Today is the Feast Day in which the Church encourages us as Catholics to remember Saint Thomas Aquinas, perhaps one of the most intellectual men to ever be born. In his work, the Summa Theologica, we find the definitive guide to Catholic apologetics in which we see a reasonable and logical proof for the existence of God. That volume of work has influenced Christian thought for hundreds of years, helping us to further understand who God is and who we are. Yet, as he finished it, he sat this volume of work at the foot of the cross and said:
“Everything that I have written seems like straw to me compared to those things that I have seen and have been revealed to me.”
That’s how I feel each day, as I begin to think about the love of God for us. In the first reading for today, we see a treatise on exactly what God has done for us. That Christ has ended the need for animal sacrifice and in place has opened heaven to every human being who chooses to believe. Through the blood of the Lamb, Jesus himself, we are given the opportunity to become part of the divine family. When I think about the kind of person I have been in the past, and frankly the person I tend to be on a day to day basis, I wonder why He would choose to die for someone like me. That Jesus is coming again to “bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.”
I have been a writer for decades now. Beginning on Myspace, migrating to Facebook, WordPress, etc. When I look at the volume of work that I have composed, even the books I have published, and the articles I have been paid for, I have to say “everything seems like straw.” None of the words convey who Jesus is. They try to, they help, but they are still so far from what He has shown me. Even the words of Sacred Scripture are only a glimpse of the living God, a glimpse of something so much greater than our imagination, that we simply cannot express of fathoming who God is. Yesterday I heard our Bishop, David Malloy, say that that still does not free us from doing just that: using our imagination to further understand who God is. Meditating, praying, and thinking about who God is.
In the Gospel for today, we see the need for unity, unity in the body of Christ, and unity of our will with God’s will. The problem is this: a house divided will not stand. When it comes to being divided from God, it is not God who will fall, but those who are not united with Him. That’s what Blasphemy is. It’s a refusal to unite with God, to come to Him with repentance, to continue in our sin with an obstinate heart and to say things like: this is just how God made me, I can’t help it. Or even worse: “God can’t forgive me, I’m too great a sinner.” It is only when we begin to say as Ignatius of Loyola did, “God I can’t do this on my own, only you can fix me.” (paraphrased.) He went as far as not even eating until God would help him with his own struggles. What are we willing to do to grow closer to Him? Because right here is a solid truth, something you can take to the bank: If God is for you, who can be against you? If you want your house to stand, if you want to begin to fathom the mysteries of who God truly is, you must begin to be more like Jesus himself. That begins by getting to know Him, through the Church, through the Sacraments, through the Sacred Scriptures, and through a life of prayer that seeks to unify your will with His.
A reflection on the readings for January 28th, 2019: The feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas.