The Living Flame
The Living Flame
Christian philosophy, or Scholasticism, of which Thomas Aquinas was greatest proponent has fallen in and out of repute over the centuries. Aquinas’ works might be seen like a flickering flame that was nearly extinguished and then suddenly and surprisingly brought to a roar; in the new millennium it burns as a perennial flame.
Aquinas has always been studied among the Dominicans since his canonization. After the Reformation his flame barely flickered and study beyond the Dominican order had become the exception instead of the norm after the French Revolution. Aquinas’ work had little if any representation in universities. The Dominicans were floundering and in disarray all over Europe. At a General Chapter meeting in Rome in 1838 the great circular letter of General Tommaso de Boxadors of pre-revolutionary Thomist fervor (1757), and the manual his colleague compiled were re-visited and revived, producing a three year course of study on the Summa, required for all degree candidates in Rome and, later in Spain.
In the 1860s and 70s in Rome and surrounding areas, the Thomist light seemed to be re-igniting, and even a Thomist journal was published. In the 1850’s, the Jesuits got on the Thomist band-wagon, challenging the entrenched non-Thomist groups, the Suarezians and Cartesians, and began producing individual academic works on Aquinas. Little did the Dominicans know that beyond their purvey a non-Dominican group had been for over thirty years studying Aquinas at the university in Piacenza, now recognized as the cradle of the neo-Thomist movement.
His name was Joachim Pecci, a long-standing proponent of Scholasticism and, by association, the works of Thomas Aquinas. Bishop of Perugia for thirty-some years, he became Pope Leo XIII. Suddenly the flame of Aquinas burst upon the scene like a blaze. In his very first encyclical, Inscrutabili Dei, written only two months after his election, Leo XIII stressed the social and ecclesiastical importance of philosophy and the doctrine of Thomas Aquinas for his time. He ordered the Cardinal of Rome to establish a philosophical academy at the S. Apollinare seminary in Rome. He ordered that only the philosophy of Aquinas be taught and routed out the non-Thomist manuals of instruction.
The encyclical that draws most attention for Pope Leo’s inauguration of neo-Thomism in the Church was his Aeterni Patris to which he gave the title, “The restoration in Catholic schools of Christian philosophy acceding to the mind of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor.” In this piece he raised the flame of Scholasticism and the work of Aquinas to its brightest glow. He echoed Scholastic sentiments to their fullest extent, insisting that the use of reason in service of the faith stood soundly in Christian tradition, from the Fathers of the Church to the most recent Vatican Council. Simply, the mysteries of faith could be illuminated by use of the faculties of reason and philosophical application.
He maintained, against the anti-Scholastics who criticized Aquinas’ work as too subtle and a lot of useless discussion: “There is no part of philosophy of which he did not treat solidly and lucidly. What is more, he nicely distinguished reason and faith, yet brought the two together as friends. He clearly set out the rights of each, yet to each he gave its full dignity.” Pope extolled: “the prince and master of all by far is Thomas” who “surpassed the teaching of all the other doctors, providing a singular source of defense to the Catholic Church.” The encyclical lists the Ecumenical Councils over time who had honored Aquinas (the placement of his Summa on the alter next to the Bible), and the many religious orders where Aquinas was required study. The doctors of the University in Paris called him the luminous sun, the light of the whole church. Not even the Dominican popes had recognized Aquinas to this extent. Leo goes on to analyze and regret that Aquinas had fallen out of the spotlight, suggesting that the role of reason had overshadowed faith, producing question and doubt among Catholics of his time.
Suffice it to say that Pope Leo’s encyclical restored Thomas Aquinas to his rightful place among the great doctors of the church. Thomas Aquinas was no longer just a Catholic doctor; his works had become also part of Protestant intellectual discourse.
As the twentieth century neared its end, Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio urged church leaders to “reiterate the value of the Angelic Doctor’s insights and insist on the study of his thought.” As the new millennium precedes establishments like the University of St. Thomas, Houston, for example exists like gas to the perennial flame of Aquinas’ Christian philosophy and legacy.