"Guardian Angel"

“GOD'S universal providence works through secondary causes…. The world of pure spirits stretches between the Divine Nature and the world of human beings; because Divine Wisdom has ordered that the higher should look after the lower, angels execute the divine plan for human salvation: they are our guardians, who free us when hindered and help to bring us home.”

—Commentary on the Sentences, 2, 11, 1, 1. 

"MAN while in this state of life, is, as it were, on a road by which he should journey towards heaven. On this road man is threatened by many dangers both from within and from without, according to Psalm 141:4: "In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me." And therefore as guardians are appointed for men who have to pass by an unsafe road, so an angel guardian is assigned to each man as long as he is a wayfarer. When, however, he arrives at the end of life he no longer has a guardian angel; but in the kingdom he will have an angel to reign with him, in hell a demon to punish him."

—Summa Theologica, I, Q. 113, Art. 4.

Guardian Angel, by Pietro da Cortana. 

Oil on canvas, 1656; Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.

"It is better to enlighten than merely to shine"

"FOR even as it is better to enlighten than merely to shine, so is it better to give to others the fruits of one's contemplation than merely to contemplate."

~St. Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica,  II-II, q. 188, a. 6.

That Christ should suffer the death of the cross

"THIS kind of death was especially suitable in order to atone for the sin of our first parent, which was the plucking of the apple from the forbidden tree against God's command. And so, to atone for that sin, it was fitting that Christ should suffer by being fastened to a tree, as if restoring what Adam had purloined; according to Psalm 68:5: "Then did I pay that which I took not away." Hence Augustine says in a sermon on the Passion [Cf. Serm. ci De Tempore]: "Adam despised the command, plucking the apple from the tree: but all that Adam lost, Christ found upon the cross." "

~St. Thomas Aquinas: S.T. III, q. 46, art. 4.
† Read more from the Summa

Crucifixion with Mourners and Sts Dominic and Thomas Aquinas (Cell 37),

by Fra Angelico. Fresco, 1441-42; Convento di San Marco, Florence.

Mary, Mediatrix of grace

"THERE is no reason why creatures should not be called mediators after a fashion, in that they co-operate in our reconciliation, disposing and ministering to men's union with God."

~St. Thomas Aquinas: S.T. III, q. 26, a. 1.

Mediatrix of All Graces

La Madonna del Popolo, by Federico Fiori Barocci. 

Oil on panel, 1575-79; Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

"Mary was nearest to Christ"

September 12th: Memorial of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"CHRIST is the principle of grace, authoritatively as to His Godhead, instrumentally as to His humanity: whence (Jn 1:17) it is written: "Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." But the Blessed Virgin Mary was nearest to Christ in His humanity: because He received His human nature from her. Therefore it was due to her to receive a greater fulness of grace than others."

~St. Thomas Aquinas: S.T. III, q. 27, art. 5.

The Ghent Altarpiece: Virgin Mary (detail), by Jan van Eyck. 

Oil on wood, 1426-29; Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent.

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"THERE is no reason why creatures should not be called mediators after a fashion, in that they co-operate in our reconciliation, disposing and ministering to men's union with God."

~St. Thomas Aquinas: S.T. III, q. 26, a. 1.

Mediatrix of All Graces

La Madonna del Popolo, by Federico Fiori Barocci. 

Oil on panel, 1575-79; Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

"There is no place for leisure in political activities"

"IT is obvious that there is no place for leisure in political activities. But a man wants something besides mere participation in politics, like positions of power and honor; and-since these objectives do not constitute the ultimate end, as was pointed out in the first book (60-72) it is rather fitting that by means of politics a person should wish to obtain happiness for himself and everyone else; happiness of this kind sought in political life is distinct from political life itself, and in fact we do seek it as something distinct. This is contemplative happiness to which the whole of political life seems directed; as long as the arrangement of political life establishes and preserves peace giving men the opportunity of contemplating truth."

~St. Thomas Aquinas: Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics, Bk 10, Lect. 11.

■ Online translation of the Commentary at DHS Priory.

■ Also, see this excellent translation from Dumb Ox Books at Amazon

A Tour of The Summa

Recommended reading:

A Tour of The Summa: A Journey Through St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica, by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Paul J. Glenn 

"This unique synopsis of the Summa Theologica is a complete, chapter-by-chapter restatement of St. Thomas' work, intended to expose readers to the totality of St. Thomas' thought and yet be brief enough to fit into one volume. Author of eleven other books on philosophy, Msgr. Glenn brings to this work—by far his greatest—a lifetime of teaching and writing experience. A masterpiece in its own right."—TAN Books

"The Summa Theologica is considered by the Catholic Church to be the most important of the many works which the towering  St. Thomas Aquinas enriched the world. But many lack the inclination or opportunity to spend years of sustained effort to study it.

"A TOUR OF THE SUMMA was written especially for those persons. It is a journey through the greatest work of a Doctor of the Church, rendering St. Thomas' arguments in a shortened yet rigorously faithful form.

"Msgr. Paul J. Glenn brings a lifetime of teaching and writing experience to this, his masterwork. Here he distills the core of the Angelic Doctor's treatise into a dense yet highly readable single volume that makes the Summa accessible to all.

"A TOUR OF THE SUMMA will serve as both a road map and masterkey, unlocking the rich landscape of St. Thomas' insights and glorious mind."

—From the back cover.

■ See this book: at Amazon, or, at TAN Books