Thomas Aquinas: Priest & Scholar

Today the Church remembers the life and ministry of St. Thomas Aquinas who lived from 1225 to 1274.  He was born into a wealthy family in the Italian town of Roccasecca.  Although his family did not want Thomas to become a priest, he did joining the Dominican order.

He did something that was quite revolutionary for his day; he used the newly rediscovered works of Aristotle in his theological work. For Thomas, theological discourse begins with what God has revealed about Himself and His action in creating and redeeming the world, and the world is understood in that light. Philosophical discourse begins with knowledge of the world, and if it speaks of God, what it says is conditioned by what is known of the world. Thomas Aquinas, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1999, revised 2009).

It was Thomas who came up with the theory of transubstantiation in connection with the Eucharist and the Real Presence, which has become a mainstay of Roman Catholic theology.  Essentially, Thomas stated that once the bread and wine are consecrated, they cease being bread in wine in any sense that they were before, and they become in substance the real flesh and blood of Jesus even though they still have the appearance and taste ("accidentals") of bread and wine.  This became a real sticking point during the Reformation a few hundred years later, where Martin Luther taught that Jesus was truly present in the consecrated elements of bread and wine, but that the elements were not destroyed.   In essence, Luther did not want to define how it happened, but he acknowledged that Jesus was really present.

 

Let us pray:  Almighty God, you have enriched your Church with the singular learning and holiness of your servant Thomas Aquinas: Enlighten us more and more, we pray, by the disciplined thinking and teaching of Christian scholars, and deepen our devotion by the example of saintly lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.   Amen.

 

CALENDAR REMIDNERS
 

The 165^th Diocesan Council in Galveston on the 7^th & 8^th of February.  Michelle Allen will carry our banner in the processional of the Celebration of the Eucharist on Friday evening.  Tammie Taylor will be our lay delegate. If you are able to, please sign up to volunteer.

Bishop Fisher will be at St. Augustine on Sunday, the 9^th of February, at 12:30 p.m.  There will be no 9 a.m. service.  It will be at 12: 30 p.m. with a pot luck lunch to follow.

The Seaside Seniors will meet on the third Thursday of February, the 20^th, the celebrate St. Valentine’s Day.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Karen and Pat.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550