When I proposed/started this column, my intent was to glean material from St. Thomas’ Summa Theologiae through the eyes of Peter Kreeft. I’m going to pause the Summa “extraction” and move to something I came across, The Catechetical Instructions of St. Thomas Aquinas. My translated copy is dated Feb. 9, 1939.
Here is a paragraph from the introduction provided by Rudolph G. Bandas written in 1939:
“In his translation entitled The Catechetical Instructions of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Rev. Joseph B. Collins, S.S., S.T.D., Professor of Theology and Catechetics at the Catholic University of America, has made available to teachers of religion a theologically accurate explanation of the Catechism. It is Dr. Collins’ latest contribution to the catechetical movement in America.
“The appearance of this translation of St. Thomas’ catechetical works will be greeted with genuine satisfaction by all. In these days of renewed interest in Thomism, especially on the part of laymen, it will be comforting to know that the vast knowledge of the Church’s greatest theologian is now made accessible – in a condensed and simple form – not only to teachers of religion but to the laity at large.”
What am I going to cover? The Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary.
What do I hope you get out of this? You bolster three levels of your intellect – knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Knowledge, in that you will know it, not memorize it. Understanding, in that you will know why it is important, the reason. Wisdom, in that you will see it in the grand God-view of things.
Be forewarned. This might be a bit eye-watering in that you will feel either “What is he talking about?” or “This is beautiful, why wasn’t I told this before?” Also, St. Thomas quotes a lot of Scripture (surprise, surprise).
Why is this important? St. Thomas Aquinas is arguably one of the greatest intellectuals of our faith, he puts out catechetical instructions and it is not widely referenced. When we tell our story, we shouldn’t just regurgitate knowledge/facts. We should explain why the words written are important.
Other catechetical instructions have been published by famous saints. St. Cyril of Jerusalem published instructions while he was a priest in the mid-300s. St. Cyril is known as the Doctor of Catechesis. This is available on the Internet.
A side note: The Vatican is granting a plenary indulgence to anyone who participates (and observes the usual conditions of Holy Communion and confession for an indulgence) in the two years of jubilee celebrations of St. Thomas Aquinas leading up to the 800th anniversary of his birth.
Beginning with the 700th anniversary of Aquinas’ canonization, on July 18, 2023, the Dominican Order is celebrating three significant anniversaries of “the Angelic Doctor” during the jubilee. On March 7, 2024, the Church will commemorate the 750th anniversary of Aquinas’ death. The Dominican Order’s double jubilee year will culminate on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas on Jan. 28, 2025, the 800th anniversary of Aquinas’ birth.
The indulgence can be obtained by making a pilgrimage to a holy site connected to the Dominican Order to either take part in the jubilee celebrations or “at least devote a suitable time to pious recollection,” concluding by praying the Lord’s Prayer, reciting the Apostle’s Creed and invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Thomas Aquinas.
On a separate note, I wrote some time ago how Christ was being “pushed” out of Christmas. This shouldn’t be shocking, but the fact that communities are so blatant is shocking. I’m not addressing individual houses per se, although it seems that fewer display the Nativity. It is the “community” light display that is supposed to attract visitors and their associated dollars.
In my hometown of Chillicothe, our light display runs through the city park. In the park there are your standard (expected) beautiful displays of lights and figures. What is missing is a Nativity scene. Also missing is a menorah.
Now to be transparent, there is a Nativity scene in the park, it’s just not on the designated path of the light display, nor is it managed by the organization that put up the park lights. The one night my wife and I were there, not a car drove by it.
The readers of this newspaper and sponsors of public lighting know the reason for the season. Many faithful Christians go to these displays and miss the fact that a Nativity scene is missing. Demand that Jesus is included in your city display or your dollars will “walk.”
