"The ultimate basis of happiness lies in the vision"

“NOW, the end of our desires is God; hence, the act whereby we are primarily joined to Him is basically and substantially our happiness. But we are primarily united with God by an act of understanding; and therefore, the very seeing of God, which is an act of the intellect, is substantially and basically our happiness. However, since this action is most perfect and most appropriate to its object, it is therefore followed by the greatest enjoyment, which adorns and perfects this operation, as beauty does youth, to quote the Ethics (X, 4). As a result, this joy which belongs to the will is a formal complement of happiness. Thus, the ultimate basis of happiness lies in the vision, while its complement consists in the fruition.”

~St. Thomas Aquinas: from Quodlibetal Questions, VIII, 9, 19. (c. Trans. V.J. Bourke)

Meditations & Readings: Holy Week—Tuesday

CHRIST PREPARING TO WASH THE APOSTLE'S FEET

"He riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments,

and having taken a towel, girded himself."—John xiii. 4.

1. Christ, in his lowly office, shows Himself truly to be a servant, in keeping with His own words, "The Son of Man is not come to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a redemption for many" (Mt. xx. 28). Three things are looked for in a good servant or minister:

(i) That he should be careful to keep before him the numerous details in which his serving may so easily fall short. Now for a servant to sit or to lie down during his service is to make this necessary supervision impossible. Hence it is that servants stand. And therefore the gospel says of Our Lord, "He riseth from supper." Our Lord himself also asks us, "For which is greater, he that sitteth at table or he that serveth?" (Lk. xxii. 27).

(ii) That he should show dexterity in doing at the right time all the things his particular office calls for. Now elaborate dress is a hindrance to this. Therefore Our Lord "layeth aside his garments." And this was foreshadowed in the Old Testament when Abraham chose servants who were well appointed (Gen. xiv. 14).

(iii) That he should be prompt, having ready to hand all the things he needs. St. Luke (x. 40) says of Martha that "she was busy about much serving." This is why Our Lord, "having taken a towel, girded himself." Thus he was ready not only to wash the feet, but also to dry them. So He (who "came from God and goeth to God"—Jn. xiii. 3), as He washes their feet, crushes down for ever our swollen, human self-importance.

2. "After that, he putteth water into a basin, and to wash" (Jn. xiii. 5). 

We are given for our consideration this service of Christ; and in three ways his humility is set for our example.

(i) The kind of service this was, for it was the lowest kind of service of all! The Lord of all majesty bending to wash the feet of his slaves.

(ii) The number of services it contained, for, we are told, he put water into a basin, he washed their feet, he dried them and so forth.

(iii) The method of doing the service, for He did not do it through others, nor even with others helping him. He did the service Himself. "The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things" (Ecclus. iii. 20).

(In John xiii.)

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St. Thomas Aquinas. Meditations for Lent. Passages selected from the works of St. Thomas by Fr. Mezard, O.P.; translated here by Fr. Philip Hughes. London: Sheed and Ward, 1937. 130-132.

No. 30—Scenes from the Life of Christ: 14. Washing of Feet. 

By Giotto di Bondone.

Fresco, 1304-06; Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

Meditations & Readings: Holy Week—Monday

 IT IS NECESSARY THAT WE BE WHOLLY CLEAN

1. "If I wash thee not, thou shaft have no part with me" (Jn. xiii. 8). No one can be made a sharer in the inheritance of eternity, a co-heir with Christ, unless he is spiritually cleansed, for in the Apocalypse it is so stated. "There shall not enter info it anything defiled" (Apoc. xxi. 27), and in the Psalms we read, "Lord who shall dwell in thy tabernacle?" (Ps. xiv.) Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord; or who shall stand in his holy place? The innocent in hands, and clean of heart (Ps. xxiii. 3, 4).

It is therefore as though Our Lord said, "If I wash thee not," thou shalt not be cleansed, and if thou art not cleansed, "thou shalt have no part with me."

2. "Simon Peter saith to him: Lord, not only my feet but also my hands and my head" (Jn. xiii. 9). Peter, utterly stricken, offers his whole self to be washed, so confounded is he with love and with fear. We read, in fact, in the book called The Journeying of Clement, that Peter used to be so overcome by the bodily presence of Our Lord, which he had most fervently loved, that whenever, after Our Lord's Ascension, the memory of that dearest presence and most holy company came to him, he used so to melt into tears, that his cheeks seemed all worn out with them.

We can consider three parts in man's body, the head, which is the highest, the feet, which are the lowest part, and the hands which lie in between. In the interior man, that is to say, in the soul, there are likewise three parts. Corresponding to the head there is the higher reason, the power by means of which the soul clings to God. For the hands there is the lower reason by which the soul operates in good works. For the feet there are the senses and the feelings and desires arising from them. Now Our Lord knew the disciples to be clean as far as the head was concerned, for He knew they were joined to God by faith and by charity. He knew their hands also were clean, for He knew their good works. But as to their feet, He knew that the disciples were still somewhat entangled in those inclinations to earthly things that derive out of the life of the senses.

Peter, alarmed by Our Lord's warning (v. 8), not only consented that his feet should be washed, but begged that his hands and his head should be washed too.

"Lord," he said, "not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." As though to say, "I know not whether hands and head need to be washed." "For I am not conscious to myself of anything," yet am I not "hereby justified" (I Cor. iv. 4). Therefore I am ready not only for my feet to be washed, that is, those inclinations that arise out of the life of my senses, but also my hands, that is, my works, and my head, too, that is, my higher reason.

3. "Jesus saith to him: He that is washed, needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean" (Jn. xiii. 10). Origen, commenting on this text, says that the Apostles were clean, but needed to be yet cleaner. For reason should ever desire gifts that are better still, should ever set itself to achieve the very heights of virtue, should aspire to shine with the brightness of justice itself. He that is holy, let him be sanctified still (Apoc xxii. n).

                                                                                         (In John xiii.)
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St. Thomas Aquinas. Meditations for Lent. Passages selected from the works of St. Thomas by Fr. Mezard, O.P.; translated here by Fr. Philip Hughes. London: Sheed and Ward, 1937. 128-130.

 

Christ Washing the Apostles Feet, by Dirck van Baburen
Oil on canvas, c. 1616; Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

Meditations & Readings: Holy Week—Palm Sunday

CHRIST'S PASSION SERVES US AS AN EXAMPLE

The Passion of Christ is by itself sufficient to form us in every virtue. For whoever wishes to live perfectly, need do no more than scorn what Christ scorned on the cross, and desire what He there desired. There is no virtue of which, from the cross, Christ does not give us an example.

If you seek an example of charity, "Greater love than this no man hath, than that a man lay down His life for his friends" (Jn xv. 13), and this Christ did on the cross. And since it was for us that He gave his life, it should not be burdensome to bear for Him whatever evils come our way. "What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things that He hath rendered to me" (Ps. cxv. 12).

If you seek an example of patience, in the cross you find the best of all. Great patience shows itself in two ways. Either when a man suffers great evils patiently, or when he suffers what he could avoid and forbears to avoid. Now Christ on the cross suffered great evils. "O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see, if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow" (Lam. i. 12). And He suffered them patiently, for, "when he suffered he threatened not" (I Pet. ii. 23) but "led as a sheep to the slaughter, he was dumb as a lamb before his shearer" (Is. liii. 7).

Also it was in His power to avoid the suffering and He did not avoid it. "Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me presently more than twelve legions of angels?" (Mt. xxvi. 53). The patience of Christ, then, on the cross was the greatest patience ever shown. "Let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us: looking on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who having joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb.xii. i, 2).

If you seek an example of humility, look at the crucified. For it is God who wills to be judged and to die at the will of Pontius Pilate. "Thy cause hath been judged as that of the wicked" (Job xxxvi. 17). Truly as that of the wicked, for "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death" (Wis. ii. 20). The Lord willed to die for the slave, the life of the angels for man.

If you seek an example of obedience, follow Him "who became obedient unto death" (Phil. ii. 8), "for as by the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners; so also by the obedience of one, many shall be made just" (Rom. v. 19). If you seek an example in the scorning of the things of this world, follow Him who is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom. Lo! on the cross He hangs naked, fooled, spit upon, beaten, crowned with thorns, sated with gall and vinegar, and dead. "My garments they parted among them; and upon my vesture they cast lots" (Ps. xxi. 19). 

Error to crave for honours, for He was exposed to blows and to mockery. Error to seek titles and decorations for "platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in his right hand. And bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying Hail, king of the Jews" (Mt. xxvii. 29).

Error to cling to pleasures and comfort for "they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink" (Ps. lxviii. 22).

(In Symb.)

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St. Thomas Aquinas. Meditations for Lent. Passages selected from the works of St. Thomas by Fr. Mezard, O.P.; trans. by Fr. Philip Hughes. London: Sheed and Ward, 1937. 126-128.

Scenes from the Life of Christ, by Fra Angelico.
Tempera on panel, 1451-52; Museo di San Marco, Florence.

Meditations & Readings: Passion Week—Saturday

HOW WE, EACH OF US, SHOULD WASH ONE ANOTHER'S FEET

"If I then being our Lord and Master, have washed your

feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet."—(Jn. xiii. 14).

Our Lord wishes that His disciples shall imitate His example. He says therefore, "If I", who am the greater, "being your master and the Lord, have washed your feet, you also, all the more who are the less, who are disciples, slaves even, ought to wash one another's feet. Whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister. . . . Even as the Son of Man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister" (Mt. xx. 26-28).

St. Augustine says every man ought to wash the feet of his fellows, either actually or in spirit. And it is by far the best, and true beyond all controversy, that we should do it actually, lest Christians scorn to do what Christ did. For when a man bends his body to the feet of a brother, human feeling is stirred up in his very heart, or, if it be there already, it is strengthened. If we cannot actually wash his feet, at least we can do it in spirit. The washing of the feet signifies the washing away of stains. You therefore wash the feet of your brother when, as far as lies in your power, you wash away his stains. And this you may do in three ways:

(i) By forgiving the offences he has done to you. "Forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another: even as the Lord hath forgiven you, so do you also" (Col. iii. 13).

(ii) By praying for the forgiveness of his sin, as St. James bids us, "Pray for one another, that you may be saved" (Jam. v. 16). This way of washing, like the first, is open to all the faithful.

(iii) The third way is for prelates, who should wash by forgiving sins through the authority of the keys, according to the gospel, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them" (Jn. xx. 23). We can also say that in this one act Our Lord showed all the works of mercy. He who gives bread to the hungry, washes his feet, as also does the man who harbours the harbourless or he who clothes the naked. 

"Communicating to the necessities of the saints" (Rom. xii. 13).

(In John xiii.)

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St. Thomas Aquinas. Meditations for Lent. Passages selected from the works of St. Thomas by Fr. Mezard, O.P.; translated here by Fr. Philip Hughes. London: Sheed and Ward, 1937. 124-126.

Washing of the Feet, by Pieter van Edingen van Aelst (or Pieter van Aelst III).

Gold thread, silk and wool on a woolen warp, 1510's; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

"Mary bears the price of our redemption"

“MARY bears the price of our redemption. The water which gushed out of the rock to refresh the people of Israel is her symbol (Num. 20:8). Hers is the integrity of maidenhood, the fruitfulness of wedlock, the purity of chastity. Let us bless her often, and sing her praises: “for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed” (Lk. 1:48).”

~St. Thomas Aquinas: Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, 47.

Meditations & Readings: Passion Week—Friday

OUR LADY'S SUFFERING IN THE PASSION

"Thy own soul a sword shall pierce." —Luke ii. 35.

In these words there is noted for us the close association of Our Lady with the Passion of Christ. Four things especially made the Passion most bitter for her.

Firstly, the goodness of her son, "Who did no sin" (1 Pet. ii. 22).

Secondly, the cruelty of those who crucified Him, shown, for example, in this that as He lay dying they refused Him even water, nor would they allow His mother, who would most lovingly have given it, to help Him.

Thirdly, the disgrace of the punishment, "Let us condemn him to a most shameful death" (Wis. ii. 20).

Fourthly, the cruelty of the torment. "O ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow" (Lam. i. 12). 

(Serm.)

The words of Simeon, "Thy own soul a sword shall pierce," Origen, and other doctors with him, explain with reference to the pain felt by Our Lady in the Passion of Christ. St. Ambrose, however, says that by the sword is signified Our Lady's prudence, thanks to which she was not without knowledge of the heavenly mystery. For the word of God is a living thing, strong and keener than the keenest sword (cf. Heb. iv. 12).

Other writers again, St. Augustine for example, understand by the sword the stupefaction that overcame Our Lady at the death of her Son, not the doubt that goes with lack of faith but a certain fluctuation of bewilderment, a staggering of the mind. St. Basil, too, says that as Our Lady stood by the cross with all the detail of the Passion before her, and in her mind the testimony of Gabriel, the message that words cannot tell of her divine conception, and all the vast array of miracles, her mind swayed, for she saw Him the victim of such vileness, and yet knew Him for the author of such wonders.

(S.T. III, Q. 27, a. 4, ad 2.)

Although Our Lady knew by faith that it was God's will that Christ should suffer, and although she brought her will into unity with God's will in this matter, as the saints do, nevertheless, sadness filled her soul at the death of Christ. This was because her lower will revolted at the particular thing she had willed and this is not contrary to perfection.

(I Dist. 48 q unica a 3.)

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St. Thomas Aquinas. Meditations for Lent. Passages selected from the works of St. Thomas by Fr. Mezard, O.P.; translated here by Fr. Philip Hughes. London: Sheed and Ward, 1937. 122-124.

The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin, by Albrecht Dürer.  

Oil on panel, c. 1496; Alte Pinakothek, Munchen and Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.