28 January 2020
Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church
Today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, a Doctor of the Church and philosopher-theologian. Jose Ignacio Tellechea in his book Ignatius of Loyola: The Pilgrim Saint described Ignatius’ love for Thomism as follows: “He rejected nominalism, which enjoyed such popularity among the University set, and, drank deep in the fountains of Thomism, for which he always had the deepest respect. He passed from the Trinitarian visions of the Cardoner to the tortuous study of the Summa Theologiae, but the inspiring richness of Thomistic sentences fed his soul ever so much better than the dialectics of Mayor or Celaya.”
St. Ignatius only spent eighteen months of theology study under the Dominican of the Rue de Saint-Jacques; nevertheless, the short time of theological study is, without doubt, the origin of Ignatius’s strong preference for St. Thomas. Arguably, the most crucial factor that prompted the First Jesuits to select Thomistic thought was the compatibility between Aquinas’ view on “nature and grace” with their vision. The bottom line is that Aquinas held that “grace perfects nature,” which allows human activity under the influence of grace. The Thomistic postulate on “grace perfects nature” fits perfectly with the Jesuits’ conviction that they should not rely upon God’s grace alone, but also rely on all of the “human means.”
Indeed, during his days at the University of Paris, Ignatius found in Aquinas the intellectual and theological basis for his decision to embrace the natural means, when he surrendered his excessive mortification in Manresa. Thus, Ignatius built a system based upon the reconciliation of the supernatural and natural means. This system relies on the primacy of grace, but at the same time, employs all of the natural means for the advancement of the ministry.
Aquinas’ treatises on grace in the Summa Theologiae is valuable for Ignatius to envision a new religious order, which emphasizes the primacy of grace. At the same time, the Jesuits employ all of the natural means for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.