Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 01-28-05, Mem., St. Thomas Aquinas, priest, doctor of Church

January 28, 2005
Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church

Psalm: Friday 7

Reading I
Heb 10:32-39

Remember the days past when, after you had been enlightened,
you endured a great contest of suffering.
At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and affliction;
at other times you associated yourselves with those so treated.
You even joined in the sufferings of those in prison
and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property,
knowing that you had a better and lasting possession.
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence;
it will have great recompense.
You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.

For, after just a brief moment,
he who is to come shall come;
he shall not delay.
But my just one shall live by faith,
and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him.

We are not among those who draw back and perish,
but among those who have faith and will possess life.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 37:3-4, 5-6, 23-24, 39-40

R (39a) The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart"s requests.
R The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
By the LORD are the steps of a man made firm,
and he approves his way.
Though he fall, he does not lie prostrate,
for the hand of the LORD sustains him.
R The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

Gospel
Mk 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds:
"This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come."

He said,
"To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Thanks for the ping. I'm celebrating today!

A worthy exerpt from the Summa for this occasion:

Does the Holy Ghost Proceed from the Father and the Son?
On the contrary, Athanasius says: "The Holy Ghost is from the Father and the Son; not made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding."
I answer that, It must be said that the Holy Ghost is from the Son. For if He were not from Him, He could in no wise be personally distinguished from Him; as appears from what has been said above (28, 3; 30, 2). For it cannot be said that the divine Persons are distinguished from each other in any absolute sense; for it would follow that there would not be one essence of the three persons: since everything that is spoken of God in an absolute sense, belongs to the unity of essence. Therefore it must be said that the divine persons are distinguished from each other only by the relations. Now the relations cannot distinguish the persons except forasmuch as they are opposite relations; which appears from the fact that the Father has two relations, by one of which He is related to the Son, and by the other to the Holy Ghost; but these are not opposite relations, and therefore they do not make two persons, but belong only to the one person of the Father. If therefore in the Son and the Holy Ghost there were two relations only, whereby each of them were related to the Father, these relations would not be opposite to each other, as neither would be the two relations whereby the Father is related to them. Hence, as the person of the Father is one, it would follow that the person of the Son and of the Holy Ghost would be one, having two relations opposed to the two relations of the Father. But this is heretical since it destroys the Faith in the Trinity. Therefore the Son and the Holy Ghost must be related to each other by opposite relations. Now there cannot be in God any relations opposed to each other, except relations of origin, as proved above (28, 44). And opposite relations of origin are to be understood as of a "principle," and of what is "from the principle." Therefore we must conclude that it is necessary to say that either the Son is from the Holy Ghost; which no one says; or that the Holy Ghost is from the Son, as we confess.
Furthermore, the order of the procession of each one agrees with this conclusion. For it was said above (27, 2,4; 28, 4), that the Son proceeds by the way of the intellect as Word, and the Holy Ghost by way of the will as Love. Now love must proceed from a word. For we do not love anything unless we apprehend it by a mental conception. Hence also in this way it is manifest that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son.
We derive a knowledge of the same truth from the very order of nature itself. For we nowhere find that several things proceed from one without order except in those which differ only by their matter; as for instance one smith produces many knives distinct from each other materially, with no order to each other; whereas in things in which there is not only a material distinction we always find that some order exists in the multitude produced. Hence also in the order of creatures produced, the beauty of the divine wisdom is displayed. So if from the one Person of the Father, two persons proceed, the Son and the Holy Ghost, there must be some order between them. Nor can any other be assigned except the order of their nature, whereby one is from the other. Therefore it cannot be said that the Son and the Holy Ghost proceed from the Father in such a way as that neither of them proceeds from the other, unless we admit in them a material distinction; which is impossible.
Hence also the Greeks themselves recognize that the procession of the Holy Ghost has some order to the Son. For they grant that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit "of the Son"; and that He is from the Father "through the Son." Some of them are said also to concede that "He is from the Son"; or that "He flows from the Son," but not that He proceeds; which seems to come from ignorance or obstinacy. For a just consideration of the truth will convince anyone that the word procession is the one most commonly applied to all that denotes origin of any kind. For we use the term to describe any kind of origin; as when we say that a line proceeds from a point, a ray from the sun, a stream from a source, and likewise in everything else. Hence, granted that the Holy Ghost originates in any way from the Son, we can conclude that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son.

From: Hebrews 10:32-39

Motives for Perseverance (Continuation)

[32] But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you
endured a hard struggle with sufferings, [33] sometimes being publicly
exposed to abuse and affliction, and sometimes being partners with
those so treated. [34] For you had compassion on the prisoners, and you
joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that
you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
[35] Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great
reward. [36] For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the
will of God and receive what is promised. [37] "For yet a little while,
and the coming one shall come and shall not tarry; [38] but my
righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has
no pleasure in him." [39] But we are not of those who shrink back and
are destroyed, but of those who have faith and keep their souls.

Commentary:

32-34. A Christian is called to share the persecution which Christ
suffered. "A disciple is not above his teacher", our Lord said (cf. Mt
10:22-25; Lk 12:11-12; In 15:18); anyone who wanted to follow him would
have to carry his cross (cf. Mt 10:38; 16:24; Mk 8:34; Lk 9:23; 14:27).
These words of our Lord have always been borne out in practice. In the
Acts of the Apostles we are told of how the Sanhedrin persecuted the
Apostles, and of how certain Jews acted against Stephen, and Herod
against James and Peter, etc. The early Christians bore these
afflictions bravely and even availed of them to spread the faith--first
to Samaria, then to Antioch, and later throughout the whole Roman
empire. The text here speaks of their courage. It may be thinking of
the severe persecution instituted by Nero after the burning of Rome.
Given these circumstances, the addressees, and Christians in general,
need to keep their baptismal faith, their "enlightenment", intact:
they should be mindful of "the former days" and copy those who compete
and fight in public not minding that they are making a "public
exhibition" of themselves (cf. 1 Cor 4:9).

Undoubtedly the persecution suffered by Christians who were converted
from Judaism was severe. They were subject to "abuse" and "affliction",
words which point to affronts, insults, ridicule, and treatment typical
of religious persecution--confiscation of property, imprisonment and
even flogging and other forms of punishment. Our early brethren in the
faith not only bore these afflictions but also showed their solidarity
and charity by generously sharing the suffering of those who were
thrown in prison.

And yet even these persecutions had very good effects (cf. 1 Pet 1:6-9;
Jas 1 :3-4), in that they helped the people concerned to be detached
from material things and place their hope in divine rewards. In the
same type of way, every Christian needs to face up to the difficulties
and contradictions he experiences in life.

"Are things going against you? Are you going through a rough time? Say
very slowly, as if relishing it, this powerful and courageous prayer:
'May the most just and lovable will of God be done, be fulfilled, be
praised and eternally exalted above all things. Amen. Amen.' I assure
you that you will find peace" ("The Way", 691).

35-39. The "confidence" mentioned in v. 35 is a translation of a Greek
word which refers to the ease and trusting frankness with which a
person addresses a good friend or God.

The sacred writer renews his call to endurance in the face of
persecution. St John Chrysostom compares the situation of the
Christians addressed in this letter with that of an athlete who has won
a competition and is now simply waiting for the president of the games
to award him the laurels. "From now on there is no further combat; all
you must do is hold on to the merit you have won, and you will not lose
your reward [...]. No further combat is called for: all that is
necessary is perseverance. Just hold out and you will gain your
laurels; you have already suffered all you need to obtain
them--contentions, chains, pain, loss of property. What more could you
have done? All that remains for you to do is wait patiently for the
prize to be given you. If there is a delay, it will only be for a short
while" ("Hom. on Heb., ad loc.").

Here, as St Thomas comments, endurance refers to two things--the
strength that enables one to stay loyal despite persecution, and the
assurance of one who is confident of obtaining certain things he does
not yet possess. The letter's exhortation to endurance is supported by
two quotations from Sacred Scripture. The first, from Isaiah 26:20, is
a reminder that God will soon judge the impious; the second from
Habakkuk 2:3-4 (also quoted by St Paul in Rom 1:17; Gal 3: 11),
announces the coming liberation of the people of Israel. The sacred
text accurately prophesied that those Jews who remained faithful to God
would be released from captivity in Babylon and survive the experience.
Moved by the Holy Spirit, the present writer states that the ancient
prophecy has been fulfilled in Christ; he is "the coming one", that is,
he will come a second time. Therefore, the Christian should await the
outcome of persecution loyally and cheerfully. "Stand your ground like
an anvil under the hammer. The mark of a true champion is to stand up
to punishment and still come out victorious. It is our duty,
particularly when the cause is God's, to accept trials of all kinds, if
we ourselves are to be accepted by him" (St Ignatius of Antioch,
"Letter to Polycarp", III, 1).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Mark 4:26-34

Parables of the Seed and of the Mustard Seed

[26] And He (Jesus) said, "The Kingdom of God is as if a man should
scatter seed upon the ground, [27] and should sleep and rise night and
day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. [28] The
earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full
grain in the ear. [29] But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in
the sickle, because the harvest is come."

[30] And He said, "With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what
parable shall we use for it? [31] It is like a grain of mustard seed,
which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on
earth; [32] yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of
all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air
can make nests in its shade."

The End of the Parables Discourse

[33] With many such parables He spoke the word to them, as they were
able to hear it; [34] He did not speak to them without a parable, but
privately to His own disciples He explained everything.

Commentary:

26-29. Farmers spare no effort to prepare the ground for the sowing;
but once the grain is sown there is nothing more they can do until the
harvest; the grain develops by itself. Our Lord uses this comparison
to describe the inner strength that causes the Kingdom of God on earth
to grow up to the day of harvest (cf. Joel 3:13 and Revelation 14:15),
that is, the day of the Last Judgment.

Jesus is telling His disciples about the Church: the preaching of the
Gospel, the generously sown seed, will unfailingly yield its fruit,
independently of who sows or who reaps: it is God who gives the growth
(cf. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9). It will all happen "he knows not how",
without men being fully aware of it.

The Kingdom of God also refers to the action of grace in each soul: God
silently works a transformation in us, whether we sleep or watch,
causing resolutions to take shape in our soul--resolutions to be
faithful, to surrender ourselves, to respond to grace--until we reach
"mature manhood" (cf. Ephesians 4:13). Even though it is necessary for
man to make this effort, the real initiative lies with God, "because it
is the Holy Spirit who, with His inspirations, gives a supernatural
tone to our thoughts, desires and actions. It is He who leads us to
receive Christ's teaching and to assimilate it in a profound way. It
is He who gives us the light by which we perceive our personal calling
and the strength to carry out all that God expects of us. If we are
docile to the Holy Spirit, the image of Christ will be found more and
more fully in us, and we will be brought closer every day to God the
Father. `For whoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
children of God' (Romans 8:14)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By",
135).

30-32. The main meaning of this parable has to do with the contrast
between the great and the small. The seed of the Kingdom of God on
earth is something very tiny to begin with (Luke 12:32; Acts 1:15); but
it will grow to be a big tree. Thus we see how the small initial group
of disciples grows in the early years of the Church (cf Acts 2:47; 6:7;
12:24), and spreads down the centuries and becomes a great multitude
"which no man could number" (Revelation 7:9). This mysterious growth
which our Lord refers to also occurs in each soul: "the Kingdom of God
is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:21); we can see a prediction of this
in the words of Psalm 92:12: "The righteous grow like a cedar in
Lebanon." To allow the mercy of God to exalt us, to make us grow, we
must make ourselves small, humble (Ezekiel 17:22-24; Luke 18:9-14).

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 in the kingdom of Naples in
modern day Italy to a noble family. At the age of five, Thomas was
sent to the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino to be educated
in religion and learning. Thomas' parents hoped this education would
encourage him to join the Benedictines at Monte Cassino and that he
would someday become abbot of this famous community. Thomas'
parents exercised a strong influence over his life but he felt God
calling him in a different direction and applied himself to following this
plan.

In 1239, Thomas traveled to the city of Naples to complete his
education in philosophy, and while he was there, he was introduced
to the philosophy of Aristotle. Thomas' study of Aristotelian
philosophy shaped his own philosophic views and is evident in his
writings. Thomas used the Aristotelian style of systematic proof for
several of his theological works and defended the philosophy of
Aristotle to several of his contemporaries.

While Thomas was studying at Naples, he felt a calling to join the
Dominican order and live an austere life dedicated to education.
Thomas professed vows as a Dominican at the age of seventeen in
1443 and earned the nickname "Dumb Ox" for his quiet
contemplative attitude and large stature. His parents opposed this
and abducted him in an effort to change his mind, but Thomas
remained resolute and managed to convince his parents that his
decision was sound. Once Thomas finished his studies at Naples, he
traveled to Cologne to study under the guidance of St. Albert the
Great. At the age of twenty-two, Thomas was asked to teach at the
university in addition to the classes he was taking there. After
receiving his doctorate at the age of 31, Thomas moved to Paris to
teach at the university there.

While Thomas was still in the university, he began to publish the first
works of a literary career that fills more than twenty volumes. As
Thomas continued publishing and teaching, he gained a wide
reputation and was called upon several times to settle theological
disputes. Several times, he was offered titles and ecclesiastical
offices in recognition for his work, but every time Thomas declined
them. Thomas' prolific writings cover a wide range of topics, from
synthesis of the Catholic Faith in the Summa Theologica and
religious hymns to defense of Aristotelian philosophy and treatises
on a variety of other subjects.

Throughout his life, Thomas continually worked to do more than his
duties as a Dominican required. In addition to his duties as a
Dominican, Thomas settled several theological disputes and
managed to publish several theological works and write hymns,
treatises and letters. Thomas is most well known for his major
compilation, the Summa Theologica. This work synthesizes Church
teaching in a question and answer format that was heavily used by
Aristotelian philosophers. The Summa was the last work of Thomas
and remained unfinished, because Thomas saw it as "straw
compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me."
Thomas is also known as the author of several hymns included the
Pange Lingua, which is often sung at exposition or benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament. Thomas is seen as one of the giants of
medieval thought and his works are still consulted for theological
matters today. St. Thomas died in 1274 while on his way to the
Second Council of Lyons, and is the patron saint of philosophers,
theologians and booksellers.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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. -St. Thomas Aquinas

TODAY IN HISTORY

1077 Pope Gregory VII pardons German emperor Heinrich IV
1986 25th Space Shuttle, Challenger, explodes 73 seconds after
liftoff, all on board are lost

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Thomism is an area of philosophy and theology related to
scholasticism and neo-scholasticism. This system copies the style of
Thomas and scientifically applies reason and the teachings of the
Church to solve philosophical and theological issues.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray, through the intercession of St. Thomas Aquinas for all theologians and philosophers.

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