He's the great realist - something also in great need today. What we believe matters, how we worship the true God matters, reality exists and matters. We become like the true and only God if we worship him and only him. Making our own God according to our own imperfect desires only leads to trouble. He wrote in one of his great Eucharistic hymns, Panis Angelicus (Bread of Angels):
God, Holy Three in One,
through this off’ring of your Son
All now on earth can see what we are called to be
And in his hymn Adoro Te Devote (Devoutly I Adore Thee)
There is nothing truer than this word of Truth.
Thomas embodies the holiness of unified heart and mind. Some Catholics prefer an emotional approach to faith and some an intellectual approach. And that is a legitimate diversity, but Jesus tells us both are needed. Thomas would say all reality (Faith, Revelation, Reason) are not opposed because all truth comes from God. Recall Matthew 22: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind." Reread Thomas’ prayer at the top of this Newsletter.
Lastly, the Angelic Doctor is a model of holy civility. As one writer put it: At a time when religious conversation far too often devolves into shouting matches and ad hominem attacks, Thomas calls us back to reasoned discourse. At a time when religious passions have run amok and have resulted in terrible acts of violence, Thomas calls us back to hard thinking about God. At a time when adepts of different religions often gaze at one another suspiciously, the Thomas who happily dialogues with pagan philosophers, Jewish rabbis, Muslim sages, and Christian heretics, calls us back to an attitude of broad-minded respect.
More than any other person of his time, Aquinas advanced the idea that reason and revelation are not contradictory, but complementary means of knowing truth. He believed that all truth ultimately comes from God, so reason and revelation exist in harmony.
First Communion Class
Please keep the boys and girls of our First Communion class in your prayers. They've been making their First Confessions this week and it's a wonderful time for them, their families and our Parish as they prepare for one great sacrament (Eucharist) with another (Confession).
Update on Church Memorials
Many Parishioners have taken advantage of the opportunities for memorializing some of the beautiful things in our newly renovated church. Here is the update as of today:
- All 8 Adoration Chapel Windows spoken for
- All 34 Pews spoken for
- 7 of 14 Stations spoken for
- 32 Holy Family Windows ....many opportunities remain
