St. Thomas Aquinas 1225/1227

 

aquinas.jpgFeastday 28th January                                            

Born 1225                  

Died 1274

 

Son of the Count of Aquino, born in the family castle in Lombardy near Naples. Educated by Benedictine monks at Monte Cassino, and at the University of Naples. He secretly joined the medicant Dominican friars in 1244. His noble family kidnapped and imprisoned him for a year to keep him out of sight, and deprogram him, but he rejoined his order in 1245. He studied in Paris from 1245-1248 under Saint Albert the Great, then accompanied Albertus to Cologne. Ordained in 1250, then returned to Paris to teach. Taught theology at University of Paris. He wrote defenses of the mendicant orders, commentaries on Aristotle and Lombard's Sentences, and some bible-related works, usually by dictating to secretaries. He won his doctorate, and taught in several Italian cities. Recalled by king and university to Paris in 1269, then recalled to Naples in 1272 where he was appointed regent of studies while working on the Summa Theologica.  On 6 December 1273 he experienced a divine revelation which so enraptured him that he abandoned the Summa, saying that it and his other writing were so much straw in the wind compared to the reality of the divine glory. He died four months later while en route to the Council of Lyons, overweight and with his health broken by overwork. His works have been seminal to the thinking of the Church ever since. They systematized her great thoughts and teaching, and combined Greek wisdom and scholarship methods with the truth of Christianity. Pope Leo VIII commanded that his teachings be studied by all theology students. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 1567. 1

 

1. Taken from the Patron Saints Index at http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintt03.htm

 

“As regards the order of the body, Anti-christ is not said to be the head of the wicked as if his sin had preceded, as the sin of the devil preceded. So likewise he is not called the head of the wicked from the power of influencing, although he will pervert some in his day by exterior persuasion; nevertheless those who were before him were not beguiled into wickedness by him nor have imitated his wickedness. Hence he cannot be called the head of all the wicked in this way, but of some. Therefore it remains to be said that he is the head of all the wicked by reason of the perfection of his wickedness. Hence, on 2 Thess. 2:4, ‘Showing himself as if he were God’ a gloss says: ‘As in Christ dwells the fullness of the Godhead so in Antichrist the fullness of all wickedness.  Not indeed in the sense that his humanity is to be assumed by the devil into unity of person as the humanity of Christ by the Son of God, but that the devil by suggestion infuses his wickedness more copiously into him than into all others.  In this way all the wicked that have gone before are signs of Antichrist….” 1

 

“the miracles to be wrought at the time of Antichrist, of which the Apostle says (2 Thess. 2:9) that the coming of Antichrist will be "according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders." To quote the words of Augustine (De Civ. Dei xx, 19), "it is a matter of debate whether they are called signs and lying wonders, because he will deceive the senses of mortals by imaginary visions, in that he will seem to do what he does not, or because, though they be real wonders, they will seduce into falsehood them that believe." They are said to be real, because the things themselves will be real, just as Pharaoh's magicians made real frogs and real serpents; but they will not be real miracles, because they will be done by the power of natural causes, as stated in I, 114, 4; whereas the working of miracles which is ascribed to a gratuitous grace, is done by God's power for man's profit….” 2

 

“All these signs that will happen about the time of the judgment are reckoned to occur within the time occupied by the judgment, so that the judgment day contains them all. Wherefore although men be terrified by the signs appearing about the judgment day, yet before those signs begin to appear the wicked will think themselves to be in peace and security, after the death of Antichrist and before the coming of Christ, seeing that the world is not at once destroyed, as they thought hitherto….” 3

 

“Elias was taken up into the atmospheric heaven, but not in to the empyrean heaven, which is the abode of the saints: and likewise Enoch was translated into the earthly paradise, where he is believed to live with Elias until the coming of Antichrist…” 4

 

“The crime of Antichrist is duplex: He is against God and he puts himself before Christ.  In opposing God, he puts himself above the true God, in place of all false gods and even denies the participation of humans in the Godhead.  The pride of Antichrist surpasses that of all his predecessors and like Caesar and the King of Tyre he will say he is God and man and so represented he will sit in the temple." Antichrist will be destroyed by the spirit of the mouth of Christ.  That is, by the Holy Ghost or by Christ's command in that Michael will kill him on Mt. Olivet whence Christ ascended into Heaven just as Julian (the Apostate) was extinguished by the divine hand. Antichrist will enjoy the use of free will on which the devil will operate as it was said of Judas: `Satan entered into him,' that is, by instigating him.  He shall deceive both by worldly power and the operation of miracles.  In the matter of worldly power, St. John (Apoc. XIII) says `He will control the treasures of gold and silver and all the previous things of Egypt.'  The power of miracles will be simulated.  `He will do wondrous signs and even make fire come upon the earth' (Dan. XI) and thus, he will lead many into error even, were it possible, the elect' (Matt. 24). But his miracles will be lies.  No one can perform a true miracle against the faith, because God is not a witness of falsity.  Hence, no one preaching a false doctrine can work miracles, whereas one leading a bad life could. ..“ 5

 

“For Michael the Archangel shall kill him on Mount Olivet from whence Christ ascended…” 6

 

References

1. St Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica III 8:8

2. ibid II-II:178:1

3. ibid Supplement 73:1

4. ibid III 49:5

5. Comment in II Thessalonians., II Lec. 1-III

6. Source Unavailable. Please write in.