Mercurial > hg > Aquinas
annotate john/english/SSJohn.html @ 93:2f7833be883c
thru 119, maybe
| author | ht |
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| date | Sat, 31 May 2014 14:36:13 +0000 |
| parents | 178aed5d2c3c |
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| rev | line source |
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| 35 | 1 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" |
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| 3 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> | |
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| 35 | 5 <meta name="generator" content= |
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7 <title>Thomas Aquinas: Commentary on the Gospel of John</title> |
| 35 | 8 |
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| 35 | 10 //<![CDATA[ |
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17 var WPFootnote1 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p> For a fuller documentation of these facts, see James A. Weisheipl, <i>Friar Thomas d’Aquino: His Life, Thought and\ |
| 35 | 18 Works <\/i>(Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1974), pp. 246-47, 372, and so forth. See also J. A. Weisheipl. “The\ |
| 19 Johannine Commentary of Friar Thomas,” <i>Church History, <\/i>45 (1976), 185-195.<\/p>\ | |
| 20 <\/span>' | |
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21 |
| 35 | 22 var WPFootnote2 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p><i>Ibid., <\/i>pp. 145-46.<\/p>\ |
| 23 <\/span>' | |
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24 |
| 35 | 25 var WPFootnote3 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>The full text of this allocution is given in <i>AAS<\/i> 50 (1958), 150-53.<\/p>\ |
| 26 <\/span>' | |
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27 |
| 35 | 28 var WPFootnote4 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>St. Thomas, <i>Summa theologiae<\/i>, I, q.1, a.8, ad 2.<\/p>\ |
| 29 <\/span>' | |
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| 35 | 31 var WPFootnote5 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p><i>AAS<\/i> 35 (1943), 297-325; trans. in <i>The Catholic Mind <\/i>42<i> <\/i>(1944), 257-83.<\/p>\ |
| 32 <\/span>' | |
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| 35 | 34 var WPFootnote6 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>St. Thomas, <i>Super epistolam ad Hebraeos lectura<\/i>, cap.1, lect. 4, n. 64. <i>Super Epistolas S. Pauli Lectura<\/i>, ed. R.\ |
| 35 Cai (Turin: Marietti, 1953), I, 350a.<\/p>\ | |
| 36 <\/span>' | |
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37 |
| 35 | 38 var WPFootnote7 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p><i>Divino afflante Spiritu, <\/i>n.63; trans. loc. <i>cit., <\/i>p. 280.<\/p>\ |
| 39 <\/span>' | |
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40 |
| 35 | 41 var WPFootnote8 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>St. Thomas, <i>Sum. theol., <\/i>I, q. 1, a. 10.<\/p>\ |
| 42 <\/span>' | |
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43 |
| 35 | 44 var WPFootnote9 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p><i>Ibid.<\/i><\/p>\ |
| 45 <\/span>' | |
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46 |
| 35 | 47 var WPFootnote10 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>See J. A. Weisheipl, “The Meaning of <i>Sacra Doctrina <\/i>in <i>Summa theologiae <\/i>I, q. 1,” <i>The Thomist, <\/i>38 (1974), 49-80.<\/p>\ |
| 48 <\/span>' | |
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49 |
| 35 | 50 var WPFootnote11 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>Aristotle, <i>Metaphysics <\/i>I, 2, 982a, l8-19.<\/p>\ |
| 51 <\/span>' | |
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52 |
| 35 | 53 var WPFootnote12 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>See <i>Friar Thomas dAquino<\/i>, pp, 392-93.<\/p>\ |
| 54 <\/span>' | |
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55 |
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56 var WPFootnote13 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>Only the second part of this work has been translated into English—J. B. Collins, <i>Catechetical Instructions of St.\ |
| 35 | 57 Thomas <\/i>(New York: Wagner 1939; repr. 1953).<\/p>\ |
| 58 <\/span>' | |
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59 |
| 35 | 60 var WPFootnote14 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>St. Thomas, <i>Catena Aurea,<\/i>Epistola dedicatoria (Turin:<i> <\/i>Marietti, 1925) I, 468.<\/p>\ |
| 61 <\/span>' | |
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62 |
| 35 | 63 var WPFootnote15 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>St. Thomas, <i>Sum. theol., <\/i>I, q.1, a.3; see note 10 above.<\/p>\ |
| 64 <\/span>' | |
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65 |
| 35 | 66 var WPFootnote16 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>See Leo XIII, <i>Providentissimu<\/i> <i>s Deus <\/i>(18 Nov 1893) in <i>Acta Leonis XIII<\/i>, vol. 13, p. 345-46.<\/p>\ |
| 67 <\/span>' | |
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68 |
| 35 | 69 var WPFootnote17 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>See <i>Friar Thomas d’Aquino<\/i>, pp. 164-68.<\/p>\ |
| 70 <\/span>' | |
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71 |
| 35 | 72 var WPFootnote18 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>St. Thomas, <i>Super Evangelium S. Joannis Lectura<\/i>,<i> <\/i>cap.21, lect.6, n.2656, ed. R. Cai (Turin: Marietti 1952), p. 488.<\/p>\ |
| 73 <\/span>' | |
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74 |
| 35 | 75 var WPFootnote19 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>Trent. sess. 4, in Denziger-Schbnmetzer, <i>Enchiridion<\/i> <i>Symbolorum <\/i>(1967), n.1501. See the important study of this\ |
| 76 question in J. R. Geiselmann, <i>Die Heilige Schrift und die Tradition <\/i>(Freiburg i. Br.: Herder 1962), pp. 108-160.<\/p>\ | |
| 77 <\/span>' | |
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78 |
| 35 | 79 var WPFootnote20 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>Sess. VIII, <i>Constitutio Dogmatica de divina Revelatione, Dei verbum <\/i>(18 Nov . 1965), in <i>Constitutiones, Decreta,\ |
| 80 Declarationes <\/i>(Vatican 1966), p. 429; see whole of cap. 2.<\/p>\ | |
| 81 <\/span>' | |
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| 35 | 83 var WPFootnote21 = '<span class="WPNormal"><p>This was the invocation, for example, in the old Dominican rite of the Mass.<\/p>\ |
| 84 <\/span>' | |
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86 function WPShow( WPid, WPtext ) |
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87 { |
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88 if( bInlineFloats ) |
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89 eval( "document.all." + WPid + ".style.visibility = 'visible'" ); |
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90 else |
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91 { |
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92 if( floatwnd == 0 || floatwnd.closed ) |
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93 floatwnd = window.open( "", "comment", "toolbars=0,width=600,height=200,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,dependent=1" ); |
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94 floatwnd.document.open( "text/html", "replace" ); |
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95 floatwnd.document.write( "<html><head>\r\n" ); |
| 35 | 96 floatwnd.document.write( "<style> p { margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:1px; } <\/style>\r\n" ); |
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98 floatwnd.document.write( WPtext ); |
| 35 | 99 floatwnd.document.write( '<br><a href="javascript: self.close()">Close<\/a>'); |
| 100 floatwnd.document.write( "<\/body><\/html>" ); | |
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101 floatwnd.document.close(); |
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102 floatwnd.focus(); |
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103 } |
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104 } |
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106 function WPHide( WPid ) |
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107 { |
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108 if( bInlineFloats ) |
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109 eval( "document.all." + WPid + ".style.visibility = 'hidden'" ); |
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110 } |
| 35 | 111 //]]> |
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112 </script> |
| 35 | 113 <style type="text/css"> |
| 114 /*<![CDATA[*/ | |
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115 p |
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116 { |
| 35 | 117 margin-bottom: 1px |
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118 } |
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120 span.WPFloatStyle |
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121 { |
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| 132 line-height: normal | |
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133 } |
| 35 | 134 /*]]>*/ |
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135 </style> |
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136 </head> |
| 35 | 137 <body> |
| 138 <blockquote> | |
| 139 <center> | |
| 140 <h2>COMMENTARY ON<br /> | |
| 141 THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN</h2> | |
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142 <p>St. Thomas Aquinas</p> |
| 35 | 143 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">Part I: Chapters |
| 144 1-7</span><br /> | |
| 145 translated by<br /> | |
| 146 James A. Weisheipl, O.P.<br /> | |
| 147 Magi Books, Inc., Albany, N.Y.</p> | |
| 148 <table cellpadding="10" border="4"> | |
| 149 <tr> | |
| 150 <td><a href="#01">INTRODUCTION</a></td> | |
| 151 <td align="center"><a href="#02"><b>PROLOGUE</b></a></td> | |
| 152 <td><a href="JohnApp.htm">APPENDICES</a></td> | |
| 153 </tr> | |
| 154 </table> | |
| 155 Chapters: | |
| 156 <table cellpadding="10" border="4"> | |
| 157 <tr> | |
| 158 <td><a href="John1.htm">*1*</a></td> | |
| 159 <td><a href="John2.htm">*2*</a></td> | |
| 160 <td><a href="John3.htm">*3*</a></td> | |
| 161 <td><a href="John4.htm">*4*</a></td> | |
| 162 <td><a href="John5.htm">*5*</a></td> | |
| 163 <td><a href="John6.htm">*6*</a></td> | |
| 164 <td><a href="John7.htm">*7*</a></td> | |
| 165 </tr> | |
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166 </table> |
| 35 | 167 <p><b>Part II: Chapters 8-21</b><br /> |
| 168 translated by<br /> | |
| 169 Fabian R. Larcher, O.P.<br /> | |
| 170 Magi Books, Inc., Albany, N.Y., 1998<br /> | |
| 171 (notes to these chapters provisional)</p> | |
| 172 <table cellpadding="10" border="4"> | |
| 173 <tr> | |
| 174 <td><a href="John8.htm">*8*</a></td> | |
| 175 <td><a href="John9.htm">*9*</a></td> | |
| 176 <td><a href="John10.htm">*10*</a></td> | |
| 177 <td><a href="John11.htm">*11*</a></td> | |
| 178 <td><a href="John12.htm">*12*</a></td> | |
| 179 <td><a href="John13.htm">*13*</a></td> | |
| 180 <td><a href="John14.htm">*14*</a></td> | |
| 181 </tr> | |
| 182 <tr> | |
| 183 <td><a href="John15.htm">*15*</a></td> | |
| 184 <td><a href="John16.htm">*16*</a></td> | |
| 185 <td><a href="John17.htm">*17*</a></td> | |
| 186 <td><a href="John18.htm">*18*</a></td> | |
| 187 <td><a href="John19.htm">*19*</a></td> | |
| 188 <td><a href="John20.htm">*20*</a></td> | |
| 189 <td><a href="John21.htm">*21*</a></td> | |
| 190 </tr> | |
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191 </table> |
| 35 | 192 <br /> |
| 193 <hr width="50%" /> | |
| 194 <a name="01"></a> | |
| 195 <p><b>INTRODUCTION</b></p> | |
| 196 </center> | |
| 197 <br /> | |
| 198 <div style="text-align:justify"> | |
| 199 <p>St. Thomas’ commentary on the Gospel of St. John is unique | |
| 200 among his many writings on Sacred Scripture. It is the work of a | |
| 201 master theologian, delivered at the University of Paris, then the | |
| 202 intellectual center in Christendom, when Thomas was at the height | |
| 203 of his fame and apostolic zeal for souls. A fourteenth-century list | |
| 204 of Thomas’ writings notes that this commentary is a | |
| 205 <i>reportatio</i> by Reginald of Piperno and adds “better | |
| 206 than which none can be found.” <a href= | |
| 207 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote1',%20WPFootnote1%20)"><img src= | |
| 208 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 209 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 210 //<![CDATA[ | |
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211 if( bInlineFloats ) |
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217 } |
| 35 | 218 //]]> |
| 219 </script> A <i>reportatio</i> is a verbal report of an actual | |
| 220 lecture taken down by a scribe or student in the course of actual | |
| 221 delivery. In this case the scribe was the faithful Friar Reginald | |
| 222 of Piperno, who had been the “constant companion,” or | |
| 223 socius, for the last fifteen years of Thomas’ short but busy | |
| 224 life. The Italian Province of Dominicans wisely provided Thomas | |
| 225 with this kind of personal secretary and general factotum after he | |
| 226 returned from Paris as a Master in Sacred Theology in 1260. | |
| 227 <a href="javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote2',%20WPFootnote2%20)"><img src="footnoteicon.gif" | |
| 228 alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border="0" /></a> | |
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229 <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> |
| 35 | 230 //<![CDATA[ |
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237 } |
| 35 | 238 //]]> |
| 239 </script></p> | |
| 240 <p>A <i>reportatio</i> is not exactly a dictation in our sense of | |
| 241 the term; it is more like a student’s notebook in shorthand | |
| 242 containing basically the gist of what is being said, but usually | |
| 243 with varying numbers of verbal omissions and inaccuracies. But this | |
| 244 commentary is more than a mere scribal report. It was in fact | |
| 245 “corrected” by Thomas himself—if we are to | |
| 246 believe Tolomeo of Lucca, one of Thomas’ early biographers | |
| 247 and confreres—before the commentary went into circulation | |
| 248 through copies made by hand, the customary mode of publication | |
| 249 before the era of the printing press. More than that: according to | |
| 250 Bernard Gui, another confrere and early biographer, Thomas himself | |
| 251 wrote out in full the commentary on the first five chapters of John | |
| 252 (and hence this section ought to be considered an authentic | |
| 253 <i>expositio</i>, or authoritative version), while the rest of it | |
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254 survived in the hand of Reginald, corrected by Thomas.</p> |
| 35 | 255 <p>This commentary was very popular in the Middle Ages, and it |
| 256 ranks among the best of Thomas’ work as a master theologian | |
| 257 and saintly man of faith. It was read not only by theologians | |
| 258 searching for the truth, but also by preachers and pious men and | |
| 259 women desiring solid food for meditation and fervent prayer. | |
| 260 Scattered throughout the world there still exist thirty-three | |
| 261 complete and thirteen incomplete manuscript copies of this work, | |
| 262 attesting to its considerable popularity before the age of | |
| 263 printing. Innumerable copies of this work have no doubt been lost | |
| 264 or destroyed in the tumult of centuries following the Middle | |
| 265 Ages.</p> | |
| 266 <p>This detailed commentary is St. Thomas’ personal response | |
| 267 to the Word of God Incarnate as described in the sublime words of | |
| 268 John “the Divine.” For St. Thomas, the God of Abraham, | |
| 269 Isaac, and Jacob spoke to his chosen people through the mouth of | |
| 270 prophets in the long course of salvation history, “But when | |
| 271 the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a | |
| 272 subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable | |
| 273 us to be adopted as sons” (Gal 4:4-5). This Incarnate Son, | |
| 274 Jesus Christ, is the total manifestation of the Father, the Eternal | |
| 275 Word made flesh. There is nothing left unsaid in the Word; the | |
| 276 Father’s love is complete in the love the Son bears for the | |
| 277 Father and for us. Christ’s whole life, his passion, death, | |
| 278 and resurrection, are the praise and glory of the Father | |
| 279 “through the working of the Holy Spirit.” “You | |
| 280 must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father | |
| 281 is in me” (Jn 14:11). “Whatever you ask for in my name | |
| 282 I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” | |
| 283 (Jn 14:13). Christ’s “food” was to do the will of | |
| 284 his Father in all things, thus glorifying the Father in Jesus.</p> | |
| 285 <p>One of St. Thomas’ basic theological principles is that | |
| 286 everything Jesus Christ did and said was for our instruction and | |
| 287 imitation. Thus the sanctity of our lives is the on-going praise | |
| 288 and glory of the Father, through the Son, by the working of the | |
| 289 Holy Spirit. The very being of the Father is the unqualified | |
| 290 affirmation of love for the Son and <i>for</i> us, in the Son. | |
| 291 “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). This love elicits from us an | |
| 292 unreserved affirmation of love for God and neighbor, by which God | |
| 293 is glorified and resplendent in us. The whole of our happiness is | |
| 294 this eternal “glory” in tasting and seeing that the | |
| 295 Lord is good (see Ps 34:8). This commentary is St. Thomas’ | |
| 296 tasting and seeing the goodness of Jesus, the Word Incarnate, | |
| 297 embodied in the tender words of St. John, the “beloved | |
| 298 disciple,” who leaned on the breast of the Savior at the Last | |
| 299 Supper.</p> | |
| 300 <p>Thomas brought to his writing of this commentary on John all the | |
| 301 resources at his disposal—which were | |
| 302 considerable—especially the riches of the whole Patristic | |
| 303 teaching of the “Saints” (the <i>sancti Doctores</i>), | |
| 304 the wealth of a living tradition in the Roman Church contained in | |
| 305 its teaching, laws, liturgy, and the living Spirit, as well as | |
| 306 fidelity to the infallible norms of the Holy See.</p> | |
| 307 <p>In an address to students and professors of the | |
| 308 “Angelicum” (now the Pontifical University of St. | |
| 309 Thomas in Rome) given on January 14, 1958, Pope Pius XII extolled | |
| 310 the virtues of its patron, the Angelic Doctor, who serves as a | |
| 311 divinely inspired guide in both philosophy and theology. <a href= | |
| 312 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote3',%20WPFootnote3%20)"><img src= | |
| 313 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 314 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 315 //<![CDATA[ | |
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322 } |
| 35 | 323 //]]> |
| 324 </script> Pope Pius spoke especially of St. Thomas’ own | |
| 325 studies as a norm for every student of the religious disciplines. | |
| 326 Just as St. Thomas diligently explored and studied the Bible as the | |
| 327 font and life-spring of all theological studies, so too should the | |
| 328 modern student find in biblical studies the source of his | |
| 329 theological development. As St. Thomas himself assures us, | |
| 330 “[sacred doctrine] uses the authority of the canonical | |
| 331 Scriptures properly and of necessity in its investigations ... for | |
| 332 our faith is founded on the Revelation made to the Apostles and | |
| 333 Prophets, who wrote the canonical books, but not on revelation (if | |
| 334 such there be) made to other teachers.” <a href= | |
| 335 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote4',%20WPFootnote4%20)"><img src= | |
| 336 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 337 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 338 //<![CDATA[ | |
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345 } |
| 35 | 346 //]]> |
| 347 </script> In this conviction Thomas developed all his own theology. | |
| 348 That is to say, the “complement” to Thomas’ | |
| 349 speculations and synthesis are to be found in his commentaries on | |
| 350 the books of the Old and New Testaments, especially those on the | |
| 351 Epistles of St. Paul.</p> | |
| 352 <p>In the opinion of those most expert to judge, Thomas’ | |
| 353 commentaries on Scripture “shine with such solidity, | |
| 354 subtlety, and precision that they can be numbered among his | |
| 355 greatest theological works,” and are to be esteemed as such. | |
| 356 “Wherefore, if anyone should neglect them, he is scarcely to | |
| 357 be said to clearly and fully enjoy a familiarity and knowledge of | |
| 358 the holy Angelic Doctor.” The significant fact is not that | |
| 359 Pius XII emphasized the importance of studying Thomas’ | |
| 360 biblical commentaries to Dominicans, who had made their special | |
| 361 prerogative the teaching of “speculative Thomistic | |
| 362 theology” and the pursuit of contemplative prayer. The | |
| 363 significant fact is that Pius XII expressed these sentiments | |
| 364 shortly before his death and fifteen years after one of his most | |
| 365 important encyclicals, <i>Divino afflante spiritu</i> (30 Sept. | |
| 366 1943), the basic charter of all Catholic biblical studies in our | |
| 367 day, leading to the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, | |
| 368 <i>Dei verbum,</i> of the Second Vatican Council (18 Nov. 1965). In | |
| 369 other words, the enormous advances of modern biblical studies do | |
| 370 not automatically nullify the importance of St. Thomas’ | |
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371 commentaries on the Sacred Text.</p> |
| 35 | 372 <p>St. Thomas’ commentaries on the Sacred Text are typically |
| 373 <i>medieval,</i> that is, they lack the unction, colloquialism, and | |
| 374 engaging informality of Patristic commentaries (which were largely | |
| 375 homilies), and the technical and sometimes journalistic resources | |
| 376 of modern commentaries, explanations, and paraphrases. In other | |
| 377 words, it is easier to read St. Augustine’s commentary on | |
| 378 John than it is to read St. Thomas’ or that of any other | |
| 379 medieval writer addressing students in the “schools” of | |
| 380 Paris and elsewhere. The big difference is between Patristic and | |
| 381 Monastic commentaries, which were largely homiletic, pastoral, | |
| 382 personal, and mystical, on the one hand, and Scholastic | |
| 383 commentaries aimed at teaching students in the university or | |
| 384 <i>studium</i> the literal meaning of the text. The style of | |
| 385 medieval Scholastic commentaries is rather formal, literal, | |
| 386 student-orientated and bookish. This style often makes such | |
| 387 commentaries difficult for a modem reader to follow, and to some | |
| 388 extent hinders him from deriving the greatest benefit for his mind | |
| 389 and heart. At first glance such a | |
| 390 “commentary”—with its definitions, divisions, | |
| 391 arguments footnotes and concern for the orthodox meaning of the | |
| 392 sacred message—may seem like searching for a needle in a | |
| 393 haystack. But in the case of Thomas’ commentaries the reader | |
| 394 may be confident that his efforts at discovering that needle will | |
| 395 prove to be both intellectually and spiritually rewarding; once | |
| 396 discovered, it will be valued as “the pearl of great | |
| 397 price” (Mt 13:46).</p> | |
| 398 <p>In this introduction I hope to show the historical context of | |
| 399 this particular commentary and to indicate some aids to a fruitful | |
| 400 study of it.</p> | |
| 401 <p>First of all, this work is a biblical commentary by a master in | |
| 402 a medieval university. In the Middle Ages, the Bible and the Bible | |
| 403 alone was the official basis for the teaching of theology by fully | |
| 404 qualified masters in the major universities of Europe. In fact, one | |
| 405 could say with some justification that the ultimate goal of all | |
| 406 medieval education was an understanding of the Bible for those who | |
| 407 pursued the full course in the Faculty of Theology. Such an | |
| 408 understanding was the nature of sacred theology <i>(fides quaerens | |
| 409 intellectum,</i> “faith seeking understanding”). It was | |
| 410 the source of all preaching of the Word of God, and it was the | |
| 411 inexhaustible font of living water for the spiritual life. In order | |
| 412 to reach such a lofty goal, much preparation was required. First, | |
| 413 tools had to be acquired as a means of such study. This was the | |
| 414 role of a good liberal arts education and the acquisition of | |
| 415 philosophy, “the handmaid of theology.” The study of | |
| 416 the liberal arts and the acquisition of philosophy were functions | |
| 417 of the Arts Faculty in the university or <i>studium.</i> | |
| 418 Approximately eight years were devoted by medieval students to | |
| 419 acquiring these tools—roughly equivalent to our four years of | |
| 420 high school and four years of college. After the full course had | |
| 421 been completed in “the humanities,” the young man, | |
| 422 generally in his mid-twenties, would begin his study of the Sacred | |
| 423 Text, having already heard many sermons in Church and having | |
| 424 received much instruction at home. His study of the Sacred Text | |
| 425 began with <i>listening</i> and <i>reading.</i></p> | |
| 426 <p>In the Middle Ages, a personal copy of the Bible was relatively | |
| 427 rare, certainly outside university circles. Every copy of the Bible | |
| 428 was written out by hand on parchment, a writing surface made from | |
| 429 carefully treated skins of sheep. Such a copy was extremely | |
| 430 expensive and hard to come by. Although every student of theology | |
| 431 tried desperately to obtain a personal copy, most people had to | |
| 432 rely on hearing the Word read to them and recollecting from memory | |
| 433 the actual words of the Bible. For that reason the beginner in | |
| 434 theology would <i>listen</i> to older students and the master | |
| 435 (professor). One of the older students, the bachelor of theology, | |
| 436 read aloud and paraphrased a particular book of the Bible. This | |
| 437 bachelor was called a “Cursor Biblicus,” a | |
| 438 “runner through” the actual words of the Bible, who did | |
| 439 this to acquaint himself and his hearers with the inspired | |
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440 words.</p> |
| 35 | 441 <p>A splendid example of the work of such a “runner” is |
| 442 St. Thomas’ commentary on Isaiah; it is the work of a | |
| 443 <i>cursor</i> and not that of a master. Only a master could expound | |
| 444 the text with authority and confidence; the bachelor merely skimmed | |
| 445 through it as a runner would skim over the course in a race. A | |
| 446 higher ranking bachelor devoted his energies mainly to explaining | |
| 447 the official theological handbook, the <i>Sentences</i> of Peter | |
| 448 Lombard (d. 1160). These <i>Sentences</i> were a systematic | |
| 449 collection of Patristic teachings, arranged in four books following | |
| 450 the order of the Apostles’ Creed. This bachelor was called | |
| 451 the <i>bachalarius Sententiarum,</i> a “Bachelor of the | |
| 452 <i>Sentences.</i> “After listening to others for about four | |
| 453 years, the young student of theology would himself become a | |
| 454 bachelor and perform certain duties under a particular master, his | |
| 455 main professor of theology.</p> | |
| 456 <p>Every university in the Middle Ages had a limited number of | |
| 457 chairs, or professorships, for the masters to occupy. At the time | |
| 458 of St. Thomas, there were twelve chairs of theology at the | |
| 459 University of Paris, the Dominicans having two of them. Before | |
| 460 occupying one of these chairs, the student had to have devoted many | |
| 461 long years to study and actual discussions, or | |
| 462 “disputations,” in the university, He had to be at | |
| 463 least thirty-five years old before meriting the title of | |
| 464 “Master of the Sacred Page” and the right to expound | |
| 465 the Bible in an authoritative manner as a true theologian, | |
| 466 professionally qualified.</p> | |
| 467 <p>St. Thomas was twice professor of theology at Paris—a fact | |
| 468 most unusual in itself. There were very few such cases where a | |
| 469 fully fledged master would return to his old chair, thus preventing | |
| 470 a new master from occupying it. But the intellectual, social, and | |
| 471 religious climate in Paris at that time demanded the return of | |
| 472 Thomas to the center of all theological learning in Europe. The new | |
| 473 mendicant Orders (mainly Dominicans and Franciscans) were again | |
| 474 being attacked by secular (i.e., diocesan) masters of theology, and | |
| 475 their right to teach, preach, and beg was challenged by some of the | |
| 476 most powerful voices in Europe. The center of this controversy Was | |
| 477 the University of Paris, where the very existence of Dominicans and | |
| 478 Franciscans was under fire. At the climax of this renewed attack, | |
| 479 the second in the history of the Dominican Order, St. Thomas was | |
| 480 recalled to Paris by the Master General of the Dominican Order, | |
| 481 Blessed John of Vercelli. Thomas arrived in Paris with his | |
| 482 companion Reginald in the cold winter of 1269 after the academic | |
| 483 term had begun. Immediately Thomas took upon himself the duties of | |
| 484 a master in theology, namely, lecturing on a carefully chosen book | |
| 485 of the Bible, presiding at academic “disputations” and | |
| 486 resolving the question under discussion, and preaching to the | |
| 487 university crowd. At the same time, he was composing the Second | |
| 488 Part of his <i>Summa theologiae,</i> which he had begun in Rome two | |
| 489 years earlier, and dictating a number of literal commentaries on | |
| 490 various works of Aristotle for young masters in arts, that is, | |
| 491 teachers in the Faculty of Arts, whose duty it was to expound the | |
| 492 text of Aristotle. During the two and a half years Thomas spent at | |
| 493 Paris the second time, he successfully defended the rights of | |
| 494 mendicants to teach, preach, and flourish. During this same | |
| 495 Parisian regency he lectured on the Gospel of St. John.</p> | |
| 496 <p>These lectures on John would have been lost to posterity had not | |
| 497 the faithful Reginald taken notes, which were later | |
| 498 “corrected” by Thomas himself. The reason Thomas | |
| 499 “corrected” Reginald’s transcription was that a | |
| 500 wealthy secular (i.e., diocesan) student wanted a copy for himself. | |
| 501 This student was Adenulf of Anagni, an Italian cleric, provost of | |
| 502 Saint-Omer (since 1264), later master in theology (1282-85), and | |
| 503 canon of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Adenulf, a student of | |
| 504 Thomas during the years 1269-72, offered a considerable amount of | |
| 505 money to have a professional scribe make a copy of this remarkable | |
| 506 commentary for himself. Without Adenulf’s enthusiasm and | |
| 507 money, the “lectures” (<i>lecturae</i>) on John would | |
| 508 have remained a simple report, or <i>reportatio.</i> If it had not | |
| 509 been for Reginald, apparently, these lectures would have gone | |
| 510 completely from history. But the fact is that we do have at hand | |
| 511 the acute mind of Thomas Aquinas, a master theologian and saint, on | |
| 512 the Gospel of St. John. This commentary reflects the mind of Thomas | |
| 513 at its peak, but before he composed the Third Part of the | |
| 514 <i>Summa</i> dealing with Christ, the Sacraments, and the Church. | |
| 515 It is a scholastic analysis of St. John’s remarkable | |
| 516 testimony of the Good News of Salvation, namely, that the Word | |
| 517 became flesh, died for our salvation, and is now risen from the | |
| 518 dead to come again as our merciful judge.</p> | |
| 519 <p>Earlier, at the request of his intimate friend Pope Urban IV, | |
| 520 Thomas had compiled a continuous gloss on all four Gospels, which | |
| 521 he had collated from the Latin and Greek Fathers of the Church. | |
| 522 Frequently he even instigated new translations of Greek sources, as | |
| 523 he himself confessed in the prologue. This continuous gloss, | |
| 524 popularly called the <i>Catena Aurea,</i> or “Golden | |
| 525 Chain,” was not finished when Urban died in 1264. But Thomas | |
| 526 continued his labors on the gloss, which he completed in 1267 and | |
| 527 dedicated to Cardinal Annibaldo d’Annibaldi, Thomas’ | |
| 528 close friend and former pupil at Paris. The intense labor on the | |
| 529 Gospel of John for the <i>Catena</i> molded the mind of Thomas in | |
| 530 his personal understanding of the Sacred Text of John. St. | |
| 531 John’s Gospel is very difficult to understand. Unlike the | |
| 532 Synoptic writers, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, St. John’s Gospel | |
| 533 is a carefully devised presentation of his personal understanding | |
| 534 of the sacred doctrine taught by Jesus, on whose breast he reclined | |
| 535 at the Last Supper. John was always known as “the disciple | |
| 536 whom Jesus loved.” For St. Thomas, John, the Son of Zebedee, | |
| 537 the author of this Gospel, was a virgin, whose appropriate symbol | |
| 538 is the eagle soaring in the heights of contemplation. Thomas’ | |
| 539 detailed study of the Latin and Greek Fathers, needed to complete | |
| 540 his Gloss on John, prepared him to shed his own light on the text | |
| 541 when the opportune moment arrived. That moment arrived when Thomas | |
| 542 returned to Paris for the second time (1269-72) at the age of about | |
| 543 forty-four, full of strength and vigor.</p> | |
| 544 <p>But his is a typical medieval commentary because, unlike | |
| 545 Patristic, monastic, and modern commentaries on John, it utilizes | |
| 546 certain techniques familiar to all in the Middle Ages, but strange | |
| 547 to us today. First of all, it is a theological commentary concerned | |
| 548 with penetrating the literal sense of the words recorded, and | |
| 549 seeing through the literal sense to the spiritual. The medieval | |
| 550 university theologian was primarily concerned with the literal | |
| 551 sense of scripture, that is, with the sacred message intended by | |
| 552 the human and divine author. It is therefore primarily concerned | |
| 553 with “the theological teaching” of the Bible. St. | |
| 554 Thomas did not have at his disposal the infinitely varied | |
| 555 techniques of modern biblical scholarship. He knew almost nothing | |
| 556 about biblical and near-eastern languages, archeology, philology, | |
| 557 comparative religion, and the historical method. If he had, he | |
| 558 would most certainly have used them. In the Encyclical <i>Divino | |
| 559 afflante Spiritu</i> (30 Sept. 1943), Pope Pius XII urged the | |
| 560 importance of textual criticism, biblical and oriental languages, | |
| 561 archeology, profane and sacred history, as well as form criticism | |
| 562 and the demands of a sound historical method. <a href= | |
| 563 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote5',%20WPFootnote5%20)"><img src= | |
| 564 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 565 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
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| 35 | 574 //]]> |
| 575 </script> He noted with the Angelic Doctor that “in Scripture | |
| 576 divine things are presented to us in the manner which is in common | |
| 577 use amongst men.” <a href= | |
| 578 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote6',%20WPFootnote6%20)"><img src= | |
| 579 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 580 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 581 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 589 //]]> |
| 590 </script> The Bible is the Word of God in the words of men, and | |
| 591 this manner of speaking in various ages to various people must be | |
| 592 carefully studied with all the auxiliary sciences. But even after | |
| 593 all this has been tended to, there is still “the theological | |
| 594 doctrine” contained in the Sacred Books. The modem exegete | |
| 595 should use every means available to discover and explain “the | |
| 596 literal sense and especially the theological. “ <a href= | |
| 597 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote7',%20WPFootnote7%20)"><img src= | |
| 598 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 599 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 600 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 608 //]]> |
| 609 </script> It is this “theological sense” <i>(sensus | |
| 610 theologicus),</i> expounded by St. Thomas in his commentary, that | |
| 611 is most fruitful for our meditation, prayer, and preaching the Word | |
| 612 of God today.</p> | |
| 613 <p>The literal sense, as St. Thomas teaches, is the objective, | |
| 614 formal, and direct meaning intended by the words in the sacred and | |
| 615 inspired text. <a href= | |
| 616 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote8',%20WPFootnote8%20)"><img src= | |
| 617 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 618 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 619 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 627 //]]> |
| 628 </script> The author of these words is both God and man, since the | |
| 629 Bible is “the inspired Word of God.” Modem biblical | |
| 630 techniques, of course, were unknown to Thomas. All he had was his | |
| 631 personal copy of the Latin Vulgate (which was not a critical | |
| 632 edition), the familiar teaching of all the Latin and Greek Fathers | |
| 633 known to him, his own prayerful reflection on the text, and his | |
| 634 native genius attentive to the Spirit of God and to the text. Among | |
| 635 the human means Thomas had at his disposal were grammar, logic, and | |
| 636 Aristotelian philosophy. The literal (or historical) sense was in | |
| 637 principle the only basis of theological thought and discussion. The | |
| 638 spiritual sense only enlarged, or extended, the basic literal | |
| 639 sense. By “spiritual sense” we do not mean the pious, | |
| 640 personal, private, and subjective sense a reader might derive from | |
| 641 a prayerful reading of the text. Rather, the “spiritual | |
| 642 sense” is the enlarged reality “intended” by | |
| 643 person, place, or thing signified in the literal, as when the | |
| 644 brazen serpent raised by Moses in the desert is taken to signify | |
| 645 Christ’s crucifixion as the divine means of healing mankind, | |
| 646 or when the paschal lamb is taken to signify Christ who was | |
| 647 sacrificed for our sins. The “spiritual sense” is the | |
| 648 enlarged sense “intended” by a given symbol in the plan | |
| 649 of divine providence.</p> | |
| 650 <p>Since only God as the author of all things can make one symbol | |
| 651 significative of another reality, the Bible is the only book that | |
| 652 can contain a “spiritual sense” as it was understood by | |
| 653 medieval theologians. Consequently only the sacred author himself | |
| 654 can inform us of the existence of such a sense. We could never know | |
| 655 that one reality is to be taken as a symbol of another reality | |
| 656 unless the Sacred Author so informs us in the literal sense. For | |
| 657 example, the author of the Book of Numbers (21:19) explains how | |
| 658 Moses was directed to make a brazen “serpent” and set | |
| 659 it up as a sign; whoever was bitten by one of the fiery serpents | |
| 660 and “looked at the sign” that Moses had set up was | |
| 661 saved from death. But it is John (3:14 15) who explains that | |
| 662 “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the | |
| 663 Son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may not | |
| 664 perish, but may have life everlasting.” The significance of | |
| 665 Old Testament texts is declared by the sacred writer when he | |
| 666 explains Christ’s actions as being “in fulfillment of | |
| 667 the Scriptures.” Similarly St. Paul frequently reveals the | |
| 668 “spiritual sense” of the Law and Prophets by declaring | |
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669 the Christian fulfillment in Jesus.</p> |
| 35 | 670 <p>There were three kinds of spiritual sense recognized by medieval |
| 671 theologians: the allegorical, the moral, and the anagogical. | |
| 672 <a href= | |
| 673 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote9',%20WPFootnote9%20)"><img src= | |
| 674 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 675 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 676 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 684 //]]> |
| 685 </script> When anything in the Old Testament was taken to signify | |
| 686 something in the New Testament, this sense was called allegorical. | |
| 687 Under this sense would be included all those figures, persons, and | |
| 688 events as symbolic of Jesus and his life and death on earth. When | |
| 689 anything in the life of Jesus is taken as a model for our life, we | |
| 690 call this the moral sense. Under this sense would be included all | |
| 691 those virtues presented to us for our imitation of Christ. When | |
| 692 anything in the Scriptures is taken to signify something in the | |
| 693 eternal kingdom hereafter, for example, “the new | |
| 694 Jerusalem,” we call this the anagogical sense. Thus the | |
| 695 “spiritual sense” of a passage was taken to be an | |
| 696 objective meaning intended by the sacred author, the Holy Spirit. | |
| 697 This, of course, presupposes that the authors of the New Testament | |
| 698 were inspired by the Holy Spirit.</p> | |
| 699 <p>Whatever personal message one may derive from reading the Bible | |
| 700 prayerfully and thoughtfully is purely personal and beyond the | |
| 701 science of theology as the study of God’s message to mankind. | |
| 702 The personal message is most significant for the reader, but this | |
| 703 personal significance must be carefully controlled by objective | |
| 704 theological norms such as the Christian faith, sacred doctrine, the | |
| 705 constant teaching of the Church, and a prayerful listening to the | |
| 706 Holy Spirit.</p> | |
| 707 <p>The most difficult technique of medieval commentators for us to | |
| 708 comprehend is the use of logic and the “scholastic | |
| 709 method.” Aristotelian logic is the most significant technique | |
| 710 contained in the scholastic method. The purpose of the scholastic | |
| 711 method was to instill “scientific” knowledge through | |
| 712 (1) definition, (2) division, and (3) demonstration, or | |
| 713 demonstrative proof. These techniques (or <i>modi sciendi)</i> were | |
| 714 taken for granted by every medieval theologian as the best means of | |
| 715 learning the truth about anything. It was a method of teaching, the | |
| 716 via <i>docendi,</i> which was an imitation of the “way of | |
| 717 discovery” <i>(via inveniendi</i> or <i>inventionis).</i> The | |
| 718 goal of all education is truth. The goal of theological education | |
| 719 is an understanding of the doctrines of revelation, the <i>sacra | |
| 720 doctrina</i>. <a href= | |
| 721 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote10',%20WPFootnote10%20)"><img src= | |
| 722 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 723 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 724 //<![CDATA[ | |
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731 } |
| 35 | 732 //]]> |
| 733 </script> It is faith seeking understanding (<i>fides quaerens | |
| 734 intellectum</i>), as St. Anselm puts it, The scholastic method, in | |
| 735 a sense, is artificial and humanly contrived by ineans of logic. In | |
| 736 the Middle Ages the scholastic method was thought to be the best | |
| 737 way of learning everything from A to Z. An example of this method | |
| 738 of learning is embedded in Thomas’ commentary on John’s | |
| 739 Gospel. It cannot be eliminated. Therefore it depends on us moderns | |
| 740 to bend a little by trying to see through it, and not be put off by | |
| 741 it. Always one will find definitions, divisions, and proofs in all | |
| 742 medieval commentaries, whether they be on Aristotle, Boethius, or | |
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743 the Bible.</p> |
| 35 | 744 <p>The Scholastics had a penchant for <i>order;</i> where none |
| 745 existed, one was imposed. Heeding the words of Aristotle that | |
| 746 “it belongs to the wise man to order,” they thought the | |
| 747 prerogative of a good teacher was to order all things well, setting | |
| 748 out the message, or truth to be conveyed, in an orderly and fitting | |
| 749 way. <a href= | |
| 750 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote11',%20WPFootnote11%20)"><img src= | |
| 751 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 752 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 753 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 761 //]]> |
| 762 </script> This is why the first thing one notices when reading a | |
| 763 medieval commentary is the <i>division,</i> or the ordering of the | |
| 764 whole into parts. The least one can perceive is a beginning, a | |
| 765 middle, and an end. But more than not, one can usually perceive | |
| 766 some orderly procedure in the middle.</p> | |
| 767 <p>Modern biblical scholars usually see in, St. John’s Gospel | |
| 768 a prologue (1:1-14), a middle (cc. 1-20), and an epilogue (c. 21). | |
| 769 They then proceed to divide the middle into the Book of Signs (cc. | |
| 770 1-12) and the Book of Glory (cc. 13-20). St. Thomas also divides | |
| 771 the Gospel into roughly these two parts, but he considers chapter | |
| 772 12 as belonging to the Book of Glory, because the chapter opens | |
| 773 “six days before Passover” with the anointing of the | |
| 774 feet of Jesus for his burial (12:1 -11), continues on to the | |
| 775 triumphal entry into Jerusalem (12:12-19), builds to the coming of | |
| 776 the Greeks (12:20-22), and the long discourse of Jesus in which he | |
| 777 cries out, “Father, glorify your name” (12:28). In any | |
| 778 case, it is particularly in this second part that Thomas had to use | |
| 779 his ingenuity to resolve the discrepancies between John and the | |
| 780 Synoptics. The Synoptics compress the public life of Jesus into one | |
| 781 year with the one tragic journey of Jesus up to Jerusalem, where he | |
| 782 is crucified and dies, to be raised up on the third day. John | |
| 783 extends the public life of Jesus into three years with the final | |
| 784 year ending in his passion, death, and resurrection. St. Thomas is | |
| 785 very much concerned with the literal, or historical, sense of the | |
| 786 narrative, especially as concerns the passion, death, and | |
| 787 resurrection of the Lord. Throughout the whole exposition of the | |
| 788 narrative, Thomas relied heavily on the interpretation of the | |
| 789 Fathers of the Church, both Latin and Greek. He quotes the | |
| 790 authority of St. Augustine 373 times, St. John Chrysostom 217 | |
| 791 times, and Origen 95 times. It is an exposition that relies heavily | |
| 792 on the tradition of the Church and on his own prayerful theological | |
| 793 reflections.</p> | |
| 794 <p>In the commentary on St. John’s Gospel, Thomas is | |
| 795 concerned not only with the literal sense, which for him is of | |
| 796 Prime importance and concern, but also with the spiritual sense, as | |
| 797 explained above. More than the other Evangelists, John reveals the | |
| 798 “fulfillment of the Scriptures,” that is, concern with | |
| 799 the prophecies and symbols of the Old Law. Christ’s own | |
| 800 prophetic words and actions are seen by John to be a foreshadowing | |
| 801 of the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord by which we are | |
| 802 all saved. Above all, for St. Thomas, John is the Evangelist of the | |
| 803 divinity of Jesus, “the Word made flesh.” He says, | |
| 804 “While the other Evangelists treat principally of the | |
| 805 mysteries of the humanity of Christ, John, especially and above | |
| 806 all, makes known the divinity of Christ in his Gospel” | |
| 807 (Prologue). Thomas, following the lead of St. Jerome, thought that | |
| 808 John wrote his Gospel after the other three Gospels had been | |
| 809 written, in order to refute new heresies that had arisen concerning | |
| 810 the divinity of Christ. Following Jerome, Thomas singled out the | |
| 811 Ebionites (whose founder Thomas erroneously thought to have been | |
| 812 “Ebion”)—and Cerinthus, a Gnostic heretic who | |
| 813 flourished around 100 A.D., as among those who denied the divinity | |
| 814 of Christ. Even St. Irenaeus <i>(Adv. haer.</i>, III, 11) asserts | |
| 815 that St. John wrote his Gospel to refute Cerinthus. Thus, St. | |
| 816 Thomas observes in his Prologue, while John did not pass over the | |
| 817 mysteries of Christ’s humanity, he especially conveys the | |
| 818 divinity of Christ in his Gospel. In this commentary, therefore, | |
| 819 Thomas repeatedly refutes the heresies of Apollinaris, Arius, the | |
| 820 Arians, Ebionites, Eutyches, the Manichees, Nestorius, Pelagius, | |
| 821 the Pelagians, and Sabellius - all of which plagued the Church in | |
| 822 the first five centuries of its existence. For Thomas these | |
| 823 heresies were not merely false doctrines irrelevant to the modem | |
| 824 Christian, but vital guidelines to the purity of the Christian | |
| 825 faith, the orthodox teaching of the living Church.</p> | |
| 826 <p>Earlier in his career, Thomas had been asked by the archbishop | |
| 827 of Palermo to write a short work that could be memorized, dealing | |
| 828 with the articles of faith “from the Creed of the | |
| 829 Fathers” (i.e., the Apostles’ Creed) and also the basic | |
| 830 errors concerning them; the archbishop apparently asked also for | |
| 831 the same presentation for all the sacraments of the Church. | |
| 832 <a href="javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote12',%20WPFootnote12%20)"><img src="footnoteicon.gif" | |
| 833 alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border="0" /></a> | |
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| 35 | 835 //<![CDATA[ |
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| 35 | 843 //]]> |
| 844 </script> Thomas complied with this request in a most remarkable | |
| 845 treatise in two parts: <i>De articulis fidei</i> and <i>De | |
| 846 ecclesiae sacramentis</i>. <a href= | |
| 847 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote13',%20WPFootnote13%20)"><img src= | |
| 848 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 849 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 850 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 858 //]]> |
| 859 </script> The wide popularity of this treatise is attested to by | |
| 860 the 277 extant manuscripts of this work. The six articles | |
| 861 pertaining to the divinity of Christ and the six pertaining to his | |
| 862 humanity are set forth, and all the errors concerning the twelve | |
| 863 articles of the Creed are briefly named and refuted. Although the | |
| 864 sacraments of the Church are implicit in the fourth article of the | |
| 865 Creed, they are discussed separately in the second part of the | |
| 866 treatise, because the archbishop explicitly asked for a special | |
| 867 discussion of the sacraments and the heresies concerning them. | |
| 868 Thomas’ knowledge of the various heresies in the history of | |
| 869 the Church is most remarkable. All of these same heresies are again | |
| 870 discussed in his commentary on John’s Gospel. That is why St. | |
| 871 Thomas says in the Prologue, “[This Gospel] refutes all | |
| 872 heresies.” The numerous heresies of the past ought to be of | |
| 873 great concern to the modern Christian so that he may avoid all | |
| 874 taint of them in his own, personal belief. A conscious affirmation | |
| 875 of belief in the truth of revealed teaching that developed in the | |
| 876 living Church guided by the Spirit of Christ can bring us into a | |
| 877 deeper and more meaningful awareness of being united with the | |
| 878 Eternal Truth. In this commentary, Thomas is concerned above all | |
| 879 with bolstering the faith of the hearer or reader, or, as he put | |
| 880 it, “to confirm the Catholic Truth.”</p> | |
| 881 <p style="text-align: justify">In other words, there are four goals | |
| 882 Thomas aimed to achieve in his commentary on St. John:</p> | |
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883 <ol> |
| 35 | 884 <li>determination of the literal, or historical, sense of the |
| 885 narrative;</li> | |
| 886 <li>explanation of the spiritual sense as found in the Old | |
| 887 Testament (allegorical sense), the goals of our own life in | |
| 888 imitating Jesus (moral sense), and life of the | |
| 889 “kingdom” here and hereafter (anagogical sense);</li> | |
| 890 <li>refutation of all error through the testimony of the inspired | |
| 891 Word of God;</li> | |
| 892 <li>confirmation of the true Catholic Faith given to us by God | |
| 893 through his Church, the Body of Christ.</li> | |
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894 </ol> |
| 35 | 895 <p>These are the same goals Thomas had set for himself in composing |
| 896 the <i>Catena Aurea,</i> particularly in the <i>Catena</i> on | |
| 897 John’s Gospel, which was composed only four or five years | |
| 898 earlier. <a href= | |
| 899 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote14',%20WPFootnote14%20)"><img src= | |
| 900 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 901 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 902 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 910 //]]> |
| 911 </script></p> | |
| 912 <p>There are four outstanding features that will be noticed as one | |
| 913 studies the commentary of Thomas on the Gospel of John. First, | |
| 914 Thomas had an extraordinary knowledge of the whole Bible. It has | |
| 915 been said, not without likelihood, that Thomas memorized the entire | |
| 916 Bible during the year he was confined to his family castle at | |
| 917 Roccasecca, 1244-45. This is not at all difficult to believe. His | |
| 918 memory was far superior to any man-made concordance of the Bible. | |
| 919 Thomas always saw the <i>unity</i> of divine revelation. It was the | |
| 920 unity of <i>sacra doctrina</i> as a single “science.” | |
| 921 <a href= | |
| 922 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote15',%20WPFootnote15%20)"><img src= | |
| 923 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 924 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 925 //<![CDATA[ | |
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932 } |
| 35 | 933 //]]> |
| 934 </script> The “orthodox” teaching of Christ, Son of the | |
| 935 Living God, cannot be anything but <i>one.</i> Because of this | |
| 936 unity, Thomas could use any one part of Sacred Scripture to explain | |
| 937 and illumine any other part. Thus Thomas could use the teaching of | |
| 938 St. Paul and the Psalms to explain the text of John. This use of | |
| 939 one part of revelation to illumine another has been aptly called | |
| 940 “the analogy of faith” (<i>secundum rationern | |
| 941 fidei,</i> as St. Paul says in Romans 12:6). <a href= | |
| 942 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote16',%20WPFootnote16%20)"><img src= | |
| 943 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 944 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 945 //<![CDATA[ | |
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952 } |
| 35 | 953 //]]> |
| 954 </script></p> | |
| 955 <p>Second, Thomas had an unusual knowledge of the Latin and Greek | |
| 956 Fathers of the Church. This knowledge, no doubt aided by his work | |
| 957 on the <i>Catena Aurea, is</i> brought to bear on every difficult | |
| 958 question or obscure passage in John, even when it is a question of | |
| 959 chronology, geography, Jewish customs, or language. The medieval | |
| 960 mind associated words, quotations and parallels with uncanny | |
| 961 facility, always trying to find the best pertinent quotation from | |
| 962 the proper authorities (<i>auctoritates</i>)<i>.</i> Great weight, | |
| 963 sometimes of probative value, was always given to the recognized | |
| 964 <i>auctoritates,</i> which, in theology were always the Bible and | |
| 965 the <i>sancti,</i> meaning recognized or canonized Doctors of the | |
| 966 Church, who were the <i>regula fidei</i> (“the rule of | |
| 967 faith”), the “norms” of Christian belief. | |
| 968 Thomas’ knowledge of these Doctors was prodigious. The | |
| 969 contemporaries of Thomas relied heavily on all available works of | |
| 970 the Latin Fathers, especially those of St. Augustine. But, as has | |
| 971 been pointed out earlier, Thomas not only accepted the eminent | |
| 972 authority of St. Augustine, but also had a wealth of Greek sources | |
| 973 from which to draw, including the early Ecumenical Councils of the | |
| 974 Church, whose <i>Acts</i> were largely neglected or forgotten in | |
| 975 the Latin Middle Ages. <a href= | |
| 976 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote17',%20WPFootnote17%20)"><img src= | |
| 977 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 978 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 979 //<![CDATA[ | |
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986 } |
| 35 | 987 //]]> |
| 988 </script></p> | |
| 989 <p>Third, Thomas was, after all, an outstanding theologian for any | |
| 990 season. His theology was not only biblical and patristic, but also | |
| 991 logical and philosophical. While he absorbed and refined the | |
| 992 philosophy of Aristotle, newly translated from the Greek, he never | |
| 993 put this philosophy ahead of his Catholic faith. Rather he used | |
| 994 that philosophy <i>in obsequium fidei</i> (Phil 2:17), as a | |
| 995 “handmaid of theology.” His comprehension of Aristotle | |
| 996 and his use of the scholastic method are among the glories of the | |
| 997 Middle Ages. In St. Thomas we find an exceptionally gifted mind | |
| 998 carefully honed to human perfection by self-discipline, long study, | |
| 999 and clear thinking. This was natural talent, ranked by many as a | |
| 1000 true genius, brought to the highest human perfection by the grace | |
| 1001 of God.</p> | |
| 1002 <p>Finally, Friar Thomas d’Aquino was a saint, one of the | |
| 1003 great saints in the Latin Church. A basic principle of | |
| 1004 Thomas’ theology is that “grace perfects nature”; | |
| 1005 that is, the grace of God never destroys or replaces nature, but | |
| 1006 builds upon it. For St. Thomas, there is in divine providence a | |
| 1007 certain kind of proportion between God’s gifts of nature and | |
| 1008 his gifts of grace. Even when we accept this principle with all the | |
| 1009 necessary qualifications needed, we can readily see that in the | |
| 1010 mind and heart of St. Thomas, God’s grace abundantly | |
| 1011 perfected an already great man. Not only did Thomas meditate | |
| 1012 prayerfully on the Sacred Scriptures, but lie drew from them | |
| 1013 substantial nourishment for his soul. This process of enrichment | |
| 1014 can be seen conspicuously in the commentary on John, particularly | |
| 1015 the section dealing with the “Last Discourse” of Jesus | |
| 1016 to his disciples at the Last Supper, collected in “the | |
| 1017 sayings of Jesus” in chapters 14 to 17. Here Thomas’ | |
| 1018 discussion of the Son’s procession from the Father while | |
| 1019 being consubstantially one with the Father, is precise, | |
| 1020 illuminating, and brilliant; the mission of the Holy Spirit from | |
| 1021 the Father <i>and</i> from the Son (<i>Filioque</i>) is clearly | |
| 1022 demonstrated against the Greek Orthodox who used this question as | |
| 1023 one of the many issues that separated them from Rome, initially in | |
| 1024 the ninth, and decisively in the eleventh century. But above all, | |
| 1025 the indwelling of the Holy Trinity in the hearts of the faithful is | |
| 1026 alive and vital; the extraordinary love Jesus had for his faithful | |
| 1027 disciples is movingly real and dynamic. In this commentary on John | |
| 1028 we have all the elements of a real masterpiece of its kind in | |
| 1029 medieval literature.</p> | |
| 1030 <p>St. Thomas was very much impressed by the force and absolute | |
| 1031 veracity of the Gospel proclaimed by John: “This disciple is | |
| 1032 the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and | |
| 1033 we know that his testimony is true” (Jn 21:24). St. Thomas | |
| 1034 comments that the Evangelist makes this statement “in the | |
| 1035 person of the whole Church (<i>in persona totius Ecclesiae</i>)from | |
| 1036 whom this Gospel is received [by us].” The Evangelist himself | |
| 1037 knows the veracity of his narrative, and even St. Paul condemns | |
| 1038 those who would preach a gospel other than the one he had received | |
| 1039 (see Gal 1:9). The firmness and stability of our Christian faith is | |
| 1040 the authority of God speaking through Evangelists, Apostles and | |
| 1041 other authors of the canonical Books of Scripture. Their testimony | |
| 1042 leaves us without any doubt as to our faith, because “the | |
| 1043 Canonical Scriptures alone are the rule of faith.” <a href= | |
| 1044 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote18',%20WPFootnote18%20)"><img src= | |
| 1045 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 1046 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 1047 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 1055 //]]> |
| 1056 </script> This <i>sola scriptura</i> of which St. Thomas speaks is | |
| 1057 far different from the <i>sola scriptura</i> (“only the | |
| 1058 Bible”) of the Reformers. This battle cry was made famous by | |
| 1059 Luther, who insisted that what is not contained in the Bible is not | |
| 1060 “of faith.” But Luther and Thomas (or any other | |
| 1061 medieval theologian) meant two different things by the word | |
| 1062 <i>Bible,</i> or <i>Sacred Scriptures.</i> For Luther and the | |
| 1063 Reformers the Bible was thought of as a finished, edited, and (by | |
| 1064 then) printed collection, while Thomas and the medieval theologians | |
| 1065 meant the Sacred Word <i>together with</i> the gloss of the | |
| 1066 Fathers, liturgy, and the living Church. The Reformers thought of | |
| 1067 “The Bible” completely devoid of a history and a | |
| 1068 historical context, devoid of transmission and development; in | |
| 1069 short, they thought of “The Bible” distinct from the | |
| 1070 Church. Thus in the face of this misunderstanding, the Council of | |
| 1071 Trent spoke as <i>though</i> there were two sources of our faith: | |
| 1072 “the written books and the unwritten traditions.” | |
| 1073 <a href= | |
| 1074 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote19',%20WPFootnote19%20)"><img src= | |
| 1075 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 1076 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 1077 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 1085 //]]> |
| 1086 </script> But even this manner of speaking was a concession to a | |
| 1087 false dichotomy that was historically conditioned. The Second | |
| 1088 Vatican Council, however, described these two sources” more | |
| 1089 traditionally as a single mirror (<i>veluti speculum sunt</i>) | |
| 1090 reflecting both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture. <a href= | |
| 1091 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote20',%20WPFootnote20%20)"><img src= | |
| 1092 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 1093 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 1094 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 1102 //]]> |
| 1103 </script></p> | |
| 1104 <p>Historically speaking, the revelation given by God and received | |
| 1105 by the chosen people was prior to any scriptural document. Abraham, | |
| 1106 Isaac, and Jacob were given the message of salvation long before | |
| 1107 there was any question of a written Torah. Christ’s message | |
| 1108 of salvation was accepted by the Apostles, disciples, and early | |
| 1109 Christians for a quarter of a century before the first fraction of | |
| 1110 the New Testament was written—and this by St. Paul (1 | |
| 1111 Thessalonians, probably at the beginning of 52 A.D.). We must | |
| 1112 always remember that the Canon of the New Testament was not | |
| 1113 established as an inspired unit until 382 A.D., at the earliest. | |
| 1114 That is, the living Church existed long before the New Testament | |
| 1115 was “written,” and it existed for 350 years before the | |
| 1116 present books were collected into an exclusive and canonical unity. | |
| 1117 For this reason, St. Thomas could speak of the “whole Church | |
| 1118 from whom this Gospel is received.”</p> | |
| 1119 <p>Finally, a word should be said in aid of a fruitful reading of | |
| 1120 St. Thomas’ commentary on John. Although the pericope or | |
| 1121 section commented upon in every “Lecture” is printed in | |
| 1122 full at the head of the commentary, it would be best to procure a | |
| 1123 second copy of the whole text and read the particular chapter in | |
| 1124 full before proceeding to the comment. It is of utmost importance | |
| 1125 to follow the <i>divisions</i> of the text made by St. Thomas and | |
| 1126 always keep the context well in view. The lemmata, or phrases | |
| 1127 commented upon, are clearly set off from the comment by the | |
| 1128 printer. Unless the particular lemma is constantly related to the | |
| 1129 context as a whole, one can easily get lost in the forest of words, | |
| 1130 cross references, and quotations. Since <i>order</i> and | |
| 1131 <i>division</i> are such important elements in the scholastic | |
| 1132 method, these must be continuously related to the <i>whole,</i> | |
| 1133 whether it be a collection of chapters, an individual chapter, part | |
| 1134 of a chapter, a parable, narrative, pericope, or sentence. Those | |
| 1135 who wish to obtain the greatest understanding of the Sacred Text | |
| 1136 might well augment the study of St. Thomas’ | |
| 1137 “theological sense” of John with a modern commentary, | |
| 1138 such as the outstanding commentary by Father Raymond Brown in the | |
| 1139 Anchor Bible (2 vols.).</p> | |
| 1140 <p>For the fruitful reading of St. Thomas’ commentary on | |
| 1141 John, we should further note that throughout the long history of | |
| 1142 the Church, listeners and readers of tile Sacred Text have always | |
| 1143 been encouraged to prepare their minds and souls for a fruitful | |
| 1144 reception of the Word. The Word of God, like the seed in the | |
| 1145 parable (Lk 8:15), needs to be received in “good | |
| 1146 ground” in order to yield fruit a hundredfold. The reception | |
| 1147 of anything, according to the ancient philosophers, depends on the | |
| 1148 condition of the receiver. The Word of God is Spirit (Jn 6:63), and | |
| 1149 only the Holy Spirit cdn prepare the soul for fruitful reception of | |
| 1150 the Word. In the solemn proclamation of the Gospel in the Liturgy | |
| 1151 of the Word, the Church prays for the Deacon that the Lord be in | |
| 1152 his heart and on his lips in order to announce the Holy Gospel of | |
| 1153 Peace. <a href= | |
| 1154 "javascript:WPShow('WPFootnote21',%20WPFootnote21%20)"><img src= | |
| 1155 "footnoteicon.gif" alt="Footnote" width="16" height="14" border= | |
| 1156 "0" /></a> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> | |
| 1157 //<![CDATA[ | |
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| 35 | 1165 //]]> |
| 1166 </script> Preparing one’s mind and heart by prayer and | |
| 1167 recollection is of greatest importance for the reception of | |
| 1168 God’s message for us. This message is directed primarily to | |
| 1169 us as God’s chosen people, the pilgrim Church on earth, and | |
| 1170 through the Church to us as individuals beloved by God and | |
| 1171 “purchased at a great price” (1 Cor 6:20). The message | |
| 1172 of salvation is addressed to us individually and collectively, and | |
| 1173 we both individually and collectively must attune our minds and | |
| 1174 hearts to the Spirit. “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom | |
| 1175 the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and | |
| 1176 remind you of all I have said to you” (Jn 14:26). The Holy | |
| 1177 Spirit speaks to our hearts through the Scriptures, inspired and | |
| 1178 animated by him. The Scriptures as a spiritual resource cannot be | |
| 1179 dissociated from personal prayer and cultivation of our sacramental | |
| 1180 life in the Church. Being receptive is the important thing as we | |
| 1181 begin our study.</p> | |
| 1182 <p>Finally, the power of reading or hearing the Sacred Scriptures | |
| 1183 is so great that it actually forgives sins. Apart from “the | |
| 1184 Sacraments of the faith” (<i>sacramenta fidei</i>), it is one | |
| 1185 of the many ways by which our many sins are forgiven. The Fathers | |
| 1186 of the Church have always listed—along with almsgiving, | |
| 1187 contrition, and good works—the special efficacy of reading | |
| 1188 the Scriptures for the forgiveness of sins. The new liturgy of the | |
| 1189 Mass prompted by the Second Vatican Council still retains the | |
| 1190 ancient prayer: “May the words of the Gospel wipe away our | |
| 1191 sins.” The humble and contrite reading of any part of the | |
| 1192 Scriptures wipes away sin because the power of the Word is the | |
| 1193 power of God, who alone can forgive sins. Thus we should always | |
| 1194 approach the Scriptures with a “humble and contrite | |
| 1195 heart.” The Psalmist declares, “A contrite and humbled | |
| 1196 heart, 0 God, you will not despise” (Ps 50:19). God always | |
| 1197 answers a humble and contrite heart in order to glorify himself in | |
| 1198 us, just as the Father is always glorified in the Son. | |
| 1199 “Whatever you ask for in my name I will do, so that the | |
| 1200 Father may be glorified in the Son” Qn 14:13). This | |
| 1201 “glory” of the Father through the Son in the Holy | |
| 1202 Spirit is sometimes called the indwelling of the Trinity within our | |
| 1203 souls. It is the “conformity” of our whole being to the | |
| 1204 Father through the Word animated by the Spirit. In this conformity | |
| 1205 of our innermost being with the splendor of God lies the whole | |
| 1206 perfection of the Christian life. In this perfection consists the | |
| 1207 glory and splendor of God himself. This union of one’s | |
| 1208 deepest self and the innermost being of God is the answer to the | |
| 1209 prayer of Jesus to the Father: “That they may be one, as we | |
| 1210 also are one” (Jn 17:11).</p> | |
| 1211 <p>From this it follows that the study of St. Thomas’ | |
| 1212 commentary on St. John’s Gospel is richly rewarding in | |
| 1213 healing our wounds and leading us to greater union with the Father | |
| 1214 of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose message of salvation is here | |
| 1215 proclaimed by “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (Jn | |
| 1216 20:2). For our guide we can have none better than the Angelic | |
| 1217 Doctor, whom Jesus loved.</p> | |
| 1218 <p style="text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0.125in">James A. | |
| 1219 Weisheipl, O.P.<br /> | |
| 1220 Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies<br /> | |
| 1221 Toronto, Canada</p> | |
| 1222 <br /> | |
| 1223 <hr /> | |
| 1224 <a name="02"></a> | |
| 1225 <p style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.125in"><span style= | |
| 1226 "font-weight: bold">PROLOGUE</span></p> | |
| 1227 <p style= | |
| 1228 "text-align: justify; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.125in"> | |
| 1229 <i>I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the whole | |
| 1230 house was full of his majesty, and the things that were under him | |
| 1231 filled the temple.</i> (Is 6:1)</p> | |
| 1232 <p>1 These are the words of a contemplative, and if we regard them | |
| 1233 as spoken by John the Evangelist they apply quite well to showing | |
| 1234 the nature of this Gospel. For as Augustine says in his work, <i>On | |
| 1235 the Agreement of the Evangelists:</i> “The other Evangelists | |
| 1236 instruct us in their Gospels on the active life; but John in his | |
| 1237 Gospel instructs us also on the contemplative life.”</p> | |
| 1238 <p>The contemplation of John is described above in three ways, in | |
| 1239 keeping with the threefold manner in which he contemplated the Lord | |
| 1240 Jesus. It is described as high, full, and perfect. It is high: | |
| 1241 <span style="font-weight: bold">I saw the Lord seated on a high and | |
| 1242 lofty throne;</span> it is full: <span style= | |
| 1243 "font-weight: bold">and the whole house was full of his | |
| 1244 majesty;</span> and it was perfect: <span style= | |
| 1245 "font-weight: bold">and the things that were under him filled the | |
| 1246 temple.</span></p> | |
| 1247 <p>2 As to the first, we must understand that the Height and | |
| 1248 sublimity of contemplation consists most of all in the | |
| 1249 contemplation and knowledge of God. “Lift up your eyes on | |
| 1250 high, and see who has created these things” (Is 40:26). A man | |
| 1251 lifts up his eyes on high when he sees and contemplates the Creator | |
| 1252 of all things. Now since John rose above whatever had been | |
| 1253 created—mountains, heavens, angels—and reached the | |
| 1254 Creator of all, as Augustine says, it is clear that his | |
| 1255 contemplation was most high. Thus, <span style= | |
| 1256 "font-weight: bold">I saw the Lord.</span> And because, as John | |
| 1257 himself says below (12:41), “Isaiah said this because he had | |
| 1258 seen his glory,” that is, the glory of Christ, “and | |
| 1259 spoke of him,” the Lord <span style= | |
| 1260 "font-weight: bold">seated on a high and lofty throne</span> is | |
| 1261 Christ.</p> | |
| 1262 <p>Now a fourfold height is indicated in this contemplation of | |
| 1263 John. A height of authority; hence he says, <span style= | |
| 1264 "font-weight: bold">I saw the Lord.</span> A height of eternity; | |
| 1265 when he says, seated. One of dignity, or nobility of nature; so he | |
| 1266 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">on a high throne.</span> And | |
| 1267 a height of incomprehensible truth; when he says, lofty. It is in | |
| 1268 these four ways that the early philosophers arrived at the | |
| 1269 knowledge of God.</p> | |
| 1270 <p>3 Some attained to a knowledge of God through his authority, and | |
| 1271 this is the most efficacious way. For we see the things in nature | |
| 1272 acting for an end, and attaining to ends which are both useful and | |
| 1273 certain. And since they lack intelligence, they are unable to | |
| 1274 direct themselves, but must be directed and moved by one directing | |
| 1275 them, and who possesses an intellect. Thus it is that the movement | |
| 1276 of the things of nature toward a certain end indicates the | |
| 1277 existence of something higher by which the things of nature are | |
| 1278 directed to an end and governed. And so, since the whole course of | |
| 1279 nature advances to an end in an orderly way and is directed, we | |
| 1280 have to posit something higher w1iich directs and governs them as | |
| 1281 Lord; and this is God. This authority in governing is shown to be | |
| 1282 in the Word of God when he says, Lord. Thus the Psalm (88:10) says: | |
| 1283 “You rule the power of the sea, and you still the swelling of | |
| 1284 its waves,” as though saying: You are the Lord and govern all | |
| 1285 things. John shows that he knows this about the Word when he says | |
| 1286 below (1:11), “He came unto his own,” i.e., to the | |
| 1287 world, since the whole universe is his own.</p> | |
| 1288 <p>4 Others came to a knowledge of God from his eternity. They saw | |
| 1289 that whatever was in things was changeable, and that the more noble | |
| 1290 something is in the grades of being, so much the less it has of | |
| 1291 mutability. For example, the lower bodies are mutable both as to | |
| 1292 their substance and to place, while the heavenly bodies, which are | |
| 1293 more noble, are immutable in substance and change only with respect | |
| 1294 to place. We can clearly conclude from this that the first | |
| 1295 principle of all things, which is supreme and more noble, is | |
| 1296 changeless and eternal. The prophet suggests this eternity of the | |
| 1297 Word when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">seated,</span> | |
| 1298 i.e., presiding without any change and eternally. “Your | |
| 1299 throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Ps 44:7); “Jesus | |
| 1300 Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8). | |
| 1301 John points to this eternity when he says below (1:1), “In | |
| 1302 the beginning was the Word.”</p> | |
| 1303 <p>5 Still others came to a knowledge of God from the dignity of | |
| 1304 God; and these were the Platonists. They noted that everything | |
| 1305 which is something by participation is reduced to what is the same | |
| 1306 thing by essence, as to the first and highest. Thus, all things | |
| 1307 which are fiery by participation are reduced to fire, which is such | |
| 1308 by its essence. And so since all things which exist participate in | |
| 1309 existence (<i>esse</i>) and are beings by participation, there must | |
| 1310 necessarily be at the summit of all things something which is | |
| 1311 existence (<i>esse</i>) by its essence, i.e., whose essence is its | |
| 1312 existence. And this is God, who is the most sufficient, the most | |
| 1313 eminent, and the most perfect cause of the whole of existence, | |
| 1314 from, whom all things that are participate existence | |
| 1315 (<i>esse</i>)<i>.</i> This dignity is shown in the words, | |
| 1316 <span style="font-weight: bold">on a high throne,</span> which, | |
| 1317 according to Denis, refer to the divine nature. “The Lord is | |
| 1318 high above all nations” (Ps 112:4). John shows us this | |
| 1319 dignity when he says below (1:1), “the Word was God,” | |
| 1320 with “Word” as subject and “God” as the | |
| 1321 predicate.</p> | |
| 1322 <p>6 Yet others arrived at a knowledge of God from the | |
| 1323 incomprehensibility of truth. All the truth which our intellect is | |
| 1324 able to grasp is finite, since according to Augustine, | |
| 1325 “everything that is known is bounded by the comprehension of | |
| 1326 the one knowing”; and if it is bounded, it is determined and | |
| 1327 particularized. Therefore, the first and supreme Truth, which | |
| 1328 surpasses every intellect, must necessarily be incomprehensible and | |
| 1329 infinite; and this is God. [fence the Psalm (8:2) says, “Your | |
| 1330 greatness is above the heavens,” i.e., above every created | |
| 1331 intellect, angelic and human. The Apostle says this in the words, | |
| 1332 “He dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Tim 6:16). This | |
| 1333 incomprehensibility of Truth is shown to us in the word, | |
| 1334 <span style="font-weight: bold">lofty,</span> that is, above all | |
| 1335 the knowledge of the created intellect. John implies this | |
| 1336 incomprehensibility to us when he says below (1:18), “No one | |
| 1337 has ever seen God.”</p> | |
| 1338 <p>Thus, the contemplation of John was high as regards authority, | |
| 1339 eternity, dignity, and the incomprehensibility of the Word. And | |
| 1340 John has passed on this contemplation to us in his Gospel.</p> | |
| 1341 <p>7 John’s contemplation was also full. Now contemplation is | |
| 1342 full when someone is able to consider all the effects of a cause in | |
| 1343 the cause itself, that is, when he knows not only the essence of | |
| 1344 the cause, but also its power, according as it can extend out to | |
| 1345 many things. Of this flowing outward we read, “It overflows | |
| 1346 with wisdom, like the Pishon, and like the Tigris in the days of | |
| 1347 the new fruits” (Sir 25:35); “The river of God is full | |
| 1348 with water,” since the divine wisdom has depth in relation to | |
| 1349 its knowledge of all things (Ps 65:9). “With you from the | |
| 1350 beginning is wisdom, who knows your works” (Wis 9:9).</p> | |
| 1351 <p>Since John the Evangelist was raised up to the contemplation of | |
| 1352 the nature of the divine Word and of his essence when he said, | |
| 1353 “In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with | |
| 1354 God,” he immediately tells us of the power of the Word as it | |
| 1355 extends to all things, saying, “Through him all things came | |
| 1356 into being.” Thus his contemplation was full. And so after | |
| 1357 the prophet had <span style="font-weight: bold">said, I saw the | |
| 1358 Lord seated,</span> he added something about his power, | |
| 1359 <span style="font-weight: bold">and the whole house was full of his | |
| 1360 majesty,</span> that is, the whole fullness of things and of the | |
| 1361 universe is from the majesty and power of God, through whom all | |
| 1362 things were made, and by whose light all the men coming into this | |
| 1363 world are enlightened. “The earth and its fullness are the | |
| 1364 Lord’s” (Ps 23:1).</p> | |
| 1365 <p>8 The contemplation of John was also perfect. For contemplation | |
| 1366 is perfect when the one contemplating is led and raised to the | |
| 1367 height of the thing contemplated. Should he remain at a lower | |
| 1368 level, then no matter how high the things which he might | |
| 1369 contemplate, the contemplation would not be perfect. So in order | |
| 1370 that it be perfect it is necessary that it rise and attain the end | |
| 1371 of the thing contemplated, adhering and assenting by affection and | |
| 1372 understanding to the truth contemplated. Job (37:16) says, | |
| 1373 “Do you not know the path of the clouds,” that is, the | |
| 1374 contemplation of those preaching, “how perfect they | |
| 1375 are?” inasmuch as they adhere firmly by affection and | |
| 1376 understanding to contemplating the highest truth.</p> | |
| 1377 <p>Since John not only taught how Christ Jesus, the Word of God, is | |
| 1378 God, raised above all things, and how all things were made through | |
| 1379 him, but also that we are sanctified by him and adhere to him by | |
| 1380 the grace which he pours into us, he says below (1:16), “Of | |
| 1381 his fullness we have all received - indeed, grace in return for | |
| 1382 grace.” It is therefore apparent that his contemplation is | |
| 1383 perfect. This perfection is shown in the addition, <span style= | |
| 1384 "font-weight: bold">and the things that were under him filled the | |
| 1385 temple.</span> For “the head of Christ is God” (1 Cor | |
| 1386 11:3). The things that are under Christ are the sacraments of his | |
| 1387 humanity, through which the faithful are filled with the fullness | |
| 1388 of grace. In this way, then, <span style="font-weight: bold">the | |
| 1389 things that were under him filled the temple,</span> i.e., the | |
| 1390 faithful, who are the holy temple of God (1 Cor 3:17) insofar as | |
| 1391 through the sacraments of his humanity all the faithful of Christ | |
| 1392 receive from the fullness of his grace.</p> | |
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1393 <p>The contemplation of John was thus full, high, and perfect.</p> |
| 35 | 1394 <p>9 We should note, however, that these three characteristics of |
| 1395 contemplation belong to the different sciences in different ways. | |
| 1396 The perfection of contemplation is found in Moral Science, which is | |
| 1397 concerned with the ultimate end. The fullness of contemplation is | |
| 1398 possessed by Natural Science, which considers things as proceeding | |
| 1399 from God. Among the physical [natural] sciences, the height of | |
| 1400 contemplation is found in Metaphysics. But the Gospel of John | |
| 1401 contains all together what the above sciences have in a divided | |
| 1402 way, and so it is most perfect.</p> | |
| 1403 <p>10 In this way then, from what has been said, we can understand | |
| 1404 the matter of this Gospel. For while the other Evangelists treat | |
| 1405 principally of the mysteries of the humanity of Christ, John, | |
| 1406 especially and above all, makes known the divinity of Christ in his | |
| 1407 Gospel, as we saw above. Still, he does not ignore the mysteries of | |
| 1408 his humanity. He did this because, after the other Evangelists had | |
| 1409 written their Gospels, heresies had arisen concerning the divinity | |
| 1410 of Christ, to the effect that Christ was purely and simply a man, | |
| 1411 as Ebion and Cerinthus falsely thought. And so John the Evangelist, | |
| 1412 who had drawn the truth about the divinity of the Word from the | |
| 1413 very fountain-head of the divine breast, wrote this Gospel at the | |
| 1414 request of the faithful. And in it he gives us the doctrine of the | |
| 1415 divinity of Christ and refutes all heresies.</p> | |
| 1416 <p>The order of this Gospel is clear from the above. For John first | |
| 1417 shows us <span style="font-weight: bold">the Lord seated on a high | |
| 1418 and lofty throne,</span> when he says below (1:1), “In the | |
| 1419 beginning was the Word.” He shows secondly how <span style= | |
| 1420 "font-weight: bold">the house was full of his majesty,</span> when | |
| 1421 he says, “through him all things came into being” | |
| 1422 (1:3). Thirdly, he shows how the <span style= | |
| 1423 "font-weight: bold">things that were under him filled the | |
| 1424 temple,</span> when he says, “the Word was made flesh” | |
| 1425 (1:14). The end of this Gospel is also clear, and it is that the | |
| 1426 faithful become the temple of God, and become filled with the | |
| 1427 majesty of God; and so John says below (20:31), “These things | |
| 1428 are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the | |
| 1429 Son of God.”</p> | |
| 1430 <p>The matter of this Gospel, the knowledge of the divinity of the | |
| 1431 Word, is clear, as well as its order and end.</p> | |
| 1432 <p>11 Then follows the condition of the author, who is described | |
| 1433 above in four ways: as to his name, his virtue, his symbol, and his | |
| 1434 privilege. He is described as to name as John, the author of this | |
| 1435 Gospel. “John” is interpreted as “in whom is | |
| 1436 grace,” since the secrets of the divinity cannot be seen | |
| 1437 except by those who have the grace of God within themselves. | |
| 1438 “No one knows the deep things of God but the Spirit of | |
| 1439 God” (1 Cor 2:11).</p> | |
| 1440 <p>As concerns his virtue, John <span style="font-weight: bold">saw | |
| 1441 the Lord seated,</span> because he was a virgin; for it is fitting | |
| 1442 that such persons see the Lord: “Blessed are the pure in | |
| 1443 heart” (Mt 5:8).</p> | |
| 1444 <p>He is described as to his symbol, for John is symbolized by an | |
| 1445 eagle. The other three Evangelists, concerned with those things | |
| 1446 which Christ did in his flesh, are symbolized by animals which walk | |
| 1447 on the earth, namely, by a man, a bull calf, and a lion. But John | |
| 1448 flies like an eagle above the cloud of human weakness and looks | |
| 1449 upon the light of unchanging truth with the most lofty and firm | |
| 1450 eyes of the heart. And gazing on the very deity of our Lord Jesus | |
| 1451 Christ, by which he is equal to the Father, he has striven in this | |
| 1452 Gospel to confide this above all, to the extent that he believed | |
| 1453 was sufficient for all. Concerning this flight of John it says in | |
| 1454 Job (39:27): “Will the eagle,” that is, John, | |
| 1455 “fly up at your command?” And further on it says, | |
| 1456 “His eyes look far away,” because the Word of God is | |
| 1457 seen in the bosom of the Father by the eye of the mind.</p> | |
| 1458 <p>John is described as to privilege since, among the other | |
| 1459 disciples of the Lord, John was more loved by Christ. Without | |
| 1460 mentioning his own name John refers to himself below (21:20) as | |
| 1461 “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” And because secrets | |
| 1462 are revealed to friends, “I have called you friends because | |
| 1463 everything I have heard from my father I have made known to | |
| 1464 you” (below 15:15), Jesus confided his secrets in a special | |
| 1465 way to that disciple who was specially loved. Thus it says in Job | |
| 1466 (36:32): “From the savage,” that is, the proud, | |
| 1467 “he hides his light,” that is, Christ hides the truth | |
| 1468 of his divinity, “and shows his friend,” that is, John, | |
| 1469 “that it belongs to him,” since it is John who sees the | |
| 1470 light of the Incarnate Word more excellently and expresses it to | |
| 1471 us, saying “He was the true light” (below 1:19).</p> | |
| 1472 <p>Now the matter, order, end and author of this Gospel of the | |
| 1473 blessed John are clear.</p> | |
| 1474 </div> | |
| 1475 </blockquote> | |
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1476 </body> |
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1477 </html> |
