Ninety-nine Homilies of S. Thomas Aquinas Upon the Epistles and Gospels for Forty-nine Sundays of the Christian Year/Preface
PREFACE
For the large circulation which has fallen to the lot of the several portions of these Homilies, now collected into one volume, for the favourable criticism accorded to them by the press, and for the number of private expressions of approval which the Editor has received from fellow Priests, he feels deeply grateful; yet his gratitude is not so much on his own account, or on that of his little book, as that this portion, at least, of the writings of S. Thomas Aquinas is allowed to be capable of supplying one of the wants of the present day - a really sound help to sermon-making. It is a most cheering and encouraging fact, that the men of the present day are willing in any degree to acknowledge, that they can learn something of value from the great Schoolman. Despite all the undeserved contempt and obloquy heaped upon the Schoolmen, both at the time of the so-called revival of letters and ever since; despite the vast advances which have been made during the last half century in every department of theological learning and criticism; and, lastly, despite the growth of that spirit of infidelity, a combined product of the nominalism which accompanied the religious convulsions three hundred years ago, and of the Protestant dogma of right of private judgment - the sermons of the "Angelical Doctor" are being not only read, but preached, in substance, if not in form, in many churches, both at home and in the Colonies. The Translator's work has been indeed a labour of love, sweetened by the thought and strengthened by the belief that this little book must contribute, in some small degree, to a revival amongst us of the Scholastic Theology. There are many reasons which render such a revival desirable, and at the present time especially so; but there is one reason above all others which claims to be stated here.
In so far as things divine have an intellectual basis, and can be shadowed forth by any operation of the mind, they must be represented to us by conceptions which far surpass any possible earthly manifestation of them. The " hypostasis of things hoped for" can only spring from the abiding conviction, that we are now to rest upon certain ideas which hereafter shall be exchanged for their realities. Now, we can form but an idea of what the absolutely good, and true, and beautiful may be like; by-and-by we expect to see these ideas realized, in God, and in our glorified selves. Yet perfect goodness, and truthfulness, and beauty, and holiness are not mere ideas; they are realities, finding their true archetype in the mind and being of God - realities of which, by our union with Him through our Blessed Lord, we may hope to be partakers. The teaching of the four great Schoolmen, of Abert the Great, as well as of the Seraphic, Angelical, and Subtle Doctors, was, in common with that of Plato and the New Testament, essentially and entirely realistic. However the Scotists differed from the Thomists on some questions of Theology, they were quite agreed upon this point. However Luther may have differed from Zwingle, and Zwingle from Calvin, in their "views" of Sacramental grace, they were " consented together " in support of that nominalism which would reduce the deep mysteries of the Kingdom of Grace to mere names, and would limit our conceptions of them, and endeavours after them, to what it seems now possible to attain. It is not too much to say, that the Sadduceeism which is now sapping all the vitality of our faith and morals, is but the legitimate product of that nominalism which has lain at the root of all religious belief ever since the religious movement of the sixteenth century. Because the Scholastic Theology is realistic in its teaching, it is the only antidote which will be powerful enough to counteract the effects of that pernicious influence which the Teutonic Upas-tree has cast over so large a portion of Christendom. In these skeleton sermons, the realistic teaching is, with one single exception (Epiph. Hom. I., iii.), indirect, giving to them an anti-monastic tone and temper, at the same time not leading to the sacrifice of any portion of their practical bearing. Short and unpretending as they are, they admit of a threefold use.
Firstly, they can be taken as profitable guides in directing private or devotional reading; for they are full of vigorous and condensed thoughts - they bring things new and old together in a striking relationship. We notice a few such thoughts. In the Advent Homilies (I.) the sevenfold benefit of our Blessed Lord's second coming; and the moral aphorism, that "a man is in the judgment by thinking upon the judgment;" that goodness has its precepts, counsels, and promises (Hom. IV.); the threefold cry of Christ (Hom. IX.) In the Lenten Homilies, the fast in Paradise, and our Lord's fasting as joined with His Baptism (Hom. I.); the seven things that our Lord did upon the Mountain (Hom. VIII.); and the threefold nature of the Word of God (Hom. X.) The Easter Homilies explain the three kinds of flowers in our Lord, and the three typical Maries (Hom. II.); what it is for a man to be at peace with himself (Hom. V.); the three gifts of Christ His Body, His Blood, His Soul (Hom. VI.); three reasons why the Adorable Son came forth from the Father (Hom. XIII.) In the Trinity Homilies, we read of the Heavenly Feast, its makers, ministers, and guests (Hom. IV.); how the Holy Angels stand before God in contemplation, love, and praise (Hom. VI.); why the Holy Angels desire the creature's future glory (Hom. VII.); the seven loaves with which she feeds the faithful (Hom. XIV.); three witnesses against the sinner in the Judgment God, conscience, creation; it is a momentary thing which delights, an eternal thing which crucifies (Hom. XX.); unity of the intellect, of the affections, of the life (Hom. XXXIII.); the security, the pleasantness, and abundance of the City of God (Hom. XXXVII.); the translation of the Saints (Hom. XL VII.) Such as these are the lines of reflection which S. Thomas offers to the contemplation of the thoughtful and devout reader, presenting the subject in germ, leaving its development to the effort of individual minds. As neither moral nor spiritual truth affects any two persons in precisely the same way, such a method of presenting truth as this is, leaves for the initiated mind nothing to be desired; whilst the uninitiated soul would scarcely be capable of receiving the generalizations of S. Thomas in any form.
Secondly, these Homilies are valuable as giving the scholastic interpretation of many texts of Holy Scripture; valuable as shewing how the Schoolmen saw our Blessed Lord as shadowed forth in type and prophecy in God's servants of old. Amongst a vast number of explained texts, we select the following, as worthy of special notice:
In the Advent Homilies, Joel iii. 18 , a prophecy of the Incarnation (Hom. I.); Hos. xiii. 14 , the spoliation of Hades; Eph. i. 18 , the reparation of Heaven; Isa. lxi. 1 fully commented on; 2 Sam. xxii. 36 applied to our Blessed Lord (Hom. II.); Ps. cxlviii. 6 , universal service of God by creation (Hom. ILL.); Ps. xxxix. 3 , the fire that burned, that of contrition.
In the Lenten Homilies, Heb. ix. 10 , the " reformation," as of the Jew; Prov. i. 8 , the " mother " is Holy Church (Hom. I.); Rev. xvi. 13 , the frogs are spirits of detraction (Hom. IV.); Job xvi. 22 , the walk of death (Hom. V.); Ezek. xxviii. 16 , interpreted of a devil (Hom. VI.); Ps. xxxi. 21 , the "shining city" is the City of God; Isa. xxxi. 9 , fire and furnace symbols of charity (Hom. VII.); S. John xiv. 30 , our Blessed Lord walking dryshod over the sea of this world; Exod. xxxv. 30 gives the twelve breads with which our Lord feeds the faithful (Hom. VIII.); Zech. ix. 11 , the deliverance of the Saints from Hades (Hom. IX.); Job iv. 12 , the mental word (Hom. X.); Coloss. i. 30 , recruiting of the Heavenly Ones (Hom. XII.)
In the Easter Homilies is noted Ex. xii. 21 , Numb. ix. 3 -5, Jos. v. 10 , the three mystical Passovers (Hom. I.); Cant. ii. 12 , flowers are the splendour of the Lord's glorified Body; S. Matt, xxviii. 2, the earthquake a leaping of the earth for joy (Hom. II.); Ezek. xxxvi. 25 , clean water of Holy Baptism (Hom. III.); Jer. xi. 19 , our Blessed Lord the Lamb brought to the slaughter (Hom. V.); Ezek. iv. 14 , the Lord feeding His flock (Hom. VI.); Judges ii. 1 proves sadness of this present world; Nah. i. 13 applied to eternal happiness (Hom. VIII.); Lam. iii. 26 , the elevation of the mind to God.
The Trinity Homilies are very rich in deep and thoughtful readings of Holy Scripture. Isa. xxv. 5 , the feast of the new Creation (Hom. IV.); Isa. vi. 5 , seraphims of purification (Hom. VI.); Ps. cv. 6 , the reparation of the Heavenly City (Hom. VII.); Isa. xxvi., the lost gift of glory (Hom. IX.); Isa. iii. 14 explains the "council" of S. Matt. v. 22 (Hom. XII.); Ps. cxxxii. 15 , the Eternal Bread (Hom. XIV.); Job xx. 27 referred to final Judgment (Hom. XVIII.); Isa. xxx. 1 -8, shews the nature of the trust of the wicked (Hom. XXIII.); S. Mark vii. 33 , mystical fingers put into ears (Hom. XXIV.); Ps. lvii. 3 , healing power of Holy Baptism (Hom. XXVI.); Ps. lxxvi. 2 , Salem, the Tabernacle of Peace (Hom. XXVII.); Isa. xxxiii. 20 , a description of the City of God (Hom. XXXVIII.); Isa. iii. 14 , army of Saints final ministers of punishment (Hom. XL.); Prov. xviii. 4 , "deep waters" represent the Old Testament, the "flowing brooks" the New Testament (Hom. L.) These Homilies are, to a limited extent, a commentary upon many difficult passages of the Inspired Canon.
Thirdly, the great use of these Homilies is for sermon-making. They bring a text of Holy Scripture to bear upon each statement; they adopt a natural division of the subject; they take up minute details which signify much, but which at first sight seem to be wholly unworthy of notice; they contrast in the strongest possible way nature with grace. These four statements can be proved with the utmost ease by a careful reading of only a few of the Homilies.
There are two methods by which these outlines can be expanded into a sermon of the required length for the present day: by enlarging upon the divisions of each and every head, lengthening the whole sermon equally. But by far the most telling result is obtained, in the majority of cases at least, by confining the expansion to only one head. Take, for example, Homily X., for Lent: "The Word of God and its Hearers." Omitting the first head, the three ways in which the Saints are of God; the third and fourth heads, the foolishness and misery of those who hear not; we treat alone of the second head, the Threefold Word of God which the Saints hear.
" 1. Eternal: S. John i. 1 , 'In the beginning was the Word.'" This naturally leads to the mention of all the utterances of God the Son, whether as the Word creative or prophetical, before the Incarnation; of what our Lord did in that infinite abyss of past time, in that eternal to-> day of God when the Son went out to create the worlds. The pre-Incarnate naturally links itself on to the Incarnate Word, to our Lord's eternal words which He spake in time; eternal in import, containing an eternal consequence either for life or for death. These eternal words He is speaking in His Body the Church now; as He spake, so speaks the Church, proclaiming those words of truth and life, which became as wells of water in the souls of the faithful, springing up into everlasting life. So for ever to His Elect will the Saviour speak words of encouragement, and hope, and love; at the end of all things of love only, when charity alone remains. The Eternal Word, "I am Alpha and Omega." Abel heard His voice; all the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Elder Church all the Saints, Virgins, Martyrs, Confessors of the New Covenant; the Voice of the Beloved, eternal as His own nature is, eternal in power and action upon ourselves. The Saints "hear by faith." He it is Who is speaking in His Holy Sacraments, by the mouths of His Priests. Meet it is that the Eternal High Priest should speak in the Eternal Mysteries of His Church and Kingdom. "We need faith in these Mysteries, in order that we may hear His " Eternal Word."
2. Mental: Job iv. 12 , "A thing [word, Vulg.] was secretly brought to me." Not that secret word which, as S. Gregory says, the heretics pretend to hear, who represent the Woman of Solomon saying ( Prov. ix. 17 ; Vulg. 7), " Stolen waters are sweeter, and bread eaten in secret is more pleasant." Not that secret word which would lift some above others, and which can only be obtained by secret means, but that communication of inward inspiration when the secret word is delivered to the minds of the Elect, of whom S. John says ( 1 S. John ii. 27 ), "His anointing teacheth you all things." This is that mental word which is received in the heart by the utterance of the Holy Ghost; secret, to be felt, not expressed in the noise of speech; it sounds secretly in the ear of the soul. Seek we to have our souls silent before God, freed from pleadings of all emotion, to catch the accents of the mental word. This mental word is the fruit of contemplation; and, by the chinks of such contemplation, God speaks to us, not in voice, but through mind; not fully developing Himself, yet revealing something of Himself to the mind of man. As we bore through the strata of earth to find that water which is silently circulating through its crust, so we, by contemplation, boring through the strata of the letter, find the ever-flowing grace which reveals itself as a mental word: the Saints hear this " by inspiration ( Ps. lxxxv. 8 ), ' I will hear what God the Lord will speak ' " (p. 18).
3. Vocal: S. Matt. iv. 4 , " Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth," etc. Vocal words: God's commands, His promises, the dogmatic teaching of the Catholic faith this the Saints learn and hear " by preaching ( S. Luke viii. 8 ), ' He that hath ears to hear, let him hear' " (p. 19). Take heed how ye hear. Office of preaching in the Church. Duty of hearers and of preachers. Sum up these words: Incarnate Word, to be believed on; Inspired Word, to be felt; Preached Word, to be lived upon.
After all, it must be left to the preacher's own peculiar habit of thought to determine which of the heads shall be expanded; and the manner in which this is to be done. The Homily upon which the attempt has been made is not as favourable as some others for the experiment; it seemed fairer to take a more unlikely one to illustrate in the process, as far as the translator had the power to do so. Almost a course of Sermons could be founded upon Homily XLV., for the Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.
In regard to the Author of these Homilies, he was born A.D. 1224, in the castle of Aquin, in the territory of Lahore, in Italy, being descended from the Kings of Sicily and Aragon. Educated firstly in the Monastery of Mount Cassino, afterwards at Naples. In 1244, studied at Cologne under Albertus Magnus. Doctor of Paris, 1255. Returned into Italy, 1263. Professor of Scholastic Theology at Naples. Died 1274, in the Monastery of Fossanova, near Terracina. An old distich prefixed to his portrait runs thus: -
Nobilibus Thomas generatus utroque parente Terrarum scriptis claret ubique suis.
And he will shine as long as profound Scriptural Theology shall continue to hold its own in the world. May this little book be but a first fruit of the revival amongst us of the study of the writings of S. Thomas Aquinas.
S. Peter Mancroft, Norwich,
Feast of S. Matthew, 1867.
LAUS DEO.