Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas

154 Pages·2016·9.05 MB·English

by  Michael Dauphinais

KNOWING
THE
LOVE
OF
CHRIST
An Introduction to the Theology
of St. Thomas Aquinas
Michael Dauphinais
&
Matthew Levering
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME PRESS
Notre Dame, Indiana
Copyright © 2002 by
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
http://www.undpress.nd.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library oj Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dauphinais, Michael, 1973-
Knowing the love of Christ : an introduction to the theology of St.
Thomas Aquinas / by Michael Dauphinais and Matthew Levering.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-268-03301-3 (cloth) - ISBN 0-268-03302-1 (paper)
1. Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?-1274. 2. Theology-History
Middle Ages, 600-1500. 1. Levering, Matthew Webb, 1971-
II. Title.
BX4700.T6 D35 2002
230' .2'092-dc21
2002012610
This book is printed on acid-Jree paper.
00
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE
The Triune God 7
CHAPTER TWO
Creation, Providence, and Sin 27
CHAPTER THREE
Happiness and Virtue 43
CHAPTER FOUR
Law and Grace 61
CHAPTER FIVE
Jesus Christ 77
CHAPTER SIX
Salvation 91
CHAPTER SEVEN
Church and Sacraments 105
CHAPTER EIGHT
Eternal Life 119
Conclusion 129
Note on Editions 131
Further Reading 133
Index 135

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The fact that this book contains few footnotes makes it even
more necessary for us to thank those who have made it pos
sible for us to enter into the Thomistic tradition of theological
enquiry. We have been blessed with so many wonderful teach
ers who have enriched our lives and enabled us to write this
book. Not only those teachers to whom this book owes the
largest debt, but also those with whom we have differed at sig
nificant points, have taught us much. We thus wish first to
extend thanks and appreciation to our teachers at Duke, Notre
Dame, and Boston College in whose courses we gained insight
into Aquinas's way of thought: Stephen E Brown, David Burrell,
C.s.c., Romanus Cessario, O.P, Stanley Hauerwas, Thomas
Hibbs, Mark Jordan, Matthew Lamb, Edward Mahoney,
Thomas O'Meara, o.P,Jean Porter, Louis Roy, O.P, and Joseph
Wawrykow. David Burrell and Romanus Cessario were readers
for this book, and contributed greatly to the final product.
Other professors and colleagues have shaped our think
ing about Aquinas in equally profound ways through their
friendship and conversations. Here we wish to thank, among
many others, John Boyle, Gilles Emery, O.P, Fred Freddoso,
Paul Gondreau, John Goyette, Russell Hittinger, Michael
Hoonhout,JohnJenkins, C.s.c., Gregory LaNave, Carlo Leget,
Steven Long, Ralph McInerny, Robert Miner, John O'Cal
laghan, Thomas Ryan, Michael Sherwin, O.P, Timothy Smith,
David Solomon, and Christopher Thompson. We also owe a
Significant debt to the writings of Servais Pinckaers, o.P and
Jean-Pierre Torrell, O.P
vii
viii Knowing the Love of Christ
Our hope is that this book will enable many others to share in this
wondrous pursuit of wisdom inspired by Aquinas and carried forward by
these superb teachers. Of course, our ability to share in this academic
community was fostered by other communities. We have received spiri
tual nourishment from our parishes, Christ the King and St. John the
Baptist, and from Fr. Sylvester Ajagbe, Chaplain of Ave Maria College.
Professor William Riordan, a great teacher, mentor, and friend, generously
assigned a draft of this book to the students in his seminar on St. Thomas
Aquinas, and we owe similar debts of gratitude to numerous other col
leagues, students, and administrators at Ave Maria College. The associate
director of the University of Notre Dame Press, Jeffrey Gainey, came up
with the idea for the book and guided it every step of the way. He merits
special thanks. We are also enormously appreciative of the work of
Rebecca DeBoer, managing editor of the University of Notre Dame Press,
whose corrections of the penultimate draft made this a much better book,
and Margaret Gloster, art editor, who assisted us with the cover art for
the book. Thomas Weinandy, O.EM. Cap., offered an important correc
tion at the proofs stage, which we gratefully incorporated.
Of the many bleSSings God has bestowed upon us, we are most
grateful for our families. We must thank our wonderful parents, grand
parents, in-laws, and extended families. Our children-Michael John,
Thomas, and Joseph Dauphinais, and David, Andrew, and Irene Levering
give special meaning to everything we do. Lastly, our wives, Nancy Dau
phinais and Joy Levering, read the entire manuscript in various drafts and
encouraged our ongoing theological conversations. To Nancy and Joy, with
great love, we dedicate this book.
Knowing the Love of Christ

INTRODUCTION
Just as an inexperienced mountain climber first apprentices to
a master, and follows and develops the paths marked out by
that master, so also it is with the theological ascent. When we
enter into St. Thomas's spirit of humble contemplation of the
divine mysteries, we will find him to be a true theological mas
ter. His theological masterpiece, the Summa Theologiae, is a
series of questions. When we open the volumes of the Summa,
we find three parts containing hundreds of questions divided
into thousands of smaller questions ("articles"). Indeed, St.
Thomas is like a child who, trusting in the teacher's knowl
edge, does not stop asking questions about God and all things
in relation to God. Motivated by "faith seeking understanding,"
he continually strives for wisdom.
Before we begin our investigation of St. Thomas's the
ology, however, we might ask whether this striving after wis
dom is appropriate for a follower of Jesus Christ. After all, in
the Gospel of Luke,]esus contrasts his diSciples with the wise
and learned of the world: "In that same hour he rejoiced in the
Holy Spirit and said, 'I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and
understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such
was thy gracious will'" (Lk 10:21). In the same Gospel, Jesus
says, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them;
for to such belongs the kingdom of God. liuly, I say to you, who
ever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not
enter it" (Lk 18: 16-17). St. Paul differentiates between the wis
dom of the world and the gospel of the cross and resurrection
1
2 Knowing the Love of Christ
of Jesus Christ: "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is
the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the
world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God
through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to
save those who believe" (1 Cor 1:20-24).
Is St. Thomas the kind of "wise man" criticized by St. Paul as merely
a "scribe" and a "debater of this age"? To come to understand St. Thomas,
let us take a closer look at the passages from the Gospel of Luke. Both pas
sages are immediately followed by emphasis on Jesus' role as teacher. After
Jesus has praised God for revealing himself to "babes," an expert on the
Mosaic Law "stood up to put him to the test, saying, Teacher, what shall
I do to inherit eternal life?'" (Lk 10:25). The very same thing happens in
the second passage. After Jesus has warned that entering the kingdom of
God means becoming like a little child, immediately "a ruler asked him,
'Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'" (Lk 18:18). The
experts and rulers tum to Jesus as teacher, but they expect to hear only
human wisdom, what St. Paul calls the "wisdom of this world:'
As St. Thomas recognizes, however, Jesus teaches a radically new
kind of wisdom. Human wisdom investigates the relationships between
all natural things. For example, a scientist is considered wise when he or
she is able to demonstrate the links between all forms of life, from but
terflies to supernovas. A ruler is considered wise when he or she is able
to see how the most complex plans for the institutional organization of a
SOCiety will affect the life of the ordinary citizen. Jesus' wisdom goes
beyond merely human wisdom because Jesus reveals how God sees
reality: it is the divine drama of redemption, in 'which God, out of unfath
omable love, is calling us to perfect friendship with him. St. Thomas notes
that theology is a coherent body of knowledge (a scientia) because its con
tent comes from God's own knowledge. The teacher, God himself, is what
is being taught.
This new wisdom rearranges all our previous untutored thoughts
about God and the world. When through God's revelation in Jesus Christ
we know the Trinity as Creator and Redeemer, we know ourselves in a new
way, we know human history in a new way, we know human destiny in a
new way. Everything is reordered. In learning who God is, we are also
learning how God gives us what we need to attain our ultimate end or
goal. God has called us to an end that exceeds our nature: participation
in the trinitarian life. Theology therefore is about God and all things in
relation to God "as their beginning and end" (Summa Theologiae part 1,