A sacrament of divine love

Two great saints of the thirteenth century, St Thomas Aquinas the Dominican and St Bonaventure the Franciscan theologian and bishop, provided different but complementary insights into the Eucharist. St Thomas Aquinas is especially known for his explanation of how Christ is truly present in the sacrament, while St Bonaventure is particularly remembered for helping believers to understand why Christ remains present among us: because, in his great love, he desires to unite himself ever more closely to those whom he loves.

The Eucharist is, above all, the sacrament of Christ's presence with us, transforming us and drawing us toward the heavenly communion for which we were created. St Bonaventure teaches that at the Last Supper Christ gave his Body and Blood as food and drink (Lignum Vitae 30), leaving the Church a lasting memorial of his saving love.

Is Mass boring?

St Thomas Aquinas taught that, in heaven, we will never exhaust the mystery and beauty of God [Summa Theologiae q12 a6]. That is a delightful thought. We may think of heaven, therefore, is not a static existence but an eternal participation in the inexhaustible richness of divine truth and love.

In the Eucharist we receive a foretaste of heaven as we join the heavenly assembly.  Could anything be more true, beautiful and better than the Mass on this side of eternity?

Not only is life always (for me, at least) interesting and exciting, if sometimes challenging and painful, but we can also look forward in Christian hope to an eternity of ever-deeper wonder, joy, and communion with God. As St Paul writes:

What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

The angelic doctor

 

Over the course of the last 10 months and as part of the Bread for the Journey blog series I have drawn on St Thomas Aquinas on many occasions [for example in The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist #1]. The feast of this great saint occurs on 28 January and deserves a short blog in its own right today. Much of our theological thinking has been shaped by his work especially in regards to the Eucharist.

The saint was a 13^th Century Italian Dominican friar, priest, theologian and philosopher.  He is associated with a school of thought often referred to as ‘Thomism’.  A proponent of natural theology, he argued that the existence of God could be known through rational reflection on the created world, drawing on both human reason and insights from Aristotelian philosophy. He also emphasised that faith and reason ultimately complement one another since both have their source in God.

Scaling the heights

 

Staying with the Great Thanksgiving we reach the centre and summit of the Mass. Everything in the Liturgy of the Word leads us toward it, and everything in the Communion Rite flows from it. In this great prayer:

1. We give thanks – the very word Eucharist means thanksgiving.
2. We remember – not merely recalling, but actively entering into Christ’s Paschal Mystery in the here and now.
3. We invoke the Spirit – asking the Holy Spirit to sanctify the gifts and the gathered Church.
4. We unite ourselves with Christ’s sacrifice made present on the altar.

There is enough here to keep us occupied for an eternity.  Who said mass was boring?

Today is the feast of St Thomas Aquinas [see the blog, The Angelic Doctor]