Pope Speaks About CCM Patron St. Thomas Aquinas

On Wednesday June 2nd, Pope Benedict returned to his catechesis on great thinkers of the Middle Ages and spoke of the great St. Thomas Aquinas, patron saint of Catholic Campus Ministry and namesake of St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel.

Here are some excerpts of the Pope's catechesis which I found striking (my comments in bold):

"In short, Thomas Aquinas showed there is a natural harmony between Christian faith and reason. And this was the great work of Thomas, who in that moment of encounter between two cultures -- that moment in which it seemed that faith should surrender before reason -- showed that they go together, that what seemed to be reason incompatible with faith was not reason, and what seemed to be faith was not faith, in so far as it was opposed to true rationality; thus he created a new synthesis, which shaped the culture of the following centuries." (The Church teaches that faith and reason go together, they are not opposed to one another, rather they serve and enlighten one another. Aquinas was great at getting this point across.)

"In December 1273, he called his friend and secretary Reginald to communicate to him the decision to interrupt all work because, during the celebration of Mass, he had understood, following a supernatural revelation, that all he had written up to then was only "a heap of straw." It is a mysterious episode, which helps us to understand not only Thomas' personal humility, but also the fact that all that we succeed in thinking and saying about the faith, no matter how lofty and pure, is infinitely exceeded by the grandeur and beauty of God, which will be revealed to us fully in Paradise." (Absolutely beautiful. Anything we could ever do or say is nothing compared to the glory of God. Aquinas didn't even finish the Summa because of this realization. And the fact that he had this revelation during Mass is a great reminder to us that the Mass is indescribably beautiful and sacred.)

"While the saint, as was his custom, was praying in the morning before the crucifix in the Chapel of St. Nicholas in Naples, the sacristan of the church, Domenico da Caserta, heard a dialogue unfolding. Thomas was asking, worried, if what he had written on the mysteries of the Christian faith was right. And the Crucifix responded: "You have spoken well of me, Thomas. What will be your recompense?" And the answer that Thomas gave is that which all of us, friends and disciples of Christ, would always want to give: 'Nothing other than You, Lord!'" (Jesus is our greatest gift and treasure. Our desires for happiness will be supremely fulfilled when we are fully and forever united with our Lord. That is why heaven is called the 'Beatific Vision', because the utter and supreme beauty of God will fill us with utter and supreme joy of which our mere words cannot fully express.)

Click here to read the full text of the Holy Father's address.