Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Saint Thomas' "Unparalleled" Treatise on the Life of Christ


When our incisive Pontiff repeats a point it is worth studying that point. He has recently repeatedly referred to and superlatively praised Saint Thomas Aquinas' treatment of the life of Christ in the Summa.

"In the third part of the Summa, Saint Thomas writes pages as yet unparalleled on the mystery of the Incarnation and Passion of Jesus..." (Wednesday Audience [the last of three audiences on Aquinas] 23 June 2010).

He compares what he is attempting with Jesus of Nazareth to what the Angelic Doctor did:
"[My intention can be compared] with the theological treatise on the mysteries of the life of Jesus, presented in its classic form by Saint Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica (S. Th. III, qq. 27-59). While my book has many points of contact with this treatise, it is nevertheless situated in a different historical and spiritual context, and in that sense it also has a different inner objective that determines the structure of the text in essential ways." (Jesus of Nazareth: Part Two, Intro., xvi)

Here the Holy Father also alludes to the different theological questions of our age, which come from a historically critical and materialistic mentality, which he must answer in Jesus of Nazareth.

Given Pope Benedict's use and praise of the same, it seems to me that it should be very advantageous to take an in-depth look at that "unparalleled" part of the Summa and use it in our catechesis and preaching.
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