saint Thomas d’Aquin. Sa vie par Guillaume de
Tocco et les Témoins au procès de canonisation (Toulouse, 1926). — (V. S.
B. P., nos 167, 158, 160 et 162.)
SOURCE : https://laportelatine.org/spiritualite/vies-de-saints/saint-thomas-daquin
Antoine
Nicolas, Saint Thomas d’Aquin, Fontaine de Sagesse, 1648, Notre
Dame de Paris
Saint
Thomas d’Aquin, Fontaine de Sagesse
par Antoine Nicolas
(1648)
Ce tableau du XVIIe
siècle témoigne de la ferveur des catholiques à l’égard de saint Thomas
d’Aquin. Ce dominicain étudie puis enseigne la théologie à l’université de
Paris au milieu du XIIe siècle. Ses écrits, rédigés à Paris, sont contemporains
de l’ouverture de Notre-Dame.
Saint Thomas d’Aquin
(1225-1274)
Né en Italie, Thomas
d’Aquin entre dans l’ordre dominicain en 1244. Il vient à deux reprises étudier
à l’université de Paris en 1245 et 1252. Il est probable qu’il fréquente
Notre-Dame dont le premier chantier vient toujours juste de s’achever sous le
règne de saint Louis. Parti enseigner la théologie à Rome, il retourne à Paris
en 1268 alors que des querelles morales autour des pensées d’Aristote font rage
dans l’Église. Là, durant quatre ans, il écrit la majorité de son œuvre. Ses
propos questionnent la foi et l’existence de Dieu à travers la nature et la
connaissance du monde. Ainsi, il associe théologie et philosophie. Somme toute,
ses écrits portent sur l’âme, le corps, les passions, la liberté et la
béatitude.
Considéré comme père
spirituel de l’Église, inhumé à Toulouse puis canonisé en 1323, il obtient en
1567, à titre posthume, le nom de « docteur de l’Église ». A cette époque, ses
écrits sont controversés par les protestants lors de la Réforme. Au milieu du
XVIIe siècle, l’enseignement de saint Thomas d’Aquin est largement diffusé par
l’Église catholique. Sa renommée s’accroit lorsqu’Ignace de Loyola le choisit
comme maitre spirituel de l’ordre des jésuites, dont Louis
XIII et Louis XIV soutiennent l’enseignement.
Le tableau
Identifiable par son
titre de doctor angelicus, inscrit sur le piédestal, saint Thomas d’Aquin
s’illustre assis au centre, vêtu de l’habit dominicain. Il tient un crucifix de
la main droite, et un livre ouvert de la main gauche. Il porte également une
parure composée d’un soleil d’or sur une chaine et une chape étoilée. C’est
avec ces ornements qu’il apparait en vision au dominicain Albert de Brescia au
XIIIe siècle. Saint Augustin explique que son enseignement a éclairé l’Église
comme ce soleil sur sa poitrine. Par conséquent, soleil et chaîne dorée
deviennent les attributs iconographiques de saint Thomas d’Aquin.
De part et d’autre du
saint, des personnages tendent des écuelles pour boire à la source
jaillissante. Une inscription au bas de la toile indique « Hi puros promunt
divino e fontes liquores » qu’on peut traduire par « Eux tirent de pures
liqueurs de la fontaine divine ». Sa théologie se compare à une « liqueur »
spirituelle qui abreuve les âmes qui ont soif de connaître Dieu. Les religieux
autour de saint Thomas d’Aquin appartiennent à divers ordres religieux :
dominicain, carmélite, franciscain, capucin. Parmi eux, figure un roi (le jeune
Louis XIV ?) paré de l’hermine. Deux jeunes gens au premier plan ont également
accès à la source.
Antoine Nicolas
Antoine Nicolas,
originaire de Langres, peint se tableau en 1648, l’époque de la Régence. A
cette période, Louis XIV est un jeune roi mais ne gouverne pas encore. On
ignore donc l’origine de cette commande. La communauté des Dominicaines de
Saint-Maur-des-Faussés conserve le tableau avant de le donner au couvent
dominicain de l’Annonciation du faubourg Saint-Honoré à Paris vers 1950. Le
couvent en fait don à Notre-Dame de Paris à l’occasion du 700e anniversaire de
la mort de saint Thomas d’Aquin.
SOURCE : https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/decouvrir/peintures/saint-thomas-d-aquin-fontaine-de-sagesse/
Venez puiser à la
fontaine de sagesse de saint Thomas d’Aquin
Isabelle du Ché - publié
le 09/07/23
Saint Thomas, fontaine de
sagesse. Epargné lors de l’incendie de Notre Dame de Paris, le tableau -
récemment restauré - d’Antoine Nicolas (XVIIème siècle) offre à qui le souhaite
de puiser à la sagesse du Docteur angélique.
Sous un dais tenu par
deux anges, assis sur un trône écarlate, les pieds posés sur un coussin, saint
Thomas est valorisé comme le serait un roi. N’est-ce pas exagéré ? Non, si
l’on en croit Guillaume de Tocco, son premier biographe. Les nombreuses anecdotes
qu’il relate attestent la pratique, par le dominicain, de TOUTES les
vertus.
Réalisé en 1648 par
Antoine Nicolas (la date est légèrement effacée), le tableau Saint Thomas,
fontaine de sagesse vient illustrer combien l’enseignement du Docteur
angélique "aura permis aux pères conciliaires (Concile de Trente)
d’offrir à l’Eglise une mutation assurée, ancrée sur des bases héritées des
projections philosophiques de saint Thomas d’Aquin alliant foi et raison",
lit-on dans la catalogue de l’exposition Saint Thomas d’Aquin, une sagesse
offerte à tous.
Son activité allie la
sagesse humaine à celle venant de Dieu
"Toute sa vie, saint
Thomas d’Aquin a voulu répondre à la question Qu’est-ce que Dieu ?",
indique Claire Rousseau, commissaire de l’exposition. Face à la grandeur d’un
tel mystère, le saint n’a pu achever la troisième partie de sa Somme de
théologie.
Le soleil de la sagesse
et de la science divine, représenté au milieu de la chape du Docteur angélique,
vient signifier que "son activité allie la sagesse humaine à celle venant
de Dieu". Chez Thomas, point de déconnection entre la vie spirituelle et
la vie intellectuelle. La chaine d’or portée autour de son cou fait
référence à la Catena Aurea. Cet ouvrage du Dominicain sur les quatre
évangiles fait le lien avec les commentaires des Pères de l’Eglise et les
auteurs antérieurs. Le saint était en constant dialogue avec le Christ
crucifié. Le crucifix dans sa main droite en est le témoin. "Tu as bien
écrit de moi Thomas", lui aurait dit Jésus.
Lire aussi :La
prière que saint Thomas d’Aquin récitait avant la Communion
Aux pieds de Thomas
d’Aquin se trouve un rocher, représentant ses écrits et son enseignement. Huit
gerbes en jaillissent, recueillies par des dominicains, des collégiens formés
auprès des couvents, un carme et un capucin (ou franciscain). D’autres
personnages, religieux ou laïcs, attendent de puiser à la fontaine de sagesse.
La présence d’un magistrat "démontre combien l’enseignement de Thomas doit
également présider à l’administration de la justice" révèle le même
catalogue. En outre, la multiplicité des personnes qui entourent le Docteur angélique
"témoigne de la renommée de la pensée thomiste au sein des divers milieux
intellectuels de la société du Grand siècle".
La sagesse du Dominicain
est offerte à tous
Les écrits du saint sont
largement conservés, non seulement dans les couvents, mais aussi chez de nobles
particuliers de l’époque. Et l’on mesure depuis quel précieux héritage le
dominicain a laissé à l’Eglise (il est l’auteur le plus cité lors du Concile
Vatican II).
"Celui-ci fait
jaillir des eaux pures des fontaines divines", traduit-on de cette phrase
latine inscrite au bas du tableau. La sagesse du Dominicain est offerte à tous,
"vient y puiser qui veut et qui peut", précise Claire Rousseau. La
possibilité d’y puiser dépend de l’accessibilité aux études. La volonté de
s’appuyer sur l’enseignement du Docteur angélique fait référence aux
représentations picturales du XVIIe siècle sur lesquelles saint Thomas d’Aquin
écrase des écrits de Martin Bucer, théologien passé à la réforme protestante.
Aujourd’hui, le choix d’étudier les écrits de Thomas d’Aquin "permet
d’accéder à une doctrine structurée et structurante" affirme la
commissaire de l’exposition. Qui pourrait se priver d’un tel
trésor ?
Lire aussi :Une
émotion, une astuce de saint : accueillir la tristesse avec Thomas d’Aquin
Lire aussi :Faustine,
Thomas d’Aquin… quelles relations avaient les grands saints avec leur ange
gardien
SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/2023/07/09/venez-puiser-a-la-fontaine-de-sagesse-de-saint-thomas-daquin
Benozzo Gozzoli (1420–1497), Le
Triomphe de saint Thomas d'Aquin, circa 1470, tempera, tempera and tempera on poplar
panel, 230 x 102, Louvre Museum, Paris
Also
known as
Thomas Aquino
Thomas of Aquino
Angel of the Schools
Angelic Doctor
Doctor Angelicus
Doctor Communis
Great Synthesizer
The Dumb Ox
The Universal Teacher
Universal Doctor
7
March (Fossanuova monastery near Terracina, Italy)
13
November as patron of Catholic
schools (on the Dominican calendar
from 1924 to 1962)
Profile
Son of the Count of
Aquino, born in the family castle in Lombardy near Naples, Italy. Educated by Benedictine monks at Monte
Cassino, and at the University of Naples.
He secretly joined the mendicant Dominican friars
in 1244.
His family kidnapped and imprisoned him
for a year to keep him out of sight, and deprogram him, but they
failed to sway him, and he rejoined his order in 1245.
He studied in Paris, France from 1245 to 1248 under Saint Albert
the Great, then accompanied Albertus to Cologne, Germany. Ordained in 1250,
then returned to Paris to teach. Taught theology at University
of Paris. He wrote defenses
of the mendicant
orders, commentaries on Aristotle and
Lombard’s Sentences, and some bible-related works, usually by dictating
to secretaries.
He won his doctorate, and taught in
several Italian cities.
Recalled by king and university to Paris in 1269,
then recalled to Naples in 1272 where
he was appointed regent of studies while working on the Summa Theologica.
On 6
December 1273 he
experienced a divine revelation which so enraptured him that he abandoned
the Summa, saying that it and his other writing were
so much straw in the wind compared to the reality of the divine glory. He died four
months later while en route to the Council of Lyons, overweight and with
his health broken
by overwork.
His works have been
seminal to the thinking of the Church ever
since. They systematized her great thoughts and teaching,
and combined Greek wisdom
and scholarship methods
with the truth of Christianity. Pope Leo
VIII commanded that his teachings be studied by
all theology students. He
was proclaimed a Doctor
of the Church in 1567.
Born
c.1225 at
Roccasecca, Aquino, Naples, Italy
7
March 1274 at
Fossanuova monastery near Terracina, Italy of
apparent natural causes
relics interred
at Saint-Servin, Toulouse, France
relics translated
to the Church of the Jacobins, Toulouse on 22
October 1974
18
July 1323 by Pope John
XXII
Catholic
schools (proclaimed on 4
August 1880 by Pope Leo
XIII)
Institute
of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
Aquino-Pontecorvo, Italy, diocese of
Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo, Italy, diocese of
dove,
usually speaking into his ear, sometimes as he writes
teacher with pagan philosophers
at his feet
Additional
Information
A
Garner of Saints, by Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.
Book
of Saints, by Father Lawrence
George Lovasik, S.V.D.
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Illustrated
Catholic Family Annual
Life
of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and Patron of Catholic Schools
Little
Lives of the Great Saints
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Prayer
for Steadfastness, by Saint Thomas
Aquinas
Prayer
for Guidance, by Saint Thomas
Aquinas
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Saint Thomas Aquinas, by
G K Chesterton
Saint Thomas Aquinas of
the Order of Preachers, by Father Placid Conway, OP
Studiorum
Ducem, by Pope Pius
XI
Summa Theologica
General
Audience, 16
June 2010
General
Audience, 23
June 2010
books
A
Summa of the Summa: The Essential Philosophical Passages, Edited and Explained
for Beginners, by Peter Kreeft
Aesthetics
of Thomas Aquinas, by Umberto Eco, Hugh Bredin (translator)
Aquinas:
Moral, Political, and Legal Theory, by John Finnis
Guide
of Thomas Aquinas, by Josef Pieper
Our
Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saint
Thomas Aquinas: The Person and His Work (Volume 1), by Jean-Pierre Torrell,
Robert Royal (Translator), Walter Principe
The
Christian Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, by Etienne Gilson, I.T.Shook
Thomas
Aquinas: Spiritual Master, by Robert Barron
other
sites in english
1001
Patron Saints and Their Feast Days, Australian Catholic Truth Society
Breviarium
SOP: 28 January
Breviarium
SOP: 7 March
Breviarium
SOP: 13 November
Catholic
Fire: Angelic Doctor
Catholic
Fire: Prayer for Catholic Schools
Catholic
Fire: Favourite Quotes
Donald
DeMarco: Five Remedies for Pain and Sorrow
Donald
DeMarco: Should Old Aquinas Be Forgot?
Lay
Fraternities of Saint Dominic
Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stephen
Beale: Which Church Fathers Most Influenced Saint Thomas?
Stephen
Beale: Thomas Aquinas Says These 4 Things will Ensure Your Prayer is
Answered
Taylor
Marshall: Who were the Favourite Authors of Saint Thomas
Taylor
Marshall: Three Favourite Stories of Saint Thomas
Thomas
Aquinas in English: A Bibliography
Tom
Pena: The Angelic Doctor
Weird
Catholic: Saint Thomas
Believed in Ghosts
images
audio
Christian
Apologetics #2: What is the relationship between religion and science?
Jimmy
Akin: Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Occult
Summa
Theologica 01: Initial Questions
Summa
Theologica 02: Trinity and Creation
Summa
Theologica 03: Angels and the Six Days
Summa
Theologica 04: On Man
Summa
Theologica 05: On the Divine Government
Summa
Theologica 06: On the Last End, On Human Acts
Summa
Theologica 07: On the Passions
Summa
Theologica 10: On the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity
Summa
Theologica 12: On Gratuitous Graces and the States of Life
Writings
for Lent, by Alleluia Audio Books
video
e-books
Authority
of Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Jacobus M Ramirez, OP
Bread
of Life – Saint Thomas Aquinas on the Sacrament of the Altar, by Father
Rawes, DD
Catechism
of the Summa Theologica, by R P Thomas Pegues, OP
Catechism,
by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Classification
of Desires in Saint Thomas and in Modern Sociology, by Henry Ignatius
Smith, OP
Commentary
on Aristotle’s Treatise on the Soul, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Commentary
on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Commentary
on the Gospel of Matthew, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Commentary
on the Gospel of Mark, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Commentary
on the Gospel of Luke, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Commentary
on the Gospel of John, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Compendium
of Theology, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Concerning
Being and Essence, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Devotion
of the Six Sundays in Honor of the Angel of the Schools, Saint Thomas of
Aquinas, by Father Henry Joseph Fflugbeil, OP
Elements
of Moral Theology, Based on the Summa Theologiae, by John J Elmendort, STD
Function
of the Phantasm in Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Henry Carr
Grounds
of Non-Catholic Freedom in the Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas, by
Arhtur Maxson Smith
Homilies
for Sundays, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Introduction
to the Metaphysics of Saint Thomas Aquinas, by James F Anderson
Life
and Labors of Saint Thomas of Aquinas, by Archbishop Roger Bede Vaughan
Life
of the Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Pius Cavanaugh, OP
Life
of Thomas Aquinas, by Renn Dickson Hampden, DD
Life
of Thomas Aquinas, from the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana
Meditations
for Lent, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Meditations
for Lent, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Mediaeval
Philosophy Illustrated from the System of Thomas Aquinas, by Maurice de
Wulf
Modern
Thomistic Philosophy, v1, by R P Phillips
Moral
Teaching of Saint Thomas, v1, by Joseph Rickaby, SJ
Moral
Teaching of Saint Thomas, v2, by Joseph Rickaby, SJ
Moral
Theology: A Complete Course Based on Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Charles
Jerome Callan
New
Things and Old in Saint Thomas Aquinas
Ninety-nine
Homilies of Saint Thomas Aquinas, translated by John M Ashley, BCL
On
Prayer and the Contemplative Life, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Philosophical
Texts of Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Thomas Gilby
Philosophy
of Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Hans Meyer
Physical
System of Saint Thomas, by Father Giovannit Maria Cornoldi, SJ
Political
Ideas of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Reactions
Between Dogma and Philosophy, illustrated from the works of Saint Thomas
Aquinas, by Philip H Wicksteed
Religious
State, according to the Doctrine of Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Canon Jules
Didiot
Saint
Thomas Aquinas and Ideology, by Father Ferre
Saint
Thomas Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy, by D J Kennedy, OP
Saint
Thomas’ Political Doctrine and Democracy, by Father Edward F Murphy
Summa
Theologica, Part 1, Questions 1 – 26
Summa
Theologica, Part 1, Questions 27 – 74
Summa
Theologica, Part 1, Questions 75 – 102
Summa
Theologica, Part 1, Questions 103 – 119
Summa
Theologica, Part 2, Questions 1 – 46
Summa
Theologica, Part 2, Questions 47 – 79
Summa
Theologica, Part 2, Questions 80 – 100
Summa
Theologica, Part 2, Questions 101 – 140
Summa
Theologica, Part 2, Questions 141 – 170
Summa
Theologica, Part 2, Questions 171 – 189
Summa
Theologica, Part 3, Questions 1 – 26
Summa
Theologica, Part 3, Questions 27 – 59
Summa
Theologica, Part 3, Questions 60 – 83
Summa
Theologica, Part 3, Questions 84 – Supplement 33
Summa
Theologica, Part 3, Supplement 34 – 68
Summa
Theologica, Part 3, Supplement 69 – 86
Summa
Theologica, Part 3, Supplement 87 – 99, Appendices
Summary
Exposition of Saint Thomas Aquinas’s Philosophy of Knowledge
Thomas
Aquinas, by Father M C D’Arcy
Thomas
Aquinas, His Personality and Thought, by Dr Martin Grabmann
Thomism
and Mathematical Physics, by Bernard I Mullahy
Treatise
on Law, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Treatise
on Man, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
sitios
en español
Martirologio
Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
Abbé
Christian-Philippe Chanut
fonti
in italiano
spletne
strani v slovenšcini
Readings
Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing
to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally
embracing you. – Saint Thomas
Aquinas
Charity is the form,
mover, mother and root of all the virtues. – Saint Thomas
Aquinas
We are like children, who
stand in need of masters to enlighten us and direct us; and God has provided
for this, by appointing his angels to
be our teachers and guides. – Saint Thomas
Aquinas
If you seek the example
of love: “Greater love than this no man has, than to lay down his life for his
friends.” Such a man was Christ on the cross. And if he gave his life for us,
then it should not be difficult to bear whatever hardships arise for his sake.
If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross. Christ
endured much on the cross, and did so patiently, because “when he suffered he
did not threaten; he was led like a sheep to the slaughter and he did not open
his mouth.” If you seek an example of obedience, follow him who became obedient
to the Father even unto death. “For just as by the disobedience of one man,”
namely, Adam, “many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man, many
were made righteous.” If you seek an example of despising earthly things,
follow him who is “the King of kings and the Lord of lords, in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Upon the cross he was stripped,
mocked, spat upon, struck, crowned with thorns, and given only vinegar and gall
to drink. Do not be attached, therefore, to clothing and riches, because “they
divided my garments among themselves.” Nor to honors, for he experienced harsh
words and scourgings. Nor to greatness of rank, for “weaving a crown
of thorns they placed it on my head.” Nor to anything delightful, for
“in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” – from the writings of Saint
Thomas Aquinas
The only-begotten Son of
God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that
he, made man, might make men gods. – Saint Thomas
Aquinas
Believing is an act of
the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God
through grace. – Saint Thomas
Aquinas
Most loving Lord, grant
me a steadfast heart which no unworthy desire may drag downards; an unconquered
hear which no hardship may wear out; an upright heart which no worthless
purpose may ensnare. Impart to me also, O God, the understanding to know you,
the diligence to seek you, a way of life to please you, and a faithfulness that
may embrace you, through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen. – Saint Thomas
Aquinas, from Something Of A Saint
Hence we must say that
for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine help, that the
intellect may be moved by God to its act. But he does not need a new light
added to his natural light, in order to know the truth in all things, but only
in some that surpasses his natural knowledge. – Saint Thomas Aquinas
MLA
Citation
“Saint Thomas
Aquinas“. CatholicSaints.Info. 18 October 2020. Web. 28 January 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-thomas-aquinas/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-thomas-aquinas/
Juan de Peñalosa y Sandoval (1579–1633). Santo Tomás de Aquino, 1610-1615, Museum of Fine Arts of Córdoba
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
After several Catecheses
on the priesthood and on my latest Journeys, today we return to our main theme:
meditation on some of the great thinkers of the Middle Ages. We recently looked
at the great figure of St Bonaventure, a Franciscan, and today I wish to speak
of the one whom the Church calls the Doctor communis namely, St
Thomas Aquinas. in his Encyclical Fides
et Ratio my venerable Predecessor, Pope John
Paul II, recalled that "the Church has been justified in consistently
proposing St Thomas as a master of thought and a model of the right way to do
theology" (n.
43). It is not surprising that, after St Augustine, among the
ecclesiastical writers mentioned in the Catechism
of the Catholic Church St Thomas is cited more than any other, at
least 61 times! He was also called the Doctor Angelicus, perhaps
because of his virtues and, in particular, the sublimity of his thought and the
purity of his life.
Thomas was born between
1224 and 1225 in the castle that his wealthy noble family owned at Roccasecca
near Aquino, not far from the famous Abbey of Montecassino where his parents
sent him to receive the first elements of his education. A few years later he
moved to Naples, the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily, where Frederick II had
founded a prestigious university. Here the thinking of the Greek philosopher
Aristotle was taught without the limitations imposed elsewhere. The young
Thomas was introduced to it and immediately perceived its great value. However,
it was above all in those years that he spent in Naples that his Dominican
vocation was born. Thomas was in fact attracted by the ideal of the Order
recently founded by St Dominic. However, when he was clothed in the Dominican
habit his family opposed this decision and he was obliged to leave the convent
and spend some time at home.
In 1245, by which time he
had come of age, he was able to continue on the path of his response to God's call.
He was sent to Paris to study theology under the guidance of another Saint,
Albert the Great, of whom I spoke not long ago. A true and deep friendship
developed between Albert and Thomas. They learned to esteem and love each other
to the point that Albert even wanted his disciple to follow him to Cologne,
where he had been sent by the Superiors of the Order to found a
theological studium. Thomas then once again came into contact with
all Aristotle's works and his Arab commentators that Albert described and
explained.
In this period the
culture of the Latin world was profoundly stimulated by the encounter with
Aristotle's works that had long remained unknown. They were writings on the
nature of knowledge, on the natural sciences, on metaphysics, on the soul and
on ethics and were full of information and intuitions that appeared valid and
convincing. All this formed an overall vision of the world that had been
developed without and before Christ, and with pure reason, and seemed to impose
itself on reason as "the" vision itself; accordingly seeing and
knowing this philosophy had an incredible fascination for the young. Many
accepted enthusiastically, indeed with a-critical enthusiasm, this enormous
baggage of ancient knowledge that seemed to be able to renew culture advantageously
and to open totally new horizons. Others, however, feared that Aristotle's
pagan thought might be in opposition to the Christian faith and refused to
study it. Two cultures converged: the pre-Christian culture of Aristotle with
its radical rationality and the classical Christian culture. Certain circles,
moreover, were led to reject Aristotle by the presentation of this philosopher
which had been made by the Arab commentators. Avicenna and Averroës. Indeed, it
was they who had transmitted the Aristotelian philosophy to the Latin world.
For example, these commentators had taught that human beings have no personal
intelligence but that there is a single universal intelligence, a spiritual
substance common to all, that works in all as "one": hence, a depersonalization
of man. Another disputable point passed on by the Arab commentators was that
the world was eternal like God. This understandably unleashed never-ending
disputes in the university and clerical worlds. Aristotelian philosophy was
continuing to spread even among the populace.
Thomas Aquinas, at the
school of Albert the Great, did something of fundamental importance for the
history of philosophy and theology, I would say for the history of culture: he
made a thorough study of Aristotle and his interpreters, obtaining for himself
new Latin translations of the original Greek texts. Consequently he no longer
relied solely on the Arab commentators but was able to read the original texts
for himself. He commented on most of the Aristotelian opus, distinguishing
between what was valid and was dubious or to be completely rejected, showing
its consonance with the events of the Christian Revelation and drawing
abundantly and perceptively from Aristotle's thought in the explanation of the
theological texts he was uniting. In short, Thomas Aquinas showed that a
natural harmony exists between Christian faith and reason. And this was the
great achievement of Thomas who, at that time of clashes between two cultures
that time when it seemed that faith would have to give in to reason showed that
they go hand in hand, that insofar as reason appeared incompatible with faith
it was not reason, and so what appeared to be faith was not faith, since it was
in opposition to true rationality; thus he created a new synthesis which formed
the culture of the centuries to come.
Because of his excellent
intellectual gifts Thomas was summoned to Paris to be professor of theology on
the Dominican chair. Here he began his literary production which continued
until his death and has something miraculous about it: he commented on Sacred
Scripture because the professor of theology was above all an interpreter of
Scripture; and he commented on the writings of Aristotle, powerful systematic
works, among which stands out his Summa Theologiae, treatises and
discourses on various subjects. He was assisted in the composition of his
writings by several secretaries, including his confrere, Reginald of Piperno,
who followed him faithfully and to whom he was bound by a sincere brotherly friendship
marked by great confidence and trust. This is a characteristic of Saints: they
cultivate friendship because it is one of the noblest manifestations of the
human heart and has something divine about it, just as Thomas himself explained
in some of the Quaestiones of his Summa Theologiae. He
writes in it: "it is evident that charity is the friendship of man for
God" and for "all belonging to him" (Vol. II, q. 23, a. 1).
He did not stay long or
permanently in Paris. In 1259 he took part in the General Chapter of the
Dominicans in Valenciennes where he was a member of a commission that
established the Order's programme of studies. Then from 1261 to 1265, Thomas
was in Orvieto. Pope Urban IV, who held him in high esteem, commissioned him to
compose liturgical texts for the Feast of Corpus Christi, which we
are celebrating tomorrow, established subsequent to the Eucharistic miracle of
Bolsena. Thomas had an exquisitely Eucharistic soul. The most beautiful hymns
that the Liturgy of the Church sings to celebrate the mystery of the Real
Presence of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Eucharist are attributed to
his faith and his theological wisdom. From 1265 until 1268 Thomas lived in Rome
where he probably directed a Studium, that is, a study house of his
Order, and where he began writing his Summa Theologiae (cf.
Jean-Pierre Torrell, Tommaso d'Aquino. L'uomo e il teologo, Casale
Monf., 1994, pp. 118-184).
In 1269 Thomas was
recalled to Paris for a second cycle of lectures. His students understandably
were enthusiastic about his lessons. One of his former pupils declared that a
vast multitude of students took Thomas' courses, so many that the halls could
barely accommodate them; and this student added, making a personal comment,
that "listening to him brought him deep happiness". Thomas'
interpretation of Aristotle was not accepted by all, but even his adversaries
in the academic field, such as Godfrey of Fontaines, for example, admitted that
the teaching of Friar Thomas was superior to others for its usefulness and value
and served to correct that of all the other masters. Perhaps also in order to
distance him from the lively discussions that were going on, his Superiors sent
him once again to Naples to be available to King Charles i who was planning to
reorganize university studies.
In addition to study and
teaching, Thomas also dedicated himself to preaching to the people. And the
people too came willingly to hear him. I would say that it is truly a great
grace when theologians are able to speak to the faithful with simplicity and
fervour. The ministry of preaching, moreover, helps theology scholars
themselves to have a healthy pastoral realism and enriches their research with
lively incentives.
The last months of
Thomas' earthly life remain surrounded by a particular, I would say, mysterious
atmosphere. In December 1273, he summoned his friend and secretary Reginald to
inform him of his decision to discontinue all work because he had realized,
during the celebration of Mass subsequent to a supernatural revelation, that
everything he had written until then "was worthless". This is a
mysterious episode that helps us to understand not only Thomas' personal
humility, but also the fact that, however lofty and pure it may be, all we
manage to think and say about the faith is infinitely exceeded by God's
greatness and beauty which will be fully revealed to us in Heaven. A few months
later, more and more absorbed in thoughtful meditation, Thomas died while on
his way to Lyons to take part in the Ecumenical Council convoked by Pope
Gregory X. He died in the Cistercian Abbey of Fossanova, after receiving the
Viaticum with deeply devout sentiments.
The life and teaching of
St Thomas Aquinas could be summed up in an episode passed down by his ancient
biographers. While, as was his wont, the Saint was praying before the Crucifix
in the early morning in the chapel of St Nicholas in Naples, Domenico da
Caserta, the church sacristan, overheard a conversation. Thomas was anxiously
asking whether what he had written on the mysteries of the Christian faith was
correct. And the Crucified One answered him: "You have spoken well of me,
Thomas. What is your reward to be?". And the answer Thomas gave him was
what we too, friends and disciples of Jesus, always want to tell him: "Nothing
but Yourself, Lord!" (ibid., p. 320).
To Special Groups
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I send my greetings to
those gathered during these days in Scotland for the centennial of the First
Edinburgh Missionary Conference, which is now acknowledged to have given birth
to the modern ecumenical movement. May we all renew our commitment to work
humbly and patiently, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to live again
together our common apostolic heritage.
Lastly, I address
the young people, the sick and
the newlyweds, with the wish that each one may always serve God
joyfully and love his or her neighbour with an evangelical spirit.
I would now like to
remind you that at 7: 00 p.m. tomorrow, the Solemnity of Corpus
Christi, I shall be presiding at Mass outside the Basilica of St John
Lateran and it will be followed by the traditional procession to St Mary Major.
I invite everyone to take part in this celebration to express together faith in
Christ, present in the Eucharist.
Lastly, dear friends, I
ask you to accompany with your prayers the Pastoral Visit to Cyprus on which I
shall be setting out the day after tomorrow, so that it may be rich in
spiritual fruits for the beloved Christian communities in the Middle East.
APPEAL
I am following with great
trepidation the tragic events taking place close to the Gaza Strip. I feel the
need to express my heartfelt sorrow for the victims of these most painful
occurrences that disturb everyone who has at heart peace in the region. Once
again I repeat with distress that violence does not settle controversies but
rather increases their dramatic consequences and spawns further violence. I
appeal to all who have political responsibilities, at both the local and
international level, to seek constantly, through dialogue, just solutions in
order to guarantee the peoples of the area better living conditions, in harmony
and in serenity. I ask you to join me in praying for the victims, for their
relatives and for all who are suffering. May the Lord support the efforts of
those who never tire of working for reconciliation and Peace.
Video Message of
the Holy Father
to the Catholic
Media Convention, New Orleans
I send cordial greetings
to the delegates gathered in New Orleans for this year’s Catholic Media
Convention.
The theme of your
meeting, “Spreading the Good News – Byte by Byte”, highlights the extraordinary
potential of the new media to bring the message of Christ and the teaching of
his Church to the attention of a wider public. If your mission is to be truly effective
- if the words you proclaim are to touch hearts, engage people’s freedom and
change their lives – you must draw them into an encounter with persons and
communities who witness to the grace of Christ by their faith and their lives.
In this sense, it is my hope that your days together will renew and refresh
your shared enthusiasm for the Gospel. Notwithstanding the many challenges you
face, never forget the promise of Christ, “I am with you always, to the close
of the age” (Mt 28:20).
Dear friends, with these
few words of encouragement, to all of you gathered for the Convention I am
pleased to impart my Apostolic Blessing.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100602.html
Thomasaltar
in der Kirche St. Nikolai, Wismar
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Saint Thomas Aquinas (2)
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
Today I would like to
continue the presentation of St Thomas Aquinas, a theologian of such value that
the study of his thought was explicitly recommended by the Second
Vatican Council in two documents, the Decree Optatam
totius on the Training of Priests, and the Declaration Gravissimum
Educationis, which addresses Christian Education. Indeed, already in
1880 Pope
Leo XIII, who held St Thomas in high esteem as a guide and encouraged
Thomistic studies, chose to declare him Patron of Catholic Schools and
Universities.
The main reason for this
appreciation is not only explained by the content of his teaching but also by
the method he used, especially his new synthesis and distinction between
philosophy and theology. The Fathers of the Church were confronted by different
philosophies of a Platonic type in which a complete vision of the world and of
life was presented, including the subject of God and of religion. In comparison
with these philosophies they themselves had worked out a complete vision of
reality, starting with faith and using elements of Platonism to respond to the
essential questions of men and women. They called this vision, based on
biblical revelation and formulated with a correct Platonism in the light of
faith: "our philosophy". The word "philosophy" was not,
therefore, an expression of a purely rational system and, as such, distinct
from faith but rather indicated a comprehensive vision of reality, constructed
in the light of faith but used and conceived of by reason; a vision that
naturally exceeded the capacities proper to reason but as such also fulfilled
it. For St Thomas the encounter with the pre-Christian philosophy of Aristotle
(who died in about 322 b.c.) opened up a new perspective. Aristotelian
philosophy was obviously a philosophy worked out without the knowledge of the
Old and New Testaments, an explanation of the world without revelation through
reason alone. And this consequent rationality was convincing. Thus the old form
of the Fathers' "our philosophy" no longer worked. The relationship
between philosophy and theology, between faith and reason, needed to be
rethought. A "philosophy" existed that was complete and convincing in
itself, a rationality that preceded the faith, followed by
"theology", a form of thinking with the faith and in the faith. The
pressing question was this: are the world of rationality, philosophy conceived
of without Christ, and the world of faith compatible? Or are they mutually
exclusive? Elements that affirmed the incompatibility of these two worlds were
not lacking, but St Thomas was firmly convinced of their compatibility indeed
that philosophy worked out without the knowledge of Christ was awaiting, as it
were, the light of Jesus to be complete. This was the great
"surprise" of St Thomas that determined the path he took as a
thinker. Showing this independence of philosophy and theology and, at the same
time, their reciprocal relationality was the historic mission of the great
teacher. And thus it can be understood that in the 19th century, when the
incompatibility of modern reason and faith was strongly declared, Pope
Leo XIII pointed to St Thomas as a guide in the dialogue between them.
In his theological work, St Thomas supposes and concretizes this relationality.
Faith consolidates, integrates and illumines the heritage of truth that human
reason acquires. The trust with which St Thomas endows these two instruments of
knowledge faith and reason may be traced back to the conviction that both stem
from the one source of all truth, the divine Logos, which is active
in both contexts, that of Creation and that of redemption.
Together with the
agreement between reason and faith, we must recognize on the other hand that
they avail themselves of different cognitive procedures. Reason receives a
truth by virtue of its intrinsic evidence, mediated or unmediated; faith, on
the contrary, accepts a truth on the basis of the authority of the Word of God
that is revealed. St Thomas writes at the beginning of his Summa
Theologiae: "We must bear in mind that there are two kinds of
sciences. There are some which proceed from a principle known by the natural
light of the intelligence, such as arithmetic and geometry and the like. There
are some which proceed from principles known by the light of a higher science:
thus the science of perspective proceeds from principles established by
geometry, and music from principles established by arithmetic. So it is that
sacred doctrine is a science, because it proceeds from principles established
by the light of a higher science, namely, the science of God and the blessed"
(ia, q. 1, a.2).
This distinction
guarantees the autonomy of both the human and the theological sciences.
However, it is not equivalent to separation but, rather, implies a reciprocal
and advantageous collaboration. Faith, in fact, protects reason from any
temptation to distrust its own abilities, stimulates it to be open to ever
broader horizons, keeps alive in it the search for foundations and, when reason
itself is applied to the supernatural sphere of the relationship between God
and man, faith enriches his work. According to St Thomas, for example, human
reason can certainly reach the affirmation of the existence of one God, but
only faith, which receives the divine Revelation, is able to draw from the
mystery of the Love of the Triune God.
Moreover, it is not only
faith that helps reason. Reason too, with its own means can do something
important for faith, making it a threefold service which St Thomas sums up in
the preface to his commentary on the De Trinitate of Boethius:
"demonstrating those truths that are preambles of the faith; giving a
clearer notion, by certain similitudes, of the truths of the faith; resisting
those who speak against the faith, either by showing that their statements are
false, or by showing that they are not necessarily true" (q. 2, a.3). The
entire history of theology is basically the exercise of this task of the mind
which shows the intelligibility of faith, its articulation and inner harmony,
its reasonableness and its ability to further human good. The correctness of
theological reasoning and its real cognitive meaning is based on the value of
theological language which, in St Thomas' opinion, is principally an analogical
language. The distance between God, the Creator, and the being of his creatures
is infinite; dissimilitude is ever greater than similitude (cf. DS 806).
Nevertheless in the whole difference between Creator and creatures an analogy
exists between the created being and the being of the Creator, which enables us
to speak about God with human words.
St Thomas not only based
the doctrine of analogy on exquisitely philosophical argumentation but also on
the fact that with the Revelation God himself spoke to us and therefore
authorized us to speak of him. I consider it important to recall this doctrine.
In fact, it helps us get the better of certain objections of contemporary
atheism which denies that religious language is provided with an objective
meaning and instead maintains that it has solely a subjective or merely
emotional value. This objection derives from the fact that positivist thought
is convinced that man does not know being but solely the functions of reality
that can be experienced. With St Thomas and with the great philosophical
tradition we are convinced that, in reality, man does not only know the functions,
the object of the natural sciences, but also knows something of being itself
for example, he knows the person, the You of the other, and not only the
physical and biological aspect of his being.
In the light of this
teaching of St Thomas theology says that however limited it may be, religious
language is endowed with sense because we touch being like an arrow aimed at
the reality it signifies. This fundamental agreement between human reason and
Christian faith is recognized in another basic principle of Aquinas' thought.
Divine Grace does not annihilate but presupposes and perfects human nature. The
latter, in fact, even after sin, is not completely corrupt but wounded and
weakened. Grace, lavished upon us by God and communicated through the Mystery of
the Incarnate Word, is an absolutely free gift with which nature is healed,
strengthened and assisted in pursuing the innate desire for happiness in the
heart of every man and of every woman. All the faculties of the human being are
purified, transformed and uplifted by divine Grace.
An important application
of this relationship between nature and Grace is recognized in the moral
theology of St Thomas Aquinas, which proves to be of great timeliness. At the
centre of his teaching in this field, he places the new law which is the law of
the Holy Spirit. With a profoundly evangelical gaze he insists on the fact that
this law is the Grace of the Holy Spirit given to all who believe in Christ.
The written and oral teaching of the doctrinal and moral truths transmitted by
the Church is united to this Grace. St Thomas, emphasizing the fundamental role
in moral life of the action of the Holy Spirit, of Grace, from which flow the
theological and moral virtues, makes us understand that all Christians can
attain the lofty perspectives of the "Sermon on the Mount", if they
live an authentic relationship of faith in Christ, if they are open to the
action of his Holy Spirit. However, Aquinas adds, "Although Grace is more
efficacious than nature, yet nature is more essential to man, and therefore
more enduring" (Summa Theologiae, Ia-IIae, q. 94, a. 6, ad 2), which is
why, in the Christian moral perspective, there is a place for reason which is
capable of discerning natural moral law. Reason can recognize this by considering
what it is good to do and what it is good to avoid in order to achieve that
felicity which everyone has at heart, which also implies a responsibility
towards others and, therefore, the search for the common good. In other words,
the human, theological and moral virtues are rooted in human nature. Divine
Grace accompanies, sustains and impels ethical commitment but, according to St
Thomas, all human beings, believers and non-believers alike, are called to
recognize the needs of human nature expressed in natural law and to draw
inspiration from it in the formulation of positive laws, namely those issued by
the civil and political authorities to regulate human coexistence.
When natural law and the
responsibility it entails are denied this dramatically paves the way to ethical
relativism at the individual level and to totalitarianism of the State at the
political level. The defence of universal human rights and the affirmation of
the absolute value of the person's dignity postulate a foundation. Does not
natural law constitute this foundation, with the non-negotiable values that it
indicates? Venerable John Paul II wrote in his Encyclical Evangelium
Vitae words that are still very up to date: "It is therefore
urgently necessary, for the future of society and the development of a sound
democracy, to rediscover those essential and innate human and moral values
which flow from the very truth of the human being and express and safeguard the
dignity of the person: values which no individual, no majority and no State can
ever create, modify or destroy, but must only acknowledge, respect and
promote" (n.
71).
To conclude, Thomas
presents to us a broad and confident concept of human
reason: broad because it is not limited to the spaces of the
so-called "empirical-scientific" reason, but open to the whole
being and thus also to the fundamental and inalienable questions of human life;
and confident because human reason, especially if it accepts the
inspirations of Christian faith, is a promoter of a civilization that
recognizes the dignity of the person, the intangibility of his rights and the
cogency of his or her duties. It is not surprising that the doctrine on the
dignity of the person, fundamental for the recognition of the inviolability of
human rights, developed in schools of thought that accepted the legacy of St
Thomas Aquinas, who had a very lofty conception of the human creature. He
defined it, with his rigorously philosophical language, as "what is most
perfect to be found in all nature - that is, a subsistent individual of a
rational nature" (Summa Theologiae, 1a, q. 29, a. 3).
The depth of St Thomas
Aquinas' thought let us never forget it flows from his living faith and fervent
piety, which he expressed in inspired prayers such as this one in which he asks
God: "Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom
to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you".
To Special Groups
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
I am pleased to greet the
English-speaking visitors present at today's Audience, especially the many
parish and student groups. I offer a warm welcome to all who have come from
Hong Kong, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Upon all
of you I invoke God's Blessings of joy and peace!
Lastly, I greet
the young people, the sick and
the newlyweds. Dear young people, may you always find in Christ
present in the Eucharist the spiritual nourishment to advance on the path of
holiness; may Christ be for you, dear sick people, a support and
comfort in trial and in suffering; and for you, dear newlyweds, may
the sacrament that has rooted you in Christ be the source that feeds your daily
love.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100616.html
O. van Veen, Thomas d'Aquin convertit deux rabbins juifs, gravure par Egbert van Panderen 1610, exemplaire de la bibliothèque Carnegie (Reims).
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Saint Thomas Aquinas (2)
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
Today I would like to
continue the presentation of St Thomas Aquinas, a theologian of such value that
the study of his thought was explicitly recommended by the Second
Vatican Council in two documents, the Decree Optatam
totius on the Training of Priests, and the Declaration Gravissimum
Educationis, which addresses Christian Education. Indeed, already in
1880 Pope
Leo XIII, who held St Thomas in high esteem as a guide and encouraged
Thomistic studies, chose to declare him Patron of Catholic Schools and
Universities.
The main reason for this
appreciation is not only explained by the content of his teaching but also by
the method he used, especially his new synthesis and distinction between
philosophy and theology. The Fathers of the Church were confronted by different
philosophies of a Platonic type in which a complete vision of the world and of
life was presented, including the subject of God and of religion. In comparison
with these philosophies they themselves had worked out a complete vision of
reality, starting with faith and using elements of Platonism to respond to the
essential questions of men and women. They called this vision, based on
biblical revelation and formulated with a correct Platonism in the light of
faith: "our philosophy". The word "philosophy" was not,
therefore, an expression of a purely rational system and, as such, distinct
from faith but rather indicated a comprehensive vision of reality, constructed
in the light of faith but used and conceived of by reason; a vision that
naturally exceeded the capacities proper to reason but as such also fulfilled
it. For St Thomas the encounter with the pre-Christian philosophy of Aristotle
(who died in about 322 b.c.) opened up a new perspective. Aristotelian
philosophy was obviously a philosophy worked out without the knowledge of the
Old and New Testaments, an explanation of the world without revelation through
reason alone. And this consequent rationality was convincing. Thus the old form
of the Fathers' "our philosophy" no longer worked. The relationship
between philosophy and theology, between faith and reason, needed to be
rethought. A "philosophy" existed that was complete and convincing in
itself, a rationality that preceded the faith, followed by
"theology", a form of thinking with the faith and in the faith. The
pressing question was this: are the world of rationality, philosophy conceived
of without Christ, and the world of faith compatible? Or are they mutually
exclusive? Elements that affirmed the incompatibility of these two worlds were
not lacking, but St Thomas was firmly convinced of their compatibility indeed
that philosophy worked out without the knowledge of Christ was awaiting, as it
were, the light of Jesus to be complete. This was the great
"surprise" of St Thomas that determined the path he took as a
thinker. Showing this independence of philosophy and theology and, at the same
time, their reciprocal relationality was the historic mission of the great
teacher. And thus it can be understood that in the 19th century, when the
incompatibility of modern reason and faith was strongly declared, Pope
Leo XIII pointed to St Thomas as a guide in the dialogue between them.
In his theological work, St Thomas supposes and concretizes this relationality.
Faith consolidates, integrates and illumines the heritage of truth that human
reason acquires. The trust with which St Thomas endows these two instruments of
knowledge faith and reason may be traced back to the conviction that both stem
from the one source of all truth, the divine Logos, which is active
in both contexts, that of Creation and that of redemption.
Together with the
agreement between reason and faith, we must recognize on the other hand that
they avail themselves of different cognitive procedures. Reason receives a
truth by virtue of its intrinsic evidence, mediated or unmediated; faith, on
the contrary, accepts a truth on the basis of the authority of the Word of God
that is revealed. St Thomas writes at the beginning of his Summa
Theologiae: "We must bear in mind that there are two kinds of
sciences. There are some which proceed from a principle known by the natural
light of the intelligence, such as arithmetic and geometry and the like. There
are some which proceed from principles known by the light of a higher science:
thus the science of perspective proceeds from principles established by
geometry, and music from principles established by arithmetic. So it is that
sacred doctrine is a science, because it proceeds from principles established
by the light of a higher science, namely, the science of God and the blessed"
(ia, q. 1, a.2).
This distinction
guarantees the autonomy of both the human and the theological sciences.
However, it is not equivalent to separation but, rather, implies a reciprocal
and advantageous collaboration. Faith, in fact, protects reason from any
temptation to distrust its own abilities, stimulates it to be open to ever
broader horizons, keeps alive in it the search for foundations and, when reason
itself is applied to the supernatural sphere of the relationship between God
and man, faith enriches his work. According to St Thomas, for example, human
reason can certainly reach the affirmation of the existence of one God, but
only faith, which receives the divine Revelation, is able to draw from the
mystery of the Love of the Triune God.
Moreover, it is not only
faith that helps reason. Reason too, with its own means can do something
important for faith, making it a threefold service which St Thomas sums up in
the preface to his commentary on the De Trinitate of Boethius:
"demonstrating those truths that are preambles of the faith; giving a
clearer notion, by certain similitudes, of the truths of the faith; resisting
those who speak against the faith, either by showing that their statements are
false, or by showing that they are not necessarily true" (q. 2, a.3). The
entire history of theology is basically the exercise of this task of the mind
which shows the intelligibility of faith, its articulation and inner harmony,
its reasonableness and its ability to further human good. The correctness of
theological reasoning and its real cognitive meaning is based on the value of
theological language which, in St Thomas' opinion, is principally an analogical
language. The distance between God, the Creator, and the being of his creatures
is infinite; dissimilitude is ever greater than similitude (cf. DS 806).
Nevertheless in the whole difference between Creator and creatures an analogy
exists between the created being and the being of the Creator, which enables us
to speak about God with human words.
St Thomas not only based
the doctrine of analogy on exquisitely philosophical argumentation but also on
the fact that with the Revelation God himself spoke to us and therefore
authorized us to speak of him. I consider it important to recall this doctrine.
In fact, it helps us get the better of certain objections of contemporary
atheism which denies that religious language is provided with an objective
meaning and instead maintains that it has solely a subjective or merely
emotional value. This objection derives from the fact that positivist thought
is convinced that man does not know being but solely the functions of reality
that can be experienced. With St Thomas and with the great philosophical
tradition we are convinced that, in reality, man does not only know the functions,
the object of the natural sciences, but also knows something of being itself
for example, he knows the person, the You of the other, and not only the
physical and biological aspect of his being.
In the light of this
teaching of St Thomas theology says that however limited it may be, religious
language is endowed with sense because we touch being like an arrow aimed at
the reality it signifies. This fundamental agreement between human reason and
Christian faith is recognized in another basic principle of Aquinas' thought.
Divine Grace does not annihilate but presupposes and perfects human nature. The
latter, in fact, even after sin, is not completely corrupt but wounded and
weakened. Grace, lavished upon us by God and communicated through the Mystery of
the Incarnate Word, is an absolutely free gift with which nature is healed,
strengthened and assisted in pursuing the innate desire for happiness in the
heart of every man and of every woman. All the faculties of the human being are
purified, transformed and uplifted by divine Grace.
An important application
of this relationship between nature and Grace is recognized in the moral
theology of St Thomas Aquinas, which proves to be of great timeliness. At the
centre of his teaching in this field, he places the new law which is the law of
the Holy Spirit. With a profoundly evangelical gaze he insists on the fact that
this law is the Grace of the Holy Spirit given to all who believe in Christ.
The written and oral teaching of the doctrinal and moral truths transmitted by
the Church is united to this Grace. St Thomas, emphasizing the fundamental role
in moral life of the action of the Holy Spirit, of Grace, from which flow the
theological and moral virtues, makes us understand that all Christians can
attain the lofty perspectives of the "Sermon on the Mount", if they
live an authentic relationship of faith in Christ, if they are open to the
action of his Holy Spirit. However, Aquinas adds, "Although Grace is more
efficacious than nature, yet nature is more essential to man, and therefore
more enduring" (Summa Theologiae, Ia-IIae, q. 94, a. 6, ad 2), which is
why, in the Christian moral perspective, there is a place for reason which is
capable of discerning natural moral law. Reason can recognize this by considering
what it is good to do and what it is good to avoid in order to achieve that
felicity which everyone has at heart, which also implies a responsibility
towards others and, therefore, the search for the common good. In other words,
the human, theological and moral virtues are rooted in human nature. Divine
Grace accompanies, sustains and impels ethical commitment but, according to St
Thomas, all human beings, believers and non-believers alike, are called to
recognize the needs of human nature expressed in natural law and to draw
inspiration from it in the formulation of positive laws, namely those issued by
the civil and political authorities to regulate human coexistence.
When natural law and the
responsibility it entails are denied this dramatically paves the way to ethical
relativism at the individual level and to totalitarianism of the State at the
political level. The defence of universal human rights and the affirmation of
the absolute value of the person's dignity postulate a foundation. Does not
natural law constitute this foundation, with the non-negotiable values that it
indicates? Venerable John Paul II wrote in his Encyclical Evangelium
Vitae words that are still very up to date: "It is therefore
urgently necessary, for the future of society and the development of a sound
democracy, to rediscover those essential and innate human and moral values
which flow from the very truth of the human being and express and safeguard the
dignity of the person: values which no individual, no majority and no State can
ever create, modify or destroy, but must only acknowledge, respect and
promote" (n.
71).
To conclude, Thomas
presents to us a broad and confident concept of human
reason: broad because it is not limited to the spaces of the
so-called "empirical-scientific" reason, but open to the whole
being and thus also to the fundamental and inalienable questions of human life;
and confident because human reason, especially if it accepts the
inspirations of Christian faith, is a promoter of a civilization that
recognizes the dignity of the person, the intangibility of his rights and the
cogency of his or her duties. It is not surprising that the doctrine on the
dignity of the person, fundamental for the recognition of the inviolability of
human rights, developed in schools of thought that accepted the legacy of St
Thomas Aquinas, who had a very lofty conception of the human creature. He
defined it, with his rigorously philosophical language, as "what is most
perfect to be found in all nature - that is, a subsistent individual of a
rational nature" (Summa Theologiae, 1a, q. 29, a. 3).
The depth of St Thomas
Aquinas' thought let us never forget it flows from his living faith and fervent
piety, which he expressed in inspired prayers such as this one in which he asks
God: "Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom
to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you".
To Special Groups
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
I am pleased to greet the
English-speaking visitors present at today's Audience, especially the many
parish and student groups. I offer a warm welcome to all who have come from
Hong Kong, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Upon all
of you I invoke God's Blessings of joy and peace!
Lastly, I greet
the young people, the sick and
the newlyweds. Dear young people, may you always find in Christ
present in the Eucharist the spiritual nourishment to advance on the path of
holiness; may Christ be for you, dear sick people, a support and
comfort in trial and in suffering; and for you, dear newlyweds, may
the sacrament that has rooted you in Christ be the source that feeds your daily
love.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100616.html
Dominican-Order-church
in Friesach: Main altar: Thomas Aquinas
Dominikanerkirche Friesach in Friesach: Hochaltar: Thomas von Aquin
Chiesa
dei domenicani di Friesach: San Tommaso e papa Urbano V e il dogma
della transustanziazione
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Hall
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Saint Thomas Aquinas (3)
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
Today I would like to
complete, with a third instalment, my Catecheses on St Thomas Aquinas. Even
more than 700 years after his death we can learn much from him. My
Predecessor, Pope
Paul VI, also said this, in a Discourse he gave at Fossanova on 14
September 1974 on the occasion of the seventh centenary of St Thomas' death. He
asked himself: "Thomas, our Teacher, what lesson can you give us?".
And he answered with these words: "trust in the truth of Catholic
religious thought, as defended, expounded and offered by him to the capacities
of the human mind" (Address in honour of St Thomas Aquinas in the
Basilica, 14 September 1974; L'Osservatore Romano English
edition, [ore], 26 September 1974, p. 4). In Aquino moreover, on that
same day, again with reference to St Thomas, Paul VI said, "all of us who
are faithful sons and daughters of the Church can and must be his disciples, at
least to some extent!" (Address to people in the Square at Aquino, 14
September 1974; ORE, p. 5).
Let us too, therefore,
learn from the teaching of St Thomas and from his masterpiece, the Summa
Theologiae. It was left unfinished, yet it is a monumental work: it
contains 512 questions and 2,669 articles. It consists of concentrated
reasoning in which the human mind is applied to the mysteries of faith, with
clarity and depth to the mysteries of faith, alternating questions with answers
in which St Thomas deepens the teaching that comes from Sacred Scripture and
from the Fathers of the Church, especially St Augustine. In this reflection, in
meeting the true questions of his time, that are also often our own questions,
St Thomas, also by employing the method and thought of the ancient
philosophers, and of Aristotle in particular, thus arrives at precise, lucid
and pertinent formulations of the truths of faith in which truth is a gift of
faith, shines out and becomes accessible to us, for our reflection. However,
this effort of the human mind Aquinas reminds us with his own life is always
illumined by prayer, by the light that comes from on high. Only those who live
with God and with his mysteries can also understand what they say to us.
In the Summa of
theology, St Thomas starts from the fact that God has three different ways of
being and existing: God exists in himself, he is the beginning and end of all
things, which is why all creatures proceed from him and depend on him: then God
is present through his Grace in the life and activity of the Christian, of the
saints; lastly, God is present in an altogether special way in the Person of
Christ, here truly united to the man Jesus, and active in the Sacraments that
derive from his work of redemption. Therefore, the structure of this monumental
work (cf. Jean-Pierre Torrell, La "Summa" di San
Tommaso, Milan 2003, pp. 29-75), a quest with "a theological
vision" for the fullness of God (cf. Summa Theologiae, Ia q. 1,
a. 7), is divided into three parts and is illustrated by the Doctor
Communis himself St Thomas with these words: "Because the chief aim
of sacred doctrine is to teach the knowledge of God, not only as he is in
himself, but also as he is the beginning of things and their last end, and
especially of rational creatures, as is clear from what has already been said,
therefore, we shall treat: (1) Of God; (2) Of the rational creature's advance
towards God; (3) Of Christ, Who as man, is our way to God" (ibid.,I, q.
2). It is a circle: God in himself, who comes out of himself and takes us by
the hand, in such a way that with Christ we return to God, we are united to
God, and God will be all things to all people.
The First Part of
the Summa Theologiae thus investigates God in himself, the mystery of
the Trinity and of the creative activity of God. In this part we also find a
profound reflection on the authentic reality of the human being, inasmuch as he
has emerged from the creative hands of God as the fruit of his love. On the one
hand we are dependent created beings, we do not come from ourselves; yet, on
the other, we have a true autonomy so that we are not only something apparent
as certain Platonic philosophers say but a reality desired by God as such and
possessing an inherent value.
In the Second Part St
Thomas considers man, impelled by Grace, in his aspiration to know and love God
in order to be happy in time and in eternity. First of all the Author presents
the theological principles of moral action, studying how, in the free choice of
the human being to do good acts, reason, will and passions are integrated, to
which is added the power given by God's Grace through the virtues and the gifts
of the Holy Spirit, as well as the help offered by moral law. Hence the human
being is a dynamic being who seeks himself, seeks to become himself, and, in
this regard, seeks to do actions that build him up, that make him truly man;
and here the moral law comes into it. Grace and reason itself, the will and the
passions enter too. On this basis St Thomas describes the profile of the man
who lives in accordance with the Spirit and thus becomes an image of God.
Here Aquinas pauses to
study the three theological virtues faith, hope and charity followed by a
critical 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 through which we can reach God the Father. In this section he writes
almost unparalleled pages on the Mystery of Jesus' Incarnation and Passion,
adding a broad treatise on the seven sacraments, for it is in them that the
Divine Word Incarnate extends the benefits of the Incarnation for our
salvation, for our journey of faith towards God and eternal life. He is, as it
were, materially present with the realities of creation, and thus touches us in
our inmost depths.
In speaking of the
sacraments, St Thomas reflects in a special way on the Mystery of the
Eucharist, for which he had such great devotion, the early biographers claim,
that he would lean his head against the Tabernacle, as if to feel the throbbing
of Jesus' divine and human heart. 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: "Since this [the Eucharist] is the sacrament of
Our Lord's Passion, it contains in itself the Jesus Christ who suffered for us.
Thus, whatever is an effect of Our Lord's Passion is also an effect of this
sacrament. For this sacrament is nothing other than the application of Our
Lord's Passion to us" (cf. Commentary on John, chapter 6,
lecture 6, n. 963). We clearly understand why St Thomas and other Saints
celebrated Holy Mass shedding tears of compassion for the Lord who gave himself
as a sacrifice for us, tears of joy and gratitude.
Dear brothers and
sisters, at the school of the Saints, let us fall in love with this sacrament!
Let us participate in Holy Mass with recollection, to obtain its spiritual
fruits, let us nourish ourselves with this Body and Blood of Our Lord, to be
ceaselessly fed by divine Grace! Let us willingly and frequently linger in the
company of the Blessed Sacrament in heart-to-heart conversation!
All that St Thomas
described with scientific rigour in his major theological works, such as,
precisely, the Summa Theologiae, and the Summa contra gentiles,
was also explained in his preaching, both to his students and to the faithful.
In 1273, a year before he died, he preached throughout Lent in the Church of
San Domenico Maggiore in Naples. The content of those sermons was gathered and
preserved: they are the Opuscoli in which he explains
the Apostles' Creed, interprets the Prayer of the Our
Father, explains the Ten Commandments and comments on
the Hail Mary.
The content of the Doctor
Angelicus' preaching corresponds with virtually the whole structure of
the Catechism
of the Catholic Church. Actually, in catechesis and preaching, in a
time like ours of renewed commitment to evangelization, these fundamental
subjects should never be lacking: what we believe, and here is the
Creed of the faith; what we pray, and here is the Our Father and
the Hail Mary; and what we live, as we are taught by
biblical Revelation, and here is the law of the love of God and neighbour and
the Ten Commandments, as an explanation of this mandate of love.
I would like to propose
some simple, essential and convincing examples of the content of St Thomas'
teaching. In his booklet on The Apostles' Creed he explains the value
of faith. Through it, he says, the soul is united to God and produces, as it
were, a shot of eternal life; life receives a reliable orientation and we
overcome temptations with ease. To those who object that faith is foolishness
because it leads to belief in something that does not come within the
experience of the senses, St Thomas gives a very articulate answer and recalls
that this is an inconsistent doubt, for human intelligence is limited and
cannot know everything. Only if we were able to know all visible and invisible
things perfectly would it be genuinely foolish to accept truths out of pure
faith. Moreover, it is impossible to live, St Thomas observes, without trusting
in the experience of others, wherever one's own knowledge falls short. It is
thus reasonable to believe in God, who reveals himself, and to the testimony of
the Apostles: they were few, simple and poor, grief-stricken by the Crucifixion
of their Teacher. Yet many wise, noble and rich people converted very soon
after hearing their preaching. In fact this is a miraculous phenomenon of
history, to which it is far from easy to give a convincing answer other than
that of the Apostle's encounter with the Risen Lord.
In commenting on the
article of the Creed on the Incarnation of the divine Word St Thomas makes a
few reflections. He says that the Christian faith is strengthened in
considering the mystery of the Incarnation; hope is strengthened at the thought
that the Son of God came among us, as one of us, to communicate his own
divinity to human beings; charity is revived because there is no more obvious
sign of God's love for us than the sight of the Creator of the universe making
himself a creature, one of us. Finally, in contemplating the mystery of God's
Incarnation, we feel kindled within us our desire to reach Christ in glory.
Using a simple and effective comparison, St Thomas remarks: "If the brother
of a king were to be far away, he would certainly long to live beside him.
Well, Christ is a brother to us; we must therefore long for his company and
become of one heart with him" (Opuscoli teologico-spirituali, Rome
1976, p. 64).
In presenting the prayer
of the Our Father, St Thomas shows that it is perfect in itself, since it
has all five of the characteristics that a well-made prayer must possess:
trusting, calm abandonment; a fitting content because, St Thomas observes,
"it is quite difficult to know exactly what it is appropriate and
inappropriate to ask for, since choosing among our wishes puts us in
difficulty" (ibid., p. 120); and then an appropriate order of
requests, the fervour of love and the sincerity of humility.
Like all the Saints, St
Thomas had a great devotion to Our Lady. He described her with a wonderful
title: Triclinium totius Trinitatis; triclinium, that is, a place
where the Trinity finds rest since, because of the Incarnation, in no creature
as in her do the three divine Persons dwell and feel delight and joy at
dwelling in her soul full of Grace. Through her intercession we may obtain
every help.
With a prayer that is
traditionally attributed to St Thomas and that in any case reflects the
elements of his profound Marian devotion we too say: "O most Blessed and
sweet Virgin Mary, Mother of God... I entrust to your merciful heart... my
entire life.... Obtain for me as well, O most sweet Lady, true charity with
which from the depths of my heart I may love your most Holy Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ, and, after him, love you above all other things... and my neighbour, in
God and for God".
To Special Groups:
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
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.
I now greet
the young people, the sick and
the newlyweds. Today is the liturgical Memorial of St Joseph Cafasso
and the 150th anniversary of his death. May the example of this attractive
figure of an exemplary priest, to which I want to devote the next Wednesday
Catechesis, help you, dear young people to experience personally the
liberating power of Christ's love that profoundly renews human life; may it
sustain you, dear sick people, in offering up your suffering for the
conversion of those who are prisoners of evil; may it encourage you,
dear newlyweds, to be a sign of God's faithfulness, also with mutual
forgiveness, motivated by love.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100623.html
Book of Saints –
Thomas Aquinas
(Saint) Doctor
of the Church (March
7) (13th
century) The famous “Angelic Doctor,” the chief exponent of
Scholastic Philosophy,
which is fundamentally that of Aristotle, brought into harmony with Christian belief.
He was one of the most marvellously gifted of thinkers. Born near Aquino in the
South of Italy (A.D. 1225),
and educated at Monte
Cassino, he joined the then newly founded Dominican
Order, was made a Doctor by
the University
of Paris, and thenceforward taught and wrote brilliantly
and successfully all his life long. He died at
Fossanova, near Toulouse, A.D. 1274,
and was canonised A.D. 1323.
His works on Theology and Philosophy are
voluminous, and have been again and again republished. To his Metaphysical
system the Church has given marked preference. The Summa Theologica, his
latest and unfortunately uncompleted work, is that on which his reputation
mainly rests. It has passed through numerous editions, notwithstanding its
bulk, and deals with the whole of Catholic dogma. Saint Thomas
was a Religious of most holy life. His devotion to the Sacrament of the Altar
led to his composing the Office and Mass of
Corpus Christi, gems of the Roman Liturgy.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Thomas Aquinas”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
5 March 2017. Web. 7 February 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-thomas-aquinas/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-thomas-aquinas/
Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla. Óleo sobre lienzo. Fray Alonso de Ortiz Zambrano, rector del Colegio de Santo Tomás de Aquino, Sevilla, contrata con Francisco de Zurbarán (1631) las pinturas para el retablo mayor de la iglesia. Esta, Apoteosis de Santo Tomás de Aquino es la central, con programa iconográfico ampliamente detallado
St. Thomas Aquinas
Feastday: January 28
Patron: of students and all universities
Birth: 1226
Death: 1274
Canonized: Pope John XXII in 1323
Thomas is believed to
have been born in the castle of Roccasecca in the old county of the Kingdom of
Sicily, which is now known as the Lazio region of Italy, in 1225. His parents
were well-off, but as the youngest son Thomas was expected to enter the monastery.
At 5-years-old, Thomas
began his education at Monte Cassino, where he remained until the military
conflict between Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX reached the abbey. He
was then transferred and enrolled at the studium generale in Naples.
It is believed that
Thomas was introduced to his philosophical influences - Aristotle, Averroes,
and Maimonides - at the university, where he also met John of St. Julian, a
Dominican preacher, who influenced him to join the recently founded Dominican
Order.
When Thomas' family
learned of his decision, his mother Theodora arranged for him to be moved to
Paris. When Thomas was travelling to Rome, his brothers captured him and
returned him to their parents at the castle of Monte San Giovanni Campano.
Thomas was held captive
in the castle for one year as his family tried to keep him from joining the
Dominican Order. In the year he was held, Thomas tutored his sisters and
communicated with members of the Dominican Order.
In an effort to change
Thomas' mind, two of his brothers hired a prostitute to seduce him, but legends
claim Thomas drove her off with a fire iron. That night, two angels appeared to
him in a dream and strengthened his resolve to remain celibate.
When Theodora realized
she could not sway her son, she tried to preserve the family name by arranging
for his escape through a window. She believed a secret escape was better than
appearing to accept his decision.
Following his escape in
1244, Thomas turned to Naples, then to Rome and met the Master General of the
Dominical Order, Johannes von Wildeshausen.
The next year, Thomas
went to study at the Faculty of the Arts at the University of Paris, where he
is believed to have met Dominican scholar Albertus Magnus, the Chair of
Theology at the College of St. James.
In 1248, Thomas chose to
follow Magnus to the new studium generale at Cologne rather than accepting Pope
Innocent IV's offer to appoint him abbot of Monte Cassino as a Dominican.
Though Thomas hesitated, when they reached the university, Magnus appointed him
magister studentium.
Thomas was quiet and seldom
spoke at the university, leading other students to believe he was mentally
delayed, but Magnus prophetically said, "You call him the dumb ox, but in
his teaching, he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard
throughout the world."
Following the conclusion
of his education, Thomas taught in Cologne as an apprentice professor and
instructed students on the books of the Old Testament. It was during this time
he wrote Expositio super Isaiam ad litteram, Postilla super Ieremiam, and Postilla
super Threnos.
In 1252, Thomas returned
to Paris to earn his master's degree in theology. As an apprentice professor,
he lectured on the Bible and devoted his final three years of his education to
Peter Lombard's Sentences.
Thomas composed a
commentary on Sentences, titled Scriptum super libros Sententiarium and wrote
De ente et essentia.
The spring of 1256 saw Thomas appointed regent master in theology at Paris, and
one of his first works after assuming the office was Contra impugnantes Dei
cultum et religionem, in defense of mendicant orders, which William of
Saint-Amour had been attacking.
Between 1256 to 1259,
Thomas spent his tenure writing several books, such as Questiones disputatae de
veritate, Quaestiones quodlibetales, Expositio super librum Boethii De
trinitate, and Expositio super librum Boethii De hebdomadibus. At the
conclusion of his regency, Thomas was in the process of writing one of his most
famous works, Summa contra Gentiles.
In 1259, Thomas completed
his first regency and returned to Naples, where he was appointed general
preacher. In September 1261, he was asked to lecture in Orvieto, and during his
stay he finished Summa contra Gentiles, as well as Catena aurea, and Contra
errores graecorum.
In 1265, Thomas was
summoned to Rome to serve as the papal theologian and was later ordered by the
Dominican Chapter of Agnani to teach at the studium conventuale, which was the
first school to teach the full range of philosophical subjects of both moral
and natural natures.
While teaching, Thomas
wrote his most famous work, Summa theologiae, which he believed was
particularly useful to beginning students "because a doctor of Catholic
truth ought not only to teach the proficient, but to him pertains also to
instruct beginners."
He continued to write and
released several more books until 1268, when he was called to Paris for a
second teaching regency. He was named regent master again and stayed until
1272. During this time, he wrote De virtutibus and De aeternitate mundi.
At the conclusion of his
regency, the Dominicans called Thomas to establish a university wherever he
wanted with a staff of whomever he wished. He established the university in
Naples and took the regent master post. In 1273 Thomas was seen by the
sacristan Domenic of Caserta to be crying and levitating in prayer before an
icon of the crucified Christ at the Dominican convent of Naples, in the Chapel
of Saint Nicholas.
During this prayer,
Christ is said to have told him, "You have written well of me, Thomas.
What reward would you have for your labor?"
Thomas replied,
"Nothing but you, Lord."
Following this exchange,
something happened but Thomas never wrote or spoke of it. He abandoned his
routine and, when begged to return to work, replied, "I cannot, because
all that I have written seems like straw to me."
In May of 1274, Thomas
was called to the Second Council of Lyon, where his works for Pope Urban IV
would be presented. While journeying to the meeting, Thomas hit his head on the
branch of a fallen tree and fell ill. He was escorted to Monte Cassino to
recover, then he set out again.
Unfortunately, he became
ill once again and stopped at the Cistercian Fossanova Abbey, where the monks
cared for him for several days.
He received his last
rites and prayed, "I receive Thee, ransom of my soul. For love of Thee
have I studied and kept vigil, toiled, preached and taught..."
Thomas died on March 7,
1274 during a commentary on the Song of Songs. Thomas' remains were placed in
the Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse on January 28, 1369.
It is not known who
beatified Thomas, but on July 18, 1323, Pope John XXII canonized him.
His original feast day
was March 7, the day of his death, but because the date often falls within
Lent, in 1969, a revision of the Roman Calendar changed his feast day to
January 28, the date his relics were moved to Toulouse. Pope Pius V declared
Saint Thomas a doctor of the church, saying Thomas was "the most brilliant
light of the Church."
Saint Thomas' remains were moved to the Basilique de Sant-Sernin, Toulouse
between 1789 and 1974. They were then returned to the Church of the Jacobins.
In the 16th century, the
university in Paris, that Thomas often taught at, was renamed the College of
Saint Thomas, and in the 20th century it was relocated to the convent of Saints
Dominic and Sixtus before being transformed into the Pontifical University of
Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Saint Thomas' comments
and philosophical writings are still debated today, and his aesthetic theories,
such as the concept of claritas, deeply influenced the literary writings of
James Joyce and Italian semiotician Umberto Eco. Saint Thomas is often depicted
with an open book or writing with a quill.
A Student's Prayer by St.
Thomas
Come, Holy Spirit, Divine
Creator, true source of light and fountain of wisdom! Pour forth your
brilliance upon my dense intellect, dissipate the darkness which covers me,
that of sin and of ignorance.
Grant me a penetrating
mind to understand, a retentive memory, method and ease in learning, the
lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself. Guide the
beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to successful
completion.
This I ask through Jesus
Christ, true God and true man, living and reigning with You and the Father,
forever and ever.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2530
Diego Velázquez (1599–1660). Temptation of St. Thomas,
1632, oil on canvas, 244 x 203, Museo Diocesano de Arte Sacro
Aquinas' Proofs :...
1 - FIRST MOVER: Some
things are in motion, anything moved is moved by another, and there can't be an
infinite series of movers. So there must be a first mover (a mover that isn't
itself moved by another). This is God.
2 - FIRST CAUSE: Some
things are caused, anything caused is caused by another, and there can't be an
infinite series of causes. So there must be a first cause (a cause that isn't
itself caused by another). This is God.
3 - NECESSARY BEING:
Every contingent being at some time fails to exist. So if everything were
contingent, then at some time there would have been nothing -- and so there
would be nothing now -- which is clearly false. So not everything is
contingent. So there is a necessary being. This is God.
4 - GREATEST BEING: Some
things are greater than others. Whatever is great to any degree gets its
greatness from that which is the greatest. So there is a greatest being, which
is the source of all greatness. This is God.
5 - INTELLIGENT DESIGNER:
Many things in the world that lack intelligence act for an end. Whatever acts
for an end must be directed by an intelligent being. So the world must have an
intelligent designer. This is God.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/uCatholic
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682). Santo
Tomás de Aquino, 1650, 96 x 68
St. Thomas Aquinas,
Doctor of the Church
St. Thomas Aquinas,
priest and doctor of the Church, patron of all universities and of students.
His feast day is January 28th. He was born toward the end of the year 1226. He
was the son of Landulph, Count of Aquino, who, when St. Thomas was five years
old, placed him under the care of the Benedictines of Monte Casino. His
teachers were surprised at the progress he made, for he surpassed all his
fellow pupils in learning as well as in the practice of virtue.
When he became of age to
choose his state of life, St. Thomas renounced the things of this world and
resolved to enter the Order of St. Dominic in spite of the opposition of his
family. In 1243, at the age of seventeen, he joined the Dominicans of Naples.
Some members of his family resorted to all manner of means over a two year
period to break his constancy. They even went so far as to send an impure woman
to tempt him. But all their efforts were in vain and St. Thomas persevered in
his vocation. As a reward for his fidelity, God conferred upon him the gift of
perfect chastity, which has merited for him the title of the “Angelic Doctor”.
After making his
profession at Naples, he studied at Cologne under the celebrated St. Albert the
Great. Here he was nicknamed the “dumb ox” because of his silent ways and huge
size, but he was really a brilliant student. At the age of twenty-two, he was
appointed to teach in the same city. At the same time, he also began to publish
his first works. After four years he was sent to Paris. The saint was then a
priest. At the age of thirty-one, he received his doctorate.
At Paris he was honored
with the friendship of the King, St. Louis, with whom he frequently dined. In
1261, Urban IV called him to Rome where he was appointed to teach, but he
positively declined to accept any ecclesiastical dignity. St. Thomas not only
wrote (his writings filled twenty hefty tomes characterized by brilliance of
thought and lucidity of language), but he preached often and with greatest
fruit. Clement IV offered him the archbishopric of Naples which he also
refused. He left the great monument of his learning, the “Summa Theologica”,
unfinished, for on his way to the second Council of Lyons, ordered there by
Gregory X, he fell sick and died at the Cistercian monastery of Fossa Nuova in
1274.
St. Thomas was one of the
greatest and most influential theologians of all time. He was canonized in 1323
and declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-thomas-aquinas/
.jpg)
José Risueño (1665–1721). Santo Tomás de Aquino, 108 x 82, Museo del Prado
St. Thomas Aquinas
Philosopher, theologian, doctor
of the Church (Angelicus
Doctor), patron of Catholic universities, colleges,
and schools.
Born at Rocca Secca in the Kingdom
of Naples, 1225 or 1227; died at Fossa Nuova, 7 March, 1274.
Life
The great outlines and all the important events of his life are known,
but biographers differ as to some details and dates.
Death prevented Henry
Denifle from executing his project of writing a critical life of
the saint. Denifle's friend
and pupil, Dominic Prümmer, O.P., professor of theology in
the University
of Fribourg, Switzerland, took up the work and published the "Fontes
Vitae S. Thomae Aquinatis, notis historicis et criticis illustrati"; and
the first fascicle (Toulouse, 1911) has appeared, giving the life of St.
Thomas by Peter Calo (1300) now published for the first time. From Tolomeo
of Lucca . . . we learn that at the time of the saint's death
there was a doubt about
his exact age (Prümmer, op. cit., 45). The end of 1225 is usually assigned as
the time of
his birth. Father Prümmer, on the authority of Calo, thinks 1227 is the more
probable date (op.
cit., 28). All agree that he died in 1274.
Landulph, his father,
was Count of Aquino;
Theodora, his mother, Countess of Teano. His family was
related to the Emperors Henry
VI and Frederick
II, and to the Kings of Aragon, Castile,
and France.
Calo relates that a holy hermit foretold
his career, saying to Theodora before his birth: "He will enter the Order
of Friars Preachers, and so great will be his learning and sanctity that
in his day no one will be found to equal him" (Prümmer, op. cit., 18). At
the age of five, according to the custom of
the times, he was sent to receive his first training from the Benedictine
monks of Monte
Cassino. Diligent in study, he was thus early noted as being meditative and
devoted to prayer,
and his preceptor was surprised at hearing the child ask frequently: "What
is God?"
About the year 1236 he was sent to the University of Naples.
Calo says that the change was made at the instance of the Abbot of Monte
Cassino, who wrote to Thomas's father that a boy of such talents should not
be left in obscurity (Prümmcr, op. cit., 20). At Naples his
preceptors were Pietro Martini and Petrus Hibernus. The chronicler says that he
soon surpassed Martini at grammar, and he was then given over to Peter of
Ireland, who trained him in logic and
the natural
sciences. The customs of the times divided the liberal
arts into two courses: the Trivium, embracing grammar, logic,
and rhetoric; the Quadrivium, comprising music, mathematics, geometry,
and astronomy .
. . . Thomas could repeat the lessons with more depth and lucidity than his
masters displayed. The youth's heart had remained pure amidst the corruption
with which he was surrounded, and he resolved to embrace the religious
life.
Some time between
1240 and August, 1243, he received the habit of the Order
of St. Dominic, being attracted and directed by John of St. Julian, a noted
preacher of the convent of Naples.
The city wondered that such a noble young man should don the garb of poor friar.
His mother, with mingled feelings of joy and
sorrow, hastened to Naples to
see her son. The Dominicans,
fearing she would take him away, sent him to Rome,
his ultimate destination being Paris or Cologne.
At the instance of Theodora, Thomas's brothers, who were soldiers under
the Emperor
Frederick, captured the novice near
the town of Aquapendente and
confined him in the fortress of San Giovanni at Rocca Secca. Here he was
detained nearly two years, his parents,
brothers, and sisters endeavouring by various means to destroy his vocation.
The brothers even laid snares for his virtue,
but the pure-minded novice drove
the temptress from his room with a brand which he snatched from the fire.
Towards the end of his life, St.
Thomas confided to his faithful friend and companion, Reginald
of Piperno, the secret of a remarkable favour received at this time.
When the temptress had been driven from his chamber, he knelt and
most earnestly implored God to
grant him integrity of mind and
body. He fell into a gentle sleep, and, as he slept, two angels appeared
to assure him that his prayer had
been heard. They then girded him about with a white girdle, saying: "We
gird thee with the girdle of perpetual virginity."
And from that day forward he never experienced the slightest motions of concupiscence.
The time spent
in captivity was not lost. His mother relented somewhat, after the first burst
of anger and
grief; the Dominicans were
allowed to provide him with new habits, and through the kind offices of his
sister he procured some books — the Holy
Scriptures, Aristotle's Metaphysics,
and the "Sentences" of Peter
Lombard. After eighteen months or two years spent in prison,
either because his mother saw that the hermit's prophecy would
eventually be fulfilled or because his brothers feared the
threats of Innocent
IV and Frederick
II, he was set at liberty, being lowered in a basket into the arms of
the Dominicans,
who were delighted to find that during his captivity "he had made as much
progress as if he had been in a studium generale" (Calo, op. cit.,
24).
Thomas immediately pronounced his vows,
and his superiors sent him to Rome. Innocent
IV examined closely into his motives in joining the Friars
Preachers, dismissed him with a blessing,
and forbade any further interference with his vocation.
John the Teutonic, fourth master general of the order,
took the young student to Paris and,
according to the majority of the saint's biographers,
to Cologne,
where he arrived in 1244 or 1245, and was placed under Albertus
Magnus, the most renowned professor of the order.
In the schools Thomas's humility and
taciturnity were misinterpreted as signs of dullness, but when Albert had
heard his brilliant defence of a difficult thesis, he exclaimed: "We call
this young man a dumb ox, but his bellowing in doctrine will
one day resound throughout the world."
In 1245 Albert was
sent to Paris,
and Thomas accompanied him as a student. In 1248 both returned to Cologne. Albert had
been appointed regent of the new studium generale, erected that year by
the general
chapter of the order,
and Thomas was to teach under him as Bachelor. (On the system of graduation in
the thirteenth century see ORDER
OF PREACHERS — II, A, 1, d). During his stay in Cologne,
probably in 1250, he was raised to the priesthood by Conrad
of Hochstaden, archbishop of
that city. Throughout his busy life, he frequently preached the Word of
God, in Germany, France,
and Italy.
His sermons were
forceful, redolent of piety,
full of solid instruction, abounding in apt citations from the Scriptures.
In the year 1251 or 1252 the master general of the order,
by the advice of Albertus
Magnus and Hugo
a S. Charo (Hugh of St. Cher), sent Thomas to fill the office of Bachelor
(sub-regent) in the Dominican studium at Paris.
This appointment may be regarded as the beginning of his public career, for his
teaching soon attracted the attention both of the professors and of the
students. His duties consisted
principally in explaining the "Sentences" of Peter
Lombard, and his commentaries on that text-book of theology furnished
the materials and, in great part, the plan for his chief work, the "Summa
theologica".
In due time he
was ordered to prepare himself to obtain the degree
of Doctor in Theology from the University
of Paris, but the conferring of the degree was postponed, owing to a
dispute between the university and
the friars.
The conflict, originally a dispute between the university and
the civic
authorities, arose from the slaying of
one of the students and the wounding of three others by the city guard.
The university,
jealous of its autonomy, demanded satisfaction, which was refused. The doctors closed
their schools,
solemnly swore that
they would not reopen them until their demands were granted, and decreed that
in future no one should be admitted to the degree of Doctor unless he
would take an oath to
follow the same line of conduct under similar circumstances. The Dominicans and Franciscans,
who had continued to teach in their schools,
refused to take the prescribed oath,
and from this there arose a bitter conflict which was at its height when St.
Thomas and St.
Bonaventure were ready to be presented for their degrees. William
of St-Amour extended the dispute beyond the original question, violently attacked
the friars,
of whom he was evidently jealous,
and denied their right to
occupy chairs in the university.
Against his book, "De periculis novissimorum temporum" (The Perils of
the Last Times), St. Thomas wrote a treatise "Contra impugnantes
religionem", an apology for the religious orders (Touron,
op. cit., II, cc. vii sqq.). The book of William
of St-Amour was condemned by Alexander
IV at Anagni,
5 October, 1256, and the pope gave
orders that the mendicant
friars should be admitted to the doctorate.
About this time St. Thomas also combated a dangerous book, "The Eternal
Gospel" (Touron,
op. cit., II, cxii). The university authorities
did not obey immediately;
the influence of St.
Louis IX and eleven papal
Briefs were required before peace was firmly established, and St.
Thomas was admitted to the degree of Doctor in Theology.
The date of
his promotion, as given by many biographers, was 23 October, 1257. His theme
was "The Majesty of Christ". His text, "Thou waterest the hills
from thy upper rooms: the earth shall be filled with the fruit of thy
works" (Psalm
103:13), said to have been suggested by a heavenly
visitor, seems to have been prophetic of
his career. A tradition says that St.
Bonaventure and St. Thomas received the doctorate on the
same day, and that there was a contest of humility between
the two friends as to which should be promoted first.
From this time St.
Thomas's life may be summed up in a few words: praying,
preaching, teaching, writing, journeying. Men were more anxious to hear him
than they had been to hear Albert,
whom St. Thomas surpassed in accuracy, lucidity, brevity, and power of
exposition, if not in universality of knowledge. Paris claimed
him as her own; the popes wished
to have him near them; the studia of the order were
eager to enjoy the benefit of his teaching; hence we find him successively
at Anagni, Rome, Bologna, Orvieto, Viterbo, Perugia,
in Paris again,
and finally in Naples,
always teaching and writing, living on earth with one passion, an ardent zeal for
the explanation and defence of Christian
truth. So devoted was he to his sacred task that with tears he begged to be
excused from accepting the Archbishopric of Naples,
to which he was appointed by Clement
IV in 1265. Had this appointment been accepted, most probably
the "Summa
theologica" would not have been written.
Yielding to the requests of his brethren, he on several occasions took part in
the deliberations of the general
chapters of the order.
One of these chapters was
held in London in
1263. In another held at Valenciennes (1259) he collaborated with Albertus
Magnus and Peter of Tarentasia (afterwards Pope
Innocent V) in formulating a system of studies which is substantially
preserved to this day in the studia generalia of the Dominican
Order (cf. Douais, op. cit.).
It is not surprising to read in the biographies of St. Thomas that he was
frequently abstracted and in ecstasy.
Towards the end of his life the ecstasies became
more frequent. On one occasion, at Naples in
1273, after he had completed his treatise on the Eucharist,
three of the brethren saw him lifted in ecstasy,
and they heard a voice proceeding
from the crucifix
on the altar, saying "Thou hast written well of me, Thomas; what
reward wilt thou have?" Thomas replied, "None other than Thyself,
Lord" (Prümmer, op. cit., p. 38). Similar declarations are said to have
been made at Orvieto and
at Paris.
On 6 December, 1273, he laid aside his pen and would write no more. That day he
experienced an unusually long ecstasy during Mass;
what was revealed to him we can only surmise from his reply to Father
Reginald, who urged him to continue his writings: "I can do no more.
Such secrets have been revealed to me that all I have written now
appears to be of little value" (modica, Prümmer, op. cit., p. 43).
The "Summa
theologica" had been completed only as far as the ninetieth
question of the third part (De partibus poenitentiae).
Thomas began his immediate preparation
for death. Gregory
X, having convoked a general
council, to open at Lyons on
1 May, 1274, invited St. Thomas and St.
Bonaventure to take part in the deliberations, commanding the former
to bring to the council his
treatise "Contra errores Graecorum" (Against the Errors of the
Greeks). He tried to obey,
setting out on foot in January, 1274, but strength failed him; he fell to the
ground near Terracina,
whence he was conducted to the Castle of Maienza, the home of his niece the
Countess Francesca Ceccano. The Cistercian
monks of Fossa Nuova pressed him to accept their hospitality,
and he was conveyed to their monastery,
on entering which he whispered to his companion: "This is my rest for ever
and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it" (Psalm
131:14). When Father
Reginald urged him to remain at the castle, the saint replied:
"If the Lord wishes
to take me away, it is better that I be found in a religious
house than in the dwelling of a lay person." The Cistercians were
so kind and attentive that Thomas's humility was
alarmed. "Whence comes this honour",
he exclaimed, "that servants of God should
carry wood for my fire!" At the urgent request of the monks he
dictated a brief commentary on
the Canticle
of Canticles.
The end was near; extreme
unction was administered. When the Sacred
Viaticum was brought into the room he pronounced the following act
of faith:
If in this world there be any knowledge of
this sacrament stronger
than that of faith,
I wish now to use it in affirming that I firmly believe and know as certain that Jesus
Christ, True God and True Man, Son
of God and Son of the Virgin
Mary, is in this Sacrament .
. . I receive Thee, the price of my redemption,
for Whose love I
have watched, studied, and laboured. Thee have I preached; Thee have I taught.
Never have I said anything against Thee: if anything was not well said, that is
to be attributed to my ignorance.
Neither do I wish to be obstinate in my opinions, but if I have written
anything erroneous concerning
this sacrament or
other matters, I submit all to the judgment and correction of the Holy
Roman Church, in whose obedience I
now pass from this life.
He died on 7 March, 1274. Numerous miracles attested
his sanctity,
and he was canonized by John
XXII, 18 July, 1323. The monks of
Fossa Nuova were anxious to keep his sacred
remains, but by order of Urban
V the body was given to his Dominican brethren,
and was solemnly translated to the Dominican church at Toulouse,
28 January, 1369. A magnificent shrine erected in 1628 was destroyed during
the French
Revolution, and the body was removed to the Church of
St. Sernin, where it now reposes in a sarcophagus of gold and silver, which
was solemnly blessed by
Cardinal Desprez on 24 July, 1878. The chief bone of his left arm is preserved
in the cathedral of Naples.
The right arm, bestowed on the University
of Paris, and originally kept in the St. Thomas's Chapel of the Dominican church,
is now preserved in the Dominican Church
of S. Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome,
whither it was transferred during the French
Revolution.
A description of the saint as
he appeared in life is given by Calo (Prümmer, op. cit., p. 401), who says that
his features corresponded with the greatness of his soul.
He was of lofty stature and of heavy build, but straight and well proportioned.
His complexion was "like the colour of new wheat": his head was large
and well shaped, and he was slightly bald. All portraits represent him as
noble, meditative, gentle yet strong. St.
Pius V proclaimed St. Thomas a Doctor
of the Universal Church in the year 1567. In the Encyclical "Aeterni
Patris", of 4 August, 1879, on the restoration of Christian philosophy, Leo
XIII declared him "the prince and master of all Scholastic doctors".
The same illustrious pontiff,
by a Brief dated 4
August, 1880, designated him patron of
all Catholic universities,
academies, colleges,
and schools throughout
the world.
Writings (general remarks)
Although St. Thomas lived less than fifty years, he composed more than sixty
works, some of them brief, some very lengthy. This does not necessarily mean
that every word in the authentic works
was written by his hand; he was assisted by secretaries, and biographers assure
us that he could dictate to several scribes at the same time.
Other works, some of which were composed by his disciples,
have been falsely attributed to him.
In the "Scriptores Ordinis Praedicatorum" (Paris, 1719) Fr.
Echard devotes eighty-six folio pages to St. Thomas's works, the
different editions and translations (I, pp. 282-348). Touron (op.
cit., pp. 69 sqq.) says that manuscript copies
were found in nearly all the libraries of Europe,
and that, after the invention of printing, copies were multiplied rapidly
in Germany, Italy,
and France,
portions of the "Summa
theologica" being one of the first important works printed. Peter
Schöffer, a printer of Mainz,
published the "Secunda
Secundae" in 1467. This is the first known printed copy of any
work of St. Thomas. The first complete edition of the "Summa" was
printed at Basle,
in 1485. Many other editions of this and of other works were published in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially at Venice and
at Lyons.
The principal editions of all the work (Opera Omnia) were published as
follows: Rome,
1570; Venice, 1594, 1612, 1745; Antwerp, 1612; Paris,
1660, 1871-80 (Vives);
Parma, 1852-73; Rome, 1882 (the Leonine). The Roman edition
of 1570, called "the Piana", because edited by order of St.
Pius V, was the standard for many years. Besides a carefully revised text
it contained the commentaries of Cardinal
Cajetan and the valuable "Tabula Aurea" of Peter
of Bergamo. The Venetian edition
of 1612 was highly prized because the text was accompanied by the Cajetan-Porrecta commentaries
. . . . The Leonine edition, begun under the patronage of Leo
XIII, now continued under the master general of the Dominicans,
undoubtedly will be the most perfect of all. Critical dissertations on each
work will be given, the text will be carefully revised, and all references will
be verified. By direction of Leo
XIII (Motu
Proprio, 18 Jan., 1880) the "Summa contra gentiles" will be
published with the commentaries of Sylvester Ferrariensis, whilst the
commentaries of Cajetan go
with the "Summa
theologica".
The latter has been published, being volumes IV-XII of the edition (last in
1906). St. Thomas's works may be classified as philosophical, theological, scriptural,
and apologetic,
or controversial. The division, however, cannot always be rigidly maintained.
The "Summa
theologica", e.g., contains much that is philosophical,
whilst the "Summa contra gentiles" is principally, but not
exclusively, philosophical and apologetic.
His philosophical works
are chiefly commentaries on Aristotle,
and his first important theological writings
were commentaries on Peter
Lombard's four books of "Sentences"; but he does not
slavishly follow either the Philosopher or
the Master
of the Sentences (on opinions of the Lombard rejected
by theologians,
see Migne,
1841, edition of the "Summa" I,
p. 451).
Writings (his principal works)
Amongst the works wherein St. Thomas's own mind and
method are shown, the following deserve special mention:
(1) "Quaestiones disputatae" (Disputed Questions) --
These were
more complete treatises on subjects that had not been fully elucidated in the
lecture halls, or concerning which the professor's opinion had been sought.
They are very valuable, because in them the author, free from limitations as
to time or space,
freely expresses his mind and
gives all arguments for or against the opinions adopted. These treatises,
containing the questions "De potentia", "De malo", "De
spirit. creaturis", "De anima", "De unione Verbi
Incarnati", "De virt. in communi", "De caritate",
"De corr. fraterna", "De spe", "De virt.
cardinal.", "De veritate", were often reprinted, e.g. recently
by the Association of St. Paul (2 vols., Paris and Fribourg, Switzerland,
1883).
(2) "Quodlibeta" (may be rendered "Various Subjects", or
"Free Discussions") --
They present questions or arguments
proposed and answers given in or outside the lecture halls, chiefly in the more
formal Scholastic exercises,
termed circuli, conclusiones, or determinationes, which were held
once or twice a year.
(3) "De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas" --
This
opusculum refuted a very dangerous and widespread error,
viz., that there was but one soul for
all men,
a theory which did away with individual liberty and
responsibility. (See AVERROES)
(4) "Commentaria in Libros Sententiarum" (mentioned above) --
This
with the following work are the immediate forerunners of the "Summa
theologica".
(5) "Summa de veritate catholicae fidei contra gentiles" (Treatise on
the Truth of the Catholic Faith, against Unbelievers) --
This work,
written at Rome,
1261-64, was composed at the request of St.
Raymond of Pennafort, who desired to have a philosophical exposition
and defence of the Christian
Faith, to be used against the Jews and Moors in Spain.
It is a perfect model of patient and sound apologetics,
showing that no demonstrated truth (science)
is opposed to revealed truth (faith).
The best recent editions are those of Rome,
1878 (by Uccelli), of Paris and Fribourg, Switzerland,
1882, and of Rome,
1894. It has been translated into many languages. It is divided into four
books: I. Of God as He is in Himself; II. Of God the Origin of Creatures; III.
Of God the End of Creatures; IV. Of God in His Revelation. It is worthy of
remark that the Fathers of the Vatican
Council, treating the necessity of revelation (Constitution "Dei
Filius", c. 2), employed almost the very words used by St. Thomas in
treating that subject in this work (I, cc. iv, V), and in the "Summa
theologica" (I:1:1).
(6) Three works written by order of Urban
IV --
The "Opusculum
contra errores Graecorum" refuted the errors of
the Greeks on doctrines in
dispute between them and the Roman
Church, viz., the procession of the Holy
Ghost from the Father and
the Son, the primacy of
the Roman
pontiff, the Holy
Eucharist, and purgatory.
It was used against the Greeks with
telling effect in the Council
of Lyons (1274) and in the Council
of Florence (1493). In the range of human reasonings on deep subjects
there can be found nothing to surpass the sublimity and depth of the argument
adduced by St. Thomas to prove that
the Holy
Ghost proceeds from the Father and
the Son (cf. Summa
I:36:2); but it must be borne in mind that our Faith is
not based on that argument alone.
"Officium de festo
Corporis Christi". Mandonnet (Ecrits, p. 127) declares that it is now
established beyond doubt that
St. Thomas is the author of the beautiful Office of Corpus
Christi, in which solid doctrine,
tender piety,
and enlightening Scriptural citations
are combined, and expressed in language remarkably accurate, beautiful, chaste,
and poetic. Here we find the well-known hymns, "Sacris
Solemniis", "Pange
Lingua" (concluding in the "Tantum
Ergo"), "Verbum
Supernum" (concluding with the "O
Salutaris Hostia") and, in the Mass,
the beautiful sequence "Lauda
Sion". In the responses of
the office,
St. Thomas places side by side words of the New
Testament affirming the real
presence of Christ in
the Blessed
Sacrament and texts from the Old
Testament referring to the types and
figures of the Eucharist.
Santeuil, a poet of the seventeenth century, said he would give all the verses
he had written for the one stanza of
the "Verbum
Supernum": "Se nascens dedit socium, convescens in edulium: Se
moriens in pretium, Se regnans dat in praemium" — "In birth, man's
fellow-man was He, His meat, while sitting at the Board: He died his Ransomer
to be, He reigns to be his Great Reward" (tr. by Marquis
of Bute). Perhaps the gem of the whole office is the antiphon "O
Sacrum Convivium" (cf. Conway, "St. Thomas Aquinas", London and
New York, 1911, p. 61).
The "Catena
Aurea", though not as original as his other writings, furnishes a
striking proof of
St. Thomas's prodigious memory and
manifests an intimate acquaintance with the Fathers
of the Church. The work contains a series of passages selected from the
writings of the various Fathers,
arranged in such order that the texts cited form a running commentary on
the Gospels. The commentary on St.
Matthew was dedicated to Urban
IV. An English translation of the "Catena Aurea" was edited
by John
Henry Newman (4 vols., Oxford, 1841-1845; see Vaughan, op. cit.,
vol. II,) pp. 529 sqq..
(7) The "Summa
theologica"-- This work immortalized St. Thomas. The author himself
modestly considered it simply a manual of Christian
doctrine for the use of students. In reality it is a complete
scientifically arranged exposition of theology and
at the same time a summary of Christian philosophy (see SUMMÆ).
In the brief prologue St.
Thomas first calls attention to the difficulties experienced by students
of sacred
doctrine in his day, the causes assigned being: the
multiplication of useless questions, articles, and arguments; the lack of
scientific order; frequent repetitions, "which beget disgust and confusion
in the minds of
learners". Then he adds: "Wishing to avoid these and similar
drawbacks, we shall endeavour, confiding in the Divine assistance, to treat of
these things that pertain to sacred
doctrine with brevity and clearness, in so far as the subject to be
treated will permit."
In the introductory question, "On
Sacred Doctrine", he proves that,
besides the knowledge which reason affords, Revelation also
is necessary for salvation first,
because without it men could
not know the supenatural end
to which they must tend by their voluntary
acts; secondly, because, without Revelation,
even the truths concerning God which
could be proved by reason would
be known "only
by a few, after a long time,
and with the admixture of many errors".
When revealed
truths have been accepted, the mind of man proceeds
to explain them and to draw conclusions from them. Hence results theology,
which is a science,
because it proceeds from principles that are certain (Answer
2). The object, or subject, of this science is God;
other things are treated in it only in so far as they relate to God (Answer
7). Reason is
used in theology not
to prove the truths of faith,
which are accepted on the authority of God,
but to defend, explain, and develop the doctrines revealed (Answer
8). He thus announces the division of the "Summa":
"Since the chief aim of this sacred
science is to give the knowledge of God,
not only as He is in Himself, but also as He is the Beginning of all things, and
the End of all, especially of rational creatures, we shall treat first of God;
secondly, of the rational creature's advance towards God (de
motu creaturae rationalis in Deum); thirdly, of Christ,
Who, as Man,
is the way by which we tend to God." God in
Himself, and as He is the Creator; God as
the End of all things, especially of man; God as
the Redeemer — these are the leading ideas,
the great headings, under which all that pertains to theology is
contained.
(a) Sub-divisions
The First
Part is divided into three tracts:
On those things which
pertain to the Essence
of God;
On the distinction
of Persons in God (the mystery of
the Trinity);
On the production
of creatures by God and
on the creatures produced.
The Second Part, On God as
He is in the End of man,
is sometimes called the Moral
Theology of St. Thomas, i.e., his treatise on the end of man and
on human
acts. It is subdivided into two parts, known as the First
Section of the Second (I-II, or 1a 2ae) and the Second
of the Second (II-II, or 2a 2ae).
The First
of the Second. The first five questions are devoted to proving that man's last
end, his beatitude,
consists in the possession of God. Man attains
to that end or deviates from it by human
acts, i.e. by free, deliberate acts. Of human
acts he treats, first, in general (in all but the first five questions
of the I-II),
secondly, in particular (in the whole of the II-II).
The treatise on human
acts in general is divided into two parts: the first, on human
acts in themselves; the other, on the principles or causes,
extrinsic or intrinsic, of those acts.
In these tracts and in the Second
of the Second, St. Thomas, following Aristotle,
gives a perfect description and a wonderfully keen analysis of
the movements of man's mind and heart.
The Second
of the Second considers human
acts, i.e., the virtues and vices,
in particular. In it St. Thomas treats, first, of those things that pertain to
all men,
no matter what may be their station in life, and, secondly, of those things
that pertain to some men only.
Things that pertain to all men are
reduced to seven headings: Faith, Hope,
and Charity; Prudence, Justice, Fortitude,
and Temperance.
Under each title, in order to avoid repetitions, St. Thomas treats not only of
the virtue itself,
but also of the vices opposed
to it, of the commandment to
practise it, and of the gift of
the Holy
Ghost which corresponds to it. Things pertaining to some men only
are reduced to three headings: the graces freely
given (gratia gratis datae) to certain individuals for the good of
the Church,
such as the gifts of tongues,
of prophecy,
of miracles;
the active and the contemplative
life; the particular states of life, and duties of
those who are in different states, especially bishops and religious.
The Third
Part treats of Christ and
of the benefits which He has conferred upon man,
hence three tracts: On the Incarnation,
and on what the Saviour did
and suffered; On the Sacraments,
which were instituted by Christ,
and have their efficacy from His merits and sufferings;
On Eternal Life, i.e., on the end of the world, the resurrection
of bodies, judgment,
the punishment
of the wicked, the happiness of
the just who, through Christ,
attain to eternal life in heaven.
Eight years were given to the composition of this work, which was begun
at Rome,
where the First
Part and the First
of the Second were written (1265-69). The Second
of the Second, begun in Rome,
was completed in Paris (1271).
In 1272 St. Thomas went to Naples,
where the Third
Part was written, down to the ninetieth
question of the tract On Penance (see Leonine edition, I, p.
xlii). The work has been completed by the addition of a supplement,
drawn from other writings of St. Thomas, attributed by some to Peter
of Auvergne, by others to Henry of Gorkum. These attributions are rejected
by the editors of the Leonine edition (XI, pp. viii, xiv, xviii). Mandonnet
(op. cit., 153) inclines to the very probable opinion that it was compiled
by Father
Reginald de Piperno, the saint's faithful
companion and secretary.
The entire "Summa" contains
38 Treatises, 612 Questions, subdivided into 3120 articles, in which about
10,000 objections are proposed and answered. So admirably is the promised order
preserved that, by reference to the beginning of the Tracts and Questions, one
can see at a glance what place it occupies in the general plan, which
embraces all that can be known through theology of God,
of man,
and of their mutual relations . . . "The whole Summa is
arranged on a uniform plan. Every subject is introduced as a question, and
divided into articles. . . . Each article has also a uniform disposition of
parts. The topic is introduced as an inquiry for discussion, under the
term Utrum, whether — e.g. Utrum Deus sit? The objections
against the proposed thesis are then stated. These are generally three or four
in number, but sometimes extend to seven or more. The conclusion adopted is
then introduced by the words, Respondeo dicendum. At the end of the thesis
expounded the objections are answered, under the forms, ad primum, ad
secundum, etc." . . . . The "Summa" is Christian
doctrine in scientific form;
it is human
reason rendering its highest service in defence and explanation of
the truths of
the Christian
religion. It is the answer of the matured and saintly doctor to
the question of his youth: What is God? Revelation,
made known in
the Scriptures and
by tradition; reason and
its best results; soundness and fulness of doctrine,
order, conciseness and clearness of expression, effacement of self, the love of truth alone,
hence a remarkable fairness towards adversaries and calmness in combating
their errors;
soberness and soundness of judgment, together with a charmingly tender and
enlightened piety — these are all found in this "Summa" more
than in his other writings, more than in the writings of his contemporaries,
for "among the Scholastic doctors,
the chief and master of all, towers Thomas Aquinas, who, as Cajetan observes
(In 2am 2ae, Q. 148, a. 4) 'because he most venerated the
ancient doctors
of the Church in a certain way seems to have inherited the intellect of
all'" (Encyclical, "Aeterni
Patris", of Leo
XIII).
(b) Editions and Translations
It is impossible to mention the various editions of the "Summa",
which has been in constant use for more than seven hundred years. Very few
books have been so often republished. The first complete edition, printed
at Basle in
1485, was soon followed by others, e.g., at Venice in
1505, 1509, 1588, 1594; at Lyons in
1520, 1541, 1547, 1548, 1581, 1588, 1624,1655; at Antwerp in
1575. These are enumerated by Touron (op.
cit., p. 692), who says that about the same time other
editions were published at Rome, Antwerp, Rouen, Paris, Douai, Cologne, Amsterdam, Bologna,
etc. The editors of the Leonine edition deem worthy of mention those published
at Paris in
1617, 1638, and 1648, at Lyons in
1663, 1677, and 1686, and a Roman edition
of 1773 (IV, pp. xi, xii). Of all old editions they consider the most accurate
two published at Padua,
one in 1698, the other in 1712, and the Venice edition
of 1755. Of recent editions the best are the following: the Leonine; the Migne editions
(Paris, 1841, 1877); the first volume of the 1841 edition containing the
"Libri quatuor sententiarum" of Peter
Lombard; the very practical Faucher edition (5 vols. small quarto, Paris,
1887), dedicated to Cardinal Pecci, enriched with valuable notes; a Roman edition
of 1894. The "Summa" has
been translated into many modern languages as well.
Writings (method and
style)
It is not possible to
characterize the method of St. Thomas by one word, unless it can be
called eclectic.
It is Aristotelean, Platonic,
and Socratic;
it is inductive and deductive;
it is analytic and
synthetic. He chose the best that could he find in those who preceded him,
carefully sifting the chaff from the wheat, approving what was true,
rejecting the false.
His powers of synthesis were extraordinary. No writer surpassed him in the
faculty of expressing in a few well-chosen words the truth gathered
from a multitude of varying and conflicting opinions; and in almost every
instance the student sees the truth and
is perfectly satisfied with St. Thomas's summary and statement. Not that he would
have students swear by the words of a master. In philosophy,
he says, arguments from authority are of secondary importance; philosophy does
not consist in knowing what men have
said, but in knowing the truth (In
I lib. de Coelo, lect. xxii; II Sent., D. xiv, a. 2, ad 1um). He assigns its
proper place to reason used
in theology (see
below: Influence of St. Thomas), but he keeps it within its own sphere.
Against the Traditionalists the Holy
See has declared that the method used by St. Thomas and St.
Bonaventure does not lead to Rationalism (Denzinger-Bannwart,
n. 1652). Not so bold or original in investigating nature as were Albertus
Magnus and Roger
Bacon, he was, nevertheless, abreast of his time in science,
and many of his opinions are of scientific value
in the twentieth century. Take, for instance, the following: "In the same
plant there is the two-fold virtue, active and passive, though sometimes the
active is found in one and the passive in another, so that one plant is said to
be masculine and the other feminine" (3 Sent., D. III, Q. ii, a 1).
The style of St. Thomas is a medium between the rough expressiveness of
some Scholastics and
the fastidious elegance of John
of Salisbury; it is remarkable for accuracy, brevity, and
completeness. Pope
Innocent VI (quoted in the Encyclical, "Aeterni
Patris", of Leo
XIII) declared that, with the exception of the canonical
writings, the works of St. Thomas surpass all others in "accuracy of
expression and truth of
statement" (habet proprietatem verborum, modum dicendorum, veritatem
sententiarum). Great orators, such as Bossuet, Lacordaire, Monsabré,
have studied his style, and have been influenced by it, but they could not
reproduce it. The same is true of theological writers. Cajetan knew St.
Thomas's style better than any of his disciples,
but Cajetan is
beneath his great master in clearness and accuracy of expression, in soberness
and solidity of judgment. St. Thomas did not attain to this perfection without
an effort. He was a singularly blessed genius,
but he was also an indefatigable worker, and by continued application he
reached that stage of perfection in the art of writing where the art
disappears. "The author's manuscript of
the Summa Contra Gentiles is still in great part extant. It is now in
the Vatican Library.
The manuscript consists
of strips of parchment, of various shades of colour, contained in an old
parchment cover to which they were originally stitched. The writing is in
double column, and difficult to decipher, abounding in abbreviations,
often passing into a kind of shorthand. Throughout many passages a line is
drawn in sign of erasure" (Rickaby, Op. cit., preface: see Ucelli
ed., "Sum. cont. gent.", Rome, 1878).
Influences exerted on St.
Thomas
How was this great genius
formed? The causes that exerted an influence on St. Thomas were of
two kinds, natural and supernatural.
Natural causes
(1) As a foundation, he
"was a witty child, and had received a good soul"
(Wisdom
8:19). From the beginning he manifested precocious and extraordinary talent
and thoughtfulness beyond his years.
(2) His education was
such that great things might have been expected of him. His training at Monte
Cassino, at Naples, Paris,
and Cologne was
the best that the thirteenth century could give, and that century was the
golden age of education.
That it afforded excellent opportunities for forming great philosophers and theologians is
evident from the character of St. Thomas's contemporaries. Alexander
of Hales, Albertus
Magnus, St.
Bonaventure, St.
Raymond of Pennafort, Roger
Bacon, Hugo
a S. Charo, Vincent
of Beauvais, not to mention scores of others, prove beyond
all doubt that
those were days of really great scholars. (See Walsh, "The
Thirteenth, Greatest of Centuries", New York, 1907.) The men who trained
St. Thomas were his teachers at Monte
Cassino and Naples,
but above all Albertus
Magnus, under whom he studied at Paris and Cologne.
(3) The books that exercised the greatest influence on his mind were
the Bible,
the Decrees of
the councils and
of the popes,
the works of the Fathers,
Greek and Latin,
especially of St.
Augustine, the "Sentences" of Peter
Lombard, the writings of the philosophers,
especially of Plato, Aristotle,
and Boethius.
If from these authors any were to be selected for special mention, undoubtedly
they would be Aristotle, St.
Augustine, and Peter
Lombard. In another sense the writings of St. Thomas were influenced
by Averroes,
the chief opponent whom he had to combat in order to defend and make known the true Aristotle.
(4) It must be borne in mind that St. Thomas was blessed with
a retentive memory and
great powers of penetration. Father Daniel d'Agusta once pressed him to say
what he considered the greatest grace he
had ever received, sanctifying
grace of course excepted. "I think that of having understood
whatever I have read", was the reply. St.
Antoninus declared that "he remembered everything
be had read, so that his mind was
like a huge library"
(cf. Drane,
op. cit., p. 427; Vaughan, op. cit., II, p. 567). The bare enumeration of the
texts of Scripture cited
in the "Summa
theologica" fills eighty small-print columns in the Migne edition,
and by many it is not unreasonably supposed that he learned the Sacred
Books by heart while he was imprisoned in
the Castle of San Giovanni. Like St.
Dominic he had a special love for
the Epistles of St.
Paul, on which he wrote commentaries (recent
edition in 2 vols., Turin, 1891).
(5) Deep reverence for the Faith,
as made known by tradition,
characterizes all his writings. The consuetudo ecclesiae — the
practice of the Church —
should prevail over the authority of any doctor (Summa
II-II:10:12). In the "Summa" he
quotes from 19 councils,
41 popes,
and 52 Fathers
of the Church. A slight acquaintance with his writings will show that among
the Fathers his
favourite was St.
Augustine (on the Greek Fathers see
Vaughan, op. cit., II, cc. iii sqq.).
(6) With St.
Augustine (On
Christian Doctrine II.40), St. Thomas held that whatever there was
of truth in
the writings of pagan philosophers should
be taken from them, as from "unjust possessors", and adapted to the
teaching of the true
religion (Summa
I:84:5). In the "Summa" alone
he quotes from the writings of 46 philosophers and
poets, his favourite authors being Aristotle, Plato,
and, among Christian writers, Boethius.
From Aristotle he
learned that love of order and accuracy of expression which are characteristic
of his own works. From Boethius he
learned that Aristotle's works
could be used without detriment to Christianity.
He did not follow Boethius in
his vain attempt to reconcile Plato and Aristotle.
In general the Stagirite was
his master, but the elevation and grandeur of St. Thomas's conceptions and the
majestic dignity of his methods of treatment speak strongly of the
sublime Plato.
Supernatural causes
Even if we do not accept
as literally true the
declaration of John
XXII, that St. Thomas wrought as many miracles as
there are articles in the "Summa",
we must, nevertheless, go beyond causes merely natural in attempting
to explain his extraordinary career and wonderful writings.
(1) Purity of mind and
body contributes in no small degree to clearness of vision (see St.
Thomas, "Commentaries on I Cor., c. vii", Lesson v). By the gift
of purity, miraculously granted
at the time of the mystic girdling, God made
Thomas's life angelic;
the perspicacity and depth of his intellect, Divine
grace aiding, made him the "Angelic
Doctor".
(2) The spirit of prayer,
his great piety and devotion, drew down blessings on
his studies. Explaining why he read, every day, portions of the
"Conferences" of Cassian,
he said: "In such reading I find devotion, whence I readily ascend
to contemplation"
(Prümmer, op. cit., p. 32). In the lessons of the Breviary read
on his feast
day it is explicitly stated that he never began to study without first
invoking the assistance of God in prayer;
and when he wrestled with obscure passages of the Scriptures,
to prayer he
added fasting.
(3) Facts narrated by persons who
either knew St.
Thomas in life or wrote at about the time of
his canonization prove that
he received assistance from heaven.
To Father
Reginald he declared that he had learned more in prayer and contemplation than
he had acquired from men or
books (Prümmer, op. cit., p. 36). These same authors tell of mysterious
visitors who came to encourage and enlighten him. The Blessed
Virgin appeared,
to assure him that his life and his writings were acceptable to God,
and that he would persevere in his holy
vocation. Sts. Peter and Paul came
to aid him in interpreting an obscure passage in Isaias.
When humility caused him
to consider himself unworthy of the doctorate, a venerable religious of
his order (supposed
to be St.
Dominic) appeared to encourage him and suggested the text for his opening
discourse (Prümmer, op. cit., 29, 37; Tocco in "Acta SS.", VII Mar.;
Vaughan, op. cit., II, 91). His ecstasies have
been mentioned. His abstractions in presence of King
Louis IX (St. Louis) and of distinguished visitors are related by all
biographers. Hence, even if allowance be made for great enthusiasm on the part
of his admirers, we must conclude that his extraordinary learning cannot be
attributed to merely natural causes. Of him it may truly be said that he
laboured as if all depended on his own efforts and prayed as
if all depended on God.
Influence of St. Thomas
(on sanctity)
The great Scholastics were holy as
well as learned men. Alexander
of Hales, St.
Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas, and St.
Bonaventure prove that
learning does not necessarily dry up devotion. The angelic Thomas and the
seraphic Bonaventure represent
the highest types of Christian scholarship,
combining eminent learning with heroic
sanctity. Cardinal
Bessarion called St. Thomas "the most saintly of
learned men and the most learned of saints".
His works breathe the spirit of God,
a tender and enlightened piety, built on a solid foundation, viz. the knowledge of God,
of Christ,
of man.
The "Summa
theologica" may be made a manual of piety as well as a text-book
for the study of theology (Cf. Drane,
op. cit., p. 446). St.
Francis de Sales, St.
Philip Neri, St.
Charles Borromeo, St.
Vincent Ferrer, St.
Pius V, St.
Antoninus constantly studied St. Thomas. Nothing could be more
inspiring than his treatises on Christ,
in His sacred Person,
in His life and sufferings.
His treatise on the sacraments,
especially on penance and
the Eucharist,
would melt even hardened hearts. He takes pains to explain the various ceremonies
of the Mass ("De ritu Eucharistiae" in Summa
III:83), and no writer has explained more clearly than St. Thomas the
effects produced in the souls of men by
this heavenly Bread (Summa
III:79). The principles recently urged, in regard to frequent
Communion, by Pius
X ("Sacra Trid. Synodus", 1905) are found in St. Thomas (Summa III:79:8, III:80:10),
although he is not so explicit on this point as he is on the Communion
of children. In the Decree "Quam
Singulari" (1910) the pope cites
St. Thomas, who teaches that, when children begin to have some use of reason,
so that they can conceive some devotion to the Blessed
Sacrament, they may be allowed to communicate (Summa
III:80:9). The spiritual and devotional aspects of St. Thomas's theology have
been pointed out by Father
Contenson, O.P., in his "Theologia mentis et cordis". They are
more fully explained by Father
Vallgornera, O.P., in his "Theologia Mystica D. Thomae", wherein
the author leads the soul to God through
the purgative,
illuminative, and unitive ways. The Encyclical
Letter of Leo
XIII on the Holy
Spirit is drawn largely from St. Thomas, and those who have studied
the "Prima
Secundae" and the "Secunda
Secundae" know how
admirably the saint explains
the gifts and fruits of the Holy
Ghost, as well as the Beatitudes,
and their relations to the different virtues Nearly
all good spiritual
writers seek in St. Thomas definitions of the virtues which
they recommend.
Cuzco School. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Protector of the
University of Cusco, circa 1690, 161 x 117, Lima Art Museum
Influence of St. Thomas
(on intellectual life)
Since the days of Aristotle,
probably no one man has exercised such a powerful influence on the thinking
world as did St. Thomas. His authority was very great during his lifetime.
The popes,
the universities,
the studia of his order were
anxious to profit by his learning and prudence.
Several of his important works were written at the request of others, and his
opinion was sought by all classes. On several occasions the doctors of Paris referred
their disputes to him and gratefully abided by his decision (Vaughan, op. cit.,
II, 1 p. 544). His principles, made known by
his writings, have continued to influence men even
to this day. This subject cannot be considered in all its aspects, nor is
that necessary.
His influence on matters purely philosophical is
fully explained in histories of philosophy.
(Theologians who
followed St. Thomas will be mentioned in THOMISM.
See also ORDER
OF PREACHERS) His paramount importance and influence may be explained by
considering him as the Christian Aristotle,
combining in his person the best that the world has known in philosophy and theology.
It is in this light that he is proposed as a model by Leo
XIII in the famous Encyclical "Aeterni
Patris". The work of his life may be summed up in two propositions: he
established the true relations
between faith and reason;
he systematized theology.
(1) Faith and Reason
The principles of St. Thomas on the relations between faith and reason were
solemnly proclaimed in the Vatican
Council. The second, third, and fourth chapters of
the Constitution "Dei Filius" read like pages taken from
the works of the Angelic
Doctor. First, reason alone
is not sufficient to guide men:
they need Revelation;
we must carefully distinguish the truths known by reason from
higher truths (mysteries) known by Revelation.
Secondly, reason and Revelation,
though distinct, are not opposed to each other. Thirdly, faith preserves reason from error; reason should
do service in the cause of faith.
Fourthly, this service is rendered in three ways:
reason should
prepare the minds of men to
receive the Faith by proving the truths which faith presupposes
(praeambula fidei);
reason should
explain and develop the truths of Faith and
should propose them in scientific form;
reason should
defend the truths revealed by Almighty
God.
This is a development
of St.
Augustine's famous saying (On
the Holy Trinity XIV.1), that the right use of reason is
"that by which the most wholesome faith is
begotten . . . is nourished, defended, and made strong." These principles
are proposed by St. Thomas in many places, especially in the following:
"In Boethium, da Trin. Proem.", Q. ii, a. 1; "Sum. cont.
gent.", I, cc. iii-ix; Summa
I:1:1, I:1:5, I:1:8, I:32:1, I:84:5.
St. Thomas's services to the Faith are
thus summed up by Leo
XIII in the Encyclical "Aeterni
Patris": "He won this title of distinction for himself: that
singlehanded he victoriously combated the errors of
former times, and supplied invincible arms to put to rout those which might in
after times spring up. Again, clearly distinguishing, as is fitting, reason and faith,
he both preserved and had regard for the rights of
each; so much so, indeed, that reason,
borne on the wings of Thomas, can scarcely rise higher, while faith could
scarcely expect more or stronger aids from reason than
those which she has already obtained through Thomas."
St. Thomas did not combat imaginary foes; he attacked living adversaries. The
works of Aristotle had
been introduced into France in
faulty translations and with the misleading commentaries of Jewish and Moorish philosophers.
This gave rise to a flood of errors which
so alarmed the authorities that the reading of Aristotle's Physics and Metaphysics was
forbidden by Robert
de Courçon in 1210, the decree being
moderated by Gregory
IX in 1231. There crept into the University
of Paris an insidious spirit of irreverence and Rationalism,
represented especially by Abelard and Raymond
Lullus, which claimed that reason could know and prove all
things, even the mysteries of Faith.
Under the authority of Averroes dangerous
doctrines were propagated, especially two very pernicious errors:
first, that philosophy and religion being
in different regions, what is true in religion might
be false in philosophy;
secondly, that all men have
but one soul. Averroes was
commonly styled "The Commentator", but St. Thomas says he was
"not so much a Peripatetic as a corruptor
of Peripatetic philosophy"
(Opusc. de unit. intell.). Applying a principle of St.
Augustine (see I:84:5),
following in the footsteps of Alexander
of Hales and Albertus
Magnus, St. Thomas resolved to take what was true from
the "unjust possessors", in order to press it into the service
of revealed religion.
Objections to Aristotle would
cease if the true Aristotle were
made known;
hence his first care was to obtain a new translation of the works of the
great philosopher. Aristotle was
to be purified; false commentators
were to be refuted; the most influential of these was Averroes,
hence St. Thomas is continually rejecting his false interpretations.
(2) Theology Systematized
The next step was to press reason into
the service of the Faith,
by putting Christian
doctrine into scientific form. Scholasticism does
not consist, as some persons imagine,
in useless discussions and subtleties, but in this, that it expresses sound doctrine in
language which is accurate, clear, and concise. In the Encyclical "Aeterni
Patris" Leo
XIII, citing the words of Sixtus
V (Bull "Triumphantis",
1588), declares that to the right use of philosophy we
are indebted for "those noble endowments which make Scholastic
theology so formidable to the enemies of truth",
because "that ready coherence of cause and
effect, that order and array of a disciplined army in battle, those clear
definitions and distinctions, that strength of argument and those keen
discussions by which light is distinguished from darkness, the true from
the false,
expose and lay bare, as it were, the falsehoods of heretics wrapped
around by a cloud of subterfuges and fallacies". When the great Scholastics had
written, there was light where there had been darkness, there was order where confusion
had prevailed. The work of St.
Anselm and of Peter
Lombard was perfected by the Scholastic theologians.
Since their days no substantial improvements have been made in the plan and
system of theology,
although the field of apologetics has
been widened, and positive
theology has become more important.
Influence of St. Thomas
(his doctrine followed)
Within a short time after
his death the writings of St. Thomas were universally esteemed. The Dominicans naturally
took the lead in following St. Thomas. The general
chapter held in Paris in
1279 pronounced severe penalties against all who dared to speak irreverently of
him or of his writings. The chapters held
in Paris in
1286, at Bordeaux in
1287, and at Lucca in
1288 expressly required the brethren to follow the doctrine of
Thomas, who at that time had
not been canonized (Const.
Ord. Praed., n. 1130). The University
of Paris, on the occasion of Thomas's death, sent an official letter of
condolence to the general
chapter of the Dominicans,
declaring that, equally with his brethren, the university experienced
sorrow at the loss of one who was their own by many titles (see text of
letter in Vaughan, op. cit., II, p. 82). In the Encyclical "Aeterni
Patris" Leo
XIII mentions the Universities of Paris, Salamanca, Alcalá, Douai, Toulouse, Louvain, Padua, Bologna, Naples, Coimbra as
"the homes of human wisdom where Thomas reigned supreme, and the minds of
all, of teachers as well as of taught, rested in wonderful harmony under the
shield and authority of the Angelic
Doctor". To the list may be added Lima and Manila, Fribourg and Washington.
Seminaries and colleges followed
the lead of the universities.
The "Summa" gradually
supplanted the "Sentences" as the textbook of theology. Minds were
formed in accordance with the principles of St. Thomas; he became the great
master, exercising a world-wide influence on the opinions of men and
on their writings; for even those who did not adopt all of his conclusions
were obliged to
give due consideration to his opinions. It has been estimated that 6000
commentaries on St. Thomas's works have been written. Manuals of theology and
of philosophy,
composed with the intention of
imparting his teaching, translations, and studies, or digests (études), of
portions of his works have been published in profusion during the last six
hundred years and today his name is in honour all
over the world (see THOMISM).
In every one of the general
councils held since his death St. Thomas has been singularly honoured.
At the Council
of Lyons his book "Contra errores Graecorum" was used with
telling effect against the Greeks.
In later disputes, before and during the Council
of Florence, John of Montenegro, the champion of Latin orthodoxy,
found St. Thomas's works a source of irrefragable arguments. The "Decretum
pro Armenis" (Instruction for the Armenians), issued by the authority of
that council,
is taken almost verbatim from his treatise, "De fidei articulis et septem
sacramentis" (see Denzinger-Bannwart,
n. 695). "In the Councils of Lyons, Vienne, Florence,
and the Vatican",
writes Leo
XIII (Encyclical "Aeterni
Patris"), "one might almost say that Thomas took part in and
presided over the deliberations and decrees of
the Fathers contending against the errors of
the Greeks,
of heretics,
and Rationalists,
with invincible force and with the happiest results."
But the chief and special glory of
Thomas, one which he has shared with none of the Catholic
doctors, is that the Fathers of Trent made
it part of the order of the conclave to
lay upon the altar,
together with the code of Sacred
Scripture and the decrees of
the Supreme
Pontiffs, the Summa of
Thomas Aquinas, whence to seek counsel, reason,
and inspiration. Greater influence than this no man could
have.
Before this section is closed mention should be made of two books widely known
and highly esteemed, which were inspired by and drawn from the writings of St.
Thomas. The Catechism
of the Council of Trent, composed by disciples of
the Angelic
Doctor, is in reality a compendium of his theology,
in convenient form for the use of parish priests. Dante's "Divina
Commedia" has been called "the Summa of
St. Thomas in verse", and commentators trace the
great Florentine poet's divisions and descriptions of the virtues and
vices to the "Secunda
Secundae".
Influence of St. Thomas
(appreciation)
(1) In the Church
The esteem in which he was held during his life has not been diminished, but
rather increased, in the course of the six centuries that have elapsed since
his death. The position which he occupies in the Church is
well explained by that great scholar Leo
XIII, in the Encyclical "Aeterni
Patris", recommending the study of Scholastic
philosophy: "It is known that
nearly all the founders and framers of laws of religious orders
commanded their societies to
study and religiously adhere to the teachings of St. Thomas. . . To say nothing
of the family
of St. Dominic, which rightly claims this great teacher for its own glory,
the statutes of
the Benedictines,
the Carmelites,
the Augustinians,
the Society
of Jesus, and many others, all testify that they are bound by this law."
Amongst the "many others" the Servites,
the Passionists,
the Barnabites,
and the Sulpicians have
been devoted in an especial manner to the study of St. Thomas. The principal
ancient universities where
St. Thomas ruled as the great master have been enumerated above. The Paris doctors called
him the morning star, the luminous sun, the light of the whole Church.
Stephen, Bishop of Paris,
repressing those who dared to attack the doctrine of
"that most excellent Doctor,
the blessed Thomas", calls him "the great luminary of the Catholic Church,
the precious stone of the priesthood,
the flower of doctors,
and the bright mirror of the University
of Paris" (Drane,
op. cit., p. 431). In the old Louvain
University the doctors were
required to uncover and bow their heads when they pronounced the name of Thomas
(Goudin, op. cit., p. 21).
"The ecumenical
councils, where blossoms the flower of all earthly wisdom, have always been
careful to hold Thomas Aquinas in singular honour"
(Leo
XIII in "Aeterni
Patris"). This subject has been sufficiently treated above. The
"Bullarium Ordinis Praedicatorum", published in 1729-39, gives
thirty-eight Bulls in
which eighteen sovereign
pontiffs praised and recommended the doctrine of
St. Thomas (see also Vaughan, op. cit., II, c. ii; Berthier, op. cit., pp.
7 sqq.). These approbations are recalled and renewed by Leo
XIII, who lays special stress on "the crowning testimony of Innocent
VI: 'His teaching above that of others, the canons alone
excepted, enjoys such an elegance of phraseology, a method of statement,
a truth of
proposition, that those who hold it are never found swerving from the path
of truth,
and he who dare assail it will always be suspected of error (ibid.).'" Leo
XIII surpassed his predecessors in admiration of St. Thomas, in whose
works he declared a remedy can be found for many evils that
afflict society (see Berthier,
op. cit., introd.). The notable Encyclical
Letters with which the name of that illustrious pontiff will
always be associated show how he had studied the works of the Angelic
Doctor. This is very noticeable in the letters on Christian
marriage, the Christian constitution
of states, the condition
of the working classes, and the study of Holy
Scripture. Pope
Pius X, in several letters,
e.g. in the "Pascendi Dominici Gregis" (September, 1907), has
insisted on the observance of the recommendations of Leo
XIII concerning the study of St. Thomas. An attempt to give names
of Catholic writers
who have expressed their appreciation of St. Thomas and of his influence would
be an impossible undertaking; for the list would include nearly all who have
written on philosophy or theology since
the thirteenth century, as well as hundreds of writers on other subjects.
Commendations and eulogies are found in the introductory chapters of all good commentaries.
An incomplete list of authors who have collected these testimonies is given by
Father Berthier (op. cit., p. 22). . . .
(2) Outside the
Church
(a) Anti-Scholastics -- Some persons have
been and are still opposed to everything that comes under the name of Scholasticism,
which they hold to be synonymous with subtleties and useless discussions. From
the prologue to the "Summa" it
is clear that St. Thomas was opposed to all that was superfluous and confusing
in Scholastic
studies. When people understand what true Scholasticism means,
their objections will cease.
(b) Heretics and Schismatics -- "A last triumph was reserved for this
incomparable man — namely, to compel the homage, praise, and admiration of even
the very enemies of the Catholic name"
(Leo XIII, ibid.). St. Thomas's orthodoxy drew
upon him the hatred of
all Greeks who
were opposed to union
with Rome. The united
Greeks, however, admire St. Thomas and study his works (see above Translations
of the "Summa"). The leaders of the sixteenth-century
revolt honoured St.
Thomas by attacking him, Luther being
particularly violent in
his coarse invectives against the great doctor.
Citing Bucer's wild
boast, "Take away Thomas and I will destroy the Church", Leo
XIII (ibid.) remarks, "The hope was vain, but the testimony has
its value".
Calo, Tocco, and other biographers relate that St. Thomas, travelling
from Rome to Naples, converted two
celebrated Jewish rabbis,
whom he met at the country house of Cardinal Richard (Prümmer, op. cit., p. 33;
Vaughan, op. cit., I, p. 795). Rabbi
Paul of Burgos, in the fifteenth century, was converted by
reading the works of St. Thomas. Theobald Thamer, a disciple of Melancthon, abjured his heresy after
he had read the "Summa",
which he intended to refute. The Calvinist Duperron was converted in
the same way, subsequently becoming Archbishop of Sens and
a cardinal (see Conway,
O.P., op. cit., p. 96).
After the bitterness of the first period of Protestantism had
passed away, Protestants saw
the necessity of
retaining many parts of Catholic philosophy and theology,
and those who came to know St.
Thomas were compelled to admire him. Überweg says "He brought the Scholastic
philosophy to its highest stage of development, by effecting the most
perfect accommodation that was possible of the Aristotelian philosophy to ecclesiastical orthodoxy"
(op. cit., p. 440). R. Seeberg in the "New Schaff-Herzog Religious
Encyclopedia" (New York, 1911) devotes ten columns to St. Thomas, and says
that "at all points he succeeded in upholding the church
doctrine as credible and reasonable" (XI, p. 427).
For many years, especially since the days of Pusey and Newman,
St. Thomas has been in high repute at Oxford.
Recently the "Summa contra gentiles" was placed on the list of
subjects which a candidate may offer in the final honour schools of Litterae
Humaniores at that university (cf. Walsh, op. cit., c. xvii).
For several years Father De Groot, O.P., has been the professor of Scholastic
philosophy in the University of Amsterdam,
and courses in Scholastic
philosophy have been established in some of the leading
non-Catholic universities of
the United
States. Anglicans have
a deep admiration for St. Thomas. Alfred Mortimer, in the chapter "The
Study of Theology" of his work entitled "Catholic Faith and
Practice" (2 vols., New York, 1909), regretting that "the English priest has
ordinarily no scientific acquaintance
with the Queen of Sciences", and proposing a remedy, says, "The
simplest and most perfect sketch of universal theology is
to be found in the Summa
of St. Thomas" (vol. II, pp. 454, 465).
St. Thomas and modern
thought
In the Syllabus of
1864 Pius
IX condemned a proposition in which it was stated that the method and
principles of the ancient Scholastic doctors were
not suited to the needs of our times and the progress of science (Denzinger-Bannwart,
n. 1713).
In the Encyclical "Aeterni
Patris" Leo
XIII points out the benefits to be derived from "a practical
reform of philosophy by
restoring the renowned teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas". He exhorts
the bishops to
"restore the golden wisdom of Thomas and to spread it far and wide for the
defence and beauty of the Catholic Faith,
for the good of society,
and for the advantage of all the sciences".
In the pages of the Encyclical immediately
preceding these words he explains why the teaching of St. Thomas would produce
such most desirable results: St. Thomas is the great master to explain and
defend the Faith,
for his is "the solid doctrine of
the Fathers and
the Scholastics,
who so clearly and forcibly demonstrate the firm foundations of the Faith,
its Divine origin, its certain truth,
the arguments that sustain it, the benefits it has conferred on the human
race, and its perfect accord with reason,
in a manner to satisfy completely minds open
to persuasion, however unwilling and repugnant". The career of St. Thomas
would in itself have justified Leo
XIII in assuring men of
the nineteenth century that the Catholic Church was
not opposed to the right use of reason.
The sociological aspects
of St. Thomas are also pointed out: "The teachings of Thomas on the true meaning
of liberty, which at this time is
running into license, on the Divine origin of all authority, on laws and
their force, on the paternal and just rule of princes, on obedience to
the highest powers, on mutual charity one
towards another — on all of these and kindred subjects, have very great and
invincible force to overturn those principles of the new order which are well
known to be dangerous to the peaceful order of things and to public
safety" (ibid.).
The evils affecting
modern society had
been pointed out by the pope in
the Letter "Inscrutabili"
of 21 April, 1878, and in the one on Socialism, Communism,
and Nihilism ("The
Great Encyclicals of Leo XIII", pp. 9 sqq.; 22 sqq.). How the principles
of the Angelic
Doctor will furnish a remedy for these evils is
explained here in a general way, more particularly in the Letters on
the Christian constitution
of states, human liberty, the chief duties of Christians as
citizens, and on the conditions
of the working classes (ibid., pp. 107, 135, 180, 208).
It is in relation to the sciences that
some persons doubt the
reliability of St. Thomas's writings; and the doubters are thinking of the
physical and experimental sciences,
for in metaphysics the Scholastics are
admitted to be masters. Leo
XIII calls attention to the following truths:
(a) The Scholastics were
not opposed to investigation. Holding as a principle in anthropology "that
the human intelligence is
only led to the knowledge of
things without body and matter by
things sensible, they well understood that nothing was of greater use to
the philosopher than
diligently to search into the mysteries of nature,
and to be earnest and constant in the study of physical things" (ibid., p.
55). This principle was reduced to practice: St. Thomas, St.
Albertus Magnus, Roger
Bacon, and others "gave large attention to the knowledge of
natural things" (ibid., p. 56). (b) Investigation alone is not sufficient
for true science.
"When facts have been established, it is necessary to
rise and apply ourselves to the study of the nature of
corporeal things, to inquire into the laws which
govern them and the principles whence their order and varied unity and mutual
attraction in diversity arise" (p. 55).
Will the scientists of
today pretend to be better reasoners than
St. Thomas, or more powerful in synthesis? It is the method and the principles
of St. Thomas that Leo
XIII recommends: "If anything is taken up with too great subtlety
by the Scholastic doctors,
or too carelessly stated; if there be anything that ill agrees with the discoveries
of a later age or, in a word, is improbable in any way, it does not enter into
our mind to
propose that for imitation to our age" (p. 56). Just as St. Thomas, in his
day, saw a movement towards Aristotle and philosophical studies
which could not be checked, but could be guided in the right direction and made
to serve the cause of truth,
so also, Leo
XIII, seeing in the world of his time a spirit of study and investigation
which might be productive of evil or
of good,
had no desire to check it, but resolved to propose a moderator and master who
could guide it in the paths of truth.
No better guide could have been chosen than the clear-minded, analytic,
synthetic, and sympathetic Thomas Aquinas. His extraordinary patience and
fairness in dealing with erring philosophers,
his approbation of all that was true in
their writings, his gentleness in condemning what was false,
his clear-sightedness in pointing out the direction to true knowledge in
all its branches, his aptness and accuracy in expressing the truth —
these qualities mark him as a great master not only for the thirteenth century,
but for all times. If any persons are
inclined to consider him too subtle, it is because they do not know how
clear, concise, and simple are his definitions and divisions. His two summae are
masterpieces of pedagogy, and mark him as the greatest of human teachers.
Moreover, he dealt with errors similar
to many which go under the name of philosophy or science in
our days. The Rationalism of Abelard and
others called forth St. Thomas's luminous and everlasting principles on
the true relations
of faith and reason. Ontologism was
solidly refuted by St. Thomas nearly six centuries before the days of Malebranche, Gioberti,
and Ubaghs (see Summa
I:84:5). The true doctrine on
first principles and on universals,
given by him and by the other great Scholastics,
is the best refutation of Kant's criticism
of metaphysical ideas (see,
e.g., "Post. Analyt.", I, lect. xix; "De ente et essentia",
c. iv; Summa
I:17:3 corp. and ad 2um; I:79:3; I:84:5; I:84:6
corp and ad 1um; I:85:2
ad 2um; I:85:3
ad 1um, ad 4um; Cf. index to "Summa": "Veritas",
"Principium", "Universale"). Modern psychological
Pantheism does not differ substantially from the theory of one soul for
all men asserted
by Averroes (see
"De unit. intell." and Summa
I:76:2; I:79:5).
The Modernistic
error, which distinguishes the Christ of faith from
the Christ of
history, had as its forerunner the Averroistic principle
that a thing might be true in philosophy and false in religion.
In the Encyclical "Providentissimus
Deus" (18 November, 1893) Leo
XIII draws from St. Thomas's writings the principles and wise rules
which should govern scientific criticism
of the Sacred
Books. From the same source recent writers have drawn principles which are
most helpful in the solution of questions pertaining to Spiritism and Hypnotism.
Are we to conclude, then, that St. Thomas's works, as he left them, furnish
sufficient instruction for scientists, philosophers,
and theologians of
our times? By no means. Vetera novis augere et perficere — "To
strengthen and complete the old by aid of the new" — is the motto of the
restoration proposed by Leo
XIII. Were St. Thomas living today he would gladly adopt and use all the
facts made known by
recent scientific and
historical investigations, but he would carefully weigh all evidence offered in
favour of the facts. Positive theology is
more necessary in
our days than it was in the thirteenth century. Leo
XIII calls attention to its necessity in
his Encyclical,
and his admonition is renewed by Pius
X in his Letter on Modernism.
But both pontiffs declare
that positive
theology must not be extolled to the detriment of Scholastic
theology. In the Encyclical "Pascendi",
prescribing remedies against Modernism, Pius
X, following in this his illustrious predecessor, gives the first place to
"Scholastic
philosophy, especially as it was taught by Thomas
Aquinas"; St. Thomas is still "The Angel of the
Schools".
Kennedy, Daniel. "St. Thomas Aquinas." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1912.28 Jan. 2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14663b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Kevin Cawley.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14663b.htm
Adriaen Collaert (1560–1618).
Verheerlijking van de Heilige Thomas van Aquino. Thomas van Aquino, in het
dominicaner habijt, staat op een fontein. Hij heeft vleugels, houdt een boek en
schrijfveer in de hand en een duif blaast hem Gods woord in. Rondom hem doen
monniken en kardinalen zich te goed aan het water van de fontein, symbolisch
voor de inspirerende woorden in Aquino's geschriften. Engelen in de lucht
dragen een banderol met een Latijns opschrift en twee wapenschilden. De prent
heeft een Latijns onderschrift.
Thomas Aquinas, OP,
Priest, Doctor
Born at Rocca Secca near
Aquino in Naples, Italy, c. 1225; died at Fossanuova (near Rome), 1274;
canonized 1323; declared Doctor of the Church in 1567; Pope Leo XIII named him
patron of Catholic universities and centers of study in 1880; feast day
formerly March 7.
"Word made flesh,
true bread Christ makes
By his word his flesh to
be,
Wine his Blood; which
whoso takes
Must from carnal thought
be free
Faith alone, though sight
forsakes,
Shows true hearts the
mystery."
--Saint Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas was born in
the family castle of Rocca Secca, the son of Count Landulf of Aquino (a
relative of the emperors Henry VI and Frederick II and kings of France,
Castile, and Aragon) and Theodora, Countess of Teano. It is said that when he
was a baby, a thunderbolt struck the castle and killed his nurse and little
sister. Thereafter, Thomas had a fear of lightning and would pray with his head
against the Tabernacle during a storm.
At age 5, he was sent as
an oblate to the Monte Cassino Monastery and was educated there until age 13.
Around 1239, he attended the University of Naples, and he became a Dominican in
1244 (age 19). His superiors sent him to Rome en route to Cologne and Paris.
His family was so upset
that he joined a mendicant order that they had him kidnapped by his brothers
before he reached Paris and returned to the castle, where they held him for 15
months in the hopes of changing his mind. His mother and sisters used caresses
to shake his vocation.
His brothers used vile
attempts to destroy his chastity. Snatching from the hearth a burning brand,
the saint drove the wretched woman from his chamber. Then marking a cross upon
the wall, he knelt down to pray and immediately went into ecstasy. An angel
girded him with a cord in token of the gift of perpetual chastity that God had
given him. (The cord is still preserved at the convent of Chieri in the
Piedmont.) The girdle caused pain so sharp that he cried out, bringing his
guards into the room. But he confessed this grace shortly before his death and
only to his spiritual director Father Raynald.
Patiently, Thomas
conquered all the temptations used to turn him away from his vocation. Instead
of bemoaning his situation, he used his two-year confinement to memorize the
Bible and study religion. When his family realized they would not change his
mind, his brothers relaxed their guard and Thomas, with the help of his
sisters, escaped from the tower and rejoined the Dominicans in 1245.
Finally he reached
Cologne and was put in the charge of Saint Albert the Great, a man of
encyclopedic knowledge. From 1245 to 1248 he continued his studies in Paris
under Albert. Thomas's nonparticipation at disputations and his large figure
led him to be called "the dumb Sicilian ox." Nevertheless, Albert
predicted that Thomas's voice would one day fill the world.
One of the young men took
pity on Thomas and offered to tutor him. The saint accepted with humility and
thanks. But one day the teacher made a mistake. For the sake of the truth,
Thomas corrected him and explained the lesson very clearly. The teacher was
astonished. He then begged Thomas to be the teacher. Thomas agree but only if
it could remain a secret arrangement.
A contemporary described
Thomas as "tall, erect, large and well- built, with a complexion like ripe
wheat and whose head early grew bald."
From Cologne, Saint
Albert and Saint Thomas walked more than 250 miles to the University of Paris.
Here Thomas met and became friends with a young Franciscan monk named
Bonaventure, later known as the 'Seraphic Doctor.'
Thomas went with Albert
to a new Dominican studium generale in Cologne in 1248 and was ordained about
1250. He said Mass with such great devotion that he often shed tears. Those who
assisted at his Masses always felt themselves moved to greater love for God.
After his own Mass, he often served another in thanksgiving.
Armed with several
university degrees, including a doctorate in theology from the renowned University
of Paris, Thomas moved easily from one environment to another. In 1252 he
returned to Paris to undertake his first teaching appointment at the Dominican
monastery of Saint-Jacques. Here he wrote a spirited defense of the mendicant
orders against William of St-Amour, a commentary on the Sentences of Peter
Lombard, De ente et essentia, works on Isaiah and Matthew. He was master of
theology in Paris in 1256. He then taught in Anagni, Ovieto (1261-64), Rome
(1265-67), Viterbo (1268), Paris again (1269-71) and Naples (1272-74).
During this period
(1259-64), he completed his Summa contra Gentiles, a theological statement on
the Christian faith argued partly by the use of pure reason without faith
against Islam, Judaism, heretics and pagans. This was not designed for use by
missionaries but rather to counteract the influence of Aristotelian thinkers in
the universities by answering them from Aristotle's viewpoint. Around 1266, he
began his five-volume Summa theologica, which is a comprehensive statement of
his mature thought on all the Christian mysteries. It poses questions, then
systematically answers them. Unfortunately, Thomas never finished the work.
In 1263, Thomas was
present at a general chapter of the Dominicans in London. It seems almost
impossible to believe he could have produced his enormous literary output while
travelling as extensively as he did, especially considering the number of
authorities he must have studied in order to cite them and the depth of his
prayer life as reflected in them. Yet, he was capable of intense concentration
and was known to dictate to four secretaries at one time. He frequently used
abbreviations in his writings because the friars did not have sufficient
supplies of parchment.
Always, he was a humble
and prayerful man. In fact, it is said of Thomas that 'his wonderful learning
owes far less to his genius than to the effectiveness of his prayer.' He was
made a preacher general and was called upon to teach scholars attached to the
papal court. During Holy Week 1267, Thomas preached in Saint Peter's Basilica
in Rome. He moved the people to tears with his sermon on the Passion of our
Lord. On the following Easter Sunday he spoke about the Resurrection, and the
congregation was filled with the greatest joy. As he was coming down from the
pulpit that day, a poor woman who touched the hem of his garment was instantly
cured of a disease that had troubled her for years.
Thomas wrote much about
our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. One day Jesus appeared to him and said,
"Thomas, you have written well concerning the Sacrament of My Body."
Another time the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and told him how pleasing his
writings were to her divine Son. At the request of Saint Thomas, the pope
extended the feast of Corpus Christi to the entire Church. The two hymns sung
during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, O Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo,
are taken from the office of the feast written by Thomas Aquinas. The saint
also wrote beautiful prayers to be said before and after Holy Communion.
Émail
de Limoges représentant Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, vers 1600, Musée Paul-Dupuy,
Toulouse
Prayer before Communion:
Almighty and ever-living
God,
I approach the sacrament
of your only-begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
I come sick to the doctor
of life,
unclean to the fountain
of mercy,
blind to the radiance of
eternal light,
and poor and needy to the
Lord of heaven and earth.
Lord, in your great
generosity,
heal my sickness,
wash away my defilement,
enlighten my blindness,
enrich my poverty,
and clothe my nakedness.
May I receive the bread
of angels,
the King of kings and
Lord of lords,
with humble reverence,
with the purity and
faith,
the repentance and love,
and the determined
purpose
that will help to bring
me to salvation.
May I receive the sacrament
of the
Lord's body and blood
and its reality and
power.
Kind God, may I receive
the body
of your only-begotten
Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and
so be received into his
mystical body,
and numbered among his
members.
Loving Father,
as on my earthly
pilgrimage
I now receive your beloved
Son
under the veil of a
sacrament,
may I one day see him
face to face in glory,
who lives and reigns with you for ever.
Amen.
(These prayers are taken
from the English translation of the Liturgy of the Hours, copyright 1974,
prepared by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, Inc. Used
with permission.)
Prayer after Mass:
Lord,
Father all-powerful,
and ever-living God,
I thank you,
for even though I am a
sinner,
your unprofitable
servant,
not because of my worth,
but in the kindness of
your mercy,
you have fed me with the
precious body
and blood of your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that this holy
communion
may not bring me
condemnation and
punishment
but forgiveness and
salvation.
May it be a helmet of
faith and
a shield of good will.
May it purify me from
evil ways
and put an end to my evil
passions.
May it bring me charity
and patience,
humility and obedience,
and growth in the power
to do good.
May it be my strong
defense
against all my enemies,
visible and invisible,
and the perfect calming
of all my evil impulses,
bodily and spiritual.
May it unite me more
closely to you,
the one true God,
and lead me safely
through death
to everlasting happiness
with you.
And I pray that you will
lead me,
a sinner,
to the banquet where you,
with your Son and Holy
Spirit,
are true and perfect
light,
total fulfillment,
everlasting joy,
gladness without end,
and perfect happiness to
your saints.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
In 1269, Thomas was
recalled to Paris for three years. King Saint Louis IX highly esteemed Thomas
and consulted him; so did the University of Paris. Once, when he was a guest at
the king's table, he was absorbed in thought and quite oblivious of his
surroundings. To the astonishment of everyone present, the now corpulent friar
banged his fist on the table and exclaimed: "That's finished the heresy of
the Manichees." A gentle reproof from his prior was followed by Thomas's
apology and the immediate arrival of a scribe to take down his thoughts.
Thomas's power of concentration was extraordinary: He had the ability to dictate
to four secretaries at once.
Upon his return to Paris,
he became enmeshed in the struggle between the Dominican priests and the
seculars, and opposed the philosophical teachings of Siger of Brabant, John
Peckham, and Bishop Stephen Tempier of Paris. When dissension racked the
university causing a general strike in 1272, Thomas was sent as regent to head
a new Dominican school in Naples.
Saint Thomas experienced
visions, ecstasies, and revelations. He stopped writing the Summa theologiae
because of a revelation he experienced while saying Mass on the feast of Saint
Nicholas 1273. He confronted the consternation of his brethren saying,
"The end of my labors is come. All that I have written appears to be as so
much straw after the things that have been, revealed to me." Nevertheless,
the work became the basis of modern Catholic theology.
He was appointed by the
Pope Gregory X to attend the General Council of Lyons, called to discuss the
reunion of the Greek and Latin churches. Although he was sick, he set off for
Rome in obedience. The illness overtook him on his way. He suffered for about a
month before he died in the Cistercian Abbey of Fossanuova outside Terracina near
Rome.
The day before he died,
he asked to be laid on the floor in ashes. Just before receiving our Lord in
the Blessed Sacrament, he exclaimed: "You, O Christ, are the King of
Glory. You are the everlasting Son of God." On March 7, 1274, he received Extreme
Unction before dying peacefully about age 48.
He is considered to have
been the greatest Christian theologian and his work dominated Catholic teaching
for hundreds of years. The amount of writing he accomplished is staggering. His
writings are characterized by a sharp distinction between faith and reason, but
emphasizing that the great fundamental Christian doctrines, though impossible
to establish by reason, are not contrary to reason and reach us by revelation;
nevertheless, he believed that such truths as the existence of God, His
eternity, His creative power, and His providence can be discovered by natural
reason.
Among Aquinas's works are
Quaestiones disputatae, Quaestiones quodlibetales, De unitate intellectus
contra Averroistas, and commentaries on the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed,
Hail Mary, and various parts of the Bible. He also wrote hymns, many of which
are still used, though the authorship of some attributed to him is now
questioned.
Probably his greatest
contribution to Western civilization was the retranslation and utilization of
the works of Aristotle. Thomas explained Aristotle's works in the light of
Christian revelation. Aquinas used the logic of Aristotle to consider the
mysteries of religion. Thomas Aquinas suffices to upset the myth that religion
fears thought.
Saint Thomas was less
influential on his contemporaries than were Saint Bonaventure and Saint Albert,
but his work has endured the test of time. Leo XIII in 1879 wrote an encyclical
encouraging the revival of Thomistic studies.
Yet for all his
intelligence, Thomas Aquinas was a man of great humility--he thought poorly of
his work. He had come to live in so habitual a communion with God, actually in
the country wherein the most accurate theology is but the map, that he said,
"all I have written now seems to me but of little value." When asked
by the pope to accept the archbishopric of Naples, he respectfully asked to
remain a simple Dominican monk. Thomas was always charitable. Never did he
refuse anyone who came to him for help. He was kind, gentle, and simple in his
ways.
He was called "the
Angelic Doctor" for his superior intellect was combined with the tenderest
piety. Prayer, he said, taught him more than study. After his death, one of his
companions saw a vision of Saint Thomas enjoying in heaven the fruit of the
labors he performed for God. Many miracles were granted through his
intercession. In 1368, his body was translated to Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. In
1974, it was moved to the Jacobin's church in the same city (Attwater,
Benedictines, Bentley, Butler, Delaney, Dorcy, Farmer, Martindale, Melady,
Waltz, Weisheipl, White).
He is depicted in art as
a portly Dominican friar, carrying a book; or with a star on his breast and
rays of light coming from his book; or holding a monstrance with Saint Norbert.
At times he may be shown: (1) with the sun on his breast; (2) enthroned with
pagan and heretic philosophers under his feet; (3) at a teacher's pulpit or
desk, with rays coming from him; (4) with a chalice and host; (5) listening to
a voice speaking to him from the Crucifix; (6) as angels bring him a girdle; or
(7) in a library with Saint Bonaventure who points to the crucifix (Roeder,
White). Click here to see Stefano Di Giovanni Sassetta's The Vision of Saint
Thomas Aquinas.
Saint Thomas is the
patron saint of Roman Catholic schools, colleges, universities, and academies,
scholars and students, apologists, philosophers, theologians, and booksellers
(due to his patronage of education in general), and pencil-makers (Roeder,
White).
He is invoked for
chastity and learning, and against storm and lightning (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0128.shtml
Golden
Legend – Life of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Here followeth the life
of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, of
the order of the friars preachers, was a right sovereign doctor, high and of
noble lineage, which was born in the realm of Sicily, and tofore that he was
born he was shewed by divine purveyance. For in those parts there was a holy
man in work and in renomee which with many other hermits led a right holy life,
and all the people had him in great reverence. This holy man, replenished of
the Holy Ghost, came to the lady and mother of this holy child, not yet born,
and with great joy said to her that she had conceived a son, and she supposed
that she had not conceived. Then the holy man said to her: Lady, be thou glad,
for thou shalt bring forth a child which shall be called Thomas, and shall have
great name and renomee through all the world in science and in holy life, and
he shall be of the order of the friar, preachers. All the which things like as
the holy hermit has said were accomplished in the name of the Saviour of the
world, and to the glory of his glorious saint. When the child was born he was
called Thomas by his right name. He had the world and the vanity thereof in
despite, and for to live in the more holy and clean life he entered into the
order of the friars preachers, and after, he was drawn out thereof by his
brethren, and was closed up in a chamber in a tower two years. And because that
by menaces ne fair words his brethren might not change his good purpose ne
revoke it in no manner, they put in to his chamber a young damsel to the
innocent child, for to subvert his good courage, and anon he took a brand of
fire, and drove the damsel out of the chamber, which was come for to deceive
him.
And after that, he put
him in humble prayers, devoutly beseeching our Lord that by his benign grace he
would always maintain his chastity. Anon as he had made his prayers two angels
in marvellous habit appeared to him, saying that his prayer was heard of God,
and they distrained him by the reins, saying: Thomas, we be sent to thee by the
commandment of God, and in his name we gird thee with the girdle of chastity,
which shall never depart from thee, ne shall be broken. The which gift was
given to him of special grace, and was in him so fast and firm that he never
after felt pricking of his flesh, and so kept him as long as he lived, as it
appeared hereafter in his life. When he surmounted one of his adversaries with
his ministers, his good mother considering and having mind of that which the
good man had told to her, and shewed how he should be of the order of the
friars preachers, and let him to be led to them peaceably, notwithstanding that
tofore his brethren would have empeshed him of the entering in to the order,
and of his study. For when he was returned in to the order by consent of his
good mother he began to study, which was as sweet to him as it is to the bee to
make the honey, and like as of the bee the honey is multiplied, right so in
like wise was by this glorious doctor the honey of holy scripture. Whereof he
made marvellous books in theology, logic, philosophy, natural and moral, upon
the evangiles, in so much that the holy church throughout all the world of his
holy science is replenished. And as he thus profited he was sent to Paris. Then
his brethren, heard that he should depart, anon came after him, saying that it
appertained not that a child of so great lineage as he was, should be in the
order of mendicants ne of truants, and all to-rent his coat and cope, and would
have taken him away from his good purpose. And when he was restored to the
order to serve and give praising to our Lord, he set all his intent to study,
in thinking on God when he was in contemplation that his thought was
replenished with great joy. For many times were, as he was in a secret place
and set all his intent in prayer, he was seen lifted up many times without aid of
anything corporal. This then is well a holy doctor, for thus as he set not his
thought in this world, he set all his heart and his thought toward God, and was
enhanced as he that had not had no flesh ne bone, ne any weight. We read that
the blessed doctor desputed, read, or wrote, or argued, or did some other
virtuous thing, and after when his prayer was past, anon he had in his mouth
that which he should dispute or write as if he had tofore long studied in many
books. All which things he shewed secretly to his fellow, named friar Reynold.
To whom privily he shewed all his other secrets as long as he lived, and would
that none other should know it, to the end that the vain glory of the world
should not surprise him. For the science that he had was not of human study,
but was of the administration divine by the prayers and service that he did to
our Lord. This holy man is then as Moses was, which was given to the daughter
of Pharaoh. For like as he was taken out of the sea and saved and rendered unto
the said daughter, right so the blessed doctor, not withstanding that he was
born of the great lineage of the Earl of Alquin was by the purveyance of God
rendered to his mother holy church, and cast out of the flood of this world,
and enhanced and nourished by the paps and mammels of the scripture of holy
church. And like as Moses made many marvellous signs tofore the children of
Israel, in Iike wise hath this blessed doctor and his science and blessed
doctrine in destroying errors always preached verity and truth, as his holy
life witnesseth.
As on a night this
glorious doctor was in his orisons and prayers, the blessed apostles Peter and
Paul appeared to him and induced him in holy scripture, and especially of the
prophecy of prophets all entirely and holy. This then is a holy doctor to whom
the chancellor of heaven and the doctor of divine scripture have opened the
gate; and he that was ravished to heaven hath shewed to him the secret of all
the verity. And thus this blessed doctor is taken from the world and made
burgess of heaven he being yet in the earth.
On another time as he was
in the convent of his order at Naples, being in the church in devout prayers he
was enhanced and lifted up from the ground the height of two cubits and more.
Then a friar that saw him was much abashed and amarvelled, and after, was heard
a clear voice of the image of the crucifix tofore whom the holy man was turned
and made his prayer, the which voice said unto him: O Thomas, thou hast written
of me, what reward wilt thou have for thy labour? Saint Thomas answered to him:
Lord, I will none other reward but thyself; for he himself wrote in his time
and made the service and office of the precious sacrament of the altar. And for
as much as on a time a question was moved among the scholars of Paris how the
accidents might by right be without subject, and hereof made they doubt, and
determined all wholly unto that which the glorious doctor should say, which
thing he clearly shewed to them. And for so much as said is that the demand or
question was moved of our Lord, it was given to understand of the end of his
life which was nigh. And as he was sent for of the Pope Gregory
the tenth, he went by Champagne into the realm of Sicily, he began to be sick
in such wise that he lost entirely his appetite. And in passing by the abbey
called Fossenew of the order of the Cistercians, he was prayed greatly of the monks that it
would please him to come to their abbey. His sickness began for to increase
from day to day, and yet notwithstanding his malady, he ceased not to sow and
spread his holy doctrine of divine scripture and sapience, and then he was
prayed of the monks for to expound to them the canticles.
And that time it happed
that in that monastery was seen a star three days tofore his death in manner of
a sun, whereof they were abashed what it might signify, but certainly it
signified that the holy man should depart out of this world within three days,
and that appeared well, for when the holy man was dead the star was no more
seen, and it was in the year of our Lord twelve hundred and fifty-four. And
anon brother Reynold, his fellow, witnessed in truth, part saying and openly
preaching in this wise; I, friar Reynold, have heard many times and now, the
confession of this glorious doctor, and have always found him clean and net as
a child of five years of age, for he never consented ne had will in mortal ne
deadly sin. And it is not to be forgotten what marvellous tokens were shewed
when the blessed doctor should depart out of this world and of the entry of the
perdurable felicity which was granted to him. For a friar, much devout, saw in
the hour of his death the holy doctor reading in the school, and Saint Paul
entering into him. And Saint Thomas demanded him if he had had good and true
understanding in his epistles. Then Saint Paul answered to him: Yea, as good as
any creature living might have. And above that Saint Paul said to him: I will
that thou come with me and I shall lead thee to a place where thou shalt have
of all things more clear understanding. And it seemed to the friar that Saint
Paul drew Saint Thomas out of the school by his cope. Then this friar began to
cry, saying: Help brethren, for friar Thomas is taken from us, and by the voice
of this friar the other friars awoke and demanded that friar what he had. Then
he told to them and expounded this said vision, and the friars made inquisition
of the truth, and found that it was so as the friar had said, for in the same
hour that the friar had so cried, the holy doctor departed out of this world.
And like as he had had in divine sapience and science a doctor and teacher,
right so in his passing he had a leader unto the glory perdurable. And long
after that he was put in his sepulchre, the monks doubted that the holy corpse
should have been taken away against their will, for the glorious doctor had
commanded that his body should be borne to Naples, forasmuch as he was of that
place. Wherefore the monks translated his body from one place to another,
wherefore the prior of the abbey was in the night grievously reproved in a
vision of Saint Thomas. The prior, which doubted the judgment and sentence
divine, commanded that the body of the Saint should be remised in the place
that they had taken it from, and as soon as the sepulchre was opened there
issued so great and sweet an odour that all the cloister was replenished
therewith, and it seemed not that anybody had been buried there, but it seemed
that there had been all manner of spices, which body they found all whole in
all his members. The habit of his order, his cope, his scapulary and coat, were
all without any evil corruption, and the odour of his precious body and his
habit were sweet smelling by evident witnesses seven years after that he was
translated, and the body was translated all whole. Our blessed Lord hath
honoured his blessed saint with many marvellous signs and miracles. By his
benefits and merits he hath raised some from death and some from wicked
spirits, and from the puissance of the fiend, and many from divers maladies,
which have been brought to health by the grace of God and the merits of this
glorious saint.
We read also that there
was a friar much devout, called brother Albert, which on a day was much
devoutly in prayers tofore the altar of the Virgin Mary, and two reverend
persons, marvellously shining, appeared to him. That one of those twain was in
the habit of a bishop and the other in the habit of friars preachers, which had
a crown on his head round beset with precious stones, and about his neck two
collars, one of silver, the other of gold, and on his breast he had a great
stone which of his brightness cast out many rays of clearness and illumined all
the church, his cope that he had on was full of precious stones, his coat and
scapulary were all shining of whiteness. When the friar saw this sight he
marvelled much. Then he, that was in the habit of a bishop, said to him: I am
Austin, that am sent to thee to the end that I may show the glory of brother
Thomas Aquinas which is in heaven in glory like unto me, but he precedeth me in
the order of virginity, and I him in dignity pontifical. Many other signs and
miracles hath our Lord showed unto the honour and glory of his glorious saint,
Saint Thomas, whose merits be unto us aidant and helping. Amen.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/golden-legend-life-of-saint-thomas-aquinas/
_-_Andr%C3%A9_Gon%C3%A7alves_(Miseric%C3%B3rdia_de_Coimbra).png)
André Gonçalves (1685–1754).
Our Lady of Consolation with Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Thomas
Aquinas, Saint Goldrofe, and Saint Charles Borromeo, 1757. In the Santa
Casa da Misericórdia de Coimbra (Holy House of Mercy), Coimbra,
Portugal.
André Gonçalves (1685–1754).
Nossa Senhora da Consolação com Santa Catarina de Alexandria, São Tomás de
Aquino, São Goldrofe e São Carlos Borromeu, 1757. Na Santa
Casa da Misericórdia de Coimbra, Portugal.
St. Thomas of Aquino,
Doctor of the Church and Confessor
From his life, written by
Bartholomew of Lucca, some time the saint’s confessor: also another life,
compiled for his canonization by William of Tocco, prior of Benevento, who had
been personally acquainted with the saint, &c. See E. Touron, in his life of
St. Thomas, in quarto, Paris, 1737.
A.D. 1274
THE COUNTS of Aquino, who
have flourished in the kingdom of Naples these last ten centuries, derive their
pedigree from a certain Lombard prince. They were allied to the kings of Sicily
and Arragon, to St. Lewis of France, and many other sovereign houses of Europe.
Our saint’s grandfather having married the sister of the emperor Frederick I.
he was himself grand nephew to that prince, and second cousin to the emperor
Henry VI. and in the third degree to Frederick II. 1 His
father, Landulph, was count of Aquino, and lord of Loretto and Belcastro: his
mother Theodora was daughter to the count of Theate. The saint was born towards
the end of the year 1226. St. Austin observes, 2 that
the most tender age is subject to various passions, as of impatience, choler,
jealousy, spite, and the like, which appear in children: no such thing was seen
in Thomas. The serenity of his countenance, the constant evenness of his
temper, his modesty and sweetness, were sensible marks that God prevented him
with his early graces. The count of Aquino conducted him to the abbey of Mount
Cassino, when he was but five years old, to be instructed by those good monks
in the first principles of religion and learning; and his tutors soon saw with
joy the rapidity of his progress, his great talents, and his happy dispositions
to virtue. He was but ten years of age when the abbot told his father that it
was time to send him to some university. The count, before he sent him to
Naples, took him for some months to see his mother at his seat at Loretto, the
place which about the end of that century grew famous for devotion to our Lady.
Thomas was the admiration of the whole family. Amidst so much company, and so
many servants, he appeared always as much recollected, and occupied on God, as
he had been in the monastery; he spoke little, and always to the purpose; and
he employed all his time in prayer, or serious and profitable exercises. His
great delight seemed to be to intercede for, and to distribute, his parents’
plentiful alms among the poor at the gate, whom he studied by a hundred
ingenious contrivances to relieve. He robbed himself of his own victuals for
that purpose; which his father having discovered, he gave him leave to
distribute things at discretion, which liberty he made good us of for the
little time he stayed. The countess apprehensive of the dangers her son’s innocence
might be exposed to in an academy, desired that he should perform his studies
with a private preceptor under her own eyes; but the father knowing the great
advantages of emulation and mutual communication in studies, was determined to
send him to Naples, where the emperor Frederick II. being exasperated against
Bologna, had lately, in 1224, erected a university, forbidding students to
resort to any other in Italy. This immediately drew thither great numbers of
students, and with them disorder and licentiousness, like that described by St.
Austin in the great schools of Carthage. 3 Thomas
soon perceived the dangers, and regretted the sanctuary of Mount Cassino; but
by his extraordinary watchfulness, he lived here like the young Daniel in the
midst of Babylon, or Toby in the infidel Ninive. He guarded his eyes with an
extreme caution, shunned entirely all conversation with any women whatever, and
with any young men whose steady virtue did not render him perfectly secure as
to their behaviour. Whilst others went to profane diversions, he retired into
some church or into his closet, making prayer and study his only pleasure. He
learned rhetoric under Peter Martin, and philosophy under Peter of Hibernia,
one of the most learned men of his age, and with such wonderful progress, that
he repeated the lessons more clearly than the master had explained them: yet
his greater care was to advance daily in the science of the saints, by holy
prayer, and all good works. His humility concealed them; but his charity and
fervour sometimes betrayed his modesty, and discovered them, especially in his
great alms, for which he deprived himself of almost all things, and in which he
was careful to hide from his left-hand what his right did.
The Order of St.
Dominick, who had been dead twenty-two years, then abounded with men full of
the spirit of God. The frequent conversations Thomas had with one of that body,
a very interior holy man, filled his heart with heavenly devotion and comfort,
and inflamed him daily with a more ardent love of God which so burned in his
breast that at his prayers his countenance seemed one day, as it were, to dart
rays of light, and he conceived a vehement desire to consecrate himself wholly
to God in that Order. His tutor perceived his inclinations and informed the
count of the matter, who omitted neither threats nor promises to defeat such a
design. But the saint, not listening to flesh and blood in the call of heaven,
demanded with earnestness to be admitted into the Order, and accordingly
received the habit in the convent of Naples, in 1243, being then seventeen years
old. The Countess Theodora his mother, being informed of it, set out for Naples
to disengage him, if possible, from that state of life. Her son, on the first
news of her journey, begged his superiors to remove him, as they did first to
the convent of St. Sabina in Rome, and soon after to Paris, out of the reach of
his relations. Two of his brothers, Landulph and Reynolds, commanders in the
emperor’s army in Tuscany, by her directions so well guarded all the roads that
he fell into their hands, near Acqua-pendente. They endeavoured to pull off his
habit, but he resisted them so violently that they conducted him in it to the
seat of his parents, called Rocca-Secca. The mother overjoyed at their success,
made no doubt of overcoming her son’s resolution. She endeavoured to persuade
him that to embrace such an Order, against his parents’ advice, could not be
the call of heaven; adding all manner of reasons, fond caresses, entreaties,
and tears. Nature made her eloquent and pathetic. He appeared sensible of her
affliction, but his constancy was not to be shaken. His answers were modest and
respectful, but firm in showing his resolution to be the call of God, and ought
consequently to take place of all other views whatsoever, even of his service
any other way. At last, offended at his unexpected resistance, she expressed
her displeasure in very choleric words, and ordered him to be more closely
confined and guarded, and that no one should see him but his two sisters. The
reiterated solicitations of the young ladies were a long and violent assault.
They omitted nothing that flesh and blood could inspire on such an occasion,
and represented to him the danger of causing the death of his mother by grief.
He on the contrary spoke to them in so moving a manner, on the contempt of the
world, and the love of virtue, that they both yielded to the force of his
reasons, for his quitting the world, and by his persuasion, devoted themselves
to a sincere practice of piety.
This solitude furnished
him with the most happy opportunity for holy contemplation and assiduous
prayer. Some time after, his sisters conveyed to him some books, viz., a bible,
Aristotle’s Logics, and the works of the Master of the Sentences. During this
interval his two brothers, Landulph and Reynold, returning home from the army,
found their mother in the greatest affliction, and the young novice triumphant
in his resolution. They would needs undertake to overcome him, and began their
assault by shutting him up in a tower of the castle. They tore in pieces his
habit on his back, and after bitter reproaches and dreadful threats they left
him, hoping his confinement, and the mortifications every one strove to give
him, would shake his resolution. This not succeeding, the devil suggested to
these two young officers a new artifice for diverting him from pursuing his
vocation. They secretly introduced one of the most beautiful and most
insinuating young strumpets of the country into his chamber, promising her a
considerable reward in case she could draw him into sin. She employed all the
arms of Satan to succeed in so detestable a design. The saint, alarmed and
affrighted at the danger, profoundly humbled himself, and cried out to God most
earnestly for his protection; then snatching up a firebrand struck her with it,
and drove her out of his chamber. After this victory, not moved with pride, but
blushing with confusion for having been so basely assaulted, he fell on his
knees and thanked God for his merciful preservation, consecrated to him anew
his chastity, and redoubled his prayers, and the earnest cry of his heart with
sighs and tears, to obtain the grace of being always faithful to his promises.
Then falling into a slumber, as the most ancient historians of his life relate, 4 he
was visited by two angels, who seemed to gird him round the waist with a cord
so tight that it awoke him, and made him cry out. His guards ran in, but he
kept his secret to himself. It was only a little before his death that he
disclosed this incident to F. Reynold, his confessor, adding that he had
received this favour about thirty years before, from which time he had never
been annoyed with temptations of the flesh; yet he constantly used the utmost
caution and watchfulness against that enemy, and he would otherwise have
deserved to forfeit that grace. One heroic victory sometimes obtains of God a
recompense and triumph of this kind. Our saint having suffered in silence this
imprisonment and persecution upwards of a twelve month, some say two years, at
length, on the remonstrances of Pope Innocent IV. and the emperor Frederick, on
account of so many acts of violence in his regard, both the countess and his
brothers began to relent. The Dominicans of Naples being informed of this, and
that his mother was disposed to connive at measures that might be taken to
procure his escape, they hastened in disguise to Rocca-Secca, where his sister,
knowing that the countess no longer opposed his escape, contrived his being let
down out of his tower in a basket. He was received by his brethren in their
arms, and carried with joy to Naples. The year following he there made his
profession, looking on that day as the happiest of his whole life in which he
made a sacrifice of his liberty that he might belong to God alone. But his
mother and brothers renewed their complaints to Pope Innocent IV., who sent for
Thomas to Rome, and examined him on the subject of his vocation to the state of
religion, in their presence; and having received entire satisfaction on this
head, the pope admired his virtue, and approved of his choice of that state of
life, which from that time he was suffered to pursue in peace. Albertus Magnus,
teaching then at Cologne, the general, John the Teutonic, took the saint with
him from Rome to Paris, and thence to Cologne. Thomas gave all his time, which
was not employed in devotion and other duties, to his studies, retrenching part
of that which was allowed for his meals and sleep, not out of a vain passion,
or the desire of applause, but for the advancement of God’s honour and the
interests of religion, according to what he himself teaches. 5
His humility made him
conceal his progress and deep penetration, insomuch that his school-fellows
thought he learned nothing and on account of his silence, called him The Dumb
Ox, and the Great Sicilian Ox. One of them even offered to explain his lessons
to him, whom he thankfully listened to without speaking, though he was then capable
of teaching him. They who know how much scholars and masters usually seek to
distinguish themselves, and display their science, will give to so uncommon a
humility its due praise. But the brightness of his genius, his quick and deep
penetration and learning were at last discovered, in spite of all his
endeavours to conceal them: for his master Albertus, having propounded to him
several questions on the most knotty and obscure points, his answers, which the
duty of obedience extorted, astonished the audience; and Albertus, not able to
contain his joy and admiration, said: “We call him the dumb ox, but he will
give such a bellow in learning as will be heard all over the world.” This
applause made no impression on the humble saint. He continued the same in simplicity,
modesty, silence, and recollection because his heart was the same; equally
insensible to praises and humiliations, full of nothing but of God and his own
insufficiency, never reflecting on his own qualifications, or on what was the
opinion of others concerning him. In his first year, under Albertus Magnus, he
wrote comments on Aristotle’s Ethics. The general chapter of the Dominicans,
held at Cologne in 1245, deputed Albertus to teach at Paris, in their college
of St. James, which the university had given them; and it is from that college
they are called in France Jacobins. St. Thomas was sent with him to continue
his studies there. His school exercises did not interrupt his prayer. By an
habitual sense of the divine presence, and devout aspirations, he kept his
heart continually raised to God; and in difficult points redoubled with more
earnestness his fervour in his prayers than his application to study. This he
found attended with such success, that he often said he had learned less by
books than before his crucifix, or at the foot of the altar. His constant
attention to God always filled his soul with joy, which appeared in his very
countenance, and made his conversation altogether heavenly. His humility and
obedience were most remarkable in all things. One day whilst he read at table,
the corrector, by mistake, bid him read a word with a false quantity, and he
readily obeyed, though he knew the error. When others told him he ought
notwithstanding to have given it the right pronunciation, his answer was: “It
matters not how a word is pronounced, but to practise on all occasions humility
and obedience is of the greatest importance.” He was so perfectly mortified,
and dead to his senses, that he eat without reflecting either on the kind or
quality of his food, so that after meals he often knew not what he had been
eating.
In the year 1248, being
twenty-two years of age, he was appointed by the general chapter to teach at
Cologne, together with his old master Albertus, whose high reputation he equalled
in his very first lessons. He then also began to publish his first works, which
consist of comments on the Ethics, and other philosophical works of Aristotle.
No one was more courteous and affable, but it was his principle to shun all
unnecessary visits. To prepare himself for holy orders he redoubled his
watchings, prayer, and other spiritual exercises. His devotion to the blessed
Sacrament was extraordinary. He spent several hours of the day and part of the
night before the altar, humbling himself in acts of profound adoration, and
melting with love in contemplating the immense charity of the Man-God, whom he
there adored. In saying mass he seemed to be in raptures, and often quite
dissolved in tears; a glowing frequently appeared in his eyes and countenance
which showed the ardour with which his heart burned within him. His devotion
was most fervent during the precious moments after he had received the divine
mysteries; and after saying mass he usually served at another, or at least
heard one. This fire and zeal appeared also in his sermons, at Cologne, Paris,
Rome, and in other cities of Italy. He was every where heard as an angel; even
the Jews ran of their own accord to hear him, and many of them were converted.
His zeal made him solicitous, in the first place, for the salvation of his
relations. His example and exhortations induced them to an heroic practice of
piety. His eldest sister consecrated herself to God in St. Mary’s at Capua, and
died abbess of that monastery: the younger, Theodora, married the count of
Marsico, and lived and died in great virtue; as did his mother. His two
brothers, Landulph, and Reynold, became sincere penitents; and having some time
after left the emperor’s service, he, in revenge, burnt Aquino, their seat, in
1250, and put Reynold to death; the rest were obliged to save themselves by a
voluntary banishment, but were restored in 1268. St. Thomas, after teaching
four years at Cologne, was sent, in 1252, to Paris. His reputation for
perspicuity and solidity drew immediately to his school a great number of
auditors. 6 St.
Thomas with great reluctancy, compelled by holy obedience, consented to be
admitted doctor, on the 23rd of October, in 1257, being then thirty-one years
old. The professors of the university of Paris being divided about the question
of the accidents remaining really, or only in appearance, in the blessed
Sacrament of the altar, they agreed in 1258, to consult our saint. The young
doctor, not puffed up by such an honour, applied himself first to God by
prayer, then he wrote upon that question the treatise still extant, and carrying
it to the church, laid it on the altar. The most ancient author of his life
assures us, that while the saint remained in prayer on that occasion, some of
the brethren who were present, saw him raised a little above the ground. 7
The holy king, St. Lewis,
had so great an esteem for St. Thomas, that he consulted him in affairs of
state, and ordinarily informed him, the evening before, of any affair of
importance that was to be treated of in council, that he might be the more
ready to give advice on the point. The saint avoided the honour of dining with
the king as often as he could excuse himself: and, when obliged to assist at
court, appeared there as recollected as in his convent. One day at the king’s
table, the saint cried out: “The argument is conclusive against the Manichees.” 8 His
prior, being with him, bade him remember where he was. The saint would have
asked the king’s pardon, but that good prince, fearing he should forget the
argument that had occurred to his mind, caused his secretary to write it down
for him. In the year 1259 St. Thomas assisted at the thirty-sixth general
chapter of his order, held at Valenciennes which deputed him in conjunction
with Albertus Magnus and three others to draw up rules for studies, which are
still extant in the acts of that chapter. Returning to Paris, he there
continued his lectures. Nothing was more remarkable than his meekness on all occasions.
His temper was never ruffled in the heat of any dispute, nor by any insult. It
was owing to this sweetness, more than to his invincible force of reasoning,
that he brought a young doctor to retract on the spot a dangerous opinion,
which he was maintaining a second time in his thesis. In 1261, Urban IV. called
St. Thomas to Rome, and, by his order, the general appointed him to teach here.
His holiness pressed him with great importunity to accept of some
ecclesiastical dignity, but he knew how much safer it is to refuse than to
accept a bishopric. The pope, however, obliged him always to attend his person.
Thus it happened that the saint taught and preached in all the towns where that
pope ever resided, as in Rome, Viterbo, Orvieto, Fondi, and Perugia. He also
taught at Bologna, Naples. &c. 9
The fruits of his preaching
were no less wonderful than those of his pen. Whilst he was preaching on Good
Friday on the love of God for man, and our ingratitude to him, his whole
auditory melted into tears to such a degree, that he was obliged to stop
several times, that they might recover themselves. His discourse on the
following Sunday concerning the glory of Christ, and the happiness of those who
rise with him by grace, was no less pathetic and affecting. William of Tocco
adds, that as the saint was coming out of St. Peter’s church the same day, a
woman was cured of the bloody flux by touching the hem of his garment. The
conversion of two considerable Rabbins seemed still a greater miracle. St.
Thomas had held a long conference with them at a casual meeting in Cardinal Richard’s
villa, and they agreed to resume it the next day. The saint spent the foregoing
night in prayer at the foot of the altar. The next morning these two most
obstinate Jews came to him of their own accord, not to dispute, but to embrace
the faith, and were followed by many others. In the year 1263 the Dominicans
held their fortieth general chapter in London; St. Thomas assisted at it, and
obtained soon after to be dismissed from teaching. He rejoiced to see himself
reduced to the state of a private religious man. Pope Clement IV. had such a
regard for him, that, in 1265, among other ecclesiastical preferments, he made
him an offer of the archbishopric of Naples, but could not prevail with him to
accept of that or any other. The first part of his theological Summ St. Thomas
composed at Bologna: he was called thence to Naples. Here it was that,
according to Tocco and others, Dominick Caserte beheld him, while in fervent
prayer, raised from the ground, and heard a voice from the crucifix directed to
him in these words: “Thou hast written well of me, Thomas: what recompense dost
thou desire?” He answered: “No other than thyself, O Lord.” 10
From the 6th of December,
in 1273, to the 7th of March following, the day of his death, he neither
dictated nor wrote anything on theological matters. He, from that time, laid
aside his studies to fix his thoughts and heart entirely on eternity, and to
aspire with the greatest ardour and most languishing desires to the enjoyment
of God in perfect love. Pope Gregory X. had called a general council, the
second of Lyons, with the view of extinguishing the Greek schism, and raising
succours to defend the holy land against the Saracens. The ambassadors of the
emperor Michael Palælogus, together with the Greek prelates, were to assist at
it. The council was to meet on the 1st of May in 1274. His holiness, by brief
directed to our saint, ordered him to repair thither, and to prepare himself to
defend the Catholic cause against the Greek schismatics. Though indisposed, he
set out from Naples about the end of January. His dear friend, F. Reynold of Piperno,
was appointed his companion, and ordered to take care that he did not neglect
himself, which the saint was apt to do. St. Thomas on the road called at the
castle of Magenza, the seat of his niece Francisca of Aquino, married to the
count of Cecan. Here his distemper increased, which was attended with a loss of
appetite. One day he said, to be rid of their importunities, that he thought he
could eat a little of a certain fish which he had formerly eaten in France, but
which was not easily to be found in Italy. Search however was made, and the
fish procured; but the saint refused to touch it, in imitation of David on the
like occasion. Soon after his appetite returned a little, and his strength with
it; yet he was assured that his last hour was at hand. This however did not
hinder him from proceeding on his journey, till his fever increasing, he was
forced to stop at Fossa-Nuova, a famous abbey of the Cistercians, in the
diocess of Terracina, where formerly stood the city called Forum Appii.
Entering the monastery, he went first to pray before the Blessed Sacrament,
according to his custom. He poured forth his soul with extraordinary fervour,
in the presence of Him who now called him to his kingdom. Passing thence into
the cloister, which he never lived to go out of, he repeated these words: 11 This
is my rest for ages without end. He was lodged in the abbot’s apartment,
where he lay ill for near a month. The good monks treated him with uncommon
veneration and esteem, and as if he had been an angel from heaven. They would
not employ any of their servants about him, but chose to serve him themselves
in the meanest offices, as in cutting or carrying wood for him to burn, &c.
His patience, humility, constant recollection, and prayer were equally their
astonishment and edification.
The nearer he saw himself
to the term of all his desires, the entering into the joy of his Lord, the more
tender and inflamed were his longings after death. He had continually in his
mouth these words of St. Austin. 12 “Then
shall I truly live, when I shall be quite filled with you alone, and your love;
now I am a burden to myself, because I am not entirely full of you.” In such
pious transports of heavenly love he never ceased sighing after the glorious
day of eternity. The monks begged he would dictate an exposition of the book of
Canticles, in imitation of St. Bernard. He answered: “Give me St. Bernard’s
spirit, and I will obey.” But at last, to renounce perfectly his own will he
dictated the exposition of that most mysterious of all the divine books. It
begins: Solomon inspiratus: It is not what his erudition might have suggested,
but what love inspired him with in his last moments, when his pure soul was
hastening to break the chains of mortality, and drown itself in the ocean of
God’s immensity, and in the delights of eternity. 13 The
holy doctor at last finding himself too weak to dictate any more, begged the
religious to withdraw, recommended himself to their prayers, and desiring their
leave to employ the few precious moments he had to live with God alone. He
accordingly spent them in fervent acts of adoration, praise, thanksgiving,
humility and repentance. He made a general confession of his whole life to F.
Reynold, with abundance of tears for his imperfections and sins of frailty; for
in the judgment of those to whom he had manifested his interior, he had never
offended God by any mortal sin. And he said to F. Reynold, before his death,
that he thanked God with his whole heart for having prevented him with his
grace, and always conducted him as it were by the hand, and preserved him from
any known sin that destroys charity in the soul; adding, that this was purely
God’s mercy to which he was indebted for his preservation from every sin which
he had not committed. 14 Having
received absolution with the sentiments of the most perfect penitent, he
desired the Viaticum. Whilst the abbot and community were preparing to bring
it, he begged to be taken off his bed, and laid upon ashes spread upon the
floor. Thus lying on the ground, weak in body but vigorous in mind, he waited
for the priest with tears of the most tender devotion. When he saw the host in
the priest’s hand, he said: “I firmly believe, that Jesus Christ, true God and
true Man, is present in this august sacrament. I adore you my God, and my
Redeemer: I receive You, the price of my redemption, the Viaticum of my
pilgrimage; for whose honour I have studied, laboured, preached, and taught. I
hope I never advanced any tenet as your word, which I had not learned from you.
If through ignorance I have done otherwise, I revoke everything of that kind,
and submit all my writings to the judgment of the holy Roman church.” Then
recollecting himself, after other acts of faith, adoration, and love, he
received the holy Viaticum; but remained on the ashes till he had finished his
thanksgiving. Growing still weaker, amidst his transposts of love, he desired
extreme unction, which he received, answering himself to all the prayers. After
this, he lay in peace and joy as appeared by the serenity of his countenance;
and he was heard to pronounce these aspirations: “Soon, soon will the God of
all comfort complete his mercies on me, and fill all my desires. I shall
shortly be satiated in him, and drink of the torrent of his delights: be
inebriated from the abundance of his house, and in him who is the source of
life, I shall behold the true light.” Seeing all in tears about him he
comforted them, saying: Death was his gain and his joy. F. Reynold said, he had
hoped to see him triumph over the adversaries of the church in the council of
Lyons, and placed in a rank in which he might do it some signal service. The
saint answered: “I have begged of God, as the greatest favour, to die a simple
religious man, and I now thank him for it. It is a greater benefit than he has
granted to many of his holy servants, that he is pleased to call me out of this
world so early to enter into his joy; wherefore grieve not for me who am
overwhelmed with joy. He returned thanks to the abbot and monks of Fossa-Nuova
for their charity to him. One of the community asked him by what means we might
live always faithful to God’s grace. He answered: “Be assured that he who shall
always walk faithfully in his presence, always ready to give him an account of
all his actions, shall never be separated from him by consenting to sin.” These
were his last words to men, after which he only spoke to God in prayer, and
gave up the ghost, on the 7th of March, in 1274, a little after midnight: some
say in the fiftieth year of his age. But Ptolemy of Lucca, and other
contemporary authors say expressly in his forty-eight, which also agrees with
his whole history. He was very tall, and every way proportioned.
The concourse of people
at the saint’s funeral was extraordinary: several monks of that house, and many
other persons, were cured by his relics and intercession, of which many
instances, juridically proved, are mentioned by William of Tocco, in the bull
of his canonization, and other authors. The Bollandists give us other long
authentic relations of the like miracles continued afterwards, especially in
the translations of those holy relics. The university of Paris sent to the
general and provincial of the Dominicans a letter of condolence upon his death,
giving the highest commendations to the saint’s learning and sanctity, and
begging the treasure of his holy body. Naples, Rome, and many other
universities, princes, and Orders, contended no less for it. One of his hands,
uncorrupt, was cut off in 1288, and given to his sister, the countess Theodora,
who kept it in her domestic chapel of San Severino. After her death it was
given to the Dominicans’ convent of Salerno. After several contestations, Pope
Urban V. many years after his death, granted his body to the Dominicans to
carry to Paris or Thoulouse, as Italy already possessed the body of St.
Dominick at Bologna. The sacred treasure was carried privately into France, and
received at Thoulose in the most honourable manner: one hundred and fifty
thousand people came to meet and conduct it into the city, having at their
head, Lewis, duke of Anjou, brother to king Charles V. the archbishop of
Thoulouse and Narbonne, and many bishops, abbots, and noblemen. It rests now in
the Dominicans’ church at Thoulouse, in a rich shrine, with a stately Mausolæum
over it, which reaches almost up to the roof of the church, and hath four
faces. An arm of the saint was, at the same time, sent to the great convent of
the Dominicans at Paris, and placed in St. Thomas’s chapel in their church,
which the king declared a royal chapel. The faculty of theology meet to assist
at a high mass there on the anniversary festival of the saint.
The kingdom of Naples,
after many pressing solicitations, obtained in 1372, from the general chapter
held at Thoulouse, a bone of the other arm of St. Thomas. It was kept in the
church of the Dominicans at Naples till 1603, when the city being delivered
from a public calamity by his intercession, it was placed in the metropolitan
church among the relics of the other patrons of the country. That kingdom by
the briefs of Pius V. in 1567, and of Clement VIII. in 1603, confirmed by Paul
V. honours him as a principal patron. He was solemnly canonized by Pope John
XXII. in 1323. Pope Pius V., in 1567, commanded his festival and office to be
kept equal with those of the four doctors of the western church.
Many in their studies, as
in other occupations, take great pains to little purpose, often to draw from
them the poison of vanity or error; or at least to drain their affections, and
rather to nourish pride and other vices in the heart than to promote true
virtue. Sincere humility and simplicity of heart are essential conditions for
the sanctification of studies, and for the improvement of virtue by them.
Prayer must also both go before and accompany them. St. Thomas spoke much to
God by prayer, that God might speak to him by enlightening his understanding in
his reading and studies; and he received in this what he asked in the other
exercise. This prodigy of human wit, this unparalleled genius, which penetrated
the most knotty difficulties in all the sciences, whether sacred or profane, to
which he applied himself, was accustomed to say, that he learned more at the
foot of the crucifix than in books. We ought never to set ourselves to read or
study anything without having first made our morning meditation, and without
imploring in particular the divine light in everything we read; and seasoning
our studies by frequent aspirations to God in them, and by keeping our souls in
an humble attention to his presence. In intricate difficulties we ought more
earnestly, prostrate at the foot of a crucifix, to ask of Christ the resolution
of our doubts. We should thus receive, in the school of so good a master, that
science which makes saints, by giving, with other sciences, the true knowledge
of God and ourselves, and purifying and kindling in the will the fire of divine
love with the sentiments of humility and other virtues. By a little use,
fervent aspirations to God will arise from all subjects in the dryest studies,
and it will become easy, and as it were natural in them, to raise our heart
earnestly to God, either despising the vain pursuits, or detesting the vanity,
and deploring the blindness of the world, or aspiring after heavenly gifts, or
begging light, grace, or the divine love. This is a maxim of the utmost
importance in an interior or spiritual life, which otherwise, instead of being
assisted, is entirely overwhelmed and extinguished by studies, whether profane
or sacred, and in its place a spirit of self-sufficiency, vanity, and jealousy
is contracted, and the seeds of all other spiritual vices secretly sown.
Against this danger, St. Bonaventure warns all students strongly to be upon
their guard, saying, “If a person repeats often in his heart, Lord, when
shall I love thee? he will feel an heavenly fire kindled in his soul much
more than by a thousand bright thoughts or fine speculations on divine secrets,
on the eternal generation of the Word, or the procession of the Holy Ghost.” 15 Prayer
and true virtue even naturally conduce to the perfection of learning in every
branch; for purity of the heart, and the disengagement of the affections from
all irregular passions, render the understanding clear, qualify the mind to
judge impartially of truth in its researches, divest it of many prejudices, the
fatal sources of errors, and inspire a modest distrust in a person’s own
abilities and lights. Thus virtue and learning mutually assist and improve each
other.
Note 1. St. Thomas
was born at Belcastro: on his ancient illustrious pedigree and its branches,
which still nourish in Calabria, see Barrius, de Antiquitate et Situ Calabriæ,
with the notes of Thomas Aceti, l. 4. c. 2. p. 288, &c. where he refutes
the Bollandists, who place his birth at Aquino in Campania, on the borders of
that province. [back]
Note 2. L. 1. Conf.
c. 7. [back]
Note 3. Conf. l. 5.
c. 8. [back]
Note 4. Gul. Tocco.
Bern. Guid. Antonin. Malvend. [back]
Note 5. 2. 2dæ. q.
188. a 5. [back]
Note 6. The manner
of teaching then was not as it is generally at present, by dictating lessons,
which the scholars write; but it was according to the practice that still
obtains in some public schools, as in Padua, &c. The master delivered his
explanation like an harangue; the scholars retained what they could, and often
privately took down short notes to help their memory. Academical degrees were
then also very different from what they now are; being conferred on none but
those who taught. To be Master of Arts, a man must have studied six years at
least, and be twenty-one years old. And to be qualified for teaching divinity,
he must have studied eight years more, and be at least thirty-five years old.
Nevertheless, St. Thomas, by a dispensation of the university, on account of
his distinguished merit, was allowed to teach at twenty-five. The usual way was
for one named bachelor to explain the Master of the Sentences for a year in the
school of some doctor, upon whose testimony, after certain rigorous public
examinations, and other formalities, the bachelor was admitted to the degree of
licentiate; which gave him the license of a doctor, to teach or hold a school
himself. Another year, which was likewise employed in expounding the Master of
the Sentences, completed the degree of doctor, which the candidate received
from the chancellor of the university, and then opened a school in form, with a
bachelor to teach under him. In 1253 St. Thomas began to teach as licentiate;
but a stop was put to his degrees for some time, by a violent disagreement
between the regulars, principally Dominicans and Franciscans, and the
university which had at first admitted them into their body, and even given the
Dominicans a college. In these disputes, St. Thomas was not spared, but he for
a long time had recourse to no other vindication of himself than that of
modesty and silence. On Palm-Sunday he was preaching in the Dominican’s church
of St. James, when a beadle coming in commanded silence, and read a long
written invective against him and his colleagues. When he had done, the saint,
without speaking one word to justify himself or his Order, continued his sermon
with the greatest tranquillity and unconcern of mind. William de Saint-Amour,
the most violent among the secular doctors, published a book, On the dangers of
the latter times, a bitter invective against the mendicant Orders, which St.
Lewis sent to Pope Alexander IV. SS. Thomas and Bonaventure were sent into
Italy to defend their Orders. And to confute that book, Saint Thomas published
his nineteenth Opusculum, with an Apology for the mendicant Orders, showing
they lay under no precept that all should apply themselves to manual labour,
and that spiritual occupations were even preferable. The pope, upon this
apology, condemned the book, and also another, called the Eternal Gospel, in
defence of the error of the abbot Joachim, who had advanced that the church was
to have an end; and be succeeded by a new church which should be formed
perfectly according to the Spirit: this heresy and the errors of certain other
fanatics were refuted by our saint at Rome. On his return to Paris, a violent
storm terrified all the mariners and passengers, only Thomas appeared without
the least fear, and continued in quiet prayer till the tempest had ceased.
William de Saint Amour being banished Paris, peace was restored to the
university. [back]
Note 7. Gul.
Tocco. [back]
Note 8. Conclusum
est contra Manichæos. [back]
Note 9. The works of
St. Thomas are partly philosophical, partly theological; with some comments on
the holy scriptures, and several treatises of piety. The elegance of Plato gave
his philosophy the greater vogue among the Gentiles; and the most learned of
the Christian fathers were educated in the maxims of his school. His noble
sentiments on the attributes of the Deity, particularly his providence, and his
doctrine on the rewards and punishments in a future state, seemed favourable to
religion. Nor can it be doubted that he had learned, in his travels in Egypt
and Phœnicia, many traditional truths delivered down from the patriarchal ages,
before the corruptions of idolatry. On the other hand, the philosophy of Aristotle
was much less in request among the heathens, was silent as to all traditional
truths, and contained some glaring errors, which several heretics of the first
ages adopted against the gospel. On which account he is called by Tertullian
the patriarch of heretics, and his works were proscribed by a council of Paris,
about the year 1209. Nevertheless it must be acknowledged, by all impartial
judges, that Aristotle was the greatest and most comprehensive genius of
antiquity, and perhaps, of any age: and he was the only one who had laid down
complete rules, and explained the laws of reasoning, and had given a thorough
system of philosophy. Boetius had penetrated the depth of his genius, and the
usefulness of his logics; yet did not redress his mistakes. Human reasoning is
too weak without the light of revelation; and Aristotle, by relying too much on
it, fell into the same gross errors. Not only many ancient heretics, but also
several in the twelfth and thirteenth ages, as Peter Abaillard, the Albigenses,
and other heretics made a bad use of his philosophy. But above all, the
Saracens of Arabia and Spain wrote with incredible subtilty on his principles.
St. Thomas opposed the enemies of truth with their own weapons, and employed
the philosophy of Aristotle in defence of the faith, in which be succeeded to a
miracle. He discerned and confuted his errors, and set in a clear and new light
the great truths of reason which that philosopher had often wrapt up in
obscurity. Thus Aristotle, who had been called the terror of Christians, in the
hands of Thomas, became orthodox, and furnished faith with new arms against
idolatry and atheism. For this admirable doctor, though he had only a bad Latin
translation of the works of that philosopher, has corrected his errors, and
shown that his whole subtle system of philosophy, as far as it is grounded in
truth, is subservient to divine revelation: this he has executed through the
nicest metaphysical speculations, in the five first volumes of his works. He
every where strikes out a new tract for himself, and enters into the most
secret recesses of this shadowy region; so as to appear new even on known and
beaten subjects. For his writings are original efforts of genius and
reflection, and every point he handles in a manner that makes it appear new. If
his speculations are some times spun fine, and his divisions run to niceties,
this was the fault of the age in which he lived, and of the speculative
refining geniuses of the Arabians, whom he had undertaken to pursue, and
confute throughout their whole system. His comments on the four books of the
Master of the Sentences, contain a methodical course of theology, and make the
sixth and seventh volumes of his works; the tenth, eleventh and twelfth give us
his Summ, or incomparable abridged body of divinity, though this work he never
lived to finish. Among the fathers, St. Austin is principally his guide; so
that the learned cardinals, Norris and Aguirre, call St. Thomas his most
faithful interpreter. He draws the rules of practical duties and virtues
principally from the morals of Saint Gregory on Job. He composed his Summ
against the Gentiles, at the request of St. Raymund of Pennafort, to serve the
preachers in Spain in converting the Jews and Saracens to the faith. He wrote
comments on most parts of the holy scriptures, especially on the epistles of
St. Paul, in which latter he seemed to outdo himself. By the order of Pope
Urban IV. he compiled the office of the blessed sacrament, which the church
uses to this day, on the feast, and during the octave, of Corpus-Christi. His
Opuscula, or lesser treatises, have in view the Greek Schismatics and several
heresies; or discuss various points of philosophy and theology; or are comments
on the creed, sacraments, decalogue, Lord’s prayer and Hail Mary. In his
treatises of piety he reduces the rules of an interior life to these two gospel
maxims: first, That we must strenuously labour, by self-denial and
mortification, to extinguish in our hearts all the sparks of pride, and the
inordinate love of creatures; secondly, That by assiduous prayer, meditation,
and doing the will of God in all things, we must kindle his perfect love in our
souls. (Opusc. 17 & 18.) His works are printed in nineteen volumes
folio. [back]
Note 10. Bene
scripsisti de me, Thoma: quam mercedem accipies? Non aliam, nisi te,
Domine. [back]
Note 11. Psalm
cxxxi. 14. [back]
Note 12. Conf. l.
10. c. 28. [back]
Note 13. There is
another commentary on the same book which sometimes bears his name, and begins:
Sonet vox tua in auribus meis; which was not the work of this saint, but of
Haymo, bishop of Halberstadt. See Echard, t. 1. p. 323. Touron, p. 714. Le Long,
Bibl. Sacra, p. 766. [back]
Note 14. Tibi debeo
et quod non feci. Saint Aug. [back]
Note 15. St. Bonav.
l. de Mysticâ Theol. a ult. [back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume III: March. The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/3/071.html
Francisco Bayeu y Subías (1734–1795). Santo Tomás de Aquino venciendo a los herejes,
circa 1760, Saragossa Museum
Studiorum
Ducem – On Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Pope Pius XI, 29 June 1923
To Our Venerable
Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops and other Ordinaries
in Grace and Communion with the Apostolic See. Venerable Brethren, Greeting and
the Apostolic Benediction.
1. In a recent apostolic
letter confirming the statutes of Canon Law, We declared that the guide to be
followed in the higher studies by young men training for the priesthood was
Thomas Aquinas. The approaching anniversary of the day when he was duly
enrolled, six hundred years ago, in the calendar of the Saints, offers Us an
admirable opportunity of inculcating this more and more firmly in the minds of
Our students and explaining to them what advantage they may most usefully
derive from the teaching of so illustrious a Doctor. For science truly
deserving of the name and piety, the companion of all the virtues, are related
in a marvelous bond of affinity, and, as God is very Truth and very Goodness,
it would assuredly not be sufficient to procure the glory of God by the
salvation of souls-the chief task and peculiar mission of the Church-if
ministers of religion were well disciplined in knowledge and not also
abundantly provided at the same time with the appropriate virtues.
2. Such a combination of
doctrine and piety, of erudition and virtue, of truth and charity, is to be
found in an eminent degree in the angelic Doctor and it is not without reason
that he has been given the sun for a device; for he both brings the light of
learning into the minds of men and fires their hearts and wills with the
virtues. God, the Source of all sanctity and wisdom would, therefore, seem to
have desired to show in the case of Thomas how each of these qualities assists
the other, how the practice of the virtues disposes to the contemplation of
truth, and the profound consideration of truth in turn gives luster and
perfection to the virtues. For the man of pure and upright life, whose passions
are controlled by virtue, is delivered as it were of a heavy burden and can
much more easily raise his mind to heavenly things and penetrate more
profoundly into the secrets of God, according to the maxim of Thomas himself:
“Life comes before learning: for life leads to the knowledge of truth”
(Comment. in Matth., v); and if such a man devotes himself to the investigation
of the supernatural, he will find a powerful incentive in such a pursuit to
lead a perfect life; for the learning of such sublime things, the beauty of
which is a ravishing ecstasy, so far from being a solitary or sterile
occupation, must be said to be on the contrary most practical.
3. These are among the
first lessons, Venerable Brethren, which may be learned from the commemoration
of this centenary; but that they may be the more clearly apparent, We propose
to comment briefly in this Letter on the sanctity and doctrine of Thomas
Aquinas and to show what profitable instruction may be derived therefrom by
priests, by seminarians especially, and, not least, by all Christian people.
4. Thomas possessed all
the moral virtues to a very high degree and so closely bound together that, as
he himself insists should be the case, they formed one whole in charity “which
informs the acts of all the virtues” (II-II, xxiii, 8; I-II, Ixv). If, however,
we seek to discover the peculiar and specific characteristics of his sanctity,
there occurs to Us in the first place that virtue which gives Thomas a certain
likeness to the angelic natures, and that is chastity; he preserved it
unsullied in a crisis of the most pressing danger and was therefore considered
worthy to be surrounded by the angels with a mystic girdle.
This perfect regard for
purity was accompanied at the same time by an equal aversion for fleeting
possessions and a contempt for honors; it is recorded that his firmness of
purpose overcame the obstinate persistence of relatives who strove their utmost
to induce him to accept a lucrative situation in the world and that later, when
the Supreme Pontiff would have offered him a mitre, his prayers were successful
in securing that such a dread burden should not be laid upon him. The most
distinctive feature, however, of the sanctity of Thomas is what Saint Paul
describes as the “word of wisdom” (I Cor. xii, 8) and that combination of the
two forms of wisdom, the acquired and the infused, as they are termed, with
which nothing accords so well as humility, devotion to prayer, and the love of
God.
5. That humility was the
foundation upon which the other virtues of Thomas were based is clear to anyone
who considers how submissively he obeyed a lay brother in the course of their
communal life; and it is no less patent to anyone reading his writings which
manifest such respect for the Fathers of the Church that “because he had the
utmost reverence for the doctors of antiquity, he seems to have inherited in a way
the intellect of all” (Leo XIII, ex Card. Caietano, litt. Encycl. Aeterni
Patris, 4th August, 1879); but the most magnificent illustration of it is to be
found in the fact that he devoted the faculties of his divine intellect not in
the least to gain glory for himself, but to the advancement of truth. Most
philosophers as a rule are eager to establish their own reputations, but Thomas
strove to efface himself completely in the teaching of his philosophy so that
the light of heavenly truth might shine with its own effulgence.
6. This humility,
therefore, combined with the purity of heart We have mentioned, and sedulous
devotion to prayer, disposed the mind of Thomas to docility in receiving the
inspirations of the Holy Ghost and following His illuminations, which are the
first principles of contemplation. To obtain them from above, he would
frequently fast, spend whole nights in prayer, lean his head in the fervor of
his unaffected piety against the tabernacle containing the august Sacrament,
constantly turn his eyes and mind in sorrow to the image of the crucified
Jesus; and he confessed to his intimate friend Saint Bonaventura that it was
from that Book especially that he derived all his learning. It may, therefore,
be truly said of Thomas what is commonly reported of Saint Dominic, Father and
Lawgiver, that in his conversation he never spoke but about God or with God.
7. But as he was
accustomed to contemplate all things in God, the first Cause and ultimate End
of all things, it was easy for him to follow in his Summa Theologica no less
than in his life the two kinds of wisdom before referred to. He himself
describes them as follows: “The wisdom which is acquired by human effort . . .
gives a man a sound judgment with regard to divine things according as he makes
a perfect use of reason. . . But there is another kind of wisdom which comes
down from above . . . and judges divine things in virtue of a certain
connaturality with them. This wisdom is the gift of the Holy Ghost . . . and
through it a man becomes perfect in divine things, not only by learning but
also by experiencing divine things” (II-II, xlv, 1, ad 2; 2).
8. This wisdom,
therefore, which comes down from, or is infused by, God, accompanied by the
other gifts of the Holy Ghost, continually grew and increased in Thomas, along
with charity, the mistress and queen of all the virtues. Indeed it was an
absolutely certain doctrine of his that the love of God should ever continually
increase “in accordance with the very words of the commandment: ‘Thou shalt
love the Lord, thy God, with thy whole heart’; for the whole and the perfect
are one same thing. . .
Now the end of the
commandment is charity from a pure heart, and a good conscience and an
unfeigned faith, as the Apostle says (I Tim. i, 5), but no standard of measure
is applicable to the end, but only to such things as conduce to the end (II-II,
clxxxiv, 3).” This is the very reason why the perfection of charity falls under
the commandment as the end to which we ought all to strive, each according to
his degree. Moreover, as “it is the characteristic of charity to make man tend
to God by uniting the affections of man to God in such a way that man ceases to
live for himself and lives only for God” (II-II, xvii, 6, ad 3), so the love of
God, continually increasing in Thomas along with that double wisdom, induced in
him in the end such absolute forgetfulness of self that when Jesus spoke to him
from the cross, saying: “Thomas, thou hast written well about me,” and asked
him: “What reward shall I give thee for all thy labor?” the saint made answer:
“None but Thyself, O Lord!” Instinct with charity, therefore, he unceasingly
continued to serve the convenience of others, not counting the cost, by writing
admirable books, helping his brethren in their labors, depriving himself of his
own garments to give them to the poor, even restoring the sick to health as, for
example, when preaching in the Vatican Basilica on the occasion of the Easter
celebrations, he suddenly cured a woman who had touched the hem of his habit of
a chronic hemorrhage.
9. In what other Doctor
was this “word of wisdom” mentioned by Saint Paul more remarkable and abundant
than in the Angelic Doctor? He was not satisfied with enlightening the minds of
men by his teaching: he exerted himself strenuously to rouse their hearts to
make a return of His love to God, the Creator of all things. “The love of God
is the source and origin of goodness in things” he magnificently declares (1,
xx, 2), and he ceaselessly illustrates this diffusion of the divine goodness in
his discussion of every several mystery. “Hence it is of the nature of perfect
good to communicate itself in a perfect way and this is done in a supreme
degree by God . . . in the Incarnation” (III, i, I). Nothing, however, shows
the force of his genius and charity so clearly as the Office which he himself
composed for the august Sacrament. The words he uttered on his deathbed, as he
was about to receive the holy Viaticum, are the measure of his devotion to that
Sacrament throughout his life: “I receive Thee, Price of the redemption of my
soul, for the love of Whom I have studied, kept vigil and toiled.”
10. After this slight
sketch of the great virtues of Thomas, it is easy to understand the preeminence
of his doctrine and the marvelous authority it enjoys in the Church. Our
Predecessors, indeed, have always unanimously extolled it. Even during the
lifetime of the saint, Alexander IV had no hesitation in addressing him in
these terms: “To Our beloved son, Thomas Aquinas, distinguished alike for
nobility of blood and integrity of character, who has acquired by the grace of
God the treasure of divine and human learning.” After his death, again, John
XXII seemed to consecrate both his virtues and his doctrine when, addressing
the Cardinals,
he uttered in full Consistory the memorable sentence: “He alone enlightened the
Church more than all other doctors; a man can derive more profit in a year from
his books than from pondering all his life the teaching of others.”
11. He enjoyed a more
than human reputation for intellect and learning and Pius V was therefore moved
to enroll him officially among the holy Doctors with the title of Angelic.
Again, could there be any more manifest indication of the very high esteem in
which this Doctor is held by the Church than the fact that the Fathers of Trent
resolved that two volumes only, Holy Scripture and the Summa Theologica, should
be reverently laid open on the altar during their deliberations? And in this
order of ideas, to avoid recapitulating the innumerable testimonies of the
Apostolic See, We are happy to recall that the philosophy of Aquinas was
revived by the authority and at the instance of Leo XIII; the merit of Our
illustrious Predecessor in so doing is such, as We have said elsewhere, that if
he had not been the author of many acts and decrees of surpassing wisdom, this
alone would be sufficient to establish his undying glory. Pope Pius X of
saintly memory followed shortly afterwards in his footsteps, more particularly
in his Motu Proprio Doctoris Angelici, in which this memorable phrase occurs:
“For ever since the happy death of the Doctor, the Church has not held a single
Council but he has been present at it with all the wealth of his doctrine.”
Closer to Us, Our greatly regretted Predecessor Benedict XV repeatedly declared
that he was entirely of the same opinion and he is to be praised for having
promulgated the Code of Canon Law in which “the system, philosophy and
principles of the Angelic Doctor” are unreservedly sanctioned. We so heartily
approve the magnificent tribute of praise bestowed upon this most divine genius
that We consider that Thomas should be called not only the Angelic, but also
the Common or Universal Doctor of the Church; for the Church has
adopted his philosophy for her own, as innumerable documents of every kind
attest. It would be an endless task to explain here all the reasons which moved
Our Predecessors in this respect, and it will be sufficient perhaps to point
out that Thomas wrote under the inspiration of the supernatural spirit which
animated his life and that his writings, which contain the principles of, and
the laws governing, all sacred studies, must be said to possess a universal
character.
12. In dealing orally or
in writing with divine things, he provides theologians with a striking example
of the intimate connection which should exist between the spiritual and the
intellectual life. For just as a man cannot really be said to know some distant
country, if his acquaintance is confined merely to a description of it, however
accurate, but must have dwelt in it for some time; so nobody can attain to an
intimate knowledge of God by mere scientific investigation, unless he also
dwells in the most intimate association with God. The aim of the whole theology
of Saint Thomas is to bring us into close living intimacy with God. For even as
in his childhood at Monte Cassino he unceasingly put the question: “What is
God?”; so all the books he wrote concerning the creation of the world, the
nature of man, laws, the virtues, and the sacraments, are all concerned with
God, the Author of eternal salvation.
13. Again, discussing the
causes of the sterility of such studies, namely curiosity, that is to say the
unbridled desire for knowledge, indolence of mind, aversion from effort and
lack of perseverance, he insists that there is no other remedy than zeal in
work with the fervor of piety which derives from the life of the spirit. Sacred
studies, therefore, being directed by a triple light, undeviating reason,
infused faith and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, by which the mind is brought to
perfection, no one ever was more generously endowed with these than Our Saint.
After spending all the riches of his intellect on some matter of exceptional
difficulty, he would seek the solution of his problem from God by the most
humble prayer and fasting; and God was wont to listen to His suppliant so
kindly that He dispatched the Princes of the Apostles at times to instruct him.
It is not therefore surprising that towards the end of his life he had risen to
such a degree of contemplation as to declare that all he had written seemed to
him mere chaff and that he was incapable of dictating another word; his eyes
even then were fixed on eternity alone, his one desire was to see God. For,
according to Thomas, by far the most important benefit to be derived from
sacred studies, is that they inspire a man with a great love for God and a
great longing for eternal things.
14. He not only instructs
us by his example how to pursue such a diversity of studies, but also teaches
us firm and enduring principles of each single science. For, in the first
place, who has provided a better explanation than he of the nature and
character of philosophy, its various divisions and the relative importance of
each? Consider how clearly he demonstrates the congruence and harmony between
all the various sections which go to make up the body as it were of this
science. “It is the function of the wise man,” he declares, “to put things in
order, because wisdom is primarily the perfection of reason and it is the
characteristic of reason to know order; for although the sensitive faculties
know some things absolutely, only the intellect or reason can know the relation
one thing bears to another. The sciences, therefore, vary according to the
various forms of order which reason perceives to be peculiar to each. The order
which the consideration of reason establishes in its own peculiar activity
pertains to rational philosophy or logic, whose function is to consider the
order of the parts of speech in their mutual relations and in relation to the
conclusions which may be drawn from them. It is for natural philosophy or
physics to consider the order in things which human reason considers but does
not itself institute, so that under natural philosophy we include also
metaphysics. But the order of voluntary acts is for the consideration of moral
philosophy which is divided into three sections: the first considers the
activities of the individual man in relation to their end and is called
‘monastics’; the second considers the activities of the family group or
community and is called economics; the third considers the activities of the
State and is called politics” (Ethics, I, I). Thomas dealt thoroughly with all
these several divisions of philosophy, each according to its appropriate
method, and, beginning with things nearest to our human reason, rose step by
step to things more remote until he stood in the end on “the topmost peak of
all things” (Contra Gentes, II, lvi; IV, i).
15. His teaching with
regard to the power or value of the human mind is irrefragable.
“The human mind has a
natural knowledge of being and the things which are in themselves part of being
as such, and this knowledge is the foundation of our knowledge of first
principles” (Contra Gentes, II, 1xxxiii). Such a doctrine goes to the root of
the errors and opinions of those modern philosophers who maintain that it is
not being itself which is perceived in the act of intellection, but some
modification of the percipient; the logical consequence of such errors is
agnosticism, which was so vigorously condemned in the Encyclical Pascendi.
16. The arguments adduced
by Saint Thomas to prove the existence of God and that God alone is subsisting
Being Itself are still today, as they were in the Middle Ages, the most cogent
of all arguments and clearly confirm that dogma of the Church which was
solemnly proclaimed at the Vatican Council and succinctly expressed by Pius X
as follows: “The certain knowledge of God as the first principle of creation
and its end and demonstrable proof of His existence can be inferred, like the
knowledge of a cause from its effect, by the light of the natural reason, from
creation, that is to say the visible works of creation” (Motu Proprio Sacrorum
Antistitum of the 1st September, 1910).
The metaphysical
philosophy of Saint Thomas, although exposed to this day to the bitter
onslaughts of prejudiced critics, yet still retains, like gold which no acid
can dissolve, its full force and splendor unimpaired. Our Predecessor therefore
rightly observed: “To deviate from Aquinas, in metaphysics especially, is to
run grave risk” (Encycl.Pascendi of the 8th September, 1907).
17. Philosophy is
undoubtedly a most noble science, but as things are not constituted by divine
Providence, it must not be said to excel all others, because it does not embrace
the whole universality of things. Indeed, in the introduction to his Summa
Contra Gentes, as also to his Summa Theologica, the saintly Doctor describes
another order of things set above nature and eluding the grasp of reason, an
order which man would never have suspected unless the divine goodness had
revealed it to him. This is the region in which faith is supreme, and the
science of faith is called Theology. Science of this kind will be all the more
perfect in man in proportion as he is the better acquainted with the evidence
for faith and has at the same time a more fully developed and trained faculty
of philosophizing. There can be no doubt that Aquinas raised Theology to the
highest eminence, for his knowledge of divine things was absolutely perfect and
the power of his mind made him a marvelously capable philosopher. Thomas is
therefore considered the Prince of teachers in our schools, not so much on
account of his philosophical system as because of his theological studies.
There is no branch of theology in which he did not exercise the incredible
fecundity of his genius.
18. For in the first
place he established apologetics on a sound and genuine basis by defining
exactly the difference between the province of reason and the province of faith
and carefully distinguishing the natural and the supernatural orders. When the
sacred Vatican Council, therefore, in determining what natural knowledge of
religion was possible, affirmed the relative necessity of some divine
revelation for sure and certain knowledge and the absolute necessity of divine
revelation for knowledge of the mysteries, it employed arguments which were
borrowed precisely from Saint Thomas. He insists that all who undertake to
defend the Christian faith shall hold sacrosanct the principle that: “It is not
mere folly to assent to the things of faith although they are beyond reason”
(Contra Gentes, I, vi). He shows that, although the articles of belief are
mysterious and obscure, the reasons which persuade us to believe are
nevertheless clear and perspicuous, for, says he, “a man would not believe
unless he saw that there were things to be believed” (II-II, i, 4); and he adds
that, so far from being considered a hindrance or a servile yoke imposed upon
men, faith should, on the contrary, be reckoned a very great blessing, because
“faith in us is a sort of beginning of eternal life” (Qq. disp. de Veritate,
xiv, 2).
19. The other branch of
Theology, which is concerned with the interpretation of dogmas, also found in
Saint Thomas by far the richest of all commentators; for nobody ever more
profoundly penetrated or expounded with greater subtlety all the august
mysteries, as, for example, the intimate life of God, the obscurity of eternal
predestination, the supernatural government of the world, the faculty granted
to rational creatures of attaining their end, the redemption of the human race
achieved by Jesus Christ and continued by the Church and the sacraments, both
of which the Angelic Doctor describes as “relics, so to speak, of the divine Incarnation.”
20. He also composed a
substantial moral theology, capable of directing all human acts in accordance
with the supernatural last end of man. And as he is, as We have said, the
perfect theologian, so he gives infallible rules and precepts of life not only
for individuals, but also for civil and domestic society which is the object
also of moral science, both economic and politic. Hence those superb chapters
in the second part of the Summa Theologica on paternal or domestic government,
the lawful power of the State or the nation, natural and international law,
peace and war, justice and property, laws and the obedience they command, the
duty of helping individual citizens in their need and co-operating with all to
secure the prosperity of the State, both in the natural and the supernatural
order. If these precepts were religiously and inviolably observed in private
life and public affairs, and in the duties of mutual obligation between
nations, nothing else would be required to secure mankind that “peace of Christ
in the Kingdom of Christ” which the world so ardently longs for. It is
therefore to be wished that the teachings of Aquinas, more particularly his
exposition of international law and the laws governing the mutual relations of
peoples, became more and more studied, for it contains the foundations of a
genuine “League of Nations.”
21. His eminence in the
learning of asceticism and mysticism is no less remarkable; for he brought the
whole science of morals back to the theory of the virtues and gifts, and
marvelously defined both the science and the theory in relation to the various
conditions of men, both those who strive to attain Christian perfection and
fullness of spirit, in the active no less than in the contemplative life. If
anyone, therefore, desires to understand fully all the implications of the
commandment to love God, the growth of charity and the conjoined gifts of the
Holy Ghost, the differences between the various states of life, such as the
state of perfection, the religious life and the apostolate, and the nature and
value of each, all these and other articles of ascetical and mystical theology,
he must have recourse in the first place to the Angelic Doctor.
22. Everything he wrote
was securely based upon Holy Scripture and that was the foundation upon which
he built. For as he was convinced that Scripture was entirely and in every
particular the true word of God, he carefully submitted the interpretation of
it to those very rules which Our recent Predecessors have sanctioned, Leo XIII
in his Encyclical Providentissimus Deus and Benedict XV in his Encyclical
Spiritus Paraclitus. He laid down the principle “The chief Author of Sacred
Scripture is the Holy Ghost. . . But man was the instrumental author”
(Quodlib., vii, 14, ad 5), and would not allow the absolute historicity of the
Bible to be doubted; but on the basis of the meaning of the words or literal
sense he established the fecundity and riches of the spiritual sense, the
triple nature of which, allegorical, tropological and anagogical, he expounded
with the most ingenious commentary.
23. Lastly, our Doctor
possessed the exceptional and highly privileged gift of being able to convert
his precepts into liturgical prayers and hymns and so became the poet and
panegyrist of the Divine Eucharist. For wherever the Catholic Church is to be
found in the world among whatsoever nations, there she zealously uses and ever
will continue to use in her sacred services the hymns composed by Saint Thomas.
They are the expression of the ardent supplications of a soul in prayer and at
the same time a perfect statement of the doctrine of the august Sacrament
transmitted by the Apostles, which is pre-eminently described as the Mystery of
Faith. If these considerations are borne in mind as well as the praise bestowed
by Christ Himself to which We have already referred, nobody will be surprised
that Saint Thomas should also have received the title of the Doctor of the
Eucharist.
24. The following very
relevant conclusions may be drawn from all that has gone before. Let Our young
men especially consider the example of Saint Thomas and strive diligently to
imitate the eminent virtues which adorn his character, his humility above all,
which is the foundation of the spiritual life, and his chastity. Let them learn
from this man of supreme intellect and consummate learning to abhor all pride
of mind and to obtain by humble prayer a flood of divine light upon their
studies; let them learn from his teaching to shun nothing so sedulously as the
blandishments of sensual pleasure, so that they may bring the eyes of the mind
undimmed to the contemplation of wisdom. For he confirmed by his precept, as We
have said, his own practice in life: “To abstain from the pleasures of the Body
so as to be certain of greater leisure and liberty for the contemplation of
truth is to act in conformity with the dictates of reason” (II-II, clvii, 2).
Wherefore we are warned
in Holy Scripture: “. . . wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor
dwell in a body subject to sins” (Wisdom, i, 4). If the purity of Thomas
therefore had failed in the extreme peril into which, as we have seen, it had
fallen, it is very probable that the Church would never have had her Angelic
Doctor.
25. Inasmuch, therefore,
as We see the majority of young men, caught in the quick-sands of passion,
rapidly jettisoning holy purity and abandoning themselves to sensual pleasures,
We instantly exhort you, Venerable Brethren, to propagate everywhere, and
particularly among seminarians, the society of the Angelic Militia founded
under the patronage of Thomas for the preservation and maintenance of holy
chastity and We confirm the privileges of pontifical indulgences heaped upon it
by Benedict XIII and others of Our Predecessors. And that the Faithful may be
persuaded the more eagerly to enroll in this Militia, We grant members of it
the privilege of wearing instead of a cord a medal round the neck impressed on
the obverse with a picture of Saint Thomas and the angels surrounding him with
a girdle and on the reverse a picture of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy
Rosary.
26. But inasmuch as Saint
Thomas has been duly proclaimed patron of all Catholic schools because he
marvelously combined both forms of wisdom, the rational and the divinely
inspired, because he had recourse to prayer and fasting to solve the most
difficult problems, because he used the image of Christ crucified in place of
all books, let him be a model also for seminarians, so that they may learn how
to pursue their studies to the best advantage and with the greatest profit to
themselves. Members of religious communities should look upon the life of Saint
Thomas as upon a mirror; he refused even the highest dignities offered to him
in order to live in the practice of the most perfect obedience and to die in the
sanctity of his profession. Let all the Faithful of Christ take the Angelic
Doctor as a model of devotion to the august Queen of Heaven, for it was his
custom often to repeat the “Hail Mary” and to inscribe the sweet Name upon his
pages, and let them ask the Doctor of the Eucharist himself to inspire them
with love for the divine Sacrament. Priests above all will be zealous in so
doing, as is only proper.
“For Thomas was
accustomed, unless prevented by illness, to say Mass daily and heard another
Mass said by his socius or some other friar which he very often served,”
declares the careful historian of his life. But could anyone find words to
express the spiritual fervor with which he said Mass himself, the anxious care
with which he made his preparation, the thanksgivings he offered to the divine
Majesty after he had said it?
27. Again, if we are to
avoid the errors which are the source and fountain-head of all the miseries of
our time, the teaching of Aquinas must be adhered to more religiously than
ever. For Thomas refutes the theories propounded by Modernists in every sphere,
in philosophy, by protecting, as We have reminded you, the force and power of
the human mind and by demonstrating the existence of God by the most cogent
arguments; in dogmatic theology, by distinguishing the supernatural from the
natural order and explaining the reasons for belief and the dogmas themselves;
in theology, by showing that the articles of faith are not based upon mere
opinion but upon truth and therefore cannot possibly change; in exegesis, by
transmitting the true conception of divine inspiration; in the science of
morals, in sociology and law, by laying down sound principles of legal and
social, commutative and distributive, justice and explaining the relations
between justice and charity; in the theory of asceticism, by his precepts
concerning the perfection of the Christian life and his confutation of the
enemies of the religious orders in his own day. Lastly, against the much
vaunted liberty of the human reason and its independence in regard to God he
asserts the rights of primary Truth and the authority over us of the Supreme
Master. It is therefore clear why Modernists are so amply justified in fearing
no Doctor of the Church so much as Thomas
Aquinas.
28. Accordingly, just as
it was said to the Egyptians of old in time of famine: “Go to Joseph,” so that
they should receive a supply of corn from him to nourish their bodies, so We
now say to all such as are desirous of the truth: “Go to Thomas,” and ask him
to give you from his ample store the food of substantial doctrine wherewith to
nourish your souls unto eternal life. Evidence that such food is ready to hand
and accessible to all men was given on oath at the hearing of the case for the
canonization of Thomas himself, in the following words: “Innumerable secular
and religious masters flourished under the lucid and limpid teaching of this
Doctor, because his method was concise, clear and easily followed . . . even
laymen and persons of little instruction are eager to possess his writings.”
29. We desire those
especially who are engaged in teaching the higher studies in seminaries
sedulously to observe and inviolably to maintain the decrees of Our
Predecessors, more particularly those of Leo XIII (the Encyclical Aeterni
Patris), and Pius X (the Motu Proprio Doctoris Angelici) and the instructions
We Ourselves issued last year. Let them be persuaded that they will discharge
their duty and fulfill Our expectation when, after long and diligent perusal of
his writings, they begin to feel an intense devotion for the Doctor Aquinas and
by their exposition of him succeed in inspiring their pupils with like fervor
and train them to kindle a similar zeal in others.
30. We desire that lovers
of Saint Thomas-and all sons of the Church who devote themselves to higher
studies should be so-be incited by an honorable rivalry in a just and proper
freedom which is the life-blood of studies, but let no spirit of malevolent
disparagement prevail among them, for any such, so far from helping truth,
serves only to loosen the bonds of charity. Let everyone therefore inviolably
observe the prescription contained in the Code of Canon Law that “teachers
shall deal with the studies of mental philosophy and theology and the education
of their pupils in such sciences according to the method, doctrine and
principles of the Angelic Doctor and religiously adhere thereto”; and may they
conform to this rule so faithfully as to be able to describe him in very truth
as their master. Let none require from another more than the Church, the
mistress and mother of all, requires from each: and in questions, which in
Catholic schools are matter of controversy between the most reputable
authorities, let none be prevented from adhering to whatever opinion seems to
him the more probable.
31. Therefore, as it
behooves the whole of Christendom worthily to celebrate this centenary-because
in honoring Saint Thomas something greater is involved than the reputation of
Saint Thomas and that is the authority of the teaching Church-We desire that
such celebration shall take place throughout the world from the 18th July until
the end of next year wherever seminarians are in regular course of instruction,
that is to say not only among the Preaching Friars, an Order which, in the
words of Benedict XV, “must be praised, not so much for having been the family
of the Angelic Doctor, as for having never afterwards departed so much as a
hair’s breadth from his teaching” (Acta Ap. Sedis, viii, 1916, p. 397), but
among other religious communities also, and in all seminaries and Catholic
colleges and schools to which he has been appointed for heavenly patron. It is
only proper that this Eternal City in which Aquinas was once master of the
Sacred Palace should take the lead in holding such celebrations and that the
Pontifical Angelical College, where Saint Thomas may be said to be at home, and
the other academies in Rome for the education of priests set the example in
these holy rejoicings.
32. In virtue of Our
Apostolic power and for the purpose of increasing the splendor and profit to be
derived from this celebration, We grant the following privileges:
1) That in all churches
belonging to the Order of Preachers and in all other churches or chapels to
which the public has or may have access, more particularly in seminaries,
colleges or other institutions for the education of priests, prayers may be
said for three or eight or nine days with the pontifical indulgences attaching
to them which customarily attach to prayers said in honor of the saints and the
blessed;
2) That in the churches
of the Friars and the Sisters of Saint Dominic the faithful may once on any day
they choose in the course of the centenary celebrations, after duly confessing
their sins and receiving Holy Communion, obtain a plenary indulgence toties
quoties they pray before the altar of Saint Thomas;
3) That in churches of
the Order of Saint Dominic, priests, members of the Order or tertiaries, may,
in the course of the centenary year on any Wednesday or the first free day of
the week, celebrate Mass in honor of Saint Thomas, as on his feast-day, with or
without the Gloria and the Credo, according to the ritual of the day, and
obtain a plenary remission of sins; those present at any such Mass may also
obtain a like indulgence on the usual conditions.
33. In addition, a
disputation shall be held in seminaries and other institutions for the
education of priests on some point of philosophy or other important branch of
learning in honor of the Angelic Doctor. And that the festival of Saint Thomas
may be kept in future in a manner worthy of the patron of all Catholic schools,
We order it to be kept as a holiday and celebrated not only with a High Mass,
but also, at any rate in seminaries and among religious communities, by the
holding-of a disputation as aforesaid.
34. Finally, that the
studies to which Our young people devote themselves may, under the patronage of
Aquinas, daily yield more and more fruit for the glory of God and the Church,
We append to this Letter the form of prayer which the Saint himself was
accustomed to use and exhort you to see that it be widely published. Let any
person duly reciting it know that by Our authority an indulgence of seven years
and seven quarantines is granted him.
35. As an augury of
divine favor and in testimony of Our paternal benevolence, We most
affectionately grant you, Venerable Brethren, and the clergy and people
committed to your care the Apostolic Blessing.
Given at Rome at Saint
Peter’s on the 29th day of June, the feast of the Princes of the Apostles, in
the year 1923, the second year of Our Pontificate.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/studiorum-ducem-on-saint-thomas-aquinas-by-pope-pius-xi-29-june-1923/
Chapelle de la Sorbonne, Paris, détail
de la façade. A gauche, Saint Thomas d'Aquin, à droite, Pierre Lombard. Au centre, deux muses soutiennent
l'horloge, surmontée des armoiries du Cardinal de Richelieu.
Chapel
of the Sorbonne, detail of the facade. Paris, France. Left, statue of Thomas Aquinas. Right, statue of Peter Lombard. In the middle, two muses support
the clock, with the coat of arms of Cardinal Richelieu
Life
of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and Patron of Catholic Schools
Birth and Early Life
The thirteenth century
was a time of extraordinary intellectual activity, which was not without its
dangers. In the enthusiastic pursuit of learning, students flocked by thousands
to the great Universities, which, unhappily, were as often schools of
infidelity as of faith. The philosophers of the age owned but one master, and
he was a heathen. “Aristotle,” says Lacordaire, “was taken to be the
representative of wisdom; and, unfortunately, Aristotle and the Gospel did not
always agree;” and many, entering on the unexplored sea of thought without a
guide, made hopeless ship-wreck of their faith. The great professors who were
the oracles of the day were not always proof against the seductions of vanity,
and sometimes tried to make themselves a name by striking out bold theories in
matters where original speculation is seldom friendly to the faith.
It was amidst the confusion
of these new opinions that Saint Thomas Aquinas was given to the world to mark
out the limits of Christian philosophy, and to form the separate materials of
dogmatic, moral, and speculative theology into one grand and finished
structure, whilst at the same time he enriched the Church’s liturgy with some
of the most beautiful of its devotional formularies, and displayed in his life
and character all the virtues and winning graces of a Saint.
Picturesquely situated in
southern Italy on the top of a rugged cliff flanking a spur of the Apennines,
gmd overlooking the rushing waters of the Melfi, there stood in mediaeval times
the fortress of of Rocca-Secca. Here Saint Thomas was born about the year 1225
(authors are not agreed as to the precise date); and to the neighboring little
town of Aquino he owed his surname of Aquinas. The count, his father, was
nephew to the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and on his mother’s side, he was
descended from the Norman Barons who had conquered Sicily two centuries before.
The Aquino family could claim relationship with Saint Gregory the Great, and
was allied by blood to Saint Louis of France and Saint Ferdinand of Castille.
The future vocation and
sanctity of the little Thomas had been predicted to his mother, the Countess
Theodora, by a holy hermit of the name of Bonus; and, whilst he was yet an
infant, God’s watchful Providence over him was manifested in a striking manner.
A terrific thunderstorm burst over the Castle, and his nurse and his little
sister were struck dead in the very chamber in which Thomas slept on unharmed.
This circumstance accounts for the great fear of thunder and lightning which
the Saint is said to have had throughout life, which caused him often to take
refuge in the church during a thunderstorm, even leaning his head against the
Tabernacle, so as to place himself as closely as possible under the protection
of our Lord.
The words Ave Maria were
the first which his baby lips were heard to utter. Long before he could read, a
book was discovered to be an unfailing means of drying his tears in all his
childish woes; he would delight in handling it, turning over the leaves with
infantine gravity.
When only five years old,
his education was begun by the monks of the celebrated Benedictine Abbey of
Monte Cassino, which was only a few miles distant from Rocca-Secca.
The monks found that
their new pupil was a grave, quiet child, who loved to spend much of his time
in the church, and was never without a book in his hand. He had considerable
influence over his young companions, whom he was always ready to help, and to
whom the sweetness of his disposition rendered him very dear; but he cared
little for the sports of childhood, in which he seldom took part. One day, when
the rest of the merry band were playing in the woods, Thomas was standing apart
in silent thought; the monk in charge of the boys inquired the subject of his
reflections. The child raised his head and said: “Tell me, master, what is
God?” This was his oft-repeated question, and it showed that the whole bent of
his mind and heart was already directed heavenward.
At ten years old, he had
made such progress in his studies that his parents resolved to send him, under
the care of a tutor, to the newly-founded University of Naples. Before doing
so, however, they took him to spend some weeks with them at another of their
castles at Loreto, a spot afterwards destined to become so famous as the
resting-place of the Holy House of Nazareth. A famine prevailed at the time,
and Thomas delighted in distributing the abundant alms which his charitable
parents had set aside for the poor. He carried his liberality so far that the
steward of the castle complained to his father. The Count waylaid the child as
he was hurrying with bread to the gate and sternly asked what was hidden under
his cloak. Thomas let go the folds, and there fell to the ground, not the food
which he had taken, but a profusion of lovely and sweet-scented flowers.
On his arrival in Naples,
the extraordinary talents of which he had already given proof under his
Benedictine teachers, became more and more manifest, whilst at the same time he
made rapid progress in the science of the Saints. He was continually held up as
a model to his fellow-students in a way most painful to his humility; but the
modesty, sweetness, and gentleness of his character preserved him from envy,
and gained for him universal affection. He shunned all occasions of evil, and
devoted his leisure hours to prayer and good works. The Dominican church became
one of his favorite resorts; and, as he poured forth his soul in prayer before
the altar, bright rays of light were more than once seen to issue from his
countenance.
A holy Friar, named John
of Saint Julian, who had witnessed the wonderful sight, one day said to the
pious youth: “God has given you to our Order.” Thomas threw himself on his
knees, saying that he had long and ardently desired to take the habit, but that
he feared he was unworthy of so great a grace. The Community joyfully admitted
the young student; and, whilst still almost a boy, he was publicly clothed in
the white habit of Saint Dominic.
The news soon reached the
ears of the Countess Theodora, his mother, who, recognizing in the event the
fulfillment of the holy hermit’s prophecy, hastened to Naples to congratulate
her son. Thomas and the brethren, however, who were ignorant of her
dispositions, were much alarmed at the idea of the impending visit, and, in
compliance with his own earnest entreaties, the novice was hurried off to the
Convent of Santa Sabina in Rome. Thither his mother followed him, but she was
unable to induce him to consent to an interview. The General of the Order, Johu
the German, was on the point of starting for Paris and resolved to take Thomas
and three other companions with him; and they accordingly left Rome together.
When Theodora found
herself thus foiled and mistrusted, she became furious against the friars, and
sent orders to her two elder sons, who were then serving in the Emperor’s army
in Italy, to waylay their brother and bring him back to her. The little party
of friars were overtaken and seized as they were taking their midday rest by a
wayside fountain. The rough soldiers tried to tear the habit from Thomas’s
back; but his stout resistance compelled them to give up the attempt. His
companions were suffered to continue their journey, whilst the young novice was
carried off to his angry parents at Rocca-Secca.
The Countess was now
determined that he should never be a Dominican; and his father, who would
gladly have seen him assume the Benedictine habit, that, like one of his
uncles, he might rise to the dignity of Abbot of Monte Cassino, was equally
determined that he should never belong to the despised mendicant Order he had
embraced. Tears, threats and entreaties proving powerless to shake the Saint’s
resolution, he was imprisoned in one of the towers of the Castle, where he had
to suffer cold, hunger, and every sort of privation.
His two sisters, Marietta
and Theodora, to whom he was tenderly attached, vainly endeavored by their
affectionate caresses to induce him to yield to his mother’s wishes; but they
were themselves won to a life of perfection; and both eventually died in the
odor of sanctity, one as a Benedictine Abbess, the other in the married state
as Countess of San Severiuo. Through their instrumentality, Thomas was enabled
to obtain books and clothes from his Brethren at Naples. During his captivity,
which lasted considerably more than a year, he managed to commit to memory the
entire Bible and the five books of the “Sentences,” the theological text-book
of the time. His earliest writings are said to belong to the same period.
On the arrival of his
brothers, Thomas’s constancy was put to a yet more terrible trial. The two
young officers conceived the infernal project of introducing a woman of evil
life into his chamber; but with a flaming brand snatched from the hearth the
Saint indignantly drove her from his presence. With the same brand he then
traced a cross upon the wall; and, casting himself on his knees before it,
besought of God to grant him the gift of perpetual chastity.
As he prayed, he fell
into an ecstacy, during which two angels appeared to him and girded him with a
miraculous cord, saying: “We are come from God to invest thee with the girdle
of perpetual chastity. The Lord has heard thy prayer; and that which human
frailty can never merit, is ensured to thee by the irrevocable gift of God.”
The angels girded him so tightly that he uttered an involuntary cry of pain,
which brought some servants to the spot; but Thomas kept his secret to himself,
and only revealed it on his deathbed to his confessor, Brother Reginald,
declaring that from that day the spirit of darkness had never been allowed to
approach him. The girdle was worn by the Saint till his death, and is still
preserved at the Convent of Chieri in Piedmont.
By this time his family
had discovered that his firmness would not be overcome by persecution. Though
unwilling to acknowledge themselves beaten, they connived at his escape, and,
like Saint Paul, he was let down from the tower in a basket to the Friars, who
by appointment were waiting below. They carried off their rescued treasure to
Naples, where he was immediately admitted to profession. One more attempt was
made to shake his constancy by an appeal to the Pope, who summoned him to Rome;
but the Saint pleaded his cause so well that the Holy Father was convinced of
the reality of his vocation. In order to satisfy his family, however, and to
secure in an important post the services of so gifted a subject, the Pope proposed
to make him Abbott of Monte Cassino, whilst still continuing a Dominican. But
Saint Thomas implored so earnestly that he might be allowed to remain a simple
religious in the Order he had chosen, that his Holiness yielded, and strictly
forbade any further interference with his vocation.
To put him beyond reach
of further molestation, the General of the Order took him with him to Cologne,
where he became the disciple of Blessed Albert the Great, the renowned
Dominican professor of the day. When Saint Thomas found himself safe within the
convent walls, he devoted himself with ardor to the work of his sanctification.
His time was divided between prayer and study. His humility enabled him to
conceal his vast powers of mind; and his absolute silence at all the scholastic
disputations, rendered more conspicuous by his commanding stature and the
portliness of his figure, led his companions to call him “the dumb ox of
Sicily.”
A good-natured
fellow-student offered to explain the daily lessons to him, an offer which the
Saint humbly and gratefully accepted. But one day the young teacher came to a
difficult passage, which he interpreted wrongly. Then the Saint’s charity and
love of truth triumphed over his humility; and, taking the book, he explained
the passage with the utmost clearness and precision. His astonished friend
begged in future to be the scholar, to which Thomas consented, on condition his
secret should be kept. Shortly after this, a paper written by the Saint and
containing a masterly solution of a most abstruse question, fell accidentally
into the hands of Blessed Albert. Astonished at the genius it displayed, he
next day put the learning of his saintly disciple to a public test, and
exclaimed before the assembled students: “We call Brother Thomas ‘the dumb ox;’
but I tell you he will one day make his bellowing heard to the uttermost parts
of the earth.”
Work in His Order and in
the Church
In the summer of 1245, a
y ear after Saint Thomas’s arrival at Cologne, the General Chapter commanded
Blessed Albert to proceed to Paris in order to take the degree of Doctor in
that University, and he obtained permission to take Brother Thomas as his
companion. The two Saints set out on foot, staff in hand, carrying on their
shoulders the breviary and Bible, to which Brother Thomas added the book of
“Sentences.” At midday they rested by some spring to eat the food they had
begged on their way. At night they generally found shelter in the guest
quarters of some monastery. In this manner they reached the convent of Saint
James at Paris, where Saint Tomas became the model of the whole Community, by
his spirit of prayer, his profound humility, perfect obedience, and universal
charity. He tried to imitate the virtues he observed in his brethren, and
judged himself utterly unworthy of living in such saintly company. Never was he
known to utter an idle word; when he did speak, the charm of his heavenly
conversation filled all who heard him with spiritual consolation. A celestial
grace beamed from his beautiful countenance; so that some said they had only to
look at him to feel within themselves a renewal of fervor.
A young Franciscan was at
this time studying at Paris, Bonaventure by name, to whom Saint Thomas became
knit in bonds of closest friendship; they, who were in after ages to be honored
in the Church as the Seraphic and Angelic Doctors, were dear to each other on
earth as Jonathan and David; and after their three years of study, they were
raised together to the degree of Bachelor of Theology, in 1248. In the November
of that year, Blessed Albert was sent back to Cologne, again accompanied by
Saint Thomas, who taught under his direction. Scholars were not slow to
discover that the two Dominican professors excelled all others, and the new
school at Cologne was soon filled to overflowing. Saint Thomas’s lessons fully
bore out the five principles of teaching which he has himself laid down, viz.,
clearness, brevity, utility, sweetness, and maturity. He possessed a wonderful
gift of communicating knowledge, so that more was learnt from him in a few
months than from others in several years.
It was soon after his
return to Cologne that the Saint was raised to the priesthood; from that time
he seemed more closely than ever united to God. He used to spend many hours of
the day and a great part of the night in the church; whilst offering the Holy
Sacrifice he shed abundant tears, and the ardor of his devotion communicated
itself to those who assisted at his Mass.
After teaching for four
years at Cologne, Thomas was ordered by the General Chapter to prepare to take
his degree as Doctor. This was a terrible blow to his humility, as he sincerely
judged himself unfit for the dignity. On his way to Paris, whither he had now
to repair, he preached at the court of the Duchess of Brabant, at whose request
he wrote a treatise on the government of the Jews which is full of wisdom and
moderation. Later on, he was often consulted on most important matters of
state, especially by Saint Louis of France, who was tenderly attached to him.
He arrived in Paris in 1252, and from the first his success in teaching was so
great that the vast halls of the Convent of Saint James were unable to contain
his audience. The University congratulated the Order on the acquisition of so
great a treasure, and proposed at once to grant him the license preliminary to
the acts required for taking the degree of Doctor, although he was nearly ten
years under the age required by the statutes.
But this step was delayed
by a dispute which arose between the Friars and the secular Doctors. The
quarrel originated in the refusal of the former to take au oath to close their
schools whenever the rights of the University were attacked; and it was fanned
into a flame by the publication of a book, entitled “The Perils of the Latter
Times,” in which the new mendicant Orders were attacked in the most calumnious
and scandalous terms. This work, which came from the pen of a Paris Doctor,
William de Saint Amour, a man of violent and heretical opinions, was referred
by Saint Louis to the judgment of the Pope. Saint Thomas and Saint Bonaventure
were summoned to the Papal Court to act as the champions of the regulars, and
the pen of Blessed Albert the Great was also called into requisition. Saint
Thomas’s eloquent defense procured the condemnation of the book, and delivered
the mendicant Orders from destruction; and by the joint exertions of the Pope
and Saint Louis, the University was compelled to yield, and to readmit, the Friars
to their theological chairs.
On the 23d of October,
1257, two Saints were allowed to take their Doctor’s degree. Saint Thomas’s
humility had been so sorely distressed at the idea of this promotion, that he
could not bring himself to prepare the preliminary public address until the
very eve of the day on which it was to be delivered. Then, as it would seem, by
divine inspiration, he chose for his text the words of the 103d Psalm, verse
13: “Thou waterest the hills from Thy upper rooms; the earth shall be filled
with the fruit of Thy works,” words which he interpreted to refer to Jesus
Christ, Who, as the head of men and angels, waters the heavenly spirits with
glory, whilst He fills the Church militant on earth with the fruits of His
works through the Sacraments, which apply the merits of His sacred Passion to
our souls. But the event gave to this text the character of a prophecy
regarding the Saint’s own future career.
In 1259, Saint Thomas was
deputed, in concert with Blessed Albert and other learned men of the Order, to
draw up ordinances to regulate the studies of the Brethren. A year or two
later, he was summoned to Italy to teach in the schools attached to the Papal
Court. As these schools followed the Pope from place to place, several of the
great cities of Italy and many of the convents of his Order enjoyed for a time
the privilege of the Saint’s teaching. It is pleasant to think that the streets
of the world’s metropolis have probably been trodden by the feet of the holy
Doctor, who is said to have been present at the General Chapter of the Order
held in London in 1263.
After being for some time
stationed in Rome, he was again appointed to teach in Paris in 1269. The
Doctors of the University referred to his decision a controversy which had
arisen concerning the sacramental species in the Holy Eucharist. After long and
fervent prayer, the Saint put his own opinion on the subject into writing, laid
the manuscript at the foot of the Crucifix on the Altar of the Blessed
Sacrament, and then prayed as follows: “Lord Jesus, Who art truly present and
dost work wonders in this adorable Sacrament, I implore thee to grant that, if
what I have written be the truth, Thou wilt enable me to teach it; but that, if
it contains anything contrary to the faith, Thou wilt hinder me from proceeding
further in declaring it.” Then the other Friars, who were watching, beheld our
Lord Himself descend and stand upon the manuscript, and they heard from His
Divine lips the words: “Thomas, thou hast written well concerning the Sacrament
of My Body.” The Saint immediately fell into an ecstasy, in which he was raised
a cubit from the ground.
In 1271 he returned to
Italy, and began to teach in Rome. During the following Holy Week he preached
in Saint Peter’s on the Passion of our Lord; and those who heard him on Good
Friday were moved to tears and ceased not to weep until Easter Day, when his
Paschal sermon filled them with holy jubilation. On that day, as he came down
from the pulpit, a poor woman who had been hopelessly ill for a long time
kissed the hem of his mantle and was immediately cured. Meanwhile the
Universities of Paris and of Naples were vying with each other in their efforts
to get possession of the great Doctor. Naples gained the day; and the Saint
accordingly repaired, towards the end of the summer of 1272, to this the last
scene of his labors as a professor.
During all these busy
years of teaching, Saint Thomas’s pen had been at work indefatigably, enriching
the schools and the Church with invaluable treatises, which fill twenty
volumes. Within the narrow limits of these pages it is impossible to do more
than name a very few of his most important writings. He commented on the works
of Aristotle, and purged the text of the pagan philosopher from everything
opposed to the truths of the faith, whilst at the same time he chose the terms
of Aristotle’s philosophy as the most scientific classification of the ideas of
the human mind, and thus established a complete system of Christian philosophy.
His “Summa Against the Gentiles” was written by command of Saint Raymond of
Pennafort, the third General of the Order, to combat the false philosophical
doctrines introduced by the Saracens, into Spain, which were making their way
into the Universities of Europe.
In this work Saint Thomas
demonstrates the truth of revealed religion and triumphantly proves that
Christianity can never be contrary to sound reason. The holy Doctor has written
treatises on the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Creed, commentaries on
various parts of Holy Scripture, and answers to sundry questions proposed to
him for solution. Pope Urban IV. charged him with the task of collecting all
the most beautiful passages of the Fathers of the Church on the Gospels. The
result was his “Catena Aurea” or Golden “Chain,” which is entirely made up of
quotations, written in great part from memory. The Saint, as he travelled from
convent to convent, had read the works, now of one, now of another, of the
Fathers, and his marvellous memory enabled him to retain and transcribe the passages
bearing on his subject. The most famous of his works is his “Summa of
Theology,” at which he labored, in the intervals of teaching and preaching, for
the last nine years of his life, and which he did not live to complete.
Of this work, Pope John
XXII is reported to have said that Saint Thomas had worked as many miracles as
it contains articles; and its value is perhaps best attested by the hatred with
which it has ever been regarded by heretics. In 1520, Luther caused it to be
burnt in the public square at Wittenberg, and another of the so-called
Reformers, Martin Bucer, exclaimed: “Suppress Thomas and I will destroy the
Church.” “A vain wish,” remarks Pope Leo XIII, “but not a vain testimony.” At
the Council of Trent, three works of reference only were laid on the table of
the hall of Assembly: they were the Holy Scriptures, the Pontifical Acts, and
the “Summa” of Saint Thomas; and from the “Summa” the Catechism of the Council
of Trent was compiled by three Dominican Fathers.
But perhaps Saint Thomas’s
chief title to the love and veneration of the faithful generally is the part
which he took in the institution of the Feast of Corpus Christi. When he
presented to Pope Urban IV the first part of his “Catena Aurea,” about 1263,
the delighted Pontiff wished in token of gratitude to raise him to the
episcopate. But Saint Thomas threw himself on his knees and implored the Holy
Father to grant, as the only reward he would ever accept for his labors, that
the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, already established through the prayers of
the Blessed Juliana and the influence of the Dominican Cardinal Hugh of Saint
Cher, in Germany and the Low Countries, should be extended to the Universal
Church. Urban gladly consented, and ordered Saint Thomas to write the Office of
the Feast.
In this Office each of
the responsories at matins is composed of two sentences, one drawn from the
Old, and the other from the New Testament, which are thus made to render their
united testimony to the great central mystery of Catholic belief. With its hymns,
the Vernum Supermini and Pange Lingua we are all familiar, aud specially with
their concluding stanzas, the O Salutaris and the Tantum Ergo , always sung at
Benediction; and from childhood our hearts have thrilled within us as we walked
in processions of the Blessed Sacrament to the strains of the Lauda Sion.
Before presenting his
Office to the Pope, Saint Thomas placed it before the Tabernacle, and the
miracle formerly worked at Paris was renewed, the words of approval proceeding
from the lips of a crucifix still venerated at Orvieto. A similar testimony of
Divine approval was granted to the Saint at Naples, and was witnessed by one of
the Friars. On this occasion also our Lord spoke to him from a Crucifix which
is preserved in the Church of San Domenico Maggiore, saying: “Thou hast written
well of Me, Thomas. What reward wilt thou have? ” To which the Saint fervently
replied “No other than Thyself, O Lord.”
To the pen of Saint
Thomas we are also indebted for the Adoro Te, for beautiful devotions before and
after Holy Communion, and many other prayers solid in doctrine and beautiful in
expression. It is a tradition that he composed the well-known prayer, the “Soul
of Christ, sanctify me,” which was a favorite one of Saint Ignatius, who
introduced it into his book of spiritual exercises, though leaving out the
lovely petition, “Light of the sacred countenance of Jesus, shine down upon
me,” which is found in the old forms of the prayer. This petition occurs in the
version of the Anima Christi found in an old prayer-book called the “York
Hours,” where it is stated to have been indulgenced by Pope John XXII when said
after the elevation at Mass. This prayer-book was published in 1517, four years
before the conversion of Saint Ignatius.
Personal Traits
Saint Thomas was tall and
inclined to corpulence, with a fine massive head, a lofty forehead, refined and
handsome features, and large, gentle eyes beaming with benevolence. His manners
were singularly winning and graceful; and his prodigious powers of mind were accompanied
by a childlike simplicity of character, which, no less than the purity of his
doctrine, gained for him the title of the “Angel of the Schools.” Though raised
so high above others by his gigantic intellectual powers, he was the sweetest
and most charitable of masters and of fathers, always ready to stoop to the
capacity of the youngest and dullest of his scholars.
No matter how important
the affair might be on which he was engaged, his cell was always open to his
brethren whenever they wished to speak to him, and he would cheerfully turn
from the most absorbing occupation to give them his undivided attention. He
listened to their difficulties, explained their doubts, and comforted them in
their troubles. Nothing that concerned them was trifling in his eyes, and he
never showed himself weary of their interruptions and importunities. In return,
they bore him the tenderest affection; “Doctor noster,” they loved to call him;
and the sincerity of their attachment was amply proved by the bitterness of their
grief when he was taken from them.
Long after his death,
those who had known him could never speak of him without tears, so dearly did
they love him. True son of Saint Dominic, he cared only to speak of God or to
God, and could not understand how Religious could take interest in any other
topic. If the conversation turned to other subjects, he ceased to take part in
it; and he owned to his companions that it surprised him that a Religious could
think of anything but God.
And what was perfectly
incomprehensible to him was, how any one who knew himself to be in the state of
mortal sin could eat, sleep, or be merry. When seculars came to seek advice and
consolation from him, he lent them a willing ear, and after solving their
doubts and consoling their sorrows, he never failed to tell them some short
pious story or to speak a few words of edification, and then dismissed them,
their hearts glowing with spiritual joy and divine love.
We can picture Saint
Thomas to ourselves enjoying his ordinary recreation of walking tip and down
the cloister of his convent, occasionally dragged off by his brethren to take a
breath of fresh air in the garden, but sure in such cases soon to be found in
some remote corner, absorbed in thought. Of this abstraction of mind, some amusing
anecdotes are preserved, as, for example, that which shows him to us dining
with Saint Louis, and suddenly striking the table with his hand, exclaiming:
“It is all up with the Manichees!” His companion gently endeavored to recall
him to the remembrance of the royal presence, whilst the good-natured King
instantly summoned a secretary to commit to writing the convincing argument
which had just presented itself to the mind of his saintly guest.
Again at Naples, when the
Cardinal Legate and the Archbishop of Capua came to visit him, he went to the
cloister to receive them, but on the way became so absorbed in the solution of
a theological difficulty, that, by the time he arrived, he had forgotten all
about the business and the visitors that had called him, and stood like one in
a dream. The Archbishop, who had formerly been his pupil, assured the Cardinal
that these reveries were perfectly familiar to all who were acquainted with the
Saint’s habits. This abstraction of mind at times rendered him insensible to
pain, as, for example, when a wax candle once burnt his hand, while he remained
in thought, unconscious of the pain.
The austere life of Saint
Thomas and his incessant labors increased the natural delicacy of liis
constitution, and lie bad frequent attacks of illness, which, however, do not
appear ordinarily to have caused him to desist from the labor of composition.
Surgery was rough and ready in the thirteenth century; and the extreme
sensitiveness of Saint Thomas’s organization rendered its operations very
terrible to him. On one occasion, when obliged to undergo a cautery, he begged
the infirmarian to warn him of the coming of the surgeons, when he stretched
himself on his bed and immediately went into ecstacy, remaining motionless
whilst his flesh was burnt by the red-hot irons. His clothes were always the
poorest in the convent, and his love of holy poverty was so great that his
“Summa Against the Gentiles” was written on the back of old letters and other
scraps of paper.
In vain did the.
Sovereign Pontiffs press upon his acceptance the Archbishopric of Naples and
other ecclesiastical dignities, together with ample revenues; nothing could
shake his determination to live and die a simple Religious; and they were
obliged to withdraw their offers, being unwilling to afflict one so dear to
them. He who was the oracle of his age loved to preach to the poor and lowly;
and we are told that they always listened to him gladly and with much fruit to
their souls. He was full of compassion for their wants, and even gave away his
own clothes to cover them.
Humility was ever his
characteristic virtue. So thoroughly had he realized the greatness of God, and
his own nothingness, that in a moment of intimacy he was able to say to a
friend: “Thanks be to God! never has my knowledge, my title of Doctor, nor any
of my scholastic acts aroused in me a single movement of vainglory. If any
motion has arisen, reason has instantly repressed it.” From his humility sprang
his extreme modesty in the expression of his opinion; never in the heat of
disputation or at any other time was he known to lose his unruffled serenity of
temper, or to say a word that could wound the feelings of another; and he bore
the most cutting insults with imperturbable calmness. His life was full of
examples of his spirit of humility and religious obedience.
On one occasion, when, as
a young Religious, he was reading in the refectory at Paris, he was told by the
official corrector to pronounce a word in a way evidently incorrect. Saint
Thomas obeyed, and made the false quantity. When – asked how he could have
consented to so obvious a blunder, he replied: “It matters little whether a
syllable be long or short; but it matters much to practice humility and
obedience.” In later years, when the Saint was teaching at Bologna, a lay
brother obtained leave from the Prior to take as companion the first Religious
brother whom he should find disengaged. Seeing Saint Thomas, who was a stranger
to him, walking up and down the cloister, he addressed himself to him, saying that
the Prior wished him to accompany him through the city, where he had business
to transact. The Saint, though suffering from lameness, and perfectly aware
that the lay brother was under some mistake, immediately obeyed the summons,
and went limping through the city after his companion, who, from time to time,
found fault with his slowness.
When the lay brother
discovered his mistake his apologies were profuse; but the Saint replied,
“Don’t be troubled, my dear brother; I am the one to blame. I am only sorry
that I could not be more useful.” To those who asked why he did not explain the
mistake, he gave this golden answer: “Obedience is the perfection of the
Religious life; by it man submits to man for the love of God, as as God
rendered Himself obedient unto men for their salvation.”
Saint Thomas was very
slow to believe evil of others; he always thought everyone was better than
himself; but, when a fault was proved beyond the possibility of a doubt, he
wept over it as though he had committed it himself; and his zeal demanded that
it should be severely corrected, according to the saying of Saint Augustine,
“with charity towards the offender, and hatred against the sin.”
One of the brethren once
pressed him to say what he considered the greatest favor he had ever received
from God, sanctifying grace, of course, excepted. After a moment’s reflection,
he replied: “I think that of having understood whatever I have read.” He
remembered everything he had once heard, so that his mind -was like a
well-stocked library. He often wrote, dictating at the same time on other
subjects to three or four secretaries, and never losing the thread of the
arguments.
Of Saint Tomas’s manner
of spending his day the following particulars have been preserved. After the
short time absolutely necessary for sleep, he would rise in the night and come
down to the church to pray, returning to his cell just before the bell rang for
matins, that his vigil might pass unnoticed. He would then go down again to
office with the community, often prolonging his prayer till daybreak. After
preparing by penance, confession, and meditation, he celebrated the first Mass,
and for his thanksgiving heard another Mass, which he often served.
He had composed prayers
for all his daily actions, some of which are still preserved. At the elevation
he was accustomed to repeat the words: “Thou, O Christ, art the King of Glory,”
with the remaining verses of the Te Deum. Although lawfully dispensed from
attendance in choir by his duties of teaching and writing and by the numerous
visits of those who sought his advice, he assisted with the rest of his
brethren at all the hours of the Divine Office, at which he often shed tears of
devotion.
When his morning
spiritual exercises were ended, he gave his lectures on Theology or Holy
Scripture, after which he returned to his cell and wrote or dictated till
dinner-time. He ate but once in the day, and was perfectly indifferent to what
was set before him. Indeed, in the refectory he was so absorbed in prayer and
thought, as to become quite unconscious of external things, and his plate was
often changed or his food taken away by the servers, without any notice on his
part.
After dinner he conversed
for a short time with the brethren, then refreshed his soul with a little
spiritual reading, his favorite book being the Conferences of Cassian. After a
short repose, he resumed his labors. Compline in choir with the chanting of the
Salve Regina ended the day. The angelic Doctor was full of childlike devotion
to Our Blessed Lady. His confessor, Brother Reginald, declared that Saint
Thomas had never asked anything through Mary without obtaining it; and the
Saint himself specially attributed to her intercession the grace of living and
dying in the Dominican Order, according to his own earnest desire.
During the whole of one
Lent, he preached on the words: “Ave Maria,” and the same cherished words are
to be found in his own hand-writing over and over again on the margin of an autograph
copy of the “Summa Against the Gentiles,” recently discovered in Italy. On his
death-bed he confided to Brother Reginald that Our Lady had appeared to him
several times, and assured him of the good state of his soul and the solidity
of his doctrine. The holy Apostles SS. Peter and Paul also favored him with
their visits, and explained to him difficult passages of Scripture. The
Epistles of Saint Paul were his favorite subjects of meditation, and he was
accustomed to recommend them to others for the same purpose. He had a special
devotion to Saint Augustine, whose proper Office, still in use in the Dominican
Order, he composed from the holy Doctor’s works.
Saint Thomas used to wear
round his neck a relic of the virgin martyr, Saint Agnes, of which he once made
use to cure Brother Reginald of a fever, which attacked him on a journey to
Naples; and from that time we are told the holy Doctor resolved to celebrate
the feast of Saint Agnes with special solemnity, and, with a touch of nature
that showed human sympathy in the midst of his abstract studies, to have a
better dinner provided in the refectory on that day.
“His marvellous science,”
says Brother Reginald, “was due far less to the power of his genius than to the
efficacy of his prayer. Before studying, entering on a discussion, reading,
writing, or dictating, he always gave himself to prayer. He prayed with tears
to obtain from God the understanding of His mysteries, and abundant light was
granted to his mind.” If he met with a difficulty, he joined fasting and
penance to his prayer, and all his doubts were dispelled. On one occasion,
Saint Bonaventure, coming to visit him, saw an angel assisting him in his
labors.
Among his remarkable
sayings may be mentioned the answer he gave to his sister, when she asked him
what she must do to become a Saint. “Velle,” he replied, i.e., “Will it.” Being
asked what were the signs of the perfection of the soul, he replied: “If I saw
a man fond of trifles in conversation, desirous of honor, and unwilling to be
despised, I would not believe him perfect, even if I saw him work miracles.”
His Death and Honors
Rendered Him by the Church
On the feast of Saint
Nicholas, December 6th, 1273, Saint Thomas was saying Mass in the chapel of the
Saint in the convent of Naples, when he received a revelation which so changed
him that from that time he could neither write nor dictate. Shortly afterwards,
in answer to Brother Reginald’s pressing entreaties, he said to him: “The end
of my labors is come. All that I have written appears to me as so much straw,
after the things that have been revealed to me. I hope in the mercy of God that
the end of my life may soon follow the end of my labors.”
He was suffering from
illness when he received a summons from the Pope to attend the General Council
convoked at Lyons for the reunion of the Greek and Latin Churches. The Saint
therefore started from Naples, accompanied by Brother Reginald and some other
Friars, on the 28th of January, 1274. On the way he was taken much worse. “If
our Lord is about to visit me,” he said to his companions, “it is better he
should find me in a Religious house than among seculars.”
As he was not within
reach of a Dominican convent, he yielded to the pressing invitation of some
Cistercian friends, and allowed them to carry him to their Abbey of Fossa
Nuova. He went straight to the church to adore the Blessed Sacrament; and then,
as he passed through the cloister, he exclaimed: “Here is the place of my rest
for ever.” He was lodged in the Abbot’s room and waited upon with the utmost
charity. The monks went themselves to the forest to cut wood for his fire; and
on seeing them bringing a load into his chamber, the Saint cried out: “Whence
is this that the servants of God should thus serve a man like me, bringing such
heavy burdens from a distance?” In compliance with the earnest entreaties of
the Cistercians, he began to expound to them the Canticle of Canticles; but he
did not live to complete his exposition.
As his end approached, he
with many tears made a general confession of his whole life to Brother
Reginald, and then asked to be laid on ashes on the ground when the Holy
Viaticum was brought to him. On beholding the Blessed Sacrament, he raised
himself into a kneeling posture, and said in a clear and distinct voice, whilst
the tears chased each other down his face: “I receive Thee, the price of my
soul’s ransom; I receive Thee, the Viaticum of my soul’s pilgrimage; for Whose
love I have studied, watched and labored, preached and taught. I have written
much and have often disputed on the mysteries of Thy law, O my God; Thou
knowest I have desired to teach nothing save what I have learnt from Thee. If
what I have written be true, accept it as a homage to Thy Infinite Majesty; if
it be false, pardon my ignorance. I consecrate all I have ever done to Thee,
and submit all to the infallible judgment of Thy Holy Roman Church, in whose
obedience I am about to depart this life.”
Just before receiving the
Sacred Host, he uttered his favorite ejaculation: “Thou, O Christ, art the King
of Glory, Thou art the Everlasting Son of the Father.” After receiving the Holy
Viaticum, he made fervent acts of faith and love-in the words of his own
beautiful Adoro Te. On the following day, while receiving Extreme Unction, he
calmly answered all the prayers, whilst the voices of the assistants were
choked by their sobs. He tried to comfort his own brethren who were
inconsolable at their approaching loss, and most gratefully thanked the
Cistercians for their charity. One of them asked him what was the best way of
living without offending God. “Be certain,” replied the Saint, “that he who
walks in the presence of God and is always ready to give Him an account of his
actions will never be separated from Him by sin.” They were his last words.
Shortly after he fell into his agony and peacefully expired, March 7th, 1274,
not having yet completed his 50th year.
On that same day, Blessed
Albert, then at Cologne, burst into tears ill the presence of the community,
and exclaimed: “Brother Thomas Aquinas, my son in Christ, who was the light of
the Church, is dead. God has revealed it to me.”
At Naples, too, God was
pleased to make known the death of the Saint in a miraculous manner. One of the
Friars, whilst praying in the church, fell into an ecstasy, in which he seemed
to behold the Holy Doctor teaching in the schools, surrounded by a vast
multitude of disciples. Saint Paul the Apostle then appeared, with a company of
Saints, and Saint Thomas asked him if he had interpreted his Epistles rightly.
“Yes,” replied the Apostle, “as far as any one still in the flesh can
understand them; but come with me; I will lead you to a place where you will
have a clearer understanding of all things.” The Apostle then seemed to lay his
hand on Saint Thomas’s mantle and to lead him away; and the Friar who beheld
the vision, startled the community by crying out three times in a loud voice:
“Alas! Alas! our Doctor is being taken away from us!”
Saint Thomas’s funeral
was celebrated at the Abbey with great solemnity. Brother Reginald made a short
address, often interrupted by his own sobs and those of his hearers. He
declared that, having been for many years Saint Thomas’s confessor, he could
solemnly attest that the holy Doctor had never lost his baptismal innocence,
and had died as pure and free from stain as a child of five years old. He then
mentioned some particular favors which Saint Thomas had forbidden him to reveal
during his life-time.
Several revelations of
the Saint’s glory were made after his death, of which the following is perhaps
one of the most interesting. A fervent disciple of his prayed earnestly that he
might know the rank to which his beloved Master had been raised in glory. One
day, as he was making his usual petition before the Altar of Our Lady, two
venerable personages, encompassed with a marvelous light, suddenly stood before
him. One of them was arrayed as a Bishop; the other wore the habit of a Friar
Preacher, but it was resplendent with precious stones; on his head was a crown
of gold and diamonds; from his neck hung two chains of gold and silver; and an
immense carbuncle, in the form of a sun, shone upon his breast, shedding forth
rays of light all around. “God has heard your prayer,” said the former; “I am
Augustine, Doctor of the Church, sent to acquaint you with the glory of Thomas
Aquinas, who reigns with me and who has illuminated the Church with his
knowledge. This is signified by the precious stones with which he is covered.
That which shines on his breast signifies the right intention with which he has
defended the faith; the others denote the books and writings he has composed.
Thomas is my equal in glory: but he has surpassed me by the aureola of
virginity.”
Saint Thomas was
canonized by Pope John XXII at Avignon, 1323. It was not until 1367 that the
Dominicans succeeded in obtaining his body, which they conveyed to their
convent at Toulouse, where it was received with every demonstration of honor.
An annual festival is kept in the Order on January 28th, in memory of this
translation, which was accompanied by many miracles. Valuable relics of the
Saint have been given to various convents of the Order. At the time of the
French Revolution, the Saint’s remains were removed to the crypt of the Church
of Saint Sernin at Toulouse, where they still repose.
In 1567, Saint Pius V
conferred on Saint Thomas the title of Doctor of the Church; and Pope Leo XIII,
by a Brief of August 4th, 1880, instituted him Patron of all Catholic
Universities, Academies, Colleges, and Schools.
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Pacecco De Rosa, San Tommaso d'Aquino che riceve il cingolo della castità, Basilica di Santa Maria della Sanità
San Tommaso d'Aquino Sacerdote
e dottore della Chiesa
Roccasecca, Frosinone,
1225 circa – Fossanova, Latina, 7 marzo 1274
Domenicano (1244),
formatosi nel monastero di Montecassino e nelle grandi scuole del tempo, e
divenuto maestro negli studi di Parigi, Orvieto, Roma, Viterbo e Napoli,
impresse al suo insegnamento un orientamento originale e sapientemente
innovatore. Affidò a molti scritti impegnati e specialmente alla celebre
‘Summa’ la sistemazione geniale della dottrina filosofica e teologica raccolta
dalla tradizione. Ha esercitato un influsso determinante sull’indirizzo del
pensiero filosofico e della ricerca teologica nelle scuole dei secoli seguenti. (Mess.
Rom.)
San Tommaso d'Aquino
rappresenta una delle colonne del pensiero filosofico occidentale e offre
l'esempio di un ricercatore che ha saputo vivere intensamente ciò che stava al
centro dei suoi studi: il messaggio di Cristo. Per questo egli è ancora oggi un
testimone profetico, che ci ricorda come parola e azioni debbano sempre
corrispondere. Tommaso è noto per la sua monumentale opera teologica e
filosofica, in particolare per quel prezioso lavoro di intessitura tra i classici
del pensiero e la tradizione cristiana. La sua eredità di fatto è diventata
parte integrante del patrimonio di fede e ha contribuito a modellare il volto
della Chiesa. Nato nel 1224 a Roccasecca (Frosinone) e divenuto domenicano nel
1244, studiò a Montecassino, Napoli, Colonia, Parigi dove cominciò anche
l'impegno dell'insegnamento. Morì a Fossanova nel 1274.
Patronato: Teologi,
Accademici, Librai, Scolari, Studenti
Etimologia: Tommaso =
gemello, dall'ebraico
Emblema: Bue, Stella
Martirologio Romano: Memoria di san Tommaso d’Aquino, sacerdote dell’Ordine dei Predicatori e dottore della Chiesa, che, dotato di grandissimi doni d’intelletto, trasmise agli altri con discorsi e scritti la sua straordinaria sapienza. Invitato dal beato papa Gregorio X a partecipare al secondo Concilio Ecumenico di Lione, morì il 7 marzo lungo il viaggio nel monastero di Fossanova nel Lazio e dopo molti anni il suo corpo fu in questo giorno traslato a Tolosa.
(7 marzo: Nel monastero cistercense di Fossanova nel Lazio, transito di san
Tommaso d’Aquino, la cui memoria si celebra il 28 gennaio).
Un ragazzo taciturno
La gloria maggiore doveva essere un giovane piuttosto robusto, proveniente dal
centro Italia: si chiamava Tommaso, nato nel 1225, dai Conti d’Aquino nel
castello di Roccasecca, non lontano da Montecassino. Proprio tra i “pueri
oblati” era stato portato Tommaso, di 5 anni, perché studiasse e diventasse,
crescendo, non solo monaco di san Benedetto, ma abate, onorando la sua famiglia
nobile e ricca.
Ma il ragazzo, quando
poté disporre di sé, uscì dal monastero, diciottenne, e tornò in famiglia, per
iscriversi all’università di Napoli, a studiare Filosofia. Era già un
innamorato di Gesù, così che presto, attraverso lo studio condotto con serietà
nell’illibatezza della sua vita verginale, gli nacque la vocazione domenicana.
Lui era nobile, mentre l’Ordine di san Domenico, come quello di san Francesco,
era un Ordine “mendicante”, senza alcuna nobiltà.
Così i parenti pensarono
di impedirgli di seguire la sua strada. A Montefiascone c’è una cappella dove
Tommaso sfuggì dalle mani dei fratelli che volevano acciuffarlo nella sua fuga
verso lo Studio di Parigi, dove lo attendevano Maestri e confratelli
domenicani. Pensando a questo “scontro”, Tommaso scriverà una pagina sulla
nobiltà di tutti gli uomini, perché creati da Dio e redenti da Gesù suo Figlio
fatto uomo, senza attendere la dichiarazione dei diritti dell’uomo, fatta dai
superficiali e spesso violenti “enciclopedisti” del Settecento.
Sfuggendo ai suoi
inseguitori, Tommaso valicò le Alpi e giunse a Parigi. Trent’anni dopo i Maestri
delle Arti di quella città potranno vantare che «omnium studiorum nobilissima
parisiensis civitas» (Parigi, nobilissima città di tutti gli studi) era stata
la maestra del Dottore Angelico, la quale «prius ipsum educavit, nutrivit et
fovit» (= per prima lo educò, lo nutrì e lo promosse).
Ormai i Domenicani
avevano espugnato lo “Studium” parigino: sulla cattedra di Teologia sedeva come
maestro il domenicano Alberto Magno, che intuì subito la capacità
intellettuale, anzi il genio, di Tommaso d’Aquino ancora studente. Fu proprio
Alberto, che sentendolo chiamare dai compagni “il bue muto” per la taciturnità
– colma di Dio, e di pensiero terso come il cielo azzurro – disse, presago: «Un
giorno i muggiti della sua dottrina saranno uditi in tutto il mondo».
Poco più che ventenne,
Tommaso fu ordinato sacerdote e sperimentò il Paradiso, quando ebbe Gesù-Ostia
tra le mani, lui che era e sarà sempre più un’anima grandissima proprio perché
eucaristica. Sarà lui a scrivere la Messa e l’Ufficio divino del Corpus Domini,
quando papa Urbano IV, nel 1264, con la bolla Transiturus estese la festa a
tutta la Chiesa.
“La Sapienza più preziosa”
La sua fu vita di preghiera, di meditazione e di studio tutta incentrata in
Gesù, come l’Unico della sua giornata terrena. Vita di insegnamento, secondo
l’essenza dello spirito dell’Ordine: “Contemplari, contemplata aliis tradere”
(= contemplare Dio, trasmettere, comunicare agli altri Dio e le realtà di Dio
contemplate). Questo però non vuol dire vita tranquilla.
La sua battaglia contro gli
errori insidiosi, le tendenze pericolose, contro le dottrine accondiscendenti
all’eresia – l’eresia è sempre la gnosi, antica o moderna che sia – sempre
latente quando non è aperta, comunque sempre minacciosa, non ebbe mai tregua.
Quando saliva in cattedra,
portava con sé una mela, la mostrava agli studenti e chiedeva: «Che cos’è
questa?». Qualcuno sorrideva, ma si rispondeva: «Una mela!». «Va bene –
ribatteva Maestro Tommaso –, ma chi non fosse d’accordo, esca dall’aula». Non
era una battuta per ridere, ma l’affermazione che la sua filosofia parte da ciò
che è, dall’ente che, prima di tutto, esiste e che può essere conosciuto dalla
mente umana.
Così Tommaso definisce la
Verità: «Adaequatio intellectus et rei», «corrispondenza dell’intelletto alla
realtà». Insomma, una filosofia dell’essere, la filosofia pertanto perenne, la
filosofia del buon senso.
Tutto qui? Ma è cosa
grandissima: i sofisti prima di Tommaso e dopo Tommaso negano che si possa
conoscere la realtà nella sua essenza, ma si conoscerebbe solo “il pensiero”,
“il pensabile”, quindi ognuno ha “la sua” verità, pensa ciò che gli pare e gli
piace. È una conoscenza umana separata dall’essere, che si allontana dal reale
e pertanto da Dio: sofisma e gnosi.
Così attorno alla sua
cattedra, come contro uno scoglio, si abbatterono non le ondate della
persecuzione o della ribellione, ma gli errori, le eresie che sono le cose più
ostinate, più insistenti e più logoranti, che in breve tempo o alla lunga
rendono ciechi. Serio, sereno, silenzioso, sempre più lucido di mente, di
analisi e di sintesi. Maestro Tommaso li confutava alla luce della ragione,
illuminata dalla fede. Così molto presto, Alberto Magno, già suo maestro, lo
chiamò «splendore e fiore del mondo».
Intelligentissimo,
intuitivo come mosso da una luce superiore, il suo pensiero non era fatto di
lampeggiamenti fuggevoli, e di geniali impennamenti, ma come uno specchio
limpidissimo, ravvolgeva la luce della Verità (studiava e contemplava) e la
trasmetteva agli altri (insegnava, predicava) in una sintesi perfetta di
contemplazione e predicazione. Tutto con tranquillo fulgore. Tramite lui, la
Verità si presentava con evidenza, che è appunto «fulgor veritatis consensum
mentis rapiens» (= lo splendore, la chiarezza della verità che conquista,
rapisce il consenso della mente).
Immerso nella
riflessione, nello studio della Verità, mentre stava su una nave, non avvertì
la burrasca, mentre una notte con la candela in mano, non sentì il bruciore
della fiamma, sulla mano. Un vero puro di cuore, Dio lo aveva liberato
dall’amor proprio e dall’impurità, consentendogli di vedere Dio, secondo
l’evangelica beatitudine.
In fondo il suo studio,
il suo magistero, nelle università di Parigi e d’Europa, era rivolto a Gesù
Cristo: tutto doveva servire a conoscerlo di più, a fondare la sua conoscenza,
a stabilire i preambula fidei (i preliminari della Fede), per amarlo di più,
per farlo amare dai semplici e dai dotti, dalla gioventù studiosa d’Europa, dai
candidati al titolo accademico, dagli apostoli del suo Ordine e degli altri
Ordini religiosi.
Mai sazio di sapere,
insaziabile di amare Dio e il Figlio suo Gesù Cristo e di farlo amare, dilatava
fino all’ultima falda, fino all’incredibile, la sua indagine. “Ruminava” fino a
ridurre tutto al “cibo essenziale della Verità”, che in fondo è Gesù solo.
«Maestro – gli
domandarono un giorno i suoi allievi, tornando da una passeggiata –, guardate
quanto è bella Parigi. Vi piacerebbe essere il suo signore?». Rispose Maestro
Tommaso: «Preferisco le Omelie di san Giovanni Crisostomo sul Vangelo di
Matteo. Non basta tutta Parigi a pagarle».
Alla destra della sala
capitolare di Santa Maria Novella a Firenze, una celebre pittura rappresenta il
trionfo della Sapienza. Nel mezzo dell’affresco, san Tommaso è seduto in trono
con un gran libro aperto sul petto. La Sapienza di cui l’affresco celebra il
trionfo, si è raccolta in maggior abbondanza in lui, il “Dottore Angelico”, che
mostra non un suo libro ma quello della Sapienza stessa alle pagine dove si
legge: «Ho desiderato l’intelligenza e mi è stata data; ho invocato e lo
spirito della Sapienza è venuto in me. L’ho preferita ai regni e ai troni e ho
stimato la ricchezza un nulla a confronto della Sapienza».
La “Summa” come poema
Tommaso è il santo di questa intelligenza: la sua dottrina si regge sul primato
dell’intelletto, che è la condizione stessa dell’amore. Solo un essere
intelligente è capace di amore. «Quello che vi è di più perfetto nell’uomo è
l’operazione dell’intelligenza – dice Tommaso nel primo trattato della sua
Summa Theologiae (il suo capolavoro, ma tutto è capolavoro in Tommaso) – per
cui la beatitudine di un essere dotato di intelligenza consiste
nell’intelligenza stessa, nel conoscere».
Dante ha espresso questa
affermazione di Tommaso nei suoi mirabili versi «Luce intellettual piena
d’amore; / amore di vero ben pien di letizia; / letizia che trascende ogni
dolore». La chiave di tutta la Summa – ossia la costruzione più mirabilmente
pensata e connessa –, è proprio in questa intelligenza che è letizia, perché è
la gioia di ogni essere dotato di intelligenza.
Così le controversie, le
discussioni, le insidie quasi non hanno lasciato traccia nella Summa. Anzi,
ogni controversia, ogni discussione, ogni insidia è diventata come il materiale
da costruzione, nel sillogismo tomistico. Ne risulta che la Summa è come un
poema, con un ritmo costante e tranquillo. Ogni verità è discussa, messa in
dubbio, provata e infine definita attraverso quelle luminose strofe dei
“videtur” (sembra), dei “sed contra” (in contrario), infine dei “respondeo”
(rispondo) e delle “soluzioni”.
Proprio questo “poema”,
dove l’intelligenza è illuminata dalla fede e dalla grazia, depose in favore
della sua santità. Giunto alla morte non ancora cinquantenne, il 7 marzo 1274,
egli aveva dichiarato che “a confronto di quanto aveva visto [= il mondo di
Dio], le sue opere gli sembravano solo vile paglia”. Ma quali non potevano
essere le sue virtù eroiche? Il Crocifisso stesso aveva elogiato la sua opera
dicendogli: «Hai scritto bene di me». Nessuno negava la sua umiltà, la sua
angelica purezza, la sua obbedienza, la sua povertà, il suo spirito di
semplicità, di infanzia nello spirito. Era stato un eccellente cattolico, un
ottimo religioso, ma questo non appariva sufficiente a decretargli gli onori
degli altari. Si diceva che “il bue muto” era rimasto muto anche dopo la sua morte,
astenendosi dal fare strepitosi miracoli.
Ma il papa Giovanni XXII,
volendolo canonizzare, alle obiezioni canoniche rispose: «Tommaso ha illuminato
la Chiesa più di tutti gli altri Dottori e un uomo fa più profitto sui suoi
libri in un solo anno, che non sulle dottrine degli altri per tutto il tempo
della sua vita».
Anche oggi la luce da cui
può partire una nuova primavera della Chiesa, non viene dalla cosiddetta “aria
fresca” del pensiero moderno, che subito si rivela gelida e distruttiva di ogni
verità e di ogni frutto, ma solo dal Cristo accolto dalla filosofia e dalla
teologia perenne di Maestro Tommaso. Così insegna il Magistero della Chiesa:
citiamo tra tutti quelli che gli hanno reso omaggio, i Pontefici Leone XIII,
san Pio X, Benedetto XV, Pio XI, Pio XII, che lo hanno definito “garante della
Fede cattolica”.
Paolo Risso
Fonte: www.settimnaleppio.it
Quando papa Giovanni XXII nel 1323, iscrisse Tommaso d’Aquino nell’Albo dei Santi, a quanti obiettavano che egli non aveva compiuto grandi prodigi, né in vita né dopo morto, il papa rispose con una famosa frase: “Quante preposizioni teologiche scrisse, tanti miracoli fece”.
E questo, è il riconoscimento più grande che si potesse dare al grande teologo
e Dottore della Chiesa, che con la sua “Summa teologica”, diede
sistematicamente un fondamento scientifico, filosofico e teologico alla
dottrina cristiana.
Origini, oblato a Montecassino, studente a Napoli
Tommaso, nacque all’incirca nel 1225 nel castello di Roccasecca (Frosinone) nel Basso Lazio, che faceva parte del feudo dei conti d’Aquino; il padre Landolfo, era di origine longobarda e vedovo con tre figli, aveva sposato in seconde nozze Teodora, napoletana di origine normanna; dalla loro unione nacquero nove figli, quattro maschi e cinque femmine, dei quali Tommaso era l’ultimo dei maschi.
Secondo il costume dell’epoca, il bimbo a cinque anni, fu mandato come “oblato” nell’Abbazia di Montecassino; l’oblatura non contemplava che il ragazzo, giunto alla maggiore età, diventasse necessariamente un monaco, ma era semplicemente una preparazione, che rendeva i candidati idonei a tale scelta.
Verso i 14 anni, Tommaso che si trovava molto bene nell’abbazia, fu costretto a lasciarla, perché nel 1239 fu occupata militarmente dall’imperatore Federico II, allora in contrasto con il papa Gregorio IX, e che mandò via tutti i monaci, tranne otto di origine locale, riducendone così la funzionalità; l’abate accompagnò personalmente l’adolescente Tommaso dai genitori, raccomandando loro di farlo studiare presso l’Università di Napoli, allora sotto la giurisdizione dell’imperatore.
A Napoli frequentò il corso delle Arti liberali, ed ebbe l’opportunità di
conoscere alcuni scritti di Aristotele, allora proibiti nelle Facoltà
ecclesiastiche, intuendone il grande valore.
Domenicano; incomprensioni della famiglia
Inoltre conobbe nel vicino convento di San Domenico, i frati Predicatori e ne restò conquistato per il loro stile di vita e per la loro profonda predicazione; aveva quasi 20 anni, quando decise di entrare nel 1244 nell’Ordine Domenicano; i suoi superiori intuito il talento del giovane, decisero di mandarlo a Parigi per completare gli studi.
Intanto i suoi familiari, specie la madre Teodora rimasta vedova, che sperava in lui per condurre gli affari del casato, rimasero di stucco per questa scelta; pertanto la castellana di Roccasecca, chiese all’imperatore che si trovava in Toscana, di dare una scorta ai figli, che erano allora al suo servizio, affinché questi potessero bloccare Tommaso, già in viaggio verso Parigi.
I fratelli poterono così fermarlo e riportarlo verso casa, sostando prima nel castello paterno di Monte San Giovanni, dove Tommaso fu chiuso in una cella; il sequestro durò complessivamente un anno; i familiari nel contempo, cercarono in tutti i modi di farlo desistere da quella scelta, ritenuta non consona alla dignità della casata.
Arrivarono perfino ad introdurre una sera, una bellissima ragazza nella cella, per tentarlo nella castità; ma Tommaso di solito pacifico, perse la pazienza e con un tizzone ardente in mano, la fece fuggire via. La castità del giovane domenicano era proverbiale, tanto da meritare in seguito il titolo di “Dottore Angelico”.
Su questa situazione i racconti della ‘Vita’, divergono, si dice che papa
Innocenzo IV, informato dai preoccupati Domenicani, chiese all’imperatore di
liberarlo e così tornò a casa; altri dicono che Tommaso riuscì a fuggire; altri
che Tommaso ricondotto a casa della madre, la quale non riusciva ad accettare
che un suo figlio facesse parte di un Ordine ‘mendicante’, resistette a tutti i
tentativi fatti per distoglierlo, tanto che dopo un po’ anche la sorella
Marotta, passò dalla sua parte e in seguito diventò monaca e badessa nel
monastero di Santa Maria a Capua; infine anche la madre si convinse,
permettendo ai domenicani di far visita al figlio e dopo un anno di quella
situazione. lo lasciò finalmente partire.
Studente a Colonia con s. Alberto Magno
Ritornato a Napoli, il Superiore Generale, Giovanni il Teutonico, ritenne opportuno anche questa volta, di trasferirlo all’estero per approfondire gli studi; dopo una sosta a Roma, Tommaso fu mandato a Colonia dove insegnava sant’Alberto Magno (1193-1280), domenicano, filosofo e teologo, vero iniziatore dell’aristotelismo medioevale nel mondo latino e uomo di cultura enciclopedica.
Tommaso divenne suo discepolo per quasi cinque anni, dal 1248 al 1252; si instaurò così una feconda convivenza tra due geni della cultura; risale a questo periodo l’offerta fattagli da papa Innocenzo IV di rivestire la carica di abate di Montecassino, succedendo al defunto abate Stefano II, ma Tommaso che nei suoi principi rifuggiva da ogni carica nella Chiesa, che potesse coinvolgerlo in affari temporali, rifiutò decisamente, anche perché amava oltremodo restare nell’Ordine Domenicano.
A Colonia per il suo atteggiamento silenzioso, fu soprannominato dai compagni di studi “il bue muto”, riferendosi anche alla sua corpulenza; s. Alberto Magno venuto in possesso di alcuni appunti di Tommaso, su una difficile questione teologica discussa in una lezione, dopo averli letti, decise di far sostenere allo studente italiano una disputa, che Tommaso seppe affrontare e svolgere con intelligenza.
Stupito, il Maestro davanti a tutti esclamò: “Noi lo chiamiamo bue muto, ma
egli con la sua dottrina emetterà un muggito che risuonerà in tutto il mondo”.
Sacerdote; Insegnante all’Università di Parigi; Dottore in Teologia
Nel 1252, da poco ordinato sacerdote, Tommaso d’Aquino, fu indicato dal suo grande maestro ed estimatore s. Alberto, quale candidato alla Cattedra di “baccalarius biblicus” all’Università di Parigi, rispondendo così ad una richiesta del Generale dell’Ordine, Giovanni di Wildeshauen.
Tommaso aveva appena 27 anni e si ritrovò ad insegnare a Parigi sotto il Maestro Elia Brunet, preparandosi nel contempo al dottorato in Teologia.
Ogni Ordine religioso aveva diritto a due cattedre, una per gli studenti della provincia francese e l’altra per quelli di tutte le altre province europee; Tommaso fu destinato ad essere “maestro degli stranieri”.
Ma la situazione all’Università parigina non era tranquilla in quel tempo; i professori parigini del clero secolare, erano in lotta contro i colleghi degli Ordini mendicanti, scientificamente più preparati, ma considerati degli intrusi nel mondo universitario; e quando nel 1255-56, Tommaso divenne Dottore in Teologia a 31 anni, gli scontri fra Domenicani e clero secolare, impedirono che potesse salire in cattedra per insegnare; in questo periodo Tommaso difese i diritti degli Ordini religiosi all’insegnamento, con un celebre e polemico scritto: “Contra impugnantes”; ma furono necessari vari interventi del papa Alessandro IV, affinché la situazione si sbloccasse in suo favore.
Nell’ottobre 1256 poté tenere la sua prima lezione, grazie al cancelliere di Notre-Dame, Americo da Veire, ma passò ancora altro tempo, affinché il professore italiano fosse formalmente accettato nel Corpo Accademico dell’Università.
Già con il commento alle “Sentenze” di Pietro Lombardo, si era guadagnato il favore e l’ammirazione degli studenti; l’insegnamento di Tommaso era nuovo; professore in Sacra Scrittura, organizzava in modo insolito l’argomento con nuovi metodi di prova, nuovi esempi per arrivare alla conclusione; egli era uno spirito aperto e libero, fedele alla dottrina della Chiesa e innovatore allo stesso tempo.
“Già sin d’allora, egli divideva il suo insegnamento secondo un suo schema fondamentale, che contemplava tutta la creazione, che, uscita dalle mani di Dio, vi faceva ora ritorno per rituffarsi nel suo amore” (Enrico Pepe, Martiri e Santi, Città Nuova, 2002).
A Parigi, Tommaso d’Aquino, dietro invito di s. Raimondo di Peñafort, già
Generale dell’Ordine Domenicano, iniziò a scrivere un trattato teologico,
intitolato “Summa contra Gentiles”, per dare un valido ausilio ai missionari,
che si preparavano per predicare in quei luoghi, dove vi era una forte presenza
di ebrei e musulmani.
Il ritorno in Italia; collaboratore di pontefici
All’Università di Parigi, Tommaso rimase per tre anni; nel 1259 fu richiamato in Italia dove continuò a predicare ed insegnare, prima a Napoli nel convento culla della sua vocazione, poi ad Anagni dov’era la curia pontificia (1259-1261), poi ad Orvieto (1261-1265), dove il papa Urbano IV fissò la sua residenza dal 1262 al 1264.
Il pontefice si avvalse dell’opera dell’ormai famoso teologo, residente nella stessa città umbra; Tommaso collaborò così alla compilazione della “Catena aurea” (commento continuo ai quattro Vangeli) e sempre su richiesta del papa, impegnato in trattative con la Chiesa Orientale, Tommaso approfondì la sua conoscenza della teologia greca, procurandosi le traduzioni in latino dei padri greci e quindi scrisse un trattato “Contra errores Graecorum”, che per molti secoli esercitò un influsso positivo nei rapporti ecumenici.
Sempre nel periodo trascorso ad Orvieto, Tommaso ebbe dal papa l’incarico di scrivere la liturgia e gli inni della festa del Corpus Domini, istituita l’8 settembre 1264, a seguito del miracolo eucaristico, avvenuto nella vicina Bolsena nel 1263, quando il sacerdote boemo Pietro da Praga, che nutriva dubbi sulla transustanziazione, vide stillare copioso sangue, dall’ostia consacrata che aveva fra le mani, bagnando il corporale, i lini e il pavimento.
Fra gli inni composti da Tommaso d’Aquino, dove il grande teologo profuse tutto il suo spirito poetico e mistico, da vero cantore dell’Eucaristia, c’è il famoso “Pange, lingua, gloriosi Corporis mysterium”, di cui due strofe inizianti con “Tantum ergo”, si cantano da allora ogni volta che si impartisce la benedizione col SS. Sacramento.
Nel 1265 fu trasferito a Roma, a dirigere lo “Studium generale” dell’Ordine
Domenicano, che aveva sede nel convento di Santa Sabina; nei circa due anni
trascorsi a Roma, Tommaso ebbe il compito di organizzare i corsi di teologia
per gli studenti della Provincia Romana dei Domenicani.
La “Summa theologiae”; affiancato da p. Reginaldo
A Roma, si rese conto che non tutti gli allievi erano preparati per un corso teologico troppo impegnativo, quindi cominciò a scrivere per loro una “Summa theologiae”, per “presentare le cose che riguardano la religione cristiana, in un modo che sia adatto all’istruzione dei principianti”.
La grande opera teologica, che gli darà fama in tutti i secoli successivi, fu divisa in uno schema a lui caro, in tre parti: la prima tratta di Dio uno e trino e della “processione di tutte le creature da Lui”; la seconda parla del “movimento delle creature razionali verso Dio”; la terza presenta Gesù “che come uomo è la via attraverso cui torniamo a Dio”. L’opera iniziata a Roma nel 1267 e continuata per ben sette anni, fu interrotta improvvisamente il 6 dicembre 1273 a Napoli, tre mesi prima di morire.
Intanto Tommaso d’Aquino, per i suoi continui trasferimenti, non poteva più vivere una vita di comunità, secondo il carisma di s. Domenico di Guzman e ciò gli procurava difficoltà; i suoi superiori pensarono allora di affiancargli un frate di grande valore, sacerdote e lettore in teologia, fra Reginaldo da Piperno; questi ebbe l’incarico di assisterlo in ogni necessità, seguendolo ovunque, confessandolo, servendogli la Messa, ascoltandolo e consigliandolo; in altre parole i due domenicani vennero a costituire una piccola comunità, dove potevano quotidianamente confrontarsi.
Nel 1267, Tommaso dovette mettersi di nuovo in viaggio per raggiungere a
Viterbo papa Clemente IV, suo grande amico, che lo volle collaboratore nella
nuova residenza papale; il pontefice lo voleva poi come arcivescovo di Napoli,
ma egli decisamente rifiutò.
Per tre anni di nuovo a Parigi e poi ritorno a Napoli
Nel decennio trascorso in Italia, in varie località, Tommaso compose molte opere, fra le quali, oltre quelle già menzionate prima, anche “De unitate intellectus”; “De Redimine principum” (trattato politico, rimasto incompiuto); le “Quaestiones disputatae, ‘De potentia’ e ‘De anima’” e buona parte del suo capolavoro, la già citata “Summa teologica”, il testo che avrebbe ispirato la teologia cattolica fino ai nostri tempi.
All’inizio del 1269 fu richiamato di nuovo a Parigi, dove all’Università era ripreso il contrasto fra i maestri secolari e i maestri degli Ordini mendicanti; occorreva la presenza di un teologo di valore per sedare gli animi.
A Parigi, Tommaso, oltre che continuare a scrivere le sue opere, ben cinque, e la continuazione della Summa, dovette confutare con altri celebri scritti, gli avversari degli Ordini mendicanti da un lato e dall’altro difendere il proprio aristotelismo nei confronti dei Francescani, fedeli al neoplatonismo agostiniano, e soprattutto confutò alcuni errori dottrinari, dall’averroismo, alle tesi eterodosse di Sigieri di Brabante sull’origine del mondo, sull’anima umana e sul libero arbitrio.
Nel 1272 ritornò in Italia, a Napoli, facendo sosta a Montecassino, Roccasecca, Molara; Ceccano; nella capitale organizzò, su richiesta di Carlo I d’Angiò, un nuovo “Studium generale” dell’Ordine Domenicano, insegnando per due anni al convento di San Domenico, il cui Studio teologico era incorporato all’Università.
Qui intraprese la stesura della terza parte della Summa, rimasta interrotta e
completata dopo la sua morte dal fedele collaboratore fra Reginaldo, che
utilizzò la dottrina di altri suoi trattati, trasferendone i dovuti paragrafi.
L’interruzione radicale del suo scrivere
Tommaso aveva goduto sempre di ottima salute e di un’eccezionale capacità di lavoro; la sua giornata iniziava al mattino presto, si confessava a Reginaldo, celebrava la Messa e poi la serviva al suo collaboratore; il resto della mattinata trascorreva fra le lezioni agli studenti e segretari e il prosieguo dei suoi studi; altrettanto faceva nelle ore pomeridiane dopo il pranzo e la preghiera, di notte continuava a studiare, poi prima dell’alba si recava in chiesa per pregare, avendo l’accortezza di mettersi a letto un po’ prima della sveglia per non farsi notare dai confratelli.
Ma il 6 dicembre 1273 gli accadde un fatto strano, mentre celebrava la Messa, qualcosa lo colpì nel profondo del suo essere, perché da quel giorno la sua vita cambiò ritmo e non volle più scrivere né dettare altro.
Ci furono vari tentativi da parte di padre Reginaldo, di fargli dire o confidare il motivo di tale svolta; solo più tardi Tommaso gli disse: “Reginaldo, non posso, perché tutto quello che ho scritto è come paglia per me, in confronto a ciò che ora mi è stato rivelato”, aggiungendo: “L’unica cosa che ora desidero, è che Dio dopo aver posto fine alla mia opera di scrittore, possa presto porre termine anche alla mia vita”.
Anche il suo fisico risentì di quanto gli era accaduto quel 6 dicembre, non
solo smise di scrivere, ma riusciva solo a pregare e a svolgere le attività
fisiche più elementari.
I doni mistici
La rivelazione interiore che l’aveva trasformato, era stata preceduta, secondo quanto narrano i suoi primi biografi, da un mistico colloquio con Gesù; infatti mentre una notte era in preghiera davanti al Crocifisso (oggi venerato nell’omonima Cappella, della grandiosa Basilica di S. Domenico in Napoli), egli si sentì dire “Tommaso, tu hai scritto bene di me. Che ricompensa vuoi?” e lui rispose: “Nient’altro che te, Signore”.
Ed ecco che quella mattina di dicembre, Gesù Crocifisso lo assimilò a sé, il “bue muto di Sicilia” che fino allora aveva sbalordito il mondo con il muggito della sua intelligenza, si ritrovò come l’ultimo degli uomini, un servo inutile che aveva trascorso la vita ammucchiando paglia, di fronte alla sapienza e grandezza di Dio, di cui aveva avuto sentore.
Il suo misticismo, è forse poco conosciuto, abbagliati come si è dalla grandezza delle sue opere teologiche; celebrava la Messa ogni giorno, ma era così intensa la sua partecipazione, che un giorno a Salerno fu visto levitare da terra.
Le sue tante visioni hanno ispirato ai pittori un attributo, è spesso
raffigurato nei suoi ritratti, con una luce raggiata sul petto o sulla spalla.
Sempre più ammalato; in viaggio per Lione
Con l’intento di staccarsi dall’ambiente del suo convento napoletano, che gli ricordava continuamente studi e libri, in compagnia di Reginaldo, si recò a far visita ad una sorella, contessa Teodora di San Severino; ma il soggiorno fu sconcertante, Tommaso assorto in una sua interiore estasi, non riuscì quasi a proferire parola, tanto che la sorella dispiaciuta, pensò che avesse perduto la testa e nei tre giorni trascorsi al castello, fu circondato da cure affettuose.
Ritornò poi a Napoli, restandovi per qualche settimana ammalato; durante la malattia, due religiosi videro una grande stella entrare dalla finestra e posarsi per un attimo sul capo dell’ammalato e poi scomparire di nuovo, così come era venuta.
Intanto nel 1274, dalla Francia papa Gregorio X, ignaro delle sue condizioni di salute, lo invitò a partecipare al Concilio di Lione, indetto per promuovere l’unione fra Roma e l’Oriente; Tommaso volle ancora una volta obbedire, pur essendo cosciente delle difficoltà per lui di intraprendere un viaggio così lungo.
Partì in gennaio, accompagnato da un gruppetto di frati domenicani e da Reginaldo, che sperava sempre in una ripresa del suo maestro; a complicare le cose, lungo il viaggio ci fu un incidente, scendendo da Teano, Tommaso si ferì il capo urtando contro un albero rovesciato.
Giunti presso il castello di Maenza, dove viveva la nipote Francesca, la
comitiva si fermò per qualche giorno, per permettere a Tommaso di riprendere le
forze, qui si ammalò nuovamente, perdendo anche l’appetito; si sa che quando i
frati per invogliarlo a mangiare gli chiesero cosa desiderasse, egli rispose:
“le alici”, come quelle che aveva mangiato anni prima in Francia.
La sua fine nell’abbazia di Fossanova
Tutte le cure furono inutili, sentendo approssimarsi la fine, Tommaso chiese di essere portato nella vicina abbazia di Fossanova, dove i monaci cistercensi l’accolsero con delicata ospitalità; giunto all’abbazia nel mese di febbraio, restò ammalato per circa un mese.
Prossimo alla fine, tre giorni prima volle ricevere gli ultimi sacramenti, fece la confessione generale a Reginaldo, e quando l’abate Teobaldo gli portò la Comunione, attorniato dai monaci e amici dei dintorni, Tommaso disse alcuni concetti sulla presenza reale di Gesù nell’Eucaristia, concludendo: “Ho molto scritto ed insegnato su questo Corpo Sacratissimo e sugli altri sacramenti, secondo la mia fede in Cristo e nella Santa Romana Chiesa, al cui giudizio sottopongo tutta la mia dottrina”.
Il mattino del 7 marzo 1274, il grande teologo morì, a soli 49 anni; aveva
scritto più di 40 volumi.
Il suo insegnamento teologico
La sua vita fu interamente dedicata allo studio e all’insegnamento; la sua produzione fu immensa; due vastissime “Summe”, commenti a quasi tutte le opere aristoteliche, opere di esegesi biblica, commentari a Pietro Lombardo, a Boezio e a Dionigi l’Areopagita , 510 “Questiones disputatae”, 12 “Quodlibera”, oltre 40 opuscoli.
Tommaso scriveva per i suoi studenti, perciò il suo linguaggio era chiaro e convincente, il discorso si svolgeva secondo le esigenze didattiche, senza lasciare zone d’ombra, concetti non ben definiti o non precisati.
Egli si rifaceva anche nello stile al modello aristotelico, e rimproverava ai platonici il loro linguaggio troppo simbolico e metafisico.
Ciò nonostante alcune tesi di Tommaso d’Aquino, così radicalmente innovatrici,
fecero scalpore e suscitarono le più vivaci reazioni da parte dei teologi
contemporanei; s. Alberto Magno intervenne più volte in favore del suo antico
discepolo, nonostante ciò nel 1277 si arrivò alla condanna da parte del vescovo
E. Tempier a Parigi, e a Oxford sotto la pressione dell’arcivescovo di
Canterbury, R. Kilwardby; le condanne furono ribadite nel 1284 e nel 1286 dal
successivo arcivescovo J. Peckham.
L’Ordine Domenicano, si impegnò nella difesa del suo più grande maestro e nel
1278 dichiarò il “Tomismo” dottrina ufficiale dell’Ordine. Ma la condanna fu
abrogata solo nel 1325, due anni dopo che papa Giovanni XXII ad Avignone,
l’aveva proclamato santo il 18 luglio 1323.
Il suo culto
Nel 1567 s. Tommaso d’Aquino fu proclamato Dottore della Chiesa e il 4 agosto 1880, patrono delle scuole e università cattoliche.
La sua festa liturgica, da secoli fissata al 7 marzo, giorno del suo decesso, dopo il Concilio Vaticano II, che ha raccomandato di spostare le feste liturgiche dei santi dal periodo quaresimale e pasquale, è stata spostata al 28 gennaio, data della traslazione del 1369.
Le sue reliquie sono venerate in vari luoghi, a seguito dei trasferimenti parziali dei suoi resti, inizialmente sepolti nella chiesa dell’abbazia di Fossanova, presso l’altare maggiore e poi per alterne vicende e richieste autorevoli, smembrati nel tempo; sono venerate a Fossanova, nel Duomo della vicina Priverno, nella chiesa di Saint-Sermain a Tolosa in Francia, portate lì nel 1369 dai Domenicani, su autorizzazione di papa Urbano V, e poi altre a San Severino, su richiesta dalla sorella Teodora e da lì trasferite poi a Salerno; altre reliquie si trovano nell’antico convento dei Domenicani di Napoli e nel Duomo della città.
A chiusura di questa necessariamente incompleta scheda, si riporta il
bellissimo inno eucaristico, dove san Tommaso profuse tutto il suo amore e la
fede nel mistero dell’Eucaristia.
“Pange lingua” di S. Tommaso d’Aquino (Testo latino)
Pange língua gloriósi
Córporis mystérium,
Sanguinísque pretiósi,
Quem in mundi prétium
fructus ventris generósi
Rex effúdit géntium.
Nobis datus, nobis natus
ex intácta Vírgine,
et in mundo conversátus,
sparso verbi sémine,
sui moras incolátus
miro cláusit órdine.
In suprémae nocte cenae
recúmbens cum frátribus,
observáta lege plene
cibis in legálibus,
cibum turbae duodénae
se dat suis mánibus.
Verbum caro panem verum
verbo carnem éfficit:
fitque sanguis Christi merum.
Et si sensus déficit,
ad firmándum cor sincérum
sola fides súfficit.
Tantum ergo Sacraméntum
venerémur cérnui:
et antícuum documéntum
novo cedat rítui:
praestet fides suppleméntum
sénsuum deféctui.
Genitóri, Genitóque
laus et jubilátio,
salus, hónor, virtus quoque
sit et benedíctio:
procedénti ad utróque
cómpar sit laudátio.
Amen.
“Pange lingua” (Traduzione italiana)
Canta, o mia lingua,
il mistero del corpo glorioso
e del sangue prezioso
che il Re delle nazioni,
frutto benedetto di un grembo generoso,
sparse per il riscatto del mondo.
Si è dato a noi, nascendo per noi
da una Vergine purissima,
visse nel mondo spargendo
il seme della sua parola
e chiuse in modo mirabile
il tempo della sua dimora quaggiù.
Nella notte dell'ultima Cena,
sedendo a mensa con i suoi fratelli,
dopo aver osservato pienamente
le prescrizioni della legge,
si diede in cibo agli apostoli
con le proprie mani.
Il Verbo fatto carne cambia con la sua parola
il pane vero nella sua carne
e il vino nel suo sangue,
e se i sensi vengono meno,
la fede basta per rassicurare
un cuore sincero.
Adoriamo, dunque, prostrati
un sì gran sacramento;
l'antica legge
ceda alla nuova,
e la fede supplisca
al difetto dei nostri sensi.
Gloria e lode,
salute, onore,
potenza e benedizione
al Padre e al Figlio:
pari lode sia allo Spirito Santo,
che procede da entrambi.
Amen.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/22550
Donato
Mascagni, Il giovane San Tommaso d'Aquino cinto dagli Angeli, circa 1600
BENEDETTO XVI
UDIENZA GENERALE
Piazza San Pietro
Mercoledì, 2 giugno
2010
San Tommaso d'Aquino
Cari fratelli e sorelle,
dopo alcune catechesi sul
sacerdozio e i miei ultimi viaggi, ritorniamo oggi al nostro tema principale,
alla meditazione cioè di alcuni grandi pensatori del Medio Evo. Avevamo visto
ultimamente la grande figura di san Bonaventura, francescano, e oggi vorrei
parlare di colui che la Chiesa chiama il Doctor communis: cioè san Tommaso
d’Aquino. Il mio venerato Predecessore, il Papa Giovanni
Paolo II, nella sua Enciclica Fides
et ratio ha ricordato che san Tommaso “è sempre stato proposto dalla
Chiesa come maestro di pensiero e modello del retto modo di fare teologia” (n.
43). Non sorprende che, dopo sant’Agostino, tra gli scrittori ecclesiastici
menzionati nel Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica, san Tommaso venga citato
più di ogni altro, per ben sessantuno volte! Egli è stato chiamato anche
il Doctor Angelicus, forse per le sue virtù, in particolare la sublimità
del pensiero e la purezza della vita.
Tommaso nacque tra il
1224 e il 1225 nel castello che la sua famiglia, nobile e facoltosa, possedeva
a Roccasecca, nei pressi di Aquino, vicino alla celebre abbazia di
Montecassino, dove fu inviato dai genitori per ricevere i primi elementi della
sua istruzione. Qualche anno dopo si trasferì nella capitale del Regno di
Sicilia, Napoli, dove Federico II aveva fondato una prestigiosa Università. In
essa veniva insegnato, senza le limitazioni vigenti altrove, il pensiero del
filosofo greco Aristotele, al quale il giovane Tommaso venne introdotto, e di
cui intuì subito il grande valore. Ma soprattutto, in quegli anni trascorsi a
Napoli, nacque la sua vocazione domenicana. Tommaso fu infatti attratto
dall’ideale dell’Ordine fondato non molti anni prima da san Domenico. Tuttavia,
quando rivestì l’abito domenicano, la sua famiglia si oppose a questa scelta,
ed egli fu costretto a lasciare il convento e a trascorrere qualche tempo in
famiglia.
Nel 1245, ormai
maggiorenne, poté riprendere il suo cammino di risposta alla chiamata di Dio.
Fu inviato a Parigi per studiare teologia sotto la guida di un altro santo,
Alberto Magno, sul quale ho parlato recentemente. Alberto e Tommaso strinsero
una vera e profonda amicizia e impararono a stimarsi e a volersi bene, al punto
che Alberto volle che il suo discepolo lo seguisse anche a Colonia, dove egli
era stato inviato dai Superiori dell’Ordine a fondare uno studio teologico.
Tommaso prese allora contatto con tutte le opere di Aristotele e dei suoi
commentatori arabi, che Alberto illustrava e spiegava.
In quel periodo, la
cultura del mondo latino era stata profondamente stimolata dall’incontro con le
opere di Aristotele, che erano rimaste ignote per molto tempo. Si trattava di
scritti sulla natura della conoscenza, sulle scienze naturali, sulla
metafisica, sull’anima e sull’etica, ricchi di informazioni e di intuizioni che
apparivano valide e convincenti. Era tutta una visione completa del mondo
sviluppata senza e prima di Cristo, con la pura ragione, e sembrava imporsi
alla ragione come “la” visione stessa; era, quindi, un incredibile fascino per
i giovani vedere e conoscere questa filosofia. Molti accolsero con entusiasmo,
anzi con entusiasmo acritico, questo enorme bagaglio del sapere antico, che
sembrava poter rinnovare vantaggiosamente la cultura, aprire totalmente nuovi
orizzonti. Altri, però, temevano che il pensiero pagano di Aristotele fosse in
opposizione alla fede cristiana, e si rifiutavano di studiarlo. Si incontrarono
due culture: la cultura pre-cristiana di Aristotele, con la sua radicale
razionalità, e la classica cultura cristiana. Certi ambienti erano condotti al
rifiuto di Aristotele anche dalla presentazione che di tale filosofo era stata
fatta dai commentatori arabi Avicenna e Averroè. Infatti, furono essi ad aver
trasmesso al mondo latino la filosofia aristotelica. Per esempio, questi
commentatori avevano insegnato che gli uomini non dispongono di un’intelligenza
personale, ma che vi è un unico intelletto universale, una sostanza spirituale
comune a tutti, che opera in tutti come “unica”: quindi una depersonalizzazione
dell'uomo. Un altro punto discutibile veicolato dai commentatori arabi era
quello secondo il quale il mondo è eterno come Dio. Si scatenarono
comprensibilmente dispute a non finire nel mondo universitario e in quello
ecclesiastico. La filosofia aristotelica si andava diffondendo addirittura tra
la gente semplice.
Tommaso d’Aquino, alla
scuola di Alberto Magno, svolse un’operazione di fondamentale importanza per la
storia della filosofia e della teologia, direi per la storia della cultura:
studiò a fondo Aristotele e i suoi interpreti, procurandosi nuove traduzioni
latine dei testi originali in greco. Così non si appoggiava più solo ai
commentatori arabi, ma poteva leggere personalmente i testi originali, e
commentò gran parte delle opere aristoteliche, distinguendovi ciò che era valido
da ciò che era dubbio o da rifiutare del tutto, mostrando la consonanza con i
dati della Rivelazione cristiana e utilizzando largamente e acutamente il
pensiero aristotelico nell’esposizione degli scritti teologici che compose. In
definitiva, Tommaso d’Aquino mostrò che tra fede cristiana e ragione sussiste
una naturale armonia. E questa è stata la grande opera di Tommaso, che in quel
momento di scontro tra due culture - quel momento nel quale sembrava che la
fede dovesse arrendersi davanti alla ragione - ha mostrato che esse vanno
insieme, che quanto appariva ragione non compatibile con la fede non era
ragione, e quanto appariva fede non era fede, in quanto opposta alla vera
razionalità; così egli ha creato una nuova sintesi, che ha formato la cultura
dei secoli seguenti.
Per le sue eccellenti
doti intellettuali, Tommaso fu richiamato a Parigi come professore di teologia
sulla cattedra domenicana. Qui iniziò anche la sua produzione letteraria, che
proseguì fino alla morte, e che ha del prodigioso: commenti alla Sacra
Scrittura, perché il professore di teologia era soprattutto interprete della
Scrittura, commenti agli scritti di Aristotele, opere sistematiche poderose,
tra cui eccelle la Summa Theologiae, trattati e discorsi su vari
argomenti. Per la composizione dei suoi scritti, era coadiuvato da alcuni
segretari, tra i quali il confratello Reginaldo di Piperno, che lo seguì
fedelmente e al quale fu legato da fraterna e sincera amicizia, caratterizzata
da una grande confidenza e fiducia. È questa una caratteristica dei santi:
coltivano l’amicizia, perché essa è una delle manifestazioni più nobili del
cuore umano e ha in sé qualche cosa di divino, come Tommaso stesso ha spiegato
in alcune quaestiones della Summa Theologiae, in cui scrive: “La
carità è l’amicizia dell’uomo con Dio principalmente, e con gli esseri che a
Lui appartengono” (II, q. 23, a.1).
Non rimase a lungo e
stabilmente a Parigi. Nel 1259 partecipò al Capitolo Generale dei Domenicani a
Valenciennes dove fu membro di una commissione che stabilì il programma di
studi nell’Ordine. Dal 1261 al 1265, poi, Tommaso era ad Orvieto. Il Pontefice
Urbano IV, che nutriva per lui una grande stima, gli commissionò la
composizione dei testi liturgici per la festa del Corpus Domini, che
celebriamo domani, istituita in seguito al miracolo eucaristico di Bolsena.
Tommaso ebbe un’anima squisitamente eucaristica. I bellissimi inni che la
liturgia della Chiesa canta per celebrare il mistero della presenza reale del
Corpo e del Sangue del Signore nell’Eucaristia sono attribuiti alla sua fede e
alla sua sapienza teologica. Dal 1265 fino al 1268 Tommaso risiedette a Roma,
dove, probabilmente, dirigeva uno Studium, cioè una Casa di studi
dell’Ordine, e dove iniziò a scrivere la sua Summa Theologiae (cfr Jean-Pierre
Torrell, Tommaso d’Aquino. L’uomo e il teologo, Casale Monf., 1994, pp.
118-184).
Nel 1269 fu richiamato a
Parigi per un secondo ciclo di insegnamento. Gli studenti - si può capire -
erano entusiasti delle sue lezioni. Un suo ex-allievo dichiarò che una
grandissima moltitudine di studenti seguiva i corsi di Tommaso, tanto che le
aule riuscivano a stento a contenerli e aggiungeva, con un’annotazione
personale, che “ascoltarlo era per lui una felicità profonda”.
L’interpretazione di Aristotele data da Tommaso non era accettata da tutti, ma
persino i suoi avversari in campo accademico, come Goffredo di Fontaines, ad
esempio, ammettevano che la dottrina di frate Tommaso era superiore ad altre
per utilità e valore e serviva da correttivo a quelle di tutti gli altri dottori.
Forse anche per sottrarlo alle vivaci discussioni in atto, i Superiori lo
inviarono ancora una volta a Napoli, per essere a disposizione del re Carlo I,
che intendeva riorganizzare gli studi universitari.
Oltre che allo studio e
all’insegnamento, Tommaso si dedicò pure alla predicazione al popolo. E anche
il popolo volentieri andava ad ascoltarlo. Direi che è veramente una grande
grazia quando i teologi sanno parlare con semplicità e fervore ai fedeli. Il
ministero della predicazione, d’altra parte, aiuta gli stessi studiosi di
teologia a un sano realismo pastorale, e arricchisce di vivaci stimoli la loro
ricerca.
Gli ultimi mesi della
vita terrena di Tommaso restano circondati da un’atmosfera particolare,
misteriosa direi. Nel dicembre del 1273 chiamò il suo amico e segretario
Reginaldo per comunicargli la decisione di interrompere ogni lavoro, perché,
durante la celebrazione della Messa, aveva compreso, in seguito a una
rivelazione soprannaturale, che quanto aveva scritto fino ad allora era solo
“un mucchio di paglia”. È un episodio misterioso, che ci aiuta a comprendere
non solo l’umiltà personale di Tommaso, ma anche il fatto che tutto ciò che
riusciamo a pensare e a dire sulla fede, per quanto elevato e puro, è
infinitamente superato dalla grandezza e dalla bellezza di Dio, che ci sarà
rivelata in pienezza nel Paradiso. Qualche mese dopo, sempre più assorto in una
pensosa meditazione, Tommaso morì mentre era in viaggio verso Lione, dove si
stava recando per prendere parte al Concilio Ecumenico indetto dal Papa
Gregorio X. Si spense nell’Abbazia cistercense di Fossanova, dopo aver ricevuto
il Viatico con sentimenti di grande pietà.
La vita e l’insegnamento
di san Tommaso d’Aquino si potrebbero riassumere in un episodio tramandato
dagli antichi biografi. Mentre il Santo, come suo solito, era in preghiera
davanti al Crocifisso, al mattino presto nella Cappella di San Nicola, a
Napoli, Domenico da Caserta, il sacrestano della chiesa, sentì svolgersi un
dialogo. Tommaso chiedeva, preoccupato, se quanto aveva scritto sui misteri
della fede cristiana era giusto. E il Crocifisso rispose: “Tu hai parlato bene
di me, Tommaso. Quale sarà la tua ricompensa?”. E la risposta che Tommaso diede
è quella che anche noi, amici e discepoli di Gesù, vorremmo sempre dirgli: “Nient’altro
che Te, Signore!” (Ibid., p. 320).
Saluti:
Je confie à votre prière,
chers pèlerins francophones, mon Voyage
Apostolique à Chypre et tous les Chrétiens du Moyen Orient. Priez
aussi pour les prêtres et les séminaristes. Puisse le Seigneur Jésus vous
accompagner dans votre vie! Que Dieu vous bénisse!
I send my greetings to
those gathered during these days in Scotland for the centennial of the first
Edinburgh Missionary Conference, which is now acknowledged to have given birth
to the modern ecumenical movement. May we all renew our commitment to work
humbly and patiently, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to live again
together our common apostolic heritage.
Von Herzen heiße ich alle
deutschsprachigen Pilger und Besucher willkommen. Vom heiligen Thomas von Aquin
lernen wir, was an Christus glauben heißt. Glauben bedeutet, sich vom Licht der
Wahrheit Gottes umfangen zu lassen, die unserem Leben die volle Bedeutung, den
Wert und den Sinn verleiht. Bringen wir auch unseren Mitmenschen
Saludo a los grupos de
lengua española, en particular a las Hijas de la Inmaculada Concepción de
Buenos Aires y a los peregrinos venidos para la Beatificación de María Pierina
de Micheli, así como a los demás fieles provenientes de España, México y otros
países latinoamericanos. A todos os invito a participar con profunda piedad y
veneración en la próxima Solemnidad del Corpus Christi, para experimentar
así constantemente en nosotros los frutos de la Redención. Muchas gracias.
Uma saudação afetuosa a
todos os peregrinos vindos do Brasil e demais países lusófonos, nomeadamente os
fiéis da diocese de Serrinha, acompanhados do seu bispo Dom Ottorino Assolari!
Possa cada um de vós encontrar a Jesus Cristo vivo e operante na Igreja através
da sua presença real na Eucaristia. E assim, fortalecidos com a sua Graça,
possais servi-Lo nos irmãos. De coração, a todos abençôo. Ide com Deus!
Saluto in lingua polacca:
Z serdecznym
pozdrowieniem zwracam się do Polaków. Moi drodzy, rozpoczęliśmy czerwiec –
miesiąc poświęcony szczególnej czci Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa. W tym
kontekście niebawem zakończymy Rok Kapłański. Proszę was, abyście zawsze
otaczali waszych duszpasterzy modlitwą. Niech napełnia ich ta miłość, której
znakiem jest otwarte Serce Jezusa. Niech będzie pochwalony Jezus Chrystus!
Traduzione italiana:
Con un cordiale saluto mi
rivolgo ai polacchi. Carissimi, abbiamo cominciato il mese di giugno, dedicato
alla speciale devozione del Sacratissimo Cuore del Signore Gesù. In questo
contesto concluderemo l’Anno
Sacerdotale. Vi chiedo di pregare sempre per i vostri pastori. Li colmi
quest’amore di cui è segno il Cuore aperto di Gesù. Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
Saluto in lingua croata:
Radosno pozdravljam sve
hrvatske hodočasnike, a osobito vjernike iz župe Blaženoga Augustina Kažotića
iz Zagreba te iz Hrvatske Katoličke Zajednice Svetog Josipa iz Ulma. Dragi prijatelji,
u Presvetom srcu Isusovu, kojem je posvećen mjesec lipanj, pronađite utjehu i
sigurno utočište za vas i vaše obitelji. Hvaljen Isus i Marija!
Traduzione italiana:
Con gioia
salutotuttiipellegriniCroati, particolarmente i fedeli provenienti dalla
parrocchia del Beato Agostino Kazotic di Zagabria e della Comunità Cattolica
Croata di San Giuseppe di Ulm (Germania). Cari amici, nel Sacro Cuore di Gesù,
al quale è dedicato questo mese di giugno, trovate la consolazione ed il sicuro
rifugio per voi e per le vostre famiglie. Siano lodati Gesù e Maria!
Saluto in lingua
slovacca:
S láskou vítam slovenských pútnikov, osobitne žiakov a pedagógov Základnej školy svätého Pavla z Novej Dediny ako aj farnosť svätej Rodiny z Bratislavy - Petržalky.
Bratia a sestry, Kristus je cesta k Otcovi a v Eucharistii sa ponúka každému z nás ako prameň božského života. Čerpajme vytrvalo z toho prameňa. S týmto želaním vás rád žehnám.
Pochválený buď Ježiš Kristus!
Traduzione italiana:
Un affettuoso benvenuto ai pellegrini slovacchi, particolarmente agli allievi e insegnanti della Scuola elementare San Paolo di Nová Dedina come pure alla Parrocchia della Sacra Famiglia da Bratislava – Petržalka.
Fratelli e sorelle, Cristo è la via che conduce al Padre e nell’Eucaristia si
offre ad ognuno di noi come sorgente di vita divina. Attingiamone con
perseveranza. Con questi voti volentieri vi benedico.
Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
Saluto in lingua ceca:
Srdečně vítám poutníky z farnosti Ostrava- Hošťálkovice!
V tomto měsíci červnu prosme Ježíše, který je tichý a pokorný srdcem, aby přetvořil naše srdce podle srdce svého.
Všem vám žehnám. Chvála Kristu!
Traduzione italiana:
Un cordiale benvenuto ai pellegrini della Parrocchia di Ostrava-Hošťálkovice!
In questo mese di giugno chiediamo a Gesù, che è mite e umile di cuore, di trasformare i nostri cuori secondo il Suo Cuore.
Vi benedico tutti. Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
* * *
Rivolgo un cordiale
benvenuto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana. In particolare, saluto i fedeli
della parrocchia San Giovanni Battista in Chioggia, i rappresentanti della
Federazione Banche di Credito Cooperativo dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, della
Comunità cattolica di cittadini dello Sri Lanka e dell’Associazione “Il Vino di
Cana”, di Bologna. Cari amici, vi ringrazio per la vostra presenza e vi
incoraggio a seguire con fedeltà Gesù e il suo Vangelo, per essere cristiani
autentici in famiglia e in ogni altro ambiente.
Mi rivolgo, infine,
ai giovani, ai malati e agli sposi novelli, augurando a
ciascuno di servire sempre Dio nella gioia e di amare il prossimo con spirito
evangelico.
* * *
Vorrei ora ricordare che
domani, solennità
del Corpus Domini, alle ore 19, sul sagrato della Basilica
di San Giovanni in Laterano presiederò la Messa, cui seguirà la
tradizionale processione fino a Santa
Maria Maggiore. Invito tutti a partecipare a questa celebrazione, per
esprimere insieme la fede in Cristo, presente nell’Eucaristia.
Vi invito, infine, cari
amici ad accompagnare con la vostra preghiera il Viaggio
pastorale a Cipro che intraprenderò dopodomani, affinché sia ricco di
frutti spirituali per le care comunità cristiane del Medio Oriente.
APPELLO
Con profonda trepidazione
seguo le tragiche vicende avvenute in prossimità della Striscia di Gaza. Sento
il bisogno di esprimere il mio sentito cordoglio per le vittime di questi dolorosissimi
eventi, che preoccupano quanti hanno a cuore la pace nella regione. Ancora una
volta ripeto con animo accorato che la violenza non risolve le controversie, ma
ne accresce le drammatiche conseguenze e genera altra violenza. Faccio appello
a quanti hanno responsabilità politiche a livello locale e internazionale
affinché ricerchino incessantemente soluzioni giuste attraverso il dialogo, in
modo da garantire alle popolazioni dell'area migliori condizioni di vita, in
concordia e serenità. Vi invito ad unirvi a me nella preghiera per le vittime,
per i loro familiari e per quanti soffrono. Il Signore sostenga gli sforzi di
coloro che non si stancano di operare per la riconciliazione e la pace.
Video Messaggio del Santo Padre
alla Catholic Media Convention, New Orleans
I send cordial greetings to the delegates gathered in New Orleans for this
year’s Catholic Media Convention.
The theme of your
meeting, “Spreading the Good News – Byte by Byte”, highlights the extraordinary
potential of the new media to bring the message of Christ and the teaching of
his Church to the attention of a wider public. If your mission is to be truly
effective - if the words you proclaim are to touch hearts, engage people’s
freedom and change their lives – you must draw them into an encounter with
persons and communities who witness to the grace of Christ by their faith and
their lives. In this sense, it is my hope that your days together will renew
and refresh your shared enthusiasm for the Gospel. Notwithstanding the many
challenges you face, never forget the promise of Christ, “I am with you always,
to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20).
Dear friends, with these
few words of encouragement, to all of you gathered for the Convention I am
pleased to impart my Apostolic Blessing.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/it/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100602.html
_La_Vittoria_di_san_Tommaso_d'aquino_sulla_tentazione_di_Palma_il_Giovane_1628.jpg)
Palma il Giovane, La Vittoria di san Tommaso
d'aquino sulla tentazione, 1628, Chiesa di San Geremia Venezia
Palma
il Giovane, Victory of St. Thomas aquino over temptation, 1628, San
Geremia Venice
Palma il Giovane, Victoire de Sain Thomas d'Aquin sur la tentation,1628, Église San Geremia Venise
BENEDETTO XVI
UDIENZA GENERALE
Piazza San Pietro
Mercoledì, 16 giugno
2010
San Tommaso d'Aquino (2)
Cari fratelli e sorelle,
oggi vorrei continuare la
presentazione di san Tommaso d’Aquino, un teologo di tale valore che lo studio
del suo pensiero è stato esplicitamente raccomandato dal Concilio
Vaticano II in due documenti, il decreto Optatam
totius, sulla formazione al sacerdozio, e la dichiarazione Gravissimum educationis, che
tratta dell’educazione cristiana. Del resto, già nel 1880 il Papa Leone
XIII, suo grande estimatore e promotore di studi tomistici, volle
dichiarare san Tommaso Patrono delle Scuole e delle Università Cattoliche.
Il motivo principale di
questo apprezzamento risiede non solo nel contenuto del suo insegnamento, ma
anche nel metodo da lui adottato, soprattutto la sua nuova sintesi e
distinzione tra filosofia e teologia. I Padri della Chiesa si trovavano
confrontati con diverse filosofie di tipo platonico, nelle quali si presentava
una visione completa del mondo e della vita, includendo la questione di Dio e
della religione. Nel confronto con queste filosofie, loro stessi avevano
elaborato una visione completa della realtà, partendo dalla fede e usando
elementi del platonismo, per rispondere alle questioni essenziali degli uomini.
Questa visione, basata sulla rivelazione biblica ed elaborata con un platonismo
corretto alla luce della fede, essi la chiamavano la "filosofia
nostra". La parola "filosofia" non era quindi espressione di un
sistema puramente razionale e, come tale, distinto dalla fede, ma indicava una
visione complessiva della realtà, costruita nella luce della fede, ma fatta
propria e pensata dalla ragione; una visione che, certo, andava oltre le
capacità proprie della ragione, ma che, come tale, era anche soddisfacente per
essa. Per san Tommaso l'incontro con la filosofia pre-cristiana di Aristotele
(morto circa nel 322 a.C.) apriva una prospettiva nuova. La filosofia
aristotelica era, ovviamente, una filosofia elaborata senza conoscenza
dell’Antico e del Nuovo Testamento, una spiegazione del mondo senza
rivelazione, per la sola ragione. E questa razionalità conseguente era
convincente. Così la vecchia forma della "filosofia nostra" dei Padri
non funzionava più. La relazione tra filosofia e teologia, tra fede e ragione,
era da ripensare. Esisteva una "filosofia" completa e convincente in
se stessa, una razionalità precedente la fede, e poi la “teologia”, un pensare
con la fede e nella fede. La questione pressante era questa: il mondo della
razionalità, la filosofia pensata senza Cristo, e il mondo della fede sono
compatibili? Oppure si escludono? Non mancavano elementi che affermavano
l'incompatibilità tra i due mondi, ma san Tommaso era fermamente convinto della
loro compatibilità - anzi che la filosofia elaborata senza conoscenza di Cristo
quasi aspettava la luce di Gesù per essere completa. Questa è stata la grande
“sorpresa” di san Tommaso, che ha determinato il suo cammino di pensatore.
Mostrare questa indipendenza di filosofia e teologia e, nello stesso tempo, la
loro reciproca relazionalità è stata la missione storica del grande maestro. E
così si capisce che, nel XIX secolo, quando si dichiarava fortemente l'incompatibilità
tra ragione moderna e fede, Papa Leone
XIII indicò san Tommaso come guida nel dialogo tra l'una e l'altra.
Nel suo lavoro teologico, san Tommaso suppone e concretizza questa
relazionalità. La fede consolida, integra e illumina il patrimonio di verità
che la ragione umana acquisisce. La fiducia che san Tommaso accorda a questi
due strumenti della conoscenza – la fede e la ragione – può essere ricondotta
alla convinzione che entrambe provengono dall’unica sorgente di ogni verità,
il Logos divino, che opera sia nell’ambito della creazione, sia in
quello della redenzione.
Insieme con l'accordo tra
ragione e fede, si deve riconoscere, d'altra parte, che esse si avvalgono di
procedimenti conoscitivi differenti. La ragione accoglie una verità in forza
della sua evidenza intrinseca, mediata o immediata; la fede, invece, accetta
una verità in base all’autorità della Parola di Dio che si rivela. Scrive san Tommaso
al principio della sua Summa Theologiae: “Duplice è l’ordine delle
scienze; alcune procedono da principi conosciuti mediante il lume naturale
della ragione, come la matematica, la geometria e simili; altre procedono da
principi conosciuti mediante una scienza superiore: come la prospettiva procede
da principi conosciuti mediante la geometria e la musica da principi conosciuti
mediante la matematica. E in questo modo la sacra dottrina (cioè la teologia) è
scienza perché procede dai principi conosciuti attraverso il lume di una
scienza superiore, cioè la scienza di Dio e dei santi” (I, q. 1, a. 2).
Questa distinzione
assicura l’autonomia tanto delle scienze umane, quanto delle scienze
teologiche. Essa però non equivale a separazione, ma implica piuttosto una
reciproca e vantaggiosa collaborazione. La fede, infatti, protegge la ragione
da ogni tentazione di sfiducia nelle proprie capacità, la stimola ad aprirsi a
orizzonti sempre più vasti, tiene viva in essa la ricerca dei fondamenti e,
quando la ragione stessa si applica alla sfera soprannaturale del rapporto tra
Dio e uomo, arricchisce il suo lavoro. Secondo san Tommaso, per esempio, la
ragione umana può senz’altro giungere all’affermazione dell’esistenza di un
unico Dio, ma solo la fede, che accoglie la Rivelazione divina, è in grado di
attingere al mistero dell’Amore di Dio Uno e Trino.
D’altra parte, non è
soltanto la fede che aiuta la ragione. Anche la ragione, con i suoi mezzi, può
fare qualcosa di importante per la fede, rendendole un triplice servizio che
san Tommaso riassume nel proemio del suo commento al De Trinitate di
Boezio: “Dimostrare i fondamenti della fede; spiegare mediante similitudini le
verità della fede; respingere le obiezioni che si sollevano contro la fede” (q.
2, a. 2). Tutta la storia della teologia è, in fondo, l’esercizio di questo
impegno dell’intelligenza, che mostra l’intelligibilità della fede, la sua
articolazione e armonia interna, la sua ragionevolezza e la sua capacità di
promuovere il bene dell’uomo. La correttezza dei ragionamenti teologici e il
loro reale significato conoscitivo si basano sul valore del linguaggio
teologico, che è, secondo san Tommaso, principalmente un linguaggio analogico.
La distanza tra Dio, il Creatore, e l'essere delle sue creature è infinita; la
dissimilitudine è sempre più grande che la similitudine (cfr DS 806).
Ciononostante, in tutta la differenza tra Creatore e creatura, esiste
un'analogia tra l'essere creato e l'essere del Creatore, che ci permette di
parlare con parole umane su Dio.
San Tommaso ha fondato la
dottrina dell’analogia, oltre che su argomentazioni squisitamente filosofiche,
anche sul fatto che con la Rivelazione Dio stesso ci ha parlato e ci ha,
dunque, autorizzato a parlare di Lui. Ritengo importante richiamare questa
dottrina. Essa, infatti, ci aiuta a superare alcune obiezioni dell’ateismo
contemporaneo, il quale nega che il linguaggio religioso sia fornito di un
significato oggettivo, e sostiene invece che abbia solo un valore soggettivo o
semplicemente emotivo. Questa obiezione risulta dal fatto che il pensiero
positivistico è convinto che l'uomo non conosce l'essere, ma solo le funzioni
sperimentabili della realtà. Con san Tommaso e con la grande tradizione
filosofica noi siamo convinti, che, in realtà, l'uomo non conosce solo le
funzioni, oggetto delle scienze naturali, ma conosce qualcosa dell'essere
stesso - per esempio conosce la persona, il Tu dell'altro, e non solo l'aspetto
fisico e biologico del suo essere.
Alla luce di questo
insegnamento di san Tommaso, la teologia afferma che, per quanto limitato, il
linguaggio religioso è dotato di senso - perché tocchiamo l’essere -,
come una freccia che si dirige verso la realtà che significa. Questo accordo
fondamentale tra ragione umana e fede cristiana è ravvisato in un altro
principio basilare del pensiero dell’Aquinate: la Grazia divina non annulla, ma
suppone e perfeziona la natura umana. Quest’ultima, infatti, anche dopo il
peccato, non è completamente corrotta, ma ferita e indebolita. La Grazia,
elargita da Dio e comunicata attraverso il Mistero del Verbo incarnato, è un
dono assolutamente gratuito con cui la natura viene guarita, potenziata e
aiutata a perseguire il desiderio innato nel cuore di ogni uomo e di ogni
donna: la felicità. Tutte le facoltà dell’essere umano vengono purificate,
trasformate ed elevate dalla Grazia divina.
Un’importante
applicazione di questa relazione tra la natura e la Grazia si ravvisa nella
teologia morale di san Tommaso d’Aquino, che risulta di grande attualità. Al
centro del suo insegnamento in questo campo, egli pone la legge nuova, che è la
legge dello Spirito Santo. Con uno sguardo profondamente evangelico, insiste
sul fatto che questa legge è la Grazia dello Spirito Santo data a tutti coloro
che credono in Cristo. A tale Grazia si unisce l’insegnamento scritto e orale
delle verità dottrinali e morali, trasmesso dalla Chiesa. San Tommaso,
sottolineando il ruolo fondamentale, nella vita morale, dell’azione dello
Spirito Santo, della Grazia, da cui scaturiscono le virtù teologali e morali, fa
comprendere che ogni cristiano può raggiungere le alte prospettive del “Sermone
della Montagna” se vive un rapporto autentico di fede in Cristo, se si apre
all’azione del suo Santo Spirito. Però – aggiunge l’Aquinate – “anche se la
grazia è più efficace della natura, tuttavia la natura è più essenziale per
l’uomo” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 94, a. 6, ad 2), per cui, nella prospettiva
morale cristiana, c’è un posto per la ragione, la quale è capace di discernere
la legge morale naturale. La ragione può riconoscerla considerando ciò che è
bene fare e ciò che è bene evitare per il conseguimento di quella felicità che
sta a cuore a ciascuno, e che impone anche una responsabilità verso gli altri,
e, dunque, la ricerca del bene comune. In altre parole, le virtù dell’uomo,
teologali e morali, sono radicate nella natura umana. La Grazia divina
accompagna, sostiene e spinge l’impegno etico ma, di per sé, secondo san
Tommaso, tutti gli uomini, credenti e non credenti, sono chiamati a riconoscere
le esigenze della natura umana espresse nella legge naturale e ad ispirarsi ad
essa nella formulazione delle leggi positive, quelle cioè emanate dalle
autorità civili e politiche per regolare la convivenza umana.
Quando la legge naturale
e la responsabilità che essa implica sono negate, si apre drammaticamente la
via al relativismo etico sul piano individuale e al totalitarismo dello Stato
sul piano politico. La difesa dei diritti universali dell’uomo e l’affermazione
del valore assoluto della dignità della persona postulano un fondamento. Non è
proprio la legge naturale questo fondamento, con i valori non negoziabili che
essa indica? Il Venerabile Giovanni Paolo II scriveva nella sua Enciclica Evangelium
vitae parole che rimangono di grande attualità: “Urge dunque, per
l'avvenire della società e lo sviluppo di una sana democrazia, riscoprire
l'esistenza di valori umani e morali essenziali e nativi, che scaturiscono
dalla verità stessa dell'essere umano, ed esprimono e tutelano la dignità della
persona: valori, pertanto, che nessun individuo, nessuna maggioranza e nessuno
Stato potranno mai creare, modificare o distruggere, ma dovranno solo
riconoscere, rispettare e promuovere” (n. 71).
In conclusione, Tommaso
ci propone un concetto della ragione umana largo e
fiducioso: largo perché non è limitato agli spazi della cosiddetta
ragione empirico-scientifica, ma aperto a tutto l’essere e quindi anche alle
questioni fondamentali e irrinunciabili del vivere umano;
e fiducioso perché la ragione umana, soprattutto se accoglie le
ispirazioni della fede cristiana, è promotrice di una civiltà che riconosce la
dignità della persona, l'intangibilità dei suoi diritti e la cogenza dei suoi doveri.
Non sorprende che la dottrina circa la dignità della persona, fondamentale per
il riconoscimento dell’inviolabilità dei diritti dell’uomo, sia maturata in
ambienti di pensiero che hanno raccolto l’eredità di san Tommaso d’Aquino, il
quale aveva un concetto altissimo della creatura umana. La definì, con il suo
linguaggio rigorosamente filosofico, come “ciò che di più perfetto si trova in
tutta la natura, cioè un soggetto sussistente in una natura razionale” (Summa
Theologiae, Ia, q. 29, a. 3).
La profondità del pensiero
di san Tommaso d’Aquino sgorga – non dimentichiamolo mai – dalla sua fede viva
e dalla sua pietà fervorosa, che esprimeva in preghiere ispirate, come questa
in cui chiede a Dio: “Concedimi, ti prego, una volontà che ti cerchi, una
sapienza che ti trovi, una vita che ti piaccia, una perseveranza che ti attenda
con fiducia e una fiducia che alla fine giunga a possederti”.
Saluti:
Je suis heureux de vous
accueillir, chers pèlerins de langue française, venus particulièrement de
France et de Belgique. Que votre pèlerinage à Rome soit pour vous l’occasion de
découvrir toujours plus profondément le visage du Seigneur. Que Dieu vous bénisse!
I am pleased to greet the
English-speaking visitors present at today’s audience, especially the many
parish and student groups. I offer a warm welcome to all who have come from
Hong Kong, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Upon
all of you I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!
Ganz herzlich begrüße ich
die deutschsprachigen Pilger und Besucher. Bei aller Bewunderung für die
denkerische Leistung von Thomas von Aquin dürfen wir nicht vergessen, daß er
zuerst ein gläubiger und betender Ordensmann war. So bringt es eines seiner
Gebete zum Ausdruck: „Schenk mir, o Gott, Verstand, der dich erkennt, Eifer,
der dich sucht, Weisheit, die dich findet, einen Wandel, der dir gefällt,
Beharrlichkeit, die gläubig dich erwartet, Vertrauen, das am Ende dich
umfängt.“ Dazu erbitte ich euch und euren Familien Gottes reichen Segen.
Saludo con afecto a los
grupos de lengua española, en particular a los peregrinos de la Arquidiócesis
de Bogotá, así como a los venidos de España, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, México y
otros países latinoamericanos. Os invito a pedir a Dios por los que cultivan
las ciencias sagradas para que, tras las huellas de Santo Tomás de Aquino, las
estudien con constancia y las enseñen con fidelidad, imitando también el
ejemplo de su vida santa. Muchas gracias.
Saúdo cordialmente todos
os peregrinos lusófonos, em particular os brasileiros da paróquia São Vicente
Mártir de Porto Alegre e os irmãos da Misericórdia de Maringá, como também os
professores e alunos portugueses do Centro Cultural Sénior de Braga, para todos
implorando uma vontade que procure a Deus, uma sabedoria que O encontre, uma
vida que Lhe agrade, uma perseverança que por Ele espere e a confiança de
chegar a possuí-Lo. São os meus votos e também a minha Bênção!
Saluto in lingua croata:
Od srca pozdravljam sve
hrvatske hodočasnike, a osobito vjernike iz župe Svetoga Mihovila iz Drinovaca
u Bosni i Hercegovini. Nahranjeni otajstvima vjere na grobovima apostola,
tražite ono što dolazi od Duha Božjega kako biste svoje vrijeme, bilo u radu
ili odmoru, proživjeli Bogu na slavu. Hvaljen Isus i Marija!
Traduzione italiana
Di cuore saluto tutti i
pellegrini Croati, particolarmente i fedeli provenienti dalla parrocchia di San
Michele di Drinovci in Bosnia ed Erzegovina. Nutriti dai misteri della fede
vicino alle tombe degli apostoli, cercate quello che viene dallo Spirito di Dio
perché il vostro tempo, nella fatica e nel riposo, sia tutto orientato alla
gloria di Dio. Siano lodati Gesù e Maria!
Saluto in lingua polacca:
Drodzy pielgrzymi polscy.
Jutro przypada wspomnienie świętego Alberta Chmielowskiego. Pamiętając o jego
poświęceniu na rzecz biednych, bezdomnych, nieuleczalnie chorych, jak on,
otwórzmy serca na potrzeby naszych braci najbardziej potrzebujących pomocy.
Uczmy się od niego, że „trzeba być dobrym jak chleb”. Naśladujmy go w dążeniu
do świętości. Niech będzie pochwalony Jezus Chrystus.
Traduzione italiana:
Cari pellegrini polacchi.
Domani si venera la memoria di San Alberto Chmielowski. Ricordando la sua
dedizione ai poveri, ai senza tetto, ai malati incurabili, apriamo come lui i
nostri cuori alle necessità dei nostri fratelli più bisognosi. Impariamo da lui
“ad essere buoni come il pane”. Imitiamolo nel tendere alla santità. Sia lodato
Gesù Cristo.
Saluto in lingua
slovacca:
Zo srdca pozdravujem
slovenských pútnikov, osobitne z farnosti Veľký Lapáš a z Piaristickej
školy Františka Hanáka z Prievidze.
Bratia a sestry, v tomto
období sú na Slovensku kňazské vysviacky. Ďakujme Pánovi za dar novokňazov a
modlime sa za nich, aby boli služobníkmi podľa Srdca Ježišovho.
S láskou žehnám vás i
všetkých novokňazov.
Pochválený buď Ježiš
Kristus!
Traduzione italiana:
Saluto di cuore i
pellegrini slovacchi, particolarmente quelli provenienti dalla parrocchia di
Veľký Lapáš e dalla Scuola František Hanák dei Padri Scolopi di
Prievidza.
Fratelli e sorelle, in
questo periodo si svolgono in Slovacchia le ordinazioni sacerdotali.
Ringraziamo il Signore per questo dono di sacerdoti novelli, e preghiamo per
loro perché siano ministri secondo il Cuore di Gesù. Con affetto benedico voi e
tutti i sacerdoti novelli.
Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
* * *
Rivolgo un cordiale
benvenuto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana. In particolare, saluto i sacerdoti
novelli della diocesi di Brescia assicurando la mia preghiera affinché il loro
ministero sia fecondo di preziosi frutti. Saluto il gruppo dei Frati Minori
Conventuali provenienti dall’Africa per partecipare al Corso di Formazione
Permanente: auspico che l’esempio del Poverello di Assisi conduca ciascuno di
loro a conformarsi sempre di più a Cristo Signore. Saluto anche gli Ufficiali
ed i militari della Scuola delle Trasmissioni e Informatica dell’Esercito
Italiano ed i militari del IX Stormo “Francesco Baracca” di Grazzanise: auguro
a tutti loro un proficuo impegno alla luce dei valori umani e cristiani.
Rivolgo il mio pensiero ai partecipanti al Torneo Internazionale di Calcio
“Memorial Vincenzo Romano” ed auguro di diffondere ovunque il perenne messaggio
della solidarietà e della fraterna convivenza.
Saluto, infine,
i giovani, i malati e gli sposi novelli.
Cari giovani attingete sempre da Cristo presente nell’Eucaristia
l’alimento spirituale per avanzare nel cammino della santità; per voi,
cari ammalati, Cristo sia il sostegno ed il conforto nella prova e nella
sofferenza; e per voi, cari sposi novelli, il sacramento che vi ha
radicati in Cristo sia la fonte che alimenta il vostro amore quotidiano.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/it/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100616.html
%2C_S._Tommaso_D'Aquino_-_Busto_al_Pincio_(Roma)_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto%2C_29-March-2008.jpg)
Guido Guidi (1867-1911), bust to Thomas Aquinas at the Pincio (Rome). Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, March 29 2008
BENEDETTO XVI
UDIENZA GENERALE
Aula Paolo VI
Mercoledì, 23 giugno
2010
San Tommaso d'Aquino (3)
Cari fratelli e sorelle,
vorrei oggi completare,
con una terza parte, le mie catechesi su san Tommaso d’Aquino. Anche a più di
settecento anni dopo la sua morte, possiamo imparare molto da lui. Lo ricordava
anche il mio Predecessore, il Papa Paolo
VI, che, in un discorso
tenuto a Fossanova il 14 settembre 1974, in occasione del settimo
centenario della morte di san Tommaso, si domandava: “Maestro Tommaso, quale
lezione ci puoi dare?”. E rispondeva così: “la fiducia nella verità del
pensiero religioso cattolico, quale da lui fu difeso, esposto, aperto alla
capacità conoscitiva della mente umana” (Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, XII [1974],
pp. 833-834). E, nello
stesso giorno, ad Aquino, riferendosi sempre a san Tommaso, affermava:
“tutti, quanti siamo figli fedeli della Chiesa possiamo e dobbiamo, almeno in
qualche misura, essere suoi discepoli!” (Ibid., p. 836).
Mettiamoci dunque anche
noi alla scuola di san Tommaso e del suo capolavoro, la Summa
Theologiae. Essa è rimasta incompiuta, e tuttavia è un’opera monumentale:
contiene 512 questioni e 2669 articoli. Si tratta di un ragionamento serrato,
in cui l’applicazione dell’intelligenza umana ai misteri della fede procede con
chiarezza e profondità, intrecciando domande e risposte, nelle quali san
Tommaso approfondisce l’insegnamento che viene dalla Sacra Scrittura e dai
Padri della Chiesa, soprattutto da sant’Agostino. In questa riflessione,
nell’incontro con vere domande del suo tempo, che sono anche spesso domande
nostre, san Tommaso, utilizzando anche il metodo e il pensiero dei filosofi
antichi, in particolare di Aristotele, arriva così a formulazioni precise,
lucide e pertinenti delle verità di fede, dove la verità è dono della fede, risplende
e diventa accessibile per noi, per la nostra riflessione. Tale sforzo,
però, della mente umana – ricorda l’Aquinate con la sua stessa vita – è sempre
illuminato dalla preghiera, dalla luce che viene dall’Alto. Solo chi vive con
Dio e con i misteri può anche capire che cosa essi dicono.
Nella Summa di
Teologia, san Tommaso parte dal fatto che ci sono tre diversi modi dell’essere
e dell'essenza di Dio: Dio esiste in se stesso, è il principio e la fine di
tutte le cose, per cui tutte le creature procedono e dipendono da Lui; poi Dio
è presente attraverso la sua Grazia nella vita e nell’attività del cristiano,
dei santi; infine, Dio è presente in modo del tutto speciale nella Persona di
Cristo unito qui realmente con l'uomo Gesù, e operante nei Sacramenti, che
scaturiscono dalla sua opera redentrice. Perciò, la struttura di questa
monumentale opera (cfr. Jean-Pierre Torrell, La «Summa» di San Tommaso,
Milano 2003, pp. 29-75), una ricerca con “sguardo teologico” della pienezza di
Dio (cfr. Summa Theologiae, Ia, q. 1, a. 7), è articolata in tre parti, ed
è illustrata dallo stesso Doctor Communis – san Tommaso - con queste
parole: “Lo scopo principale della sacra dottrina è quello di far conoscere
Dio, e non soltanto in se stesso, ma anche in quanto è principio e fine delle
cose, e specialmente della creatura ragionevole. Nell’intento di esporre questa
dottrina, noi tratteremo per primo di Dio; per secondo del movimento della
creatura verso Dio; e per terzo del Cristo, il quale, in quanto uomo, è per noi
via per ascendere a Dio” (Ibid., I, q. 2). È un circolo: Dio in se stesso, che
esce da se stesso e ci prende per mano, così che con Cristo ritorniamo a Dio,
siamo uniti a Dio, e Dio sarà tutto in tutti.
La prima parte
della Summa Theologiae indaga dunque su Dio in se stesso, sul mistero
della Trinità e sull’attività creatrice di Dio. In questa parte troviamo anche
una profonda riflessione sulla realtà autentica dell’essere umano in quanto
uscito dalle mani creatrici di Dio, frutto del suo amore. Da una parte siamo un
essere creato, dipendente, non veniamo da noi stessi; ma, dall’altra, abbiamo
una vera autonomia, così che siamo non solo qualcosa di apparente — come dicono
alcuni filosofi platonici — ma una realtà voluta da Dio come tale, e con valore
in se stessa.
Nella seconda parte san
Tommaso considera l’uomo, spinto dalla Grazia, nella sua aspirazione a
conoscere e ad amare Dio per essere felice nel tempo e nell’eternità. Per prima
cosa, l’Autore presenta i principi teologici dell’agire morale, studiando come,
nella libera scelta dell’uomo di compiere atti buoni, si integrano la ragione,
la volontà e le passioni, a cui si aggiunge la forza che dona la Grazia di Dio
attraverso le virtù e i doni dello Spirito Santo, come pure l’aiuto che viene
offerto anche dalla legge morale. Quindi l'essere umano è un essere dinamico
che cerca se stesso, cerca di divenire se stesso e cerca, in questo senso, di
compiere atti che lo costruiscono, lo fanno veramente uomo; e qui entra la
legge morale, entra la Grazia e la propria ragione, la volontà e le passioni.
Su questo fondamento san Tommaso delinea la fisionomia dell’uomo che vive
secondo lo Spirito e che diventa, così, un’icona di Dio. Qui l’Aquinate si
sofferma a studiare le tre virtù teologali - fede, speranza e carità -, seguite
dall’esame acuto di più di cinquanta virtù morali, organizzate attorno alle
quattro virtù cardinali - la prudenza, la giustizia, la temperanza e la
fortezza. Termina poi con la riflessione sulle diverse vocazioni nella Chiesa.
Nella terza parte della Summa, san
Tommaso studia il Mistero di Cristo - la via e la verità - per mezzo del quale
noi possiamo ricongiungerci a Dio Padre. In questa sezione scrive pagine
pressoché insuperate sul Mistero dell’Incarnazione e della Passione di Gesù, aggiungendo
poi un’ampia trattazione sui sette Sacramenti, perché in essi il Verbo divino
incarnato estende i benefici dell’Incarnazione per la nostra salvezza, per il
nostro cammino di fede verso Dio e la vita eterna, rimane materialmente quasi
presente con le realtà della creazione, ci tocca così nell'intimo.
Parlando dei Sacramenti,
san Tommaso si sofferma in modo particolare sul Mistero dell’Eucaristia, per il
quale ebbe una grandissima devozione, al punto che, secondo gli antichi
biografi, era solito accostare il suo capo al Tabernacolo, come per sentire
palpitare il Cuore divino e umano di Gesù. In una sua opera di commento alla
Scrittura, san Tommaso ci aiuta a capire l’eccellenza del Sacramento
dell’Eucaristia, quando scrive: “Essendo l’Eucaristia il sacramento della
Passione di nostro Signore, contiene in sé Gesù Cristo che patì per noi.
Pertanto tutto ciò che è effetto della Passione di nostro Signore, è anche
effetto di questo sacramento, non essendo esso altro che l’applicazione in noi
della Passione del Signore” (In Ioannem, c.6, lect. 6, n.
963). Comprendiamo bene perché san Tommaso e altri santi abbiano celebrato
la Santa Messa versando lacrime di compassione per il Signore, che si offre in
sacrificio per noi, lacrime di gioia e di gratitudine.
Cari fratelli e sorelle,
alla scuola dei santi, innamoriamoci di questo Sacramento! Partecipiamo alla
Santa Messa con raccoglimento, per ottenerne i frutti spirituali, nutriamoci
del Corpo e del Sangue del Signore, per essere incessantemente alimentati dalla
Grazia divina! Intratteniamoci volentieri e frequentemente, a tu per tu, in
compagnia del Santissimo Sacramento!
Quanto san Tommaso ha
illustrato con rigore scientifico nelle sue opere teologiche maggiori, come
appunto la Summa Theologiae, anche la Summa contra Gentiles è
stato esposto anche nella sua predicazione, rivolta agli studenti e ai fedeli.
Nel 1273, un anno prima della sua morte, durante l’intera Quaresima, egli tenne
delle prediche nella chiesa di San Domenico Maggiore a Napoli. Il contenuto di
quei sermoni è stato raccolto e conservato: sono gli Opuscoli in cui
egli spiega il Simbolo degli Apostoli, interpreta la preghiera del Padre
Nostro, illustra il Decalogo e commenta l’Ave Maria. Il contenuto della
predicazione del Doctor Angelicus corrisponde quasi del tutto alla
struttura del Catechismo
della Chiesa Cattolica. Infatti, nella catechesi e nella predicazione, in
un tempo come il nostro di rinnovato impegno per l’evangelizzazione, non
dovrebbero mai mancare questi argomenti fondamentali: ciò che noi
crediamo, ed ecco il Simbolo della fede; ciò che noi preghiamo, ed ecco il
Padre Nostro e l’Ave Maria; e ciò che noi viviamo come ci insegna
la Rivelazione biblica, ed ecco la legge dell’amore di Dio e del prossimo e i
Dieci Comandamenti, come esplicazione di questo mandato dell'amore.
Vorrei proporre qualche
esempio del contenuto, semplice, essenziale e convincente, dell’insegnamento di
san Tommaso. Nel suo Opuscolo sul Simbolo degli Apostoli egli spiega
il valore della fede. Per mezzo di essa, dice, l’anima si unisce a Dio, e si
produce come un germoglio di vita eterna; la vita riceve un orientamento
sicuro, e noi superiamo agevolmente le tentazioni. A chi obietta che la fede è
una stoltezza, perché fa credere in qualcosa che non cade sotto l’esperienza
dei sensi, san Tommaso offre una risposta molto articolata, e ricorda che
questo è un dubbio inconsistente, perché l’intelligenza umana è limitata e non
può conoscere tutto. Solo nel caso in cui noi potessimo conoscere perfettamente
tutte le cose visibili e invisibili, allora sarebbe un’autentica stoltezza
accettare delle verità per pura fede. Del resto, è impossibile vivere, osserva
san Tommaso, senza fidarsi dell’esperienza altrui, là dove la personale
conoscenza non arriva. È ragionevole dunque prestare fede a Dio che si rivela e
alla testimonianza degli Apostoli: essi erano pochi, semplici e poveri,
affranti a motivo della Crocifissione del loro Maestro; eppure molte persone
sapienti, nobili e ricche si sono convertite in poco tempo all’ascolto della
loro predicazione. Si tratta, in effetti, di un fenomeno storicamente
prodigioso, a cui difficilmente si può dare altra ragionevole risposta, se non
quella dell’incontro degli Apostoli con il Signore Risorto.
Commentando l’articolo
del Simbolo sull’Incarnazione del Verbo divino, san Tommaso fa alcune
considerazioni. Afferma che la fede cristiana, considerando il mistero
dell’Incarnazione, viene ad essere rafforzata; la speranza si eleva più
fiduciosa, al pensiero che il Figlio di Dio è venuto tra noi, come uno di noi,
per comunicare agli uomini la propria divinità; la carità è ravvivata, perché
non vi è segno più evidente dell’amore di Dio per noi, quanto vedere il Creatore
dell’universo farsi egli stesso creatura, uno di noi. Infine, considerando il
mistero dell’Incarnazione di Dio, sentiamo infiammarsi il nostro desiderio di
raggiungere Cristo nella gloria. Adoperando un semplice ed efficace paragone,
san Tommaso osserva: “Se il fratello di un re stesse lontano, certo bramerebbe
di potergli vivere accanto. Ebbene, Cristo ci è fratello: dobbiamo quindi
desiderare la sua compagnia, diventare un solo cuore con lui” (Opuscoli
teologico-spirituali, Roma 1976, p. 64).
Presentando la preghiera
del Padre Nostro, san Tommaso mostra che essa è in sé perfetta, avendo tutte e
cinque le caratteristiche che un’orazione ben fatta dovrebbe possedere:
fiducioso e tranquillo abbandono; convenienza del suo contenuto, perché –
osserva san Tommaso – “è assai difficile saper esattamente cosa sia opportuno
chiedere e cosa no, dal momento che siamo in difficoltà di fronte alla
selezione dei desideri” (Ibid., p. 120); e poi ordine appropriato delle
richieste, fervore di carità e sincerità dell’umiltà.
San Tommaso è stato, come
tutti i santi, un grande devoto della Madonna. L’ha definita con un appellativo
stupendo: Triclinium totius Trinitatis, triclinio, cioè luogo dove la
Trinità trova il suo riposo, perché, a motivo dell’Incarnazione, in nessuna creatura,
come in Lei, le tre divine Persone inabitano e provano delizia e gioia a vivere
nella sua anima piena di Grazia. Per la sua intercessione possiamo ottenere
ogni aiuto.
Con una preghiera, che
tradizionalmente viene attribuita a san Tommaso e che, in ogni caso, riflette
gli elementi della sua profonda devozione mariana, anche noi diciamo: “O
beatissima e dolcissima Vergine Maria, Madre di Dio..., io affido al tuo cuore
misericordioso tutta la mia vita... Ottienimi, o mia dolcissima Signora, carità
vera, con la quale possa amare con tutto il cuore il tuo santissimo Figlio e
te, dopo di lui, sopra tutte le cose, e il prossimo in Dio e per Dio”.
Saluti:
Je salue les pèlerins
francophones, particulièrement les jeunes collégiens et les Vietnamiens
présents. Puissions-nous suivre avec générosité le chemin que saint Thomas
d’Aquin nous indique ! Que la Vierge Marie vous accompagne ! Bon pèlerinage à
tous !
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.
Von Herzen heiße ich alle
Pilger und Besucher deutscher Sprache willkommen. Euch alle ermutige ich, wie
Thomas von Aquin – jeder nach seiner Art – aus der Kraft des Heiligen Geistes
zu leben, sich vom Wort Gottes und den Sakramenten zu nähren und so auf dem Weg
des rechten Lebens, auf dem Weg zur Gemeinschaft mit Gott und mit den Nächsten
voranzuschreiten. Der Segen Gottes begleite euch alle!
Saludo a los grupos de
lengua española, en particular a los miembros de la Asociación pública de
Fieles “Hogar de la Madre”, así como a los demás fieles provenientes de España,
México y otros países latinoamericanos. Os invito a todos, a imitación de Santo
Tomás de Aquino, a profundizar, mediante el estudio y la oración, en los
grandes misterios de la fe.
Muchas gracias.
Amados peregrinos língua
portuguesa, que viestes junto do túmulo de São Pedro renovar a vossa profissão
de fé eclesial, reconhecendo e adorando o Deus Uno e Trino, que vos escolheu
para seu Povo Santo. Para todos vós, particularmente para o grupo brasileiro de
Piracicaba, a minha saudação agradecida, com votos de abundantes dons de graça
e paz divina, que imploro para vós e vossos queridos com a minha Bênção
Apostólica.
Saluto in lingua ceca:
Srdečně vítám poutníky
farnosti Narození Panny Marie z Jimramova!
Zítra budeme slavit
svátek svatého Jana Křtitele. Milovaní, povoláním tohoto velikého proroka bylo
připravit cestu našemu Pánu. Stejně tak i my, každý podle svého povolání,
přinášejme Krista do dnešního světa.
Buďte silní v Pánu!
Upřímně vám žehnám!
Chvála Kristu!
Traduzione italiana:
Un cordiale benvenuto ai
pellegrini della Parrocchia della Natività di Maria, di Jimramov!
Domani celebreremo la
festa di San Giovanni Battista. Carissimi, la vocazione di questo grande
Profeta fu quella di preparare la via al nostro Signore. Anche noi, ciascuno
secondo la propria vocazione, dobbiamo portare Cristo nel mondo di oggi.
Siate forti nel Signore!
Vi benedico tutti.
Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
Saluto in lingua croata:
Radosno pozdravljam sve
hrvatske hodočasnike, a na poseban način vjernike iz Zagreba i iz župe Dobrog
Pastira iz Brestja. Dragi prijatelji, Gospodin vam bio oslonac na životnom putu
na kojem neka vas, vaše obitelji, župne zajednice i sve koji su vam pri srcu,
prati Njegov blagoslov. Hvaljen Isus i Marija!
Traduzione italiana
Con gioia saluto tutti i
pellegrini Croati, in modo particolare quelli provenienti da Zagabria e dalla
parrocchia del Buon Pastore a Brestje. Cari amici, il Signore vi sia di
sostegno nel cammino della vita e la Sua benedizione accompagni voi, le vostre
famiglie, le vostre comunità parrocchiali e quanti vi stanno a cuore. Siano
lodati Gesù e Maria!
Saluto in lingua polacca:
Serdecznie witam polskich
pielgrzymów. W sposób szczególny zwracam się do diakonów z krakowskiego
Seminarium Duchownego. Za waszym pośrednictwem przesyłam moje pozdrowienie i
błogosławieństwo wszystkim klerykom w Polsce. Bądźcie wdzięczni Bogu za dar powołania,
pielęgnujcie je i przykładnym życiem dodawajcie odwagi innym, których Pan
wzywa, aby nie wahali się odpowiadać: „Oto ja, poślij mnie” (Iz 6, 8).
Niech Bóg błogosławi wszystkim tu obecnym!
Traduzione italiana:
Do il cordiale benvenuto
ai pellegrini polacchi. In modo particolare mi rivolgo ai diaconi dal Seminario
Maggiore di Cracovia. Per il vostro tramite trasmetto il mio saluto e la
benedizione a tutti i seminaristi in Polonia. Siate grati a Dio per il dono
della vocazione, abbiate cura di essa e con la vita esemplare suscitate il
coraggio di coloro, che il Signore chiama, affinché non esitino di rispondere:
“Eccomi, manda me!” (Is 8, 8). Dio benedica tutti qui presenti.
Saluto in lingua
slovacca:
Zo srdca pozdravujem
slovenských pútnikov: osobitne z farností Senica, Igram, Čadca – Kýčerka,
Žilina, Predmier ako aj z Gymnázia Vavrinca Benedikta Nedožerského z
Prievidze.
Bratia a sestry, vaša púť
k hrobom svätých apoštolov Petra a Pavla nech vás naplní novou horlivosťou na
ceste kresťanského svedectva.
S láskou žehnám vás a
vašich drahých vo vlasti.
Pochválený buď Ježiš
Kristus!
Traduzione italiana:
Saluto di cuore i
pellegrini slovacchi: in particolare quelli provenienti dalle parrocchie di
Senica, Igram, Čadca – Kýčerka, Žilina, Predmier e quelli del
Ginnasio Vavrinec Benedikt Nedožerský di Prievidza.
Fratelli e sorelle, il
vostro pellegrinaggio alle tombe dei Santi Apostoli Pietro e Paolo vi riempia
di un nuovo zelo sulla via della testimonianza cristiana.
Con affetto benedico voi
ed i vostri cari in Patria.
Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
Saluto in lingua
ungherese:
Nagy szeretettel
köszöntöm a magyar zarándokokat, különösen azokat, akik Déváról és
Szombathelyről érkeztek. A héten ünnepeljük Szent László király ünnepét. Az ő
példája erősítsen meg benneteket a hitben.
Apostoli áldásom legyen
veletek minden utatokon.
Dicsértessék a Jézus
Krisztus!
Traduzione italiana:
Un particolare saluto ai
fedeli di lingua ungherese, specialmente ai Membri dei gruppi di Deva e
Szombathely. Questa settimana celebreremo la festa del Re San Ladislao. Il suo
esempio vi conforti nella fede.
La Benedizione Apostolica
vi accompagni sulle vostre vie. Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
* * *
Rivolgo un cordiale
benvenuto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana. In particolare, saluto i fedeli
della parrocchia di San Gavino Martire, in Camposanto; i militari del 37°
Stormo dell’Aeronautica, di Trapani; gli esponenti dell’Associazione “Orizzonte
Malati”. Tutti ringrazio per questa visita e, mentre vi esorto a rinnovare
propositi di generosa testimonianza cristiana, invoco su ciascuno la continua
assistenza del Signore.
Saluto, ora, i giovani, i
malati e gli sposi novelli. Oggi ricorre la memoria liturgica di san Giuseppe
Cafasso e il 150° anniversario della sua morte. L’esempio di questa attraente
figura di sacerdote esemplare, cui vorrei dedicare la prossima catechesi del
Mercoledì, aiuti voi, cari giovani, a sperimentare personalmente la forza
liberatrice dell'amore di Cristo, che rinnova profondamente la vita dell'uomo;
sostenga voi, cari malati, ad offrire le vostre sofferenze per la conversione
di chi è prigioniero del male; incoraggi voi, cari sposi novelli, ad essere
segno della fedeltà di Dio anche con il perdono reciproco, motivato dall'amore.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/it/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100623.html
Domenico
Piola, Tommaso d'Aquino in adorazione del SS. Sacramento compone l'ufficio del
Corpus Domini, Chiesa di Santa Maria di Castello, Genova
Tommaso d'Aquino, santo
Dizionario di Storia (2011)
Filosofo e teologo
(Roccasecca, Frosinone, 1225 o 1226-Fossanova, Latina, 1274). Ragazzo, fu
accolto nel monastero di Montecassino; studiò poi a Napoli dove ebbe come
maestri Martino di Dacia e Pietro d’Irlanda. Entrato tra i domenicani,
ricevette l’abito religioso nel 1243-44. Sembra certo che abbia proseguito gli
studi universitari (1245-48) a Parigi, quindi a Colonia, ove fu discepolo di
Alberto Magno. Tornato a Parigi, vi insegnò tra il 1252 e il 1255 come baccalarius
biblicus e sententiarum; ottenne la licentia docendi nel
1256 e nel 1257 fu nell’albo dei professori per la teologia. A questo periodo
parigino risalgono il Commento alle sentenze (1254-56) e ad alcuni
libri della Bibbia, le Quaestiones de veritate, alcuni Quodlibeta,
i commenti a Boezio (tra il 1255 e il 1261). Tornato in Italia (1259),
creato lector Curiae da Urbano IV (1261), svolse un’ampia attività:
terminò la Summa contra Gentiles, scrisse le Quaestiones disputatae: De
potentia, De spiritualibus creaturis, il commento al De divinis
nominibus dello pseudo-Dionigi; altri Quodlibeta, il commento all’Etica di
Aristotele e iniziò quello alla Metafisica; cominciò la Summa
theologiae e il De regimine principum. Nel 1269 fu a Parigi e nel
1270 si impegnò nella polemica antiaverroistica con il De unitate
intellectus contra Averroistas, mentre si difese contro i maestri agostiniani,
che diffidavano del suo aristotelismo. Continuò a lavorare alla Summa
theologiae, scrisse altre Quaestiones disputatae (De anima, De
virtutibus), commentò scritti aristotelici (Metafisica, Fisica; il
commento alla Politica è incompiuto). Lasciata Parigi, tornò in
Italia e insegnò teologia nello Studio di Napoli (1272-74); proseguì la stesura
della Summa theologiae, scrisse il Compendium theologiae (incompiuto);
chiamato nel 1274 al Concilio di Lione, morì durante il viaggio. Canonizzato da
Giovanni XXII nel 1323, Pio V lo dichiarò dottore angelico nel 1567.
La politica
Nelle questioni di natura
politica T. segue Aristotele, sia nel Commento alla Politica aristotelica,
sia nella parte da lui composta (fino a II, 4) del De regimine principum.
Anche per T. «l’uomo è per sua natura un animale socievole (animal sociale)»,
in quanto egli vive all’interno di una famiglia, di un villaggio, di una città.
La comunità sociale risponde quindi alla natura dell’uomo, ma, al pari del
corpo umano che si disgregherebbe se non operasse in lui un’energia capace di
governarlo, così anche la comunità – composta di molti uomini, ciascuno dei
quali persegue ciò che gli conviene – si disgregherebbe in opposte direzioni se
non vi fosse qualcuno che si prendesse cura del bene di tutti. Nella società
deve dunque esserci un principio direttivo, ossia un governo. Ma il governo è
retto e giusto soltanto se persegue il bene di tutta la società, è ingiusto e
perverso se è ordinato al bene privato del governante. Seguendo la
classificazione aristotelica, T. distingue tre forme di governo giuste
(monarchia, aristocrazia, politia), e tre corrispondenti forme di governo
degenerato (tirannide, oligarchia, democrazia). La preferenza di T. va alla
monarchia, perché gli sembra la forma di governo più adatta a conservare la
pace civile; e considera la tirannide come la peggiore (ma nega la liceità del
tirannicidio). Grande rilievo ha nella concezione politica di T. la legge
naturale, alla quale gli uomini devono conformare la loro condotta. Egli
distingue quattro forme di leggi: aeterna, naturalis, humana, divina.
La lex aeterna è la stessa ragione divina che governa il mondo,
mentre la lex naturalis è «participatio legis aeternae in rationali
creatura», ossia è il modo in cui l’ordine cosmico creato da Dio si manifesta
nella creatura umana dotata di ragione. Il precetto fondamentale della legge
naturale consiste nella massima bonum faciendum, male vitandum. La lex
humana (o humanitus posita) consta di tutti i precetti particolari
che la ragione ricava dalla legge naturale per regolarsi nelle diverse
situazioni. Ne consegue che tutte le leggi positive devono ispirarsi alla legge
naturale e non possono violarla.
© Istituto della
Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani - Riproduzione riservata
SOURCE : https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/santo-tommaso-d-aquino_(Dizionario-di-Storia)/
Mario di Laurito, Disputa di San Tommaso, 1522-23. Dalla chiesa di Santa Cita a Palermo. Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo.
Tommaso d'Aquino, santo
Enciclopedia on line
Filosofo e teologo
(Roccasecca 1225 o 1226 - Fossanova 1274). Fanciullo, oblato nel monastero di
Montecassino, studiò poi a Napoli ove ebbe maestri (la notizia è di G. Tocco)
Martino di Dacia e Pietro d'Irlanda. Entrato tra i domenicani, ricevette
l'abito religioso nel 1243-44. Sembra certo che abbia proseguito gli studî
universitarî (1245-48) a Parigi, quindi a Colonia, ove fu discepolo di Alberto Magno.
Tornato a Parigi, vi insegnò tra il 1252 e il 1255 come baccalarius
biblicus e sententiarum; ottenne la licentia docendi nel
1256, e nel 1257 fu nell'albo dei professori per la teologia. A questo
periodo parigino risalgono il Commento alle Sentenze (1254-56) e ad
alcuni libri della Bibbia, le Quaestiones de veritate, alcuni Quodlibeta,
i commenti a Boezio (tra il 1255 e il 1261). Tornato in Italia (1259),
creato lector Curiae da Urbano IV (1261), svolse larga attività:
terminò la Summa contra Gentiles, scrisse le Quaestiones disputatae:
De potentia, De spiritualibus creaturis, il commento al De divinis
nominibus dello Pseudo-Dionigi; altri Quodlibeta, il commento all'Etica di Aristotele e
iniziò quello alla Metafisica; cominciò la Summa theologica e
il De regimine principum. In questo periodo strinse amicizia con
Guglielmo di Moerbeke (v.), che per lui tradusse opere di filosofi greci,
in particolare di
Aristotele, o rivide sui testi greci le traduzioni già esistenti. Nel 1269 fu a
Parigi e nel 1270 si impegnò nella polemica antiaverroistica con il De
unitate intellectus contra Averroistas, mentre si difese contro i maestri
agostiniani, che diffidavano del suo aristotelismo. Continuò a lavorare
alla Summa theologica, scrisse altre Quaestiones disputatae (De anima, De
virtutibus), commentò scritti aristotelici (Metafisica, Fisica; il
commento alla Politica è incompiuto); iniziò, ma non condusse a
termine, i commenti (perduti) al Timeo di Platone e al
commento di Simplicio al De caelo di Aristotele. Lasciata Parigi,
tornò in Italia e insegnò teologia nello studio di Napoli (1272-74); condusse
innanzi la Summa theologica (fino alla quaestio 90 della
III parte; il Supplementum è di Reginaldo da Piperno che utilizzò
il Commento alle Sentenze del maestro), scrisse
il Compendium theologiae (incompiuto); chiamato nel 1274 al Concilio
di Lione, morì durante il viaggio. ▭
Canonizzato da Giovanni XXII nel 1323; Pio V lo dichiarò dottore angelico nel
1567; festa, 28 gennaio.
Se è erronea prospettiva
storica considerare la filosofia di T.
come una semplice ripresa della filosofia aristotelica nell'ambito di una
concezione cristiana del mondo (influiscono e convergono nella sua posizione
l'aristotelismo arabo e certe tesi del
neoplatonismo filtrate attraverso Agostino, Boezio, Dionigi, il Liber de
causis e Avicenna),
è tuttavia evidente che l'aristotelismo costituisce il punto di partenza
del pensiero di
Tommaso. Da questo punto di vista è fondamentale l'accoglimento
della metafisica di
Aristotele con la sua concezione dell'essere, la dottrina
della causalità, la distinzione tra potenza e atto, sostanza e accidente. La
composizione di atto e potenza è propria di tutti gli esseri finiti, anche
delle nature puramente spirituali. La potenza, ossia l'essere della possibilità, non
rappresenta una mera possibilità logica nel senso di una
mancanza di contraddizione intrinseca, bensì alcunché di reale nel senso d'un
essere incompleto, che può diventare un determinato ente, pur non essendo
ancora tale. Ciò che è in potenza, non si può realizzare da sé stesso ma
presuppone un essere in atto dalla cui causalità viene attuato. Su questa
dottrina di atto e di potenza si basa anche la concezione di T. della reale
distinzione fra essenza ed esistenza nelle
cose create e finite. Questa distinzione, già chiara nei primi scritti di T., è
sviluppata attraverso la ripresa di un tema proprio della metafisica di
Avicenna, inserito su una concezione del concreto che prende le mosse da un
ripensamento originale di Boezio: le creature sono esseri per partecipazione la
cui essenza non coincide con l'esistenza (l'essenza partecipa all'essere per
esistere) e questa struttura composita del concreto ne segna la caratteristica,
distinguendo radicalmente le creature dal creatore, perfezione pura in cui
essenza ed esistenza coincidono. A questa dottrina si ricollega quella dell'analogia dell'essere:
l'essere non è un concetto di
specie, univoco, bensì analogo e si estende dai limiti del più tenue esistere
partecipato fino a Dio, essere assoluto. La metafisica aristotelica viene così
approfondita e in più punti coerentemente sviluppata: di particolare importanza
da questo punto di vista è la teoria dell'unità
della forma sostanziale con cui, eliminando ogni tipo di dualismo platonico-agostiniano,
T. giunge fino all'affermazione che anche nell'uomo unico è il principio
formale per cui egli vive, sente e intende, e questo principio (l'anima) si
unisce immediatamente al corpo come sua
forma, senza intermediarî. È lo sviluppo coerente del concetto di sinolo e
la più rigorosa difesa dell'unità sostanziale dell'uomo. Attorno a questa
dottrina dell'unità della forma sostanziale, combattuta dai francescani, si
accesero vaste polemiche: ed essa fu condannata (con altre tesi in prevalenza
averroistiche) dal vescovo di Parigi Étienne Tempier (1277), dagli arcivescovi
di Oxford Roberto di Kilwardby (1277) e J. Peckham (1284).
La metafisica si corona
nella dottrina di Dio. L'esistenza di Dio non è dimostrabile a priori (con
l'argomento di s. Anselmo, detto poi ontologico) perché tale argomento
comporterebbe un illecito passaggio dall'ordine del pensiero all'ordine
dell'essere. L'esistenza di Dio si dimostra, per T., a posteriori,
attraverso cinque vie: la prima via procede dalla considerazione
che ogni mosso richiede un motore, e che nella catena dei mossi si deve
giungere a un primo motore immobile perché non si può andare all'infinito;
la seconda via procede dalla connessione delle cause efficienti
disposte verticalmente: anche qui si deve arrivare a una prima causa perché è
impossibile un processo all'infinito; la terza via è dalla
distinzione del possibile e del necessario: ciò che è possibile (cioè che può
essere e non essere, che è contingente)
presuppone un necessario, e così via via fino a un necessario assoluto,
libero da potenza e che ha in sé la ragione della
sua necessità, puro atto; la quarta
via è dalla gradualità delle perfezioni (bene, buono, ecc.): questa
gradualità presuppone un valore assoluto di
cui i varî gradi partecipano; la quinta via è dall'ordine e finalità
dell'universo che rinvia a un principio di questo ordine e di questa finalità.
Dio è creatore in quanto trae dal nulla tutti gli
esseri, formandoli secondo le idee che sono in lui (esemplarismo
platonico-agostiniano da tempo definitivamente
acquisito nella teologia cristiana); ma gli esseri creati, sospesi all'atto
della libera volontà creatrice
(creazione continua),
costituiscono un ordine naturale retto dalle leggi della causalità. T. respinge
decisamente la dottrina di coloro che negano azioni proprie agli esseri
naturali togliendo ogni autonomia alle cause seconde (la polemica è condotta in
particolare contro i "loquentes in lege Maurorum", cioè i teologi
musulmani; ma anche contro Avicebron e
Avicenna); e l'accettazione della dottrina aristotelica lo sorregge nella
difesa di un ordine naturale che non può essere semplice epifania del divino:
anzi proprio nell'esser dotato di una reale capacità causativa esso manifesta
la potenza e la carità di
Dio che quella capacità ha concesso agli esseri creati. Tale difesa del
concetto di natura,
della sua attività e iniziativa, è di grande importanza anche in tutti i
problemi in cui si discute del rapporto tra ordine naturale e ordine
soprannaturale, come nel problema della libertà e della grazia. Con T., un'idea
di natura schiettamente aristotelica si sostituisce all'idea di natura
platonico-agostiniana tutta permeata di Dio.
Gli enti creati o sono
composti di materia e
forma, o sono forme pure (puri spiriti): nei primi il principio
d'individuazione è la materia (materia quantitate signata); gli esseri
spirituali invece costituiscono ciascuno una specie (anche la dottrina tomista
dell'individualismo, combattuta dai francescani, è condannata da Étienne
Tempier nel 1277).
Coerente con la fisica e
la metafisica è la psicologia; abbiamo
accennato alla tesi dell'unità della forma sostanziale; dobbiamo qui ricordare
la polemica sull'unità dell'intelletto sostenuta
contro gli averroisti. Il processo della conoscenza in
T., come in Aristotele, rientra sotto le generali leggi del movimento, ed è
quindi inteso come passaggio dalla potenza all'atto; così nella sensazione l'organo
di senso (in potenza a sentire) è attuato dal sensibile esterno; le sensazioni unificate
dal senso interno passano nella fantasia e
formano l'immagine sensibile
dell'oggetto:
questo contiene, in potenza (perché limitato dalle caratteristiche particolari
della sensibilità), l'intelligibile, che, smaterializzato e universalizzato
cioè "astratto" dalle condizioni individuanti per opera
dell'intelletto agente, diviene intelligibile in atto e come tale capace di
attuare l'intelletto in potenza (l'intelletto coglie direttamente solo gli
universali). Ma è appunto attorno all'intelletto in potenza che si apre la
polemica con gli averroisti: questi accettavano l'interpretazione del
commentatore di Cordova per cui l'intelletto possibile è una sostanza separata
unica per tutta la specie umana. Contro questa interpretazione T. polemizza nel
corso di varie opere e scritti, e infine nel De unitate intellectus contra
Averroistas indirizzato, sembra certo, contro Sigieri di
Brabante: la tesi centrale dell'Aquinate, che vuole salvare l'individualità
dell'atto dell'intendere, è che se l'intelletto fosse uno non si potrebbe
spiegare come "questo uomo" (hic homo) intenda, e tutti verrebbero a
coincidere nell'identico atto dell'intendere; anzi, se l'unità e universalità
dell'oggetto inteso richiedesse, come diceva Averroè, l'unità
dell'intelletto, unico dovrebbe essere l'intelletto per tutti gli esseri
intelligenti in tutto l'universo. A garantire l'individualità del conoscere
interviene poi (oltre la teoria della sensazione) la dottrina tomista
dell'intelletto agente, inteso come facoltà dell'anima
che è forma del corpo (non quindi unico, come, sia pure secondo diverse
prospettive, si sosteneva dagli avicennisti-agostiniani): all'intelletto agente
spetta la funzione di smaterializzare la specie intelligibile presente
nell'immagine della fantasia perché, resa intelligibile in atto, si imprima
nell'intelletto in potenza. Ed è l'intelletto agente, luce divina impressa
nell'anima, secondo una similitudine cara alla tradizione agostiniana,
che contiene i principî primi del conoscere, evidenti per sé stessi.
Dalla metafisica discende
anche l'etica tomista:
Dio, fine ultimo dell'uomo, è il termine della beatitudine che
si risolve nella visione di Dio concessa ai beati. Dio come bonum
universale muove la volontà necessariamente, ma nella vita terrena non si
è innanzi a questo bene assoluto, bensì a una molteplicità di beni, e la
libertà del volere si fonda sulla possibilità di scelta tra questi beni
relativi, ed è strettamente connessa alla loro affermazione intellettuale: vi è
una valutazione oggettiva dei beni che diviene misura della bontà degli atti
morali. Ma la moralità presuppone anche la presenza nel soggetto di
"abiti" delle virtù naturali e
soprannaturali, e, fuori di lui, di una legge divina.
Un'impronta di questa legge è però anche nell'uomo (morale naturale), che
conosce, se ha l'uso di ragione, i principî fondamentali della legge morale:
l'abito della ragione che permette la scoperta dei principî dell'agire morale è
chiamato synteresis. L'etica naturale si corona poi nell'etica cristiana
ispirata al principio dell'amore di
Dio.
La politica di T.,
elaborata muovendo dalla Politica di Aristotele che egli è il primo a
commentare, si fonda nella naturale socievolezza della natura umana, che
conduce gli uomini a costituire gli stati; il potere politico ha
la competenza nell'ordine temporale e come tale è distinto dal potere della
Chiesa, di ordine spirituale, ma poiché anche le cose temporali interessano al
fine ultimo dell'uomo e dello stato, che è la vita eterna, lo stato è in questo
subordinato alla Chiesa.
La ripresa
dell'aristotelismo da parte di T. non si limita all'ambito della filosofia
naturale e della metafisica: essa ispira anche il metodo teologico e
la sua opera rappresenta una tappa fondamentale nella teorizzazione della
teologia come scienza.
Proseguendo lo sviluppo che la speculazione teologica aveva avuto nel sec. 12°
(quando, vicino alla semplice lectio divina e alla meditazione
sulla sacra pagina, si era iniziata una teologia sistematica), T. utilizza
in teologia la teoria aristotelica della scienza e della dimostrazione
scientifica. La speculazione teologica ha per oggetto i dati della Rivelazione
(accettati per fede);
da questi dati il discorso teologico muove secondo il metodo della
dimostrazione aristotelica per dedurre dalle premesse rivelate altre verità che
traggono la loro certezza dai principî da cui muovono e dal rigore del
ragionamento apodittico. La teologia è scienza: in questo il distacco dalla
tradizione agostiniana è notevolissimo, ed è di fondamentale importanza per il
successivo sviluppo teologico. Con la teologia di T., assunta poi nelle scuole
cattoliche, una particolare filosofia (con i suoi fondamentali concetti:
sostanza, accidente, atto, potenza; e i suoi metodi) è inserita all'interno
della teologia cattolica: di qui i complessi problemi per la storia del dogma e per il
valore di formulazioni dogmatiche espresse in termini di filosofia
aristotelica. Ma resta comunque mirabile la sistematicità del pensiero
teologico di T., la volontà di distinguere ragione filosofica e fede (quindi
anche natura e soprannatura), come pure la massima utilizzazione della
filosofia e delle sue tecniche nell'elaborazione delle formule dogmatiche e
nella dimostrazione dei praeambula fidei che rientrano completamente
nel dominio della ragione.
Iconografia. - Oltre che
in scene della sua vita (Wismar, St. Jürgen, retablo del sec. 16°; Ratisbona,
chiesa dei domenicani, ciclo pittorico 1500 circa; Ávila, convento di San T.
d'Aquino, retablo di P. Berruguete, ecc.) il santo, che ha come
attributo la colomba dello Spirito Santo, il sole o una piccola stella, è
spesso raffigurato nella sua apoteosi mentre gli rendono omaggio santi, dottori
della chiesa e filosofi pagani (pala d'altare di F. Traini per la chiesa
domenicana di S. Caterina a Pisa, 1345; affresco di Andrea da Firenze nella
cappella degli Spagnoli in S. Maria Novella a Firenze, 1370; affresco di
Filippino Lippi nella cappella Carafa in S. Maria sopra Minerva a Roma, 1489;
dipinto di Zurbarán per il collegio di S.
Tommaso a Siviglia, ora al Museo, 1631; ecc.).
© Istituto della
Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani - Riproduzione riservata
SOURCE : https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/santo-tommaso-d-aquino/
Guercino, San Tommaso d'Aquino in atto di scrivere l'"Inno del Santissimo Sacramento" assistito dagli angeli (part.), 1662 - 1663, olio su tela; Bologna, Basilica di San Domenico
Guercino, San Tommaso d'Aquino in atto di scrivere l'"Inno del Santissimo Sacramento" assistito dagli angeli (part.), 1662 - 1663, olio su tela; Bologna, Basilica di San Domenico
Guercino, San Tommaso d'Aquino
in atto di scrivere l'"Inno del Santissimo Sacramento" assistito
dagli angeli (part.), 1662 - 1663, olio su tela; Bologna, Basilica di San Domenico
Tommaso d'Aquino
Dizionario di filosofia
(2009)
Filosofo e teologo
(Roccasecca, od. prov. Frosinone, 1225 o 1226 - Fossanova, od. prov. Latina,
1274), santo.
La vita e le opere
Ragazzo, fu accolto nel
monastero di Montecassino; studiò poi a Napoli dove ebbe come maestri Martino
di Dacia e Pietro d’Irlanda. Entrato tra i domenicani, ricevette l’abito
religioso nel 1243-44. Sembra certo che abbia proseguito gli studi universitari
(1245-48) a Parigi, quindi a Colonia, ove fu discepolo di Alberto Magno.
Tornato a Parigi, vi insegnò tra il 1252 e il 1255 come baccalarius
biblicus e sententiarum; ottenne la licentia docendi nel
1256, e nel 1257 fu nell’albo dei professori per la teologia. A questo periodo
parigino risalgono il Commento alle Sentenze (1254-56) e ad alcuni
libri della Bibbia, le Quaestiones de veritate, alcuni Quodlibeta, i
commenti a Boezio (tra il 1255 e il 1261). Tornato in Italia (1259),
creato lector Curiae da Urbano IV (1261), svolse un’ampia attività:
terminò la Summa contra Gentiles (trad. it. Somma contro i
Gentili), scrisse le Quaestiones disputatae: De potentia, De
spiritualibus creaturis, il commento al De divinis nominibus dello
pseudo-Dionigi; altri Quodlibeta, il commento all’Etica di Aristotele
e iniziò quello alla Metafisica; cominciò la Summa theologiae (trad.
it. Somma teologica) (➔)
e il De regimine principum (trad. it. Del governo dei principi).
In questo periodo strinse amicizia con Guglielmo di Moerbeke (➔), che per lui tradusse
opere di filosofi greci, in partic. di Aristotele, o rivide sui testi greci le
traduzioni già esistenti. Nel 1269 fu a Parigi e nel 1270 si impegnò nella
polemica antiaverroistica con il De unitate intellectus contra Averroistas (trad.
it. Trattato sull’unicità dell’intelletto contro gli averroisti), mentre
si difese contro i maestri agostiniani, che diffidavano del suo aristotelismo.
Continuò a lavorare alla Summa theologiae, scrisse altre Quaestiones
disputatae (De anima, De virtutibus), commentò scritti aristotelici (Metafisica, Fisica;
il commento alla Politica è incompiuto); iniziò, ma non condusse a
termine, i commenti (perduti) al Timeo di Platone e al commento di
Simplicio al De caelo di Aristotele. Lasciata Parigi, tornò in Italia
e insegnò teologia nello Studio di Napoli (1272-74); proseguì la stesura della Summa
theologiae (fino alla quaestio 90 della III parte; il Supplementum è
di Reginaldo da Piperno che utilizzò il Commento alle Sentenze del
maestro), scrisse il Compendium theologiae (incompiuto); chiamato nel
1274 al Concilio di Lione, morì durante il viaggio. Canonizzato da Giovanni
XXII nel 1323, Pio V lo dichiarò dottore angelico nel 1567.
La metafisica
Se è erronea prospettiva
storica considerare la filosofia di T. come una semplice ripresa della
filosofia aristotelica nell’ambito di una concezione cristiana del mondo
(influiscono e convergono nella sua posizione l’aristotelismo arabo e certe
tesi del neoplatonismo filtrate attraverso Agostino, Boezio, Dionigi, il Liber
de causis e Avicenna), è tuttavia evidente che l’aristotelismo costituisce
il punto di partenza del pensiero di Tommaso. Da questo punto di vista è
fondamentale l’accoglimento della metafisica di Aristotele con la sua
concezione dell’essere, la dottrina della causalità, la distinzione tra potenza
e atto, sostanza e accidente. La composizione di atto e potenza è propria di
tutti gli esseri finiti, anche delle nature puramente spirituali. La potenza,
ossia l’essere della possibilità, non rappresenta una mera possibilità logica,
nel senso di una mancanza di contraddizione intrinseca, bensì alcunché di reale
nel senso di un essere incompleto, che può diventare un determinato ente, pur
non essendo ancora tale. Ciò che è in potenza, non si può realizzare da sé
stesso ma presuppone un essere in atto dalla cui causalità viene attuato. Su
questa dottrina di atto e di potenza si basa anche la concezione di T. della
reale distinzione fra essenza ed esistenza nelle cose create e finite. Questa
distinzione, già chiara nei primi scritti di T., è sviluppata attraverso la
ripresa di un tema proprio della metafisica di Avicenna, inserito su una
concezione del concreto che prende le mosse da un ripensamento originale di
Boezio: le creature sono esseri per partecipazione la cui essenza non coincide
con l’esistenza (l’essenza partecipa all’essere per esistere) e questa
struttura composita del concreto ne segna la caratteristica, distinguendo
radicalmente le creature dal creatore, perfezione pura in cui essenza ed
esistenza coincidono. A questa dottrina si ricollega quella dell’analogia
dell’essere: l’essere non è un concetto di specie, univoco, bensì analogo e si
estende dai limiti del più tenue esistere partecipato fino a Dio, essere
assoluto. La metafisica aristotelica viene così approfondita e in più punti
coerentemente sviluppata: di particolare importanza, da questo punto di vista,
è la teoria dell’unità della forma sostanziale con cui, eliminando ogni tipo di
dualismo platonico-agostiniano, T. giunge fino all’affermazione che anche
nell’uomo unico è il principio formale per cui egli vive, sente e intende, e
questo principio (l’anima) si unisce immediatamente al corpo come sua forma,
senza intermediari. È lo sviluppo coerente del concetto di sinolo e
la più rigorosa difesa dell’unità sostanziale dell’uomo. Attorno a questa
dottrina dell’unità della forma sostanziale, combattuta dai francescani, si
accesero vaste polemiche ed essa fu condannata (con altre tesi in prevalenza
averroistiche) dal vescovo di Parigi Étienne Tempier (1277), dagli arcivescovi
di Oxford Roberto di Kilwardby (1277) e J. Peckham (1284). La metafisica si
corona nella dottrina di Dio. L’esistenza di Dio non è dimostrabile a
priori (con l’argomento di Anselmo d’Aosta, detto poi ontologico)
perché tale argomento comporterebbe un illecito passaggio dall’ordine del
pensiero all’ordine dell’essere. L’esistenza di Dio si dimostra, per T., a
posteriori, attraverso cinque vie: la prima via procede dalla
considerazione che ogni mosso richiede un motore, e che nella catena dei mossi
si deve giungere a un primo motore immobile perché non si può andare all’infinito;
la seconda via procede dalla connessione delle cause efficienti
disposte verticalmente: anche qui si deve arrivare a una prima causa perché è
impossibile un processo all’infinito; la terza via è dalla
distinzione del possibile e del necessario: ciò che è possibile (cioè che può
essere e non essere, che è contingente) presuppone un necessario, e così via
via fino a un necessario assoluto, libero da potenza e che ha in sé la
ragione della sua necessità, puro atto; la quarta via è dalla
gradualità delle perfezioni (bene, buono, ecc.): questa gradualità presuppone
un valore assoluto di cui i vari gradi partecipano; la quinta via è
dall’ordine e finalità dell’Universo che rinvia a un principio di questo ordine
e di questa finalità. Dio è creatore in quanto trae dal nulla tutti gli esseri,
formandoli secondo le idee che sono in lui (esemplarismo platonico-agostiniano
da tempo definitivamente acquisito nella teologia cristiana); ma gli esseri
creati, sospesi all’atto della libera volontà creatrice (creazione continua),
costituiscono un ordine naturale retto dalle leggi della causalità. T. respinge
decisamente la dottrina di coloro che negano azioni proprie agli esseri
naturali togliendo ogni autonomia alle cause seconde (la polemica è condotta in
partic. contro i «loquentes in lege Maurorum», cioè i teologi musulmani; ma
anche contro Avicebron e Avicenna); e l’accettazione della dottrina
aristotelica lo sorregge nella difesa di un ordine naturale che non può essere
semplice epifania del divino: anzi proprio nell’essere dotato di una reale
capacità causativa esso manifesta la potenza e la carità di Dio che quella
capacità ha concesso agli esseri creati. Tale difesa del concetto di natura,
della sua attività e iniziativa, è di grande importanza anche in tutti i
problemi in cui si discute del rapporto tra ordine naturale e ordine
soprannaturale, come nel problema della libertà e della grazia. Con T. un’idea
di natura schiettamente aristotelica si sostituisce all’idea di natura
platonico-agostiniana tutta permeata di Dio. Gli enti creati, infatti, o sono
composti di materia e forma, o sono forme pure (puri spiriti): nei primi il
principio d’individuazione è la materia (materia quantitate signata); gli
esseri spirituali invece costituiscono ciascuno una specie (anche la dottrina
tomista dell’individualismo, molto combattuta dai francescani, viene condannata
da Étienne Tempier nel 1277).
La psicologia
Coerente con la fisica e
la metafisica è la psicologia; si è accennato alla tesi dell’unità della forma
sostanziale; si deve qui ricordare la polemica sull’unità dell’intelletto
sostenuta contro gli averroisti. Il processo della conoscenza in T., come in Aristotele,
rientra sotto le generali leggi del movimento, ed è quindi inteso come
passaggio dalla potenza all’atto; così nella sensazione l’organo di senso (in
potenza a sentire) è attuato dal sensibile esterno; le sensazioni unificate dal
senso interno passano nella fantasia e formano l’immagine sensibile
dell’oggetto: questo contiene, in potenza (perché limitato dalle
caratteristiche particolari della sensibilità), l’intelligibile, che,
smaterializzato e universalizzato, cioè «astratto» dalle condizioni individuanti
per opera dell’intelletto agente, diviene intelligibile in atto e come tale
capace di attuare l’intelletto in potenza (l’intelletto coglie direttamente
solo gli universali). Ma è appunto attorno all’intelletto in potenza che si
apre la polemica con gli averroisti: questi accettavano l’interpretazione del
commentatore di Cordova per cui l’intelletto possibile è una sostanza separata
unica per tutta la specie umana. Contro questa interpretazione T. polemizza nel
corso di varie opere e scritti, e infine nel De unitate intellectus contra
averroistas, indirizzato, sembra certo, contro Sigieri di Brabante: la tesi
centrale dell’Aquinate, che vuole salvare l’individualità dell’atto
dell’intendere, è che se l’intelletto fosse uno non si potrebbe spiegare come
«questo uomo» (hic homo) intenda, e tutti verrebbero a coincidere nell’identico
atto dell’intendere; anzi, se l’unità e universalità dell’oggetto inteso
richiedesse, come diceva Averroè, l’unità dell’intelletto, unico dovrebbe
essere l’intelletto per tutti gli esseri intelligenti in tutto l’Universo. A
garantire l’individualità del conoscere interviene poi (oltre la teoria della
sensazione) la dottrina tomista dell’intelletto agente, inteso come facoltà
dell’anima che è forma del corpo (non unico quindi, come, sia pure secondo
diverse prospettive, sostenevano gli avicennisti-agostiniani): all’intelletto
agente spetta la funzione di smaterializzare la specie intelligibile presente
nell’immagine della fantasia perché, resa intelligibile in atto, si imprima
nell’intelletto in potenza. Ed è l’intelletto agente, luce divina impressa
nell’anima, secondo una similitudine cara alla tradizione agostiniana, che
contiene i principi primi del conoscere, evidenti per sé stessi.
L’etica
Dalla metafisica discende
anche l’etica tomista: Dio, fine ultimo dell’uomo, è il termine della
beatitudine che si risolve nella visione di Dio concessa ai beati. Dio
come bonum universale muove la volontà necessariamente, ma nella vita
terrena non si è davanti a questo bene assoluto, bensì a una molteplicità di
beni, e la libertà del volere si fonda sulla possibilità di scelta tra questi
beni relativi, ed è strettamente connessa alla loro affermazione intellettuale:
vi è una valutazione oggettiva dei beni che diviene misura della bontà degli
atti morali. Ma la moralità presuppone anche la presenza nel soggetto di
«abiti» delle virtù naturali e soprannaturali, e, fuori di lui, di una legge
divina. Un’impronta di questa legge è però anche nell’uomo (morale naturale),
che conosce, se ha l’uso di ragione, i principi fondamentali della legge
morale: l’abito della ragione che permette la scoperta dei principi dell’agire
morale è chiamato synteresis. L’etica naturale si corona poi nell’etica
cristiana ispirata al principio dell’amore di Dio.
La politica
Nelle questioni di natura
politica T. segue Aristotele, sia nel Commento alla Politica aristotelica,
sia nella parte da lui composta (fino a II, 4) del De regimine principum.
Anche per T. «l’uomo è per sua natura un animale socievole (animal sociale)»,
in quanto egli vive all’interno di una famiglia, di un villaggio, di una città.
La comunità sociale risponde quindi alla natura dell’uomo, ma, al pari del
corpo umano che si disgregherebbe se non operasse in lui un’energia capace di
governarlo, così anche la comunità – composta di molti uomini, ciascuno dei
quali persegue ciò che gli conviene – si disgregherebbe in opposte direzioni se
non vi fosse qualcuno che si prendesse cura del bene di tutti. Nella società
deve dunque esserci un principio direttivo, ossia un governo. Ma il governo è
retto e giusto soltanto se persegue il bene di tutta la società, e ingiusto e
perverso se è ordinato al bene privato del governante. Seguendo la
classificazione aristotelica, T. distingue tre forme di governo giuste
(monarchia, aristocrazia, politia), e tre corrispondenti forme di governo
degenerato (tirannide, oligarchia, democrazia). La preferenza di T. va alla
monarchia, perché gli sembra la forma di governo più adatta a conservare la
pace civile; e considera la tirannide come la peggiore (ma nega la liceità del
tirannicidio). Grande rilievo ha nella concezione politica di T. la legge
naturale, alla quale gli uomini devono conformare la loro condotta. Egli
distingue quattro forme di leggi: aeterna, naturalis, humana, divina.
La lex aeterna è la stessa ragione divina che governa il mondo,
mentre la lex naturalis è «participatio legis aeternae in rationali
creatura», ossia è il modo in cui l’ordine cosmico creato da Dio si manifesta
nella creatura umana dotata di ragione. Il precetto fondamentale della legge
naturale consiste nella massima bonum faciendum, male vitandum. La lex
humana (o humanitus posita) consta di tutti i precetti particolari
che la ragione ricava dalla legge naturale per regolarsi nelle diverse
situazioni. Ne consegue che tutte le leggi positive devono ispirarsi alla legge
naturale e non possono violarla.
Filosofia e teologia
La ripresa
dell’aristotelismo da parte di T. non si limita all’ambito della filosofia
naturale e della metafisica: essa ispira anche il metodo teologico e la sua
opera rappresenta una tappa fondamentale nella teorizzazione della teologia
come scienza. Proseguendo lo sviluppo che la speculazione teologica aveva avuto
nel 12° sec. (quando, vicino alla semplice lectio divina e alla
meditazione sulla sacra pagina, si era iniziata una teologia sistematica),
T. utilizza in teologia la teoria aristotelica della scienza e della
dimostrazione scientifica. La speculazione teologica ha per oggetto i dati
della rivelazione (accettati per fede); da questi dati il discorso teologico
muove secondo il metodo della dimostrazione aristotelica per dedurre dalle
premesse rivelate altre verità che traggono la loro certezza dai principi da
cui muovono e dal rigore del ragionamento apodittico. La teologia è scienza: in
questo il distacco dalla tradizione agostiniana è notevolissimo, ed è di
fondamentale importanza per il successivo sviluppo teologico. Con la teologia
di T., assunta poi nelle scuole cattoliche, una particolare filosofia (con i
suoi fondamentali concetti: sostanza, accidente, atto, potenza; e i suoi
metodi) è inserita all’interno della teologia cattolica: di qui i complessi
problemi per la storia del dogma e per il valore di formulazioni dogmatiche
espresse in termini di filosofia aristotelica. Ma resta comunque mirabile la
sistematicità del pensiero teologico di T., la volontà di distinguere ragione
filosofica e fede (quindi anche natura e sopranatura), come pure la massima
utilizzazione della filosofia e delle sue tecniche nell’elaborazione delle
formule dogmatiche e nella dimostrazione dei praeambula fidei che
rientrano completamente nel dominio della ragione.
Iconografia
Oltre che in varie scene
della sua vita (Wismar, St. Jürgen, retablo del 16° sec.; Ratisbona, Chiesa dei
domenicani, ciclo pittorico 1500 ca.; Ávila, convento di S. Tommaso d’Aquino,
retablo di P. Berruguete, ecc.) il santo, che ha come attributo la colomba
dello Spirito Santo, il sole o una piccola stella, è spesso raffigurato nella
sua apoteosi mentre gli rendono omaggio santi, dottori della Chiesa e filosofi
pagani (pala d’altare di F. Traini per la chiesa domenicana di S. Caterina a
Pisa, 1345; affresco di Andrea da Firenze nella cappella degli Spagnoli in S.
Maria Novella a Firenze, 1370; affresco di Filippino Lippi nella cappella
Carafa in S. Maria sopra Minerva a Roma, 1489; dipinto di Zurbarán per il
collegio di S. Tommaso a Siviglia, ora al Museo, 1631).
Biografia
Tommaso d'Aquino
1225 o 1226 - Nasce a
Roccasecca
1239-43 - Frequenta la
facoltà delle arti a Napoli
1243-44 -Riceve l’abito
religioso
1245-48 - Studia a Parigi
1248 - Si trasferisce a
Colonia al seguito di Alberto Magno
1252-55 - È baccelliere a
Parigi
1256 - Ottiene la licentia
docendi
1257-59 - È maestro
reggente di teologia a Parigi
1259 - Torna in
Italia 1261 È creato lector Curiae
1269-70 - È diacono a
Parigi
1272-73 - È maestro di
teologia a Napoli
1274 - Muore nell’abbazia
di Fossanova mentre è in viaggio verso Lione
© Istituto della
Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani - Riproduzione riservata
SOURCE : https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/tommaso-d-aquino_(Dizionario-di-filosofia)/
_-_WGA00551.jpg)
Fra Angelico (circa 1395–1455), Crucifixion with Mourners and Sts Dominic and Thomas Aquinas (Cell 37), circa 1441, 213 x 165, Museum of San Marco, Piazza San Marco, Florence
Tommaso d'Aquino a cura
di
Marcello Landi
Vita, opere principali e fortuna.
Tommaso nasce quasi certamente a Roccasecca (ca. 1221), nel frosinate, e
muore a Fossanova (1274), presso Latina, mentre sta recandosi al Concilio di
Lione.
Studia a Montecassino,
poi all’Università di Napoli, dove conosce l’Ordine dei Predicatori (i
domenicani), allora di recente fondazione e di scarso prestigio, ordine nel
quale entra a diciannove anni, nonostante la risoluta opposizione della
famiglia. Termina i suoi studi a Parigi e a Colonia, sotto la guida di Alberto
Magno, che gli insegna ad apprezzare la fisica e la metafisica di Aristotele.
Fra il 1252 ed il 1259,
insegna a Parigi, prima come baccelliere - titolo di studio che comportava la
possibilità di svolgere l’incarico di insegnante assistente - poi come maestro
di teologia. A questi anni risalgono molte sue opere,
quali il De ente et essentia e i commenti alle Sentenze di
Pietro Lombardo, al De Trinitate e al De Hebdomadibus di Boezio,
nonché al De divinis nominibus di Dionigi l’Aeropagita.
Dopo un decennio
trascorso in Italia, nel corso del quale dirige anche lo studio teologico
pontificio a Roma, torna ad insegnare a Parigi (1269-72). Negli ultimi anni di
vita è, invece, a Napoli. A questo periodo sembrano risalire i commenti ad
Aristotele (studiando le opere del quale Tommaso scopre, tra l’altro, che un
testo tradizionalmente attribuitogli, il Liber de causis, non può essere
autentico, in quanto epitome di temi neoplatonici) e a parecchi libri della
Bibbia, nonché le due Summae - Theologiae e Contra
Gentiles - e le Quaestiones disputatae.
La carica innovativa del
suo pensiero, non inquadrabile nel tradizionale agostinismo, non viene
immediatamente accolta con favore: nel 1277, alcune sue tesi vengono condannate
dagli arcivescovi di Parigi e, ad Oxford, di Canterbury (pur essendo
quest’ultimo un domenicano). Nel 1879, però, il papa Leone XIII proclama
Tommaso dottore comune della Chiesa Cattolica. Il tomismo è tutt’ora un
movimento filosofico molto attivo, anche in ambiti non cattolici.
Ragione, scienza e fede.
Il metodo di lavoro di Tommaso è caratterizzato da una grande e critica fiducia
nella ragione umana e nelle sue capacità di scoperta: nel commento al De
coelo et mundo di Aristotele, ad esempio, sostiene che non si debba mai
ritenere una teoria scientifica definitivamente vera, perché può sempre
succedere che ne venga elaborata una nuova, in precedenza mai concepita da
nessuno. La certezza nell’universale capacità umana di ragionare fa di Tommaso
un grande sostenitore del metodo dialogico (Summa contra gentiles), capace,
come si vede in ogni sua opera, di accogliere senza pregiudizio qualunque
contributo di riflessione possa avvicinare alla verità, da qualunque ambiente
esso provenga: cristiano o musulmano, ebreo o pagano. Giungere alla pienezza
della verità, che Tommaso identifica con Dio, non è, però, alla portata della
sola ragione umana: dobbiamo fare ricorso ad una superiore fonte di conoscenza:
la Rivelazione. Si badi bene: superiore non vuol dire contrastante! Tommaso è
molto lontano dalla teoria della doppia verità degli averroisti latini, i quali
ritenevano, secondo l’impostazione di Sigieri di Brabante, che la fede e la
ragione potessero rispondere in modo non solo diverso, ma addirittura opposto
alla stessa domanda e che si dovessero tenere per buone entrambe le risposte.
Per lui, invece, la fede e la ragione, se rettamente intese, non possono mai
essere in contrasto tra loro, provenendo entrambe da Dio; la differenza tra
esse sta nel fatto che la seconda, anche quando parla di Dio, lo fa a partire
dalla sua manifestazione nella natura, mentre la prima è fondata sulla
conoscenza che Dio stesso ha di sé. Da qui deriva il suo primato. La teologia,
che si basa sulla Rivelazione divina ed è una scienza per gli uomini solo in
quanto subalterna alla scienza di Dio, ha lo stesso statuto epistemologico di
altre scienze quali la prospettiva e la musica, che ricevono, senza né
dimostrarli né poterli considerare di per sé evidenti, i proprii principii di
lavoro rispettivamente dalla geometria e dall’aritmetica.
“Autonomia” della natura. Antropologia.
L’idea che la ragione non venga annullata dalla fede, ma conservi, anzi, una
sua forma di autonomia, è organica al complessivo impianto tomista del rapporto
tra Dio e mondo: Dio non si sostituisce alle creature agendo al loro posto, ma
fa sì che l’azione sia un prodotto delle creature stesse. Anche nel caso della
grazia è opportuno parlare di causa principale (Dio) e di causa strumentale (la
volontà umana). Il principio che Dio dà alle cose non solo di essere ma anche
di essere causa comporta numerose conseguenze: la possibilità, in teologia, di
comporre una forte sottolineatura della predestinazione divina con la certezza
della libertà umana; il superamento, in cosmologia, della teoria agostiniana
delle “ragioni seminali”; l’affermazione, in gnoseologia, che l’illuminazione
intellettiva deriva all’uomo non direttamente da Dio, ma da Dio (causa
principale) attraverso l’intelletto agente (causa strumentale) che, con queste
premesse, non può che essere individuale, contro le teorie di Alessandro di
Afrodisia, di Avicenna e
di Averroè.
L’antropologia assunta,
dunque, è quella aristotelica: l’uomo non è un’anima che si serve di un corpo,
ma è un composto corpo-anima, un sinolo, una creatura al confine tra mondo
della materia e mondo degli esseri spirituali. Il che, tra l’altro, concorda
con la dottrina cristiana della resurrezione dei corpi, dottrina più forte e
caratterizzante della semplice affermazione della sopravvivenza delle anime.
Proprio quell’Aristotele che pareva così lontano dal Cristianesimo aiuta
quindi, secondo Tommaso, a capirne meglio gli insegnamenti.
Fatto notare che l’intima
unione tra corpo e anima comporta che ogni nostra conoscenza derivi dai sensi,
Tommaso coglie l’occasione per interrogarsi sull’oggetto proprio del conoscere
umano (noi cogliamo le nostre stesse percezioni o cogliamo, attraverso le
percezioni, delle realtà esterne a noi?) e, scartato l’idealismo gnoseologico,
si orienta verso il realismo, sottolineando la capacità intuitiva del nostro
intelletto. Ugualmente realista, benché moderato, è l’orientamento assunto
nella disputa sugli universali, dove il motivo del contendere è lo status ontologico
degli universali (concetti, generi, specie, ecc.): sono enti reali, come vuole
la dottrina platonica del mondo delle Idee? Sono reali solo in quanto
proprietà delle cose individuali e nelle cose individuali,
come sostiene Aristotele? Od appartengono solo al nostro modo di conoscere e
denominare le cose, non essendo altro che puri nomi, o al massimo concetti?
L’Aquinate, dunque, ricordando la posizione di Boezio - che ricercava una
mediazione tra Platone ed Aristotele, e che poneva, come era usuale in età
patristica, le Idee di Platone nella mente di Dio - attribuisce agli universali
una sussistenza sia nella mente di Dio come possibilità di partecipazione
dell’essere (ante rem), sia nelle cose come loro essenza (in re), sia nella
mente dell’uomo come concetto (post rem).
Filosofia dell’essere.
Lo studio dell’essere è il cuore del pensiero di Tommaso, che ha creato una
vera e propria “filosofia dell’essere”: rovesciando l’idea aristotelica della
centralità della sostanza (ed accogliendo i suggerimenti di Avicenna, che
afferma la necessità, nel considerare gli enti, di tenere distinte l’essenza e
l’esistenza), all’essenza viene attribuita una posizione di semplice potenza in
confronto a quel particolare atto che è l’atto di essere (“De ente et
essentia”), perfezione prima di ogni ente. Come in Aristotele era chiara la
distinzione tra “essere in potenza” ed “essere in atto”, altrettanto
chiaramente Tommaso elabora il concetto di “essere come atto”. “Essere” non
indica una semplice presenza, “essere” indica un’attività, la più alta e
completa delle attività. L’essenza è addirittura ciò che, determinando e
coartando l’essere, lo limita e lo impoverisce: l’essenza umana, che mi è
propria, stabilisce in quali modi posso essere, ma contemporaneamente
stabilisce anche in quali modi non mi è assolutamente dato di poter essere. Da
questo punto di vista, Dio, che non ha limiti, non ha altra essenza se non
l’esistenza: semplicemente “è”, senza distinzioni e senza composizioni; le
creature, invece, “hanno” l’essere, cioè ne partecipano solamente, sono
composte di essenza e di esistenza: perciò, anche quando esistono di fatto,
sono sempre contingenti, cioè tali da poter anche non essere.
“Partecipazione” è il
concetto che esprime sul piano ontologico quello che è “analogia” sul piano
logico, indicando il possesso parziale di una realtà che altrove è presente
nella sua pienezza. Già Aristotele aveva individuato quella che usualmente è definita
“analogia di attribuzione” (Es: anche se propriamente la salute si predica solo
di un vivente, si attribuisce ad un cibo l’aggettivo sano perché causa salute
in chi ne mangia); da parte sua, Tommaso coglie anche l’analogia di
proporzionalità (Es: due soggetti possiedono realmente e propriamente una data
qualità, benché in grado diverso, come quando qualifichiamo intelligente un
animale ed un uomo). “Essere” è un concetto analogico non solo secondo il primo
modo, come ha visto Aristotele, ma anche secondo l’altro.
La nozione di analogia
rende possibile a Tommaso affrontare la diatriba tra teologia
catafatica-affermativa ed apofatica-negativa senza né schiacciarsi su una delle
due posizioni (il sostenere che sia possibile parlare di Dio utilizzando sostanzialmente
i concetti umani oppure il negare che a Dio si possa attribuire alcunché, se
non in modo negativo o causativo) né porsi in una banale equidistanza: il modo
con cui diamo dei “nomi” (sostantivi od aggettivi) a Dio deve prevedere tre
passaggi: affermare, negare, affermare su un piano infinitamente superiore (Dio
è buono, Dio non è buono come lo sono le creature, Dio è buono in un modo
infinitamente superiore). Poiché in Dio tutto è Dio, e perciò
coincide, vi devono essere identiche anche quelle perfezioni che sulla terra
sembrano opposte; poiché non sappiamo come questo sia possibile, dobbiamo
confessare che, alla fine, la natura di Dio ci sfugge, ed ha ragione Agostino:
“Deus scitur melius nesciendo”.
Esistenza di Dio.
L’esistenza di Dio non può essere provata a priori, perché, per accettare ad
esempio l’argomento ontologico di Anselmo,
dovremmo conoscere l’essenza di Dio, il che, in questa vita, non si dà.
Rimangono valide delle prove a posteriori. Tommaso parla di cinque vie, a
partire:
1. dall’osservazione
del movimento: se osservo un qualsiasi mutamento (“movimento” è inteso qui nel
senso generale di mutamento), devo necessariamente presupporre un “motore”,
cioè un agente che abbia originato il mutamento; tale motore, per muovere, deve
essere in atto, poiché ciò che è in potenza non agisce di fatto, ma
soltanto può farlo; ora ci sono due possibilità: o quel motore è
sempre in atto, ed è Dio, o ha avuto bisogno di un ulteriore motore che lo
portasse dalla potenza all’atto affinché potesse muovere; in questo secondo
caso, il motore responsabile del primo movimento (indipendentemente da quanti
siano i motori intermedi) dovrà per forza essere sempre in atto, altrimenti non
lo sarebbe nessuno degli altri motori, ed io non osserverei nessun mutamento.
Ed anche se i motori in potenza fossero infiniti, resta il fatto che non
potrebbero, essendo tutti in potenza appunto, produrre una sola cosa in atto.
Ma siamo partiti proprio dal fatto che un qualche movimento in atto si dà ed è
osservabile. Il primo motore che, essendo immobile e sempre in atto, pone in
attività i motori successivi è ciò che chiamiamo Dio.
2. dalla causalità
efficiente: si procede in modo analogo al precedente, applicando il
procedimento al fatto che osservo l’esistenza di realtà che non si spiegano da
sé, ma sono effetto di qualcos’altro; anche in questo caso deve esistere una
causa efficiente prima, che chiamiamo Dio.
3. dalla riflessione
sulla contingenza: l’esperienza ci attesta che esistono cose che possono essere
come non essere, cioè sono contingenti; ma cose siffatte talvolta sono talvolta
no; posta la domanda se ogni cosa sia contingente o se
esista qualcosa di necessario, dobbiamo escludere la prima ipotesi: infatti, se
tutto fosse contingente, sarebbe inevitabilmente capitato, in passato, un
momento in cui tutto non era; il che è falso perché altrimenti ora non ci
sarebbe niente; dunque, deve esistere qualcosa di necessario, anzi qualcosa di
necessario per sé, che non abbia ricevuto la sua necessità da altro: tale cosa
tutti chiamano Dio.
4. dai gradi di
perfezione: se possiamo osservare, nel mondo, cose con una “perfezione”
(qualità, potremmo dire) posseduta in grado più o meno elevato (cose più o meno
buone, ad esempio), dobbiamo ammettere l’esistenza di quella perfezione ad un
livello massimo (la bontà assoluta, nel nostro esempio); tale livello assoluto
di perfezione, richiesto dal relativo che noi vediamo, è normalmente
chiamato Dio.
5. dalla
considerazione che oggetti naturali non dotati di volontà agiscono in modo
ordinato e finalizzato: infatti, sempre, o per lo più, operano in un
determinato modo (cosa su cui, come è facile notare, si rende possibile la
costruzione della scienza); il che richiede che un essere intelligente abbia
dato razionalità al cosmo: quest’essere è quello che chiamiamo Dio.
Una versione sintetica di
questi argomenti è presente nella Summa Theologiae, mentre se ne può
trovare una discussione più approfondita, anche se solo di alcuni, nella Summa
contra Gentiles. I richiami teoretici sono: per le prime due vie ad Aristotele,
per la terza ad Avicenna, per le ultime ad Agostino ed al platonismo.
Proponendo queste “vie”,
Tommaso intende mostrare la stringente ragionevolezza di pensare ad un
fondamento metafisico del mondo – il cui stesso essere non dipende da sé, non
trova in sé la propria giustificazione -, ma esplicita anche chiaramente che
non si tratta affatto di tentare di “dimostrare” il Cristianesimo: la Redenzione,
in quanto fatto storico, non può essere razionalmente dimostrata, ma va
conosciuta mediante un opportuno ed attento studio delle fonti, in sostanza
della Bibbia. Lì si potranno riscontare i motivi di ragionevolezza del credere,
anche se la decisione ultima sarà sempre lasciata alla libera volontà di
accettare o meno la Rivelazione, ed anche se il credere risulterà, alla fine,
essenzialmente un dono della grazia.
Etica e politica
Oltre che fondamento e
causa efficiente del mondo, Dio ne è anche il fine: nell’uomo, in particolare,
l’agire consapevole è sempre in vista di un fine. Ma c’è un fine ultimo,
criterio di ogni atto di scelta? Sì: è raggiungere la beatitudine, che Tommaso
intende in senso oggettivo: quella realtà capace di rendere beati. Tale può essere
solo il bene infinito, perché i beni finiti non ci possono quietare in tutti i
nostri desideri, ed il bene infinito, l’infinito essere, è Dio. Il mio
personale stato di benessere soggettivo è allora conseguenza del raggiungimento
del fine, non è fine esso stesso. Così la legge è soltanto mezzo per
raggiungere il fine, non fine essa stessa. Nel momento in cui obbedire alla
legge (qualsiasi legge), mi allontanerebbe dal fine, la legge non vale più.
Tommaso parla di una speciale virtù che aiuta a capire quando è il momento di
disobbedire (Summa Theologiae).
La legge può essere
distinta in quattro livelli: 1. legge eterna, nella mente di Dio e pertanto non
conoscibile da noi in modo diretto; 2. legge naturale, che è una partecipazione
della prima e si può cogliere con la ragione; 3. legge positiva, che è posta
dagli uomini e non deve contrastare la legge naturale, pena la perdita di
validità: posso ribellarmi ad una legge che calpesti un mio diritto
naturale, devo farlo se la legge vuole impormi di calpestare un
diritto altrui (è significativo, a questo proposito, che anche una convinzione
sinceramente ed inconsciamente errata legittima alla resistenza, poiché prevale
moralmente l’assenso alla propria coscienza per quanto oggettivamente in
errore); 4. legge divina, che vale per chi accetta il Cristianesimo e non può
essere imposta a chi è fuori dalla Chiesa. Questa concezione del diritto fonda
la reciproca autonomia dei poteri politico e religioso: Tommaso, contrario alla
teocrazia, afferma che l’autorità politica è legittimata da Dio attraverso il
consenso popolare, non attraverso il Papa. La società migliore, anzi, è quella
in cui tutti sono elettori e tutti eleggibili (Summa Theologiae).
Interessante, a riguardo
della legge naturale, è il fatto che esista una gerarchia nei diritti naturali:
ad esempio, quello alla proprietà è subordinato, e funzionale, al
diritto alla vita. Ne deriva che, qualora il diritto alla vita di qualcuno si
possa affermare solo con l’appropriazione di beni (magari superflui) altrui,
quest’appropriazione è pienamente giustificata; la proprietà privata, insomma,
per quanto in sé legittima, va sempre coniugata con un uso sociale dei beni.
Le riflessioni
dell’Aquinate sul diritto naturale si sono rivelate di grande importanza, nella
storia del pensiero occidentale, per la nascita del moderno diritto
internazionale (si veda il domenicano spagnolo Francisco de Vitoria) e per la
formazione della dottrina sociale della Chiesa cattolica, a partire dalla Rerum
Novarum (Leone XIII - 1891) fino ad oggi.
Bibliografia essenziale
Le principali opere di
Tommaso sono reperibili, in italiano, nelle Edizioni Studio Domenicano – ESD,
Bologna; altrimenti, ma sono ormai difficili da reperire, sono state pubblicate
in latino dalle Edizioni Marietti, Torino.
Tommaso d’Aquino, Summa
theologiae, Ed. San Paolo, Cinisello B. (MI) 1999
I. Biffi, La
teologia e un teologo. San Tommaso d’Aquino, Piemme, Casale M. (AL) 1984.
T. Tyn, Metafisica
della sostanza, ESD, Bologna 1991.
V. Possenti, Filosofia
e Rivelazione, Città Nuova, Roma 1999.
_Sebastiano_Ricci_-_St_Pius%2C_St_Thomas_of_Aquino_and_St_Peter_Martyr.jpg)
Sebastiano
Ricci, Papa Pio V e i santi Tommaso d'Aquino e Pietro martire / Le
Pape Pie V et
les saints Thomas d'Aquin et Pierre martyr, 1732-1733, 343 x 169, Chiesa di Santa Maria del Rosario o dei Gesuati,
/ Église Sainte Marie du Rosaire Chuch of Santa
Maria del Rosario o dei Gesuati., Venise
TOMMASO d’Aquino, santo
di Gian Carlo
Garfagnini
Dizionario Biografico
degli Italiani - Volume 96 (2019)
TOMMASO d’Aquino, santo. –
Nacque a Roccasecca tra il 1224 e il 1225 (la data è incerta dal momento che le
testimonianze, all’atto della morte, oscillano nel determinarne l’età tra i
quarantanove e i cinquant’anni), quinto figlio di Landolfo dei conti di Aquino
e di Teodora Galluccio, contessa di Teano.
Come ultimo nato di una
famiglia assai numerosa, e destinato quindi a una vita e carriera
ecclesiastica, intorno ai cinque anni Tommaso fu ‘oblato’ all’abbazia di
Montecassino.
La ricca e famosa abbazia
stava recuperando in quegli anni un ruolo, anche economico, grazie al trattato
di pace del 23 luglio 1230 tra il papa Gregorio IX e l’imperatore Federico II.
Il trattato poneva fine a un periodo di aperta belligeranza che aveva coinvolto
il monastero e ne aveva fortemente diminuito non solo il prestigio, ma anche le
risorse economiche. Nel giro di pochi anni, tuttavia, la situazione di
Montecassino peggiorò e i genitori, nel 1239, lo fecero trasferire a Napoli
perché frequentasse l’università che Federico II aveva istituito da poco con
l’intento di farne il contraltare di Bologna.
A Napoli Tommaso
frequentò le lezioni di Pietro d’Irlanda e di Martino di Dacia alla facoltà
delle arti, grazie alle quali iniziò a leggere le opere logiche e naturali di
Aristotele e soprattutto, contro il parere dei familiari, scoprì il fascino del
giovane Ordine dei predicatori del quale entrò a far parte nel 1244. Quando,
come novizio, si mise in viaggio per Parigi con i confratelli per proseguire
gli studi, la madre incaricò uno dei figli di riprenderlo e riportarlo a casa
nella speranza di indurlo ad abbandonare il suo proposito e di recedere dalla
sua decisione. Ma, vista la sua tenace resistenza, alla fine gli fu concesso di
tornare a Napoli e da lì raggiungere i suoi confratelli, tra i quali era presente
il maestro dell’Ordine, Giovanni Teutonico, prima a Roma e quindi a Parigi per
partecipare al capitolo generale del 1246.
Studente di teologia nel
convento domenicano di St-Jacques e di filosofia nella facoltà delle arti dal
1245 al 1248, verso la fine di quell’anno seguì il suo maestro, Alberto Magno,
a Colonia, frequentandone le lezioni come assistente nello Studium da
lui fondato. Al termine del triennio, alla richiesta di un valido giovane da
avviare alla cattedra magistrale dell’Ordine a Parigi postagli da Giovanni
Teutonico, Alberto fece il nome di Tommaso come il candidato più promettente,
malgrado fosse più giovane di due anni rispetto a quanto determinato dagli
statuti. Con l’aiuto del cardinale Ugo di San Caro la proposta fu accolta e
Tommaso tornò a Parigi nel 1252, come baccelliere biblico con l’incarico di
‘leggere’ il testo sacro (1252-54) e poi, come baccelliere formato, di
commentare il Liber sententiarum di Pietro Lombardo sotto la guida
del maestro Elia di Bergerac (1254-56), per proseguire nella carriera
accademica sino al conseguimento del titolo di maestro in teologia, diploma che
ottenne nel 1256. A questo periodo della sua vita si fanno risalire testi
fondamentali come il De ente et essentia e lo Scriptum super
libros sententiarum. Per il successivo triennio Tommaso insegnò regolarmente
come magister regens, partecipò attivamente alla polemica suscitata da
Guglielmo di Saint-Amour e dai maestri secolari contro i docenti appartenenti
agli Ordini mendicanti, componendo il Contra impugnantes Dei cultum et
religionem, e iniziò a scrivere alcune delle sue opere più importanti (le Quaestiones
disputatae de veritate, la prima parte della Summa contra Gentiles, una
parte delle Quaestiones quodlibetales, oltre ai commenti al De
Trinitate e al De hebdomadibus di Boezio e al De divinis
nominibus di Dionigi Areopagita).
Tornato in Italia, dopo
questo triennio di insegnamento, dal 1259 al 1268 ricoprì il ruolo di
predicatore generale presso la Curia pontificia e svolse una proficua attività
per promuovere gli studi, sia nel suo Ordine sia a favore della costituzione
dello Studium Urbis, alla luce dei nuovi testi e delle nuove traduzioni
dal greco e dall’arabo, senza per questo tralasciare la stesura di suoi
scritti, la cui caratteristica consiste principalmente nel rispetto dell’opera
e dell’autore, ma, altresì, senza venir meno alla sua personale interpretazione
del metodo teologico e ai rapporti, a suo avviso indispensabili, tra teologia e
filosofia. Infatti, pose fine alla Summa contra Gentiles e dette
inizio alla Summa theologiae, compilò le Quaestiones disputatae de
potentia Dei, commenti alle più importanti opere di Aristotele (Metaphysica, Physica, De
coelo, Ethica Nicomachaea), grazie anche alle traduzioni del confratello
Guglielmo di Moerbecke, e alla Bibbia, oltre a vari opuscoli.
Alla fine del 1268 tornò
a Parigi su mandato del pontefice Clemente IV, perché intervenisse sia sulla
nuova polemica scoppiata tra i maestri secolari, guidati da Nicola di Lisieux e
Gerardo di Abbeville, e i regolari, sia per porre un argine alla crescente
fortuna del commento di Averroè ad Aristotele presso i maestri della facoltà
delle arti, visto come un pericolo per la fede dai maestri della facoltà di
teologia, in prevalenza neoagostiniani. In questi anni (1269-72) Tommaso svolse
un’attività, pratica e teorica, che ha del prodigioso: stese la maggior parte
dei suoi commenti ad Aristotele, le raccolte di questioni (De spiritualibus
creaturis, De anima, De malo, De virtutibus), la seconda parte
della Summa theologiae, gli opuscoli De unitate intellectus contra
Averroistas, De aeternitate mundi, Contra impugnantes Dei cultum et
religionem e Contra doctrinam retrahentium a religione.
Al rientro in Italia,
dopo aver tenuto un Consiglio provinciale a Firenze, alla fine del 1272 fu
inviato a Napoli per riorganizzare e dirigere lo Studium generale
dell’Ordine e scrisse, oltre a commenti biblici, la terza parte (incompiuta)
della Summa theologiae, i commenti al Liber de causis e al De
generatione et corruptione, per poi deporre la penna, nel dicembre del 1273, e
non scrivere più. Malgrado l’incerto stato di salute, obbedì all’ordine del
papa, Gregorio X, di mettersi in viaggio per raggiungere Lione dove doveva
svolgersi il Concilio indetto per il 1274, ma essendosi aggravate le sue
condizioni di salute, si fermò al castello di Maenza, ospite della nipote
Francesca, e di lì si fece portare all’abbazia cistercense di Fossanova, dove
morì il 7 marzo 1274.
I filosofi e la facoltà
delle arti di Parigi, alla notizia della morte dell’Aquinate, indirizzarono
all’Ordine dei predicatori e ai partecipanti al Concilio di Lione questa
lettera, più esplicita di ogni commento sui rapporti che legavano Tommaso al
mondo intellettuale a lui contemporaneo: «siamo appena capaci di esprimere quel
che abbiamo saputo: l’affetto infatti ci trattiene, ma il dolore e un’angoscia
bruciante ci spingono ad annunciare che – come abbiamo appreso da voci diffuse
e da fonti sicure – il venerabile dottore frate Tommaso d’Aquino è morto. [...]
Dal momento che non abbiamo potuto riaverlo tra noi da vivo, vi chiediamo
umilmente, come ultimo dono, le sue spoglie. [...] Se infatti la Chiesa
giustamente onora le ossa e le reliquie dei santi, a noi sembra a buon diritto
onesto e santo che il corpo di un dottore così grande sia tenuto in perpetuo
onore qui, affinché con le sue opere si mantenga eterna la sua fama presso di
noi» (Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis, a cura di H. Denifle - A.
Chatelain, I, 1889, pp. 504 s.). Il corpo di Tommaso fu conservato, quindi, per
un certo periodo, nell’abbazia di Fossanova per poi essere traslato nella
chiesa domenicana dei giacobini a Tolosa nel 1369. Come d’uso in quel tempo, al
momento della traslazione dei resti del corpo furono operate delle avulsioni
per ricavarne reliquie, tra cui: la mano destra per la chiesa di S. Domenico a
Salerno, il cranio per la basilica concattedrale di Priverno e la costola del
cuore per la basilica concattedrale di Aquino.
Il cardine della
riflessione di Tommaso è la relazione tra fede e ragione. Sebbene la verità
della fede cristiana superi le capacità della ragione, tuttavia i principi
naturali della ragione non possono essere in contrasto con codesta verità.
Infatti, i principi così innati nella ragione si dimostrano verissimi: al punto
che è impossibile pensare che siano falsi. E neppure è lecito ritenere che
possa essere falso quanto si ritiene per fede, essendo confermato da Dio in
maniera così evidente. Perciò essendo contrario al vero solo il falso, com’è
evidente dalle loro rispettive definizioni, è impossibile che una verità di
fede possa essere contraria a quei principi che la ragione conosce per natura.
Inoltre, le idee che l’insegnante suscita nell’anima del discepolo contengono
la dottrina del maestro, se costui non ricorre alla finzione; «il che sarebbe
delittuoso attribuire a Dio». Ora, la conoscenza dei principi a noi noti per
natura ci è stata infusa da Dio, essendo egli l’autore della nostra natura.
Quindi anche la sapienza divina possiede questi principi. Perciò quanto è
contrario a tali principi è contrario alla sapienza divina; e quindi non può
derivare da Dio. Le cose dunque che si tengono per fede, derivando dalla
rivelazione divina, non possono essere mai in contraddizione con le nozioni
avute dalla conoscenza naturale (Summa contra Gentiles, I, 7).
Tommaso rivendica alla
teologia il carattere di scienza, perché i ragionamenti del teologo discendono
dalla rivelazione, dalla stessa parola di Dio: non sempre immediatamente
evidenti per l’intelletto umano, lo sono nella mente di Dio da cui tutto
deriva. Dio, infatti, per Tommaso è: sommo amore e sommo bene; immutabile,
semplice e indivisibile; sempre uguale a se stesso, cui nulla manca e nulla
cambia; eterno, vive da sempre e per sempre; infinito in atto, non ha limite o
confine di tempo e di spazio; onnisciente; unico; onnipotente, non può fare il
male; per sé, non riceve vita e proprietà da alcuno; trascendente, la sua
differenza da tutti gli altri enti deriva dalla sua perfezione, e tutti gli
altri enti creati (angeli e uomini) gli somigliano ma non sono come lui, che è
l’Essere semplice e indivisibile. In altre parole, Ipsum esse subsistens,
creatore di tutta la realtà, e compito della scienza teologica è quello di
illustrare gli aspetti di Dio che possono essere compresi dalla ragione umana
che, creata da Dio, a lui si rivolge per riceverne la luce. La filosofia, come
componente essenziale della ragione dell’essere umano, gode per altro di una
propria autonomia garantita dalla struttura della mente di cui Dio l’ha
fornito, capace quindi di giungere alla verità per un atto della volontà
divina, e la teologia è una scienza subalternata a essa, che ha per oggetto
quanto può comprenderne all’interno di un discorso intrinsecamente unitario dal
momento che considera tutto in rapporto a Dio. La teologia per un verso,
quindi, e la filosofia per un altro, l’una fondata sulla parola stessa di Dio e
sul suo essere assoluto, l’altra sull’esercizio della ragione di cui Dio ha
fornito ogni uomo, conducono allo stesso fine, e cioè a una conoscenza di Dio e
dell’umanità grazie alla possibilità di comprendere alcune verità della
rivelazione dimostrabili con procedure razionali. Per Tommaso l’essere non è, o
non è soltanto, l’essere/esistere comune o il fondamento concreto di ogni ente,
ma piuttosto l’esse ut actus, cioè l’atto che perfeziona tutto ciò che a esso è
collegato. Dio è l’atto puro in assoluto, che consente a ogni cosa, a ogni atto
di realizzarsi, e allorché è ricevuto da un qualsiasi ente o cosa dà luogo a un
atto misto e a un ente conchiuso.
Quanto alla dimostrazione
dell’esistenza di Dio Tommaso non ritiene valida la prova ontologica di Anselmo
d’Aosta, fondata sul concetto stesso di Dio («id quo maius cogitari nequit», Proslogion,
2), e ritiene coerentemente che a essa l’uomo possa e debba pervenire
attraverso una dimostrazione a posteriori (le ‘cinque vie’ della Summa
theologiae), dal divenire che è proprio dell’intero universo sensibile sino a
Dio: «ex motu et mutatione rerum» (tutto ciò che è soggetto a o è capace di
movimento ha necessità di un moto primo diverso da sé), «ex ordine causarum
efficientium» (ogni essere finito, cioè partecipato da altro, dipende da una
causa e alla base non può non esserci una causa prima efficiente e non causata
da altro), «ex rerum contingentia» (l’esistenza di esseri generabili e
corruttibili pone l’esigenza di un essere assolutamente necessario, tale da
giustificare l’esistenza e il venir meno dei singoli), «ex variis gradibus perfectionis»
(soltanto un grado eccelso di perfezione può giustificare e consentire, come
causa, l’esistenza di gradi intermedi e infimi), e infine «ex rerum
gubernatione» (i modi di essere di enti non dotati di intelligenza tendono a un
percorso e a un fine che presuppone, e richiede, un’intelligenza superiore che
li governi; Summa theologiae, I, q. 2, a. 3). Ciò grazie alla sua
convinzione che la realtà è intelligibile e che, se Dio non fosse, il processo
della realtà si configurerebbe come infinito; d’altro canto, tolto il
principio, vien meno la stessa ragion d’essere degli enti sensibili e la realtà
non sarebbe più intelligibile. Per Tommaso Dio è Ipsum esse subsistens, e
con questo la definizione biblica (Dio = Qui sum) dell’Esodo si
unisce al vertice della speculazione filosofica, in cui l’onnicomprensività
dell’essere fa un tutt’uno con la modalità più radicale
dell’autodeterminazione, e cioè la sussistenza del soggetto. Ad essa, infatti
si riconducono gli attributi propri di Dio.
Quanto alla concezione
dell’uomo, Tommaso fa sua la concezione ‘ilemorfica’ di Aristotele: l’uomo è un
sinolo di materia (il corpo) e forma (l’anima). Ma se questa è la definizione
propria e basilare di Aristotele, a essa Tommaso introduce una modifica
fondamentale: se è vero che l’anima è la forma sostanziale del corpo, è altresì
vero che l’anima umana è spirituale e sussistente, cioè autonoma rispetto al
corpo. E ciò è dimostrato dal fatto che l’anima, a differenza degli strumenti
corporei, conosce l’universale e ha coscienza di sé; oltre a ciò, e
soprattutto, quando il corpo muore per il venir meno di alcuni o tutti i suoi
componenti e si corrompe, l’anima, non essendo ‘mista’ mantiene il suo status.
Un altro elemento
fondamentale dell’antropologia dell’Aquinate è costituito dalla singolarità
dell’intelletto umano (agente e possibile) che non è unico per tutti gli
uomini, come aveva sostenuto Averroè in passato e come riteneva il
contemporaneo Sigieri di Brabante: infatti ogni uomo è consapevole di essere il
soggetto proprio e individuale di molteplici conoscenze. Pertanto si deve
ammettere la presenza in lui di una facoltà intellettiva, dotata di una duplice
funzione: quella di separare (astrarre) le rappresentazioni sensibili dalle
singole determinazioni spazio-temporali (intelletto agente) e di riceverne la
rappresentazione astratta, in modo da conoscerla nella sua carica di
universalità concettuale (intelletto possibile). Attraverso i concetti si costruisce
il mondo della conoscenza: pur essendo prodotto dall’intelletto, il concetto
universale ha un suo fondamento nella realtà extramentale, dove esiste allo
stato potenziale; la natura intrinseca delle cose infatti è indifferente al
modo di essere particolare o universale. L’individualità è conferita agli enti
dalle determinazioni quantitative della materia, mentre l’universalità è il
risultato del processo astrattivo dell’intelletto.
Il geocentrismo
aristotelico funge da supporto alla concezione dell’universo propria di
Tommaso: il movimento delle sfere celesti, dotate di una materia eterea
(quintessenza), è regolato da sostanze spirituali; i corpi sublunari sono
distribuiti secondo il luogo che compete alla loro natura, che a sua volta è
determinata dalla prevalenza di alcuni fra gli elementi costitutivi: i corpi
pesanti, in cui prevalgono terra e acqua, stanno in basso; i corpi in cui
prevalgono gli elementi leggeri, aria e fuoco, stanno in alto. La struttura
gerarchizzata dell’universo fisico trova corrispondenza in quella, altrettanto
gerarchizzata, dell’universo spirituale, al cui vertice è posto Dio, essere
dalla perfezione somma e ineguagliabile, mentre al grado più basso delle
sostanze spirituali si trova l’anima dell’uomo. Ed è nell’uomo che Tommaso
trova il punto di incontro tra il naturalismo aristotelico e lo spiritualismo
cristiano: «il supremo nel genere dei corpi, ossia il corpo umano dalla
complessione equilibrata, viene a toccare l’infimo nel genere delle sostanze
intellettive» (Summa contra Gentiles, II, 68).
Anche l’etica, a sua
volta, si richiama a una struttura gerarchizzata delle finalità: ogni ente ha
un fine specifico da conseguire, e questo fine coincide con l’idea divina in
base alla quale, in quanto creatura, è stata modellata. Sul concetto di fine
specifico per ogni essere creato si fonda quello della legge, che va intesa
come la via propria alla realizzazione del fine. E questa è appunto la legge
naturale, definita da Tommaso come «partecipazione della legge eterna nella
creatura razionale» (Summa theologiae, Ia IIae, q. 91, a. 2), che consente
di raggiungere la felicità, alla quale l’uomo è naturalmente portato; la legge
divina, d’altro canto, rende invece possibile l’accesso a una beatitudine
soprannaturale, che eccede le possibilità proprie dell’uomo, anche se non ne
mortifica le aspirazioni: «la grazia non toglie la natura, ma la perfeziona» (Summa
theologiae, I, q. 1, a. 8 ad 2). Il Dio che giudica, per Tommaso, è un Dio di
misericordia, compassionevole e incline al perdono.
Analizzando le forme di
governo sancite dalla tradizione classica, monarchia, aristocrazia e
democrazia, Tommaso sostiene che nessuna di esse può essere giudicata a priori
illecita; diventano illecite quando degenerano in tirannide (vale a dire nella
sopraffazione dell’uomo sull’uomo e nella mancanza/venir meno di un rapporto di
identità e di giustizia). E questo pericolo non lo corrono solamente la
monarchia o l’aristocrazia, ma anche ogni forma di governo ‘democratico’, che
non rispetti l’equanimità verso il proprio popolo. All’interrogativo circa
l’origine del potere legislativo Tommaso risponde che esso deriva ai governanti
da Dio, ma non immediatamente, bensì attraverso il consenso popolare. Per
quanto l’argomento politico non possa essere considerato primario nella sua
produzione, vale la pena di sottolineare l’impegno con cui egli si dedicò al
commento delle opere maggiori di Aristotele. Il rinvio dall’Etica alla Metafisica e
da questa alla Politica, cui la prima rimanda alla fine del X libro,
chiude il cerchio delle reciproche rispondenze fra queste opere e salda
compiutamente il discorso dell’Aquinate relativo alla filosofia pratica e
speculativa in un tutto organico e coerente. A guidare il suo pensiero è da una
parte una concezione teleologica dell’attività più specificamente umana, quella
razionale, e dall’altra la libertà della volontà nella scelta dei mezzi più
idonei a conseguire il fine propostosi, un fine che non viene imposto
dall’esterno ma ha origine nel suo stesso essere. «Un desiderio naturale è
impossibile che sia vano, “poiché la natura nulla compie inutilmente” [De coelo
et mundo, II, 11]. [...] Dio, il quale è l’istitutore della natura, non toglie
alle cose quanto è proprio della loro natura» (Summa contra Gentiles, II, 55),
ed esso consiste nella felicità in quanto realizzazione completa della sua
essenza: «la legge è una certa regola e misura delle azioni, secondo la quale
ciascuno è indotto ad agire o non agire: si dice infatti che lex deriva
da ligando, poiché obbliga all’azione. La regola e misura degli atti umani
è la ragione, primo loro principio: [...] infatti è proprio della ragione
ordinare le azioni in vista di un fine da conseguire, come dice il Filosofo. In
qualsivoglia genere ciò che costituisce il principio è la misura e la regola di
quel genere: così come l’unità nel genere del numero, e il primo moto in quello
del movimento» (Summa theologiae, Ia IIae, q. 90, a. 1 resp.).
Tommaso distingue quattro
diversi tipi di legge, guardando al contesto in cui la normativa si applica e a
chi ne ha il carico: la legge eterna, la legge naturale, la legge umana e la
legge divina. La prima, con cui è da intendere l’ordinamento razionale che Dio
ha dato all’intero universo all’atto della creazione; la seconda, che è come
l’impronta dei principi fondamentali che hanno ispirato la creazione; la terza,
tiene conto delle specificità degli aggregati umani e cerca di adattare i
principi generali e immutabili alla contingenza e mutabilità delle condizioni
storiche, oltre al rapporto della morale privata con la vita associata, come a
suo tempo aveva scritto Isidoro di Siviglia («la legge deve essere “possibile,
secondo natura e secondo la consuetudine della patria”», Summa theologiae,
Ia IIae, q. 96, a. 2 resp.); la quarta, legge d’amore e di giustizia, è
consegnata alla pratica indicata dal Vangelo e dalla vita di Cristo.
Dalla sua lettura dei
testi ‘politici’ di Aristotele, Tommaso, in uno scritto che è rimasto
frammentario come il De regno ad regem Cypri, imposta un trattato che,
nella prima parte rende possibile una ricostruzione delle sue concezioni
politiche. In essa, infatti, tenta una nuova via teorica per una considerazione
della politica e della costituzione politica degli uomini. Per la prima volta
nel XIII secolo la Politica aristotelica è qui applicata direttamente
e consapevolmente al mondo medievale coevo: «pensando a un omaggio che fosse
degno dell’altezza reale e confacente al mio stato di religioso e al mio
ufficio, ho deciso che il miglior dono da offrire a un re consiste nello scrivere
un libro sul regno, arricchito da una scrupolosa ricerca per quanto è concesso
al mio ingegno, sulla sua origine e sui compiti del sovrano, tenendo presente
l’autorità della sacra Scrittura, l’insegnamento dei filosofi e gli esempi dei
più celebri uomini di stato, confidando – per iniziare, proseguire, concludere
– nell’aiuto di colui che è il re dei re e il signore dei signori e grazie al
quale i re regnano, Dio, grande signore e grande re su tutti gli dei» (De
regno..., Proemium).
La letteratura tradizionale
degli specula principum avrebbe consigliato un approccio diverso:
un’esaltazione delle virtù cristiane necessarie al regnante e un richiamo
all’umiltà dello scrivente. Qui, invece, si parla di un dono degno, di per sé,
dell’autorità regale (laica) e della capacità intellettuale di un religioso,
maestro in arti e in teologia, che tra l’altro tra i suoi doveri ha anche
quello di insegnare. E intende insegnare, utilizzando non solo la rivelazione
(il testo sacro), ma anche la ragione (i filosofi) e – ed è forse la maggiore
novità – la storia, una storia reale e concreta, fatta di uomini e non di
santi. Tommaso, quindi, sposta il fuoco del suo obiettivo che non è quello di
comporre un manuale di comportamento etico per il principe, né una mera presa
d’atto delle componenti sociali dello Stato, né un elenco di situazioni di
fatto. Il suo intento è quello di comprendere, e spiegare scientificamente,
come si forma la società politica e, sulla base di questo fondamento, dedurre
quali siano i doveri della funzione regale, non tanto come imperativi morali,
quanto come logiche conseguenze dell’ordinamento politico di cui si trova a
capo. Viene in tal modo respinta la dottrina teocratica, per la quale
l’autorità civile deriverebbe da Dio attraverso il romano pontefice, e si
afferma la distinzione (nuova per il contesto medievale) di ambiti e sovranità
tra potere civile e potere religioso.
Tommaso fu uno dei
pensatori più influenti dei secoli XIII e XIV, ma le sue opere come pure la sua
dottrina conobbero, a partire dal Quattrocento, un progressivo oscuramento a
causa del mutamento economico e sociale che aprì la via al pieno sviluppo della
civiltà rinascimentale e barocca. Solo in tempi più recenti, a partire dalla
fine del XIX secolo, la filosofia e la teologia medievale hanno conosciuto una
forte ripresa, e si sono imposte come un episodio ancor oggi, anzi forse più
che mai, fondamentale per lo studio e la comprensione del mondo in cui viviamo.
Tommaso indica nella fede ciò che supera la ragione e la filosofia e, laddove
queste due devono cedere, inizia lo spazio della teologia. Fede e ragione sono
entrambe doni di Dio e non possono contraddirsi: la filosofia è ancilla
theologiae e regina scientiarum, prima fra tutti i saperi delle
scienze, mentre il primato del sapere teologico non consiste nel metodo, ma nei
contenuti divini che affronta.
Tommaso d’Aquino fu
canonizzato il 29 giugno 1323 da Giovanni XXII, e l’11 aprile 1567, con la
bolla Mirabilis Deus, papa Pio V lo dichiarò dottore della Chiesa. Nel
sesto centenario della canonizzazione, Pio XI gli dedicò l’enciclica Studiorum
Ducem. La Chiesa cattolica lo celebra il 28 gennaio e, in forma
straordinaria, il 7 marzo, mentre la Chiesa luterana lo ricorda l’8 marzo.
Opere. Divi Thomae
Aquinatis... Opera omnia gratiis privilegiisque Pii V, I-XVIII, Romae
1570; Sancti Thomae Aquinatis... Opera Omnia ad fidem optimarum editionum
accurate recognita, I-XXV, Parmae 1852-1873. L’edizione critica è curata
dalla Commissio Leonina, istituita da papa Leone XIII nel 1880: Doctoris Angelici
divi Thomae Aquinatis... Opera omnia..., a cura di S.E. Fretté - P. Maré,
I-XXXIV, Paris 1871-1872 (rist. New York 1948-1950); Sancti Thomae de
Aquino Opera omnia iussu Leonis XIII P. M. edita, I-L, Roma-Paris 1882-
(piano dell’opera: http://www.commissio-leonina.
org/2014/01/liste-complete-des-volumes/; digitalizzazione parziale: http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/repedleo.html,
18 luglio 2019). Scriptum super libros sententiarum, I-II, a cura di R.P.
Mandonnet, Parisiis 1929, III-IV, a cura di M. F. Moos, Parisiis 1933-1947 (per
il Prologus v. A. Oliva, Les débuts de l’enseignement de Thomas
d’Aquin et sa conception de la Sacra Doctrina..., Paris 2006); In duodecim
libros Metaphysicorum Aristotelis expositio, a cura di M.-R. Cathala - R.M.
Spiazzi, Taurini-Romae 1950 (rist. Taurini 1977); In librum Beati Dionysii
De divinis nominibus expositio, a cura di C. Pera - P. Caramello - C.
Mazzantini, Torino 1950; Catena aurea in quattuor evangelia, I-II, a cura
di A. Guarienti, Torino-Roma 1953; Summa Theologiae, Alba-Roma 1962 (ed.
emendata, Cinisello Balsamo 1999); Quaestiones disputatae de potentia, a
cura di P.M. Pession, in Quaestiones disputatae, II, Torino-Roma 1965, pp.
7-276; S. Thomae Aquinatis opera omnia ut sunt in Indice Thomistico, a
cura di R. Busa, I-VII, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 1980; Super librum de
causis expositio, a cura di H.D. Saffrey, Paris 2002. Traduzioni italiane: alle
Edizioni Studio Domenicano di Bologna si debbono le traduzioni in italiano,
accompagnate dal testo latino a fronte, dal 1992 (piano dell’opera: https://www.edizionistudiodomenicano.it/tommaso.php,
18 luglio 2019); Commentario al «De anima», I-II, a cura di A. Caparello,
Roma 1975; Somma contro i Gentili, a cura di T.S. Centi, Torino
1975; L’uomo e l’universo. Opuscoli filosofici, a cura di A. Tognolo,
Milano 1982; Commento al «Libro delle cause», a cura di C. D’Ancona Costa,
Milano 1986; Opuscoli filosofici. L’ente e l’essenza, L’unità
dell’intelletto, Le sostanze separate, a cura di A. Lobato, Roma 1989; Commento
al Vangelo di San Giovanni, a cura di T.S. Centi, I-III, Roma 1990-1992; La
potenza di Dio, a cura di A. Campodonico, I-III, Firenze 1991-1995; Commento
alla Lettera ai Romani, a cura di L. de Santis - M.M. Rossi - P. Siniscalco,
I-II, Roma 1994; L’ente e l’essenza, a cura di P. Porro, Milano
1995; Forza e debolezza del pensiero. Commento al De Trinitate di Boezio,
a cura di G. Mazzotta, Soveria Mannelli 1996; I vizi capitali, a cura di
U. Galeazzi, Milano 1996; Trattato sull’unità dell’intelletto contro gli
averroisti, a cura di B. Nardi - P. Mazzantini - G. Stabile, Spoleto 1998; Unità
dell’intelletto contro gli averroisti, a cura di A. Ghisalberti, Milano
2000; Compendio di teologia e altri scritti, a cura di A. Selva - T.S.
Centi, Torino 2001; Il male, a cura di F. Fiorentino, Milano 2001; Il
male e la libertà, a cura di U. Galeazzi - R. Savino, Milano 2002; Le
passioni dell’anima, a cura di S. Vecchio, Firenze 2002; L’esistenza di
Dio, a cura di G. Zuanazzi, Brescia 2003; Prologhi ai commenti
aristotelici, a cura di F. Cheneval - R. Imbach - M. Costigliolo, Genova
2003; Sulla verità, a cura di F. Fiorentino, Milano 2005; L’Arca
della memoria. La sentenza sulla memoria e la reminiscenza di Aristotele, a
cura di G. Binotti - D. Roncari, Napoli 2007; Commenti a Boezio, a cura di
P. Porro, Milano 2007; La felicità, a cura di U. Galeazzi, Milano 2010.
Fonti e Bibl.: Chartularium
Universitatis Parisiensis, a cura di H. Denifle - A. Chatelain, I, Bruxelles
1889, pp. 504 s., Thomae Aquinatis vitae fontes praecipuae, a cura di P.A.
Ferrua, Alba 1968 (in partic. G. di Tocco, Hystoria beati Thomae de Aquino,
pp. 25-123; Processus canonizationis Thomae de Aquino, pp. 197-350).
J.-P. Torrell, Initiation
à Saint Thomas d’Aquin. Sa personne et son oeuvre, Paris 2002 (trad. it. Amico
della verità. Vita e opere di T. d’A., Bologna 2006); Ph.-M. Margelidon - Y.
Floucat, Dictionnaire de philosophie et de théologie thomistes, Paris
2011, passim; A. Vendemmiati, San Tommaso e la legge naturale, Città
del Vaticano 2011; G.C. Garfagnini, T. d’A., in Il contributo
italiano alla storia del pensiero, Filosofia, Roma 2012, pp. 24-34 (con
bibl.); P. Porro, T. d’A. Un profilo storico-filosofico, Roma 2012 (in
partic. La vita e le opere, Lessici, dizionari e strumenti di lavoro, pp.
489-491; Studi, Alcune presentazioni di insieme del pensiero tommasiano, Contributi
su temi e aspetti specifici, pp. 491-515); F.C. Bauerschmidt, Thomas
Aquinas. Faith, reason and following Christ, Oxford 2013; D. Turner, Thomas
Aquinas. A portrait, New Haven-London 2013; D. Decosimo, Ethics as a work
of charity. Thomas Aquinas and pagan virtue, Stanford 2014; A. Petagine, Matière,
corps, esprit. La notion du sujet dans la philosophie de Thomas d’Aquin,
Fribourg-Paris 2014; G. Ventimiglia, T. d’A., Brescia 2014; D.-M.
Cabaret, L’étonnante manifestation des personnes divines. Les
appropriations trinitaires chez Saint Thomas d’Aquin. Histoire de la doctrine
et synthèse théologique, Les-Plans-sur-Bex 2015; Th.J. White, The
incarnate lord. A thomistic study in christology, Washington 2015; C. Ladd
Barnes, Christ’s two wills in scholastic thought. The christology of
Aquinas and its historical context, Toronto 2016; Ch.J. Shields - R.
Pasnau, The philosophy of Aquinas, Oxford 2016; R.B. Smith, Reading
the sermons of Thomas Aquinas. A beginner’s guide, Steubenville 2016; H.
Bohineust, Obéissance du Christ, obéissance du Chrétien. Christologie et
morale chez saint Thomas d’Aquin, Paris 2017; F. Daguet, Du politique chez
Thomas d’Aquin, Paris 2017; A. Fitzpatrick, Thomas Aquinas on bodily
identity, Oxford 2017; D. Legge, The trinitarian christology of St. Thomas
Aquinas, Oxford 2017. Bibliografia continuamente aggiornata è inoltre
reperibile s.v. Thomas de Aquino, in Medioevo latino. Bollettino
bibliografico della cultura europea da Boezio ad Erasmo (secoli VI-XV), I-
(1980-).
© Istituto della
Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani - Riproduzione riservata
SOURCE : https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/santo-tommaso-d-aquino_(Dizionario-Biografico)/
Luis Muñoz Lafuente (1756–1838). Santo Tomás de Aquino, 1795, Museum of Huesca, Depositado en el Huesca city council
SUMMA THEOLOGIAE : http://www.santorosario.net/summatheologiae.htm
La somma Teologica di
Tommaso d'Aquino : https://www.edizionistudiodomenicano.it/la-somma-teologica/
Summa Theologiae, New
Advent : https://www.newadvent.org/summa/
Il
catechismo di san Tommaso d'Aquino, su lettereadioealluomo.com (archiviato il
17 aprile 2015). (summa di 5 opere, con l'imprimatur di
Mons. Giovanni Canestri) : http://www.lettereadioealluomo.com/Catechismo_Tommaso_Aquino.htm
PROJET DOCTEUR ANGÉLIQUE. TRADUCTION ET PUBLICATION DE L’ŒUVRE DE SAINT THOMAS D’AQUIN - Saint Thomas
d’Aquin, Oeuvres complètes : http://docteurangelique.free.fr/saint_thomas_d_aquin/oeuvres_completes.html
Traductions d'œuvres de
Saint Thomas d'Aquin : https://www.thomas-d-aquin.com/page-traductions-55.html
Amici di San Tommaso
d'Aquino : https://sites.google.com/site/amicidisantommaso/
Thomas Aquinas (1224/6—1274),
in Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy :
https://iep.utm.edu/thomas-aquinas/
Thomas Aquinas, Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy : https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/
Voir aussi : https://mondodomani.org/mneme/s2ta0.htm
