Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church
He wrote nearly 60 books in the 50 or so years that he lived, but toward the end of his life, he wrote less and less, as he become more and more aware of God and ecstatically in awe of God's presence. He began to see his own writing as inadequate for the purpose of studying "sacred doctrine." He did not become recognized as a saint until some 300 years after his death, and he was forgotten in many quarters in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. .Like today, people saw the middle ages from which Thomas came as the "dark ages" - could anything good possibly come from there? But in the late 19th century, Pope Leo XIII emphasized the importance of Thomas' work and thus sparked an intellectual revolution and recovery of Thomas Aquinas by theologians and bishops even to our day. It would be very, very difficult these days to find some papal encyclical or some church teaching that hasn't been touched by St. Thomas' work. He himself might be surprised at the honor we give his theology, since he himself was unsure his own writing and words (as smart and vast as they are) were adequate for describing the mysteries of God. Today's scriptures (Mark 4:26-34; Hebrews 10:32-39) highlight the fact that God's messages can come from the most unexpected places. The tiny mustard seed does not seem significant enough to pay attention to. If you dropped one on the floor, you would not find it again, and you certainly would not expect it to become much of anything useful. Yet as Jesus proclaims - it becomes the largest of trees, large enough for birds to build nests in. Our perspectives change from seeing an insignificant small thing, to understanding that even the smallest thing can become something great. The author of Hebrews, too, focuses on how we all experience human suffering. In the midst of that suffering it is hard to keep God in focus, and it is easy to think that the suffering is all there is, that there is no purpose in life, that God has abandoned us. Yet the author of Hebrews goes on to proclaim that God is there in the suffering, working with you through the suffering, and that unexpected things might happen as a result of the suffering. The author of Hebrews has a hopeful view, even in the face of suffering - he sees that with God, there are numerous possibilities. It is only human limitation that does not see the possibilities for small things to become great things. The fact that Thomas was seen, at times, as insignificant and not worthy of attention, clearly becomes a short-sighted view in the light of how much influence he has today. As we reflect on today's scriptures and celebrate the life of St. Thomas Aquinas, let us pray for God to give us the long and hopeful view, because the short view does not contain the whole answer. - Jana M. Bennett
People recognized St. Thomas as an extraordinary mind in his own day, but I am not sure anyone would have predicted that he would become THE theologian for the 20th and 21st centuries too. He lived and died in the 13th century and he wrote about questions of God that occurred to people then. His method was usually to start small: with a seemingly insignificant or obvious question like, "Is it necessary, after all, to think about 'sacred doctrine'?" Most people would readily answer "yes" or "no" without hesitation - but Thomas takes his time thinking through all the implications, problems and benefits of thinking about God and God's doctrines.