Jan 28: Bene Scripsisti de Me, Thomma / You Have Written Well of Me, Thomas

Benozzo Gozzoli: The Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas,
Accompanied by Aristotle and Plato (detail)
Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1471

Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church

Gospel: Mk 4:26-34

Jesus did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples (NRSV, Mk 4:34).

Father, from our very beginning, as individuals and as a human family, we have struggled to make sense of the one Word that you speak to all of us at the depth of our being. Our faith is never more secure than when it is brought into the clarity of consciousness and subjected to the scrutiny of the intellect. None of your children, more than your son, Thomas Aquinas, has more effectively placed reason at the service of faith.

When the Israelites fled slavery, they brought with them out of the land of their captivity everything they could that was of value, the spoils of the Egyptians. It is Thomas who brought out of the treasures of Greek and Arab thought new ways of expressing the Christian faith. From Thomas we should learn, Father, that you speak to all peoples through your Word and that all inquiry into the reality of your creation cannot help but to shed light on you and the destiny to which we are called.

Augustine did well to look within to find you, Lord, closer to us than we are to ourselves. Thomas expanded that search out into the world around us, Lord, to find vestiges everywhere that point to you.

Father, guided by Thomas, may we understand well that your truth is one with your being and that we are called constantly to grow in that truth as we grow in the life that you offer to us. It is a journey that is without end and we should never confuse any of the stages along the way with the final destiny to which you call us. May we always be ready to let go of what we are and of what we know that we may grow more fully in your life and your truth, through your Word, Christ our Lord. Amen.