Feast of St Thomas Aquinas

Deacon Les
Homily

WEDNESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF THE YEAR
28 JANUARY 2009

Mark 4: 1 - 20

[Mark 4:1] On another occasion he began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
[Mark 4:2] And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
[Mark 4:3] "Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
[Mark 4:4] And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
[Mark 4:5] Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
[Mark 4:6] And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
[Mark 4:7] Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain.
[Mark 4:8] And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
[Mark 4:9] He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."
[Mark 4:10] And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables.
[Mark 4:11] He answered them, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
[Mark 4:12] 'they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.'"
[Mark 4:13] Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?
[Mark 4:14] The sower sows the word.
[Mark 4:15] These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them.
[Mark 4:16] And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
[Mark 4:17] But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
[Mark 4:18] Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word,
[Mark 4:19] but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.
[Mark 4:20] But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."
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Today is the feast of St Thomas Aquinas, priest, theologian, and Doctor of the Church; indeed, considered by many to be the greatest theologian and Doctor of the Church.

As enormous as St Thomas' learning was, his piety exceeded his learning. Indeed, he is reported to have exclaimed that he learned more from the foot of a crucifix than from books. His entire life was the living out of the following verse from Mark 12:

[Mark 12:30] You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'

The imaging of the Trinity in each of us consists of the intellect, the will, and how the intellect and will relate to each other. The intellect is perfected by the truth, the will is perfected by the good, and the movement of the will to what is presented as good to it by the intellect is perfected by love.

The issue of salvation for each of us lies in the will--the extent to which we conform ourselves to the will of the Father, as our Lord warns us in Matthew Chapter 7:

[Mat 7:21] "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Although each of us is to be judged according to how well we have conformed our will to the will of the Father, to the extent that the intellect has embraced falsehood instead of the truth which is its perfection, is that extent to which the will is following a blind guide.

The place of the intellectual life in the church is to increase the perspicuity of truth and to unmask the evil of falsehood. That evil becomes moral evil (i.e., sin) because it leads the will into evil thoughts, words, deeds, and omissions. Error is to the intellect what sin is to the will.

I suggest that the principal strategy of the enemy of our souls in these decadent times is to assault the intellect, which he attempts to accomplish by disseminating error. A highly educated physician looks at the human embryo and sees only a mass of cells. A secular ethicist looks at the practice of perversion and declares it to be merely an "alternative lifestyle". A "theologian" (so-called) confuses development of doctrine with change in dogmatic teaching.

The antidote for the Christian in these spiritually perilous times is to emulate St Thomas Aquinas through prayer and learning under the leading of the Holy Spirit. That is, we pray to the Holy Spirit for an increase of His sanctifying gifts of Knowledge and Understanding. We pray for the grace of being open to the Truth that God wants us to possess. We pray for the grace of properly responding to that Truth. We pray that our response to that Truth be accompanied by manifest love. We are to hate the sin, but love the sinner, by praying for his conversion.

Let us conclude with the prayer to the Holy Spirit:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the power of Thy Divine Love.

Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created, and Thou shalt renew the face of the Earth.

O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of Thy faithful by the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant that, in the same Spirit, we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His holy consolation. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.