Sometimes it’s hard to think about what to write in the morning but some days are full of promise and offer many things to consider. Today I am faced with a plethora of options (not the least of which is the opportunity to use the interesting word “plethora.”)
- One of the websites I see in my email every day is optimize.me, written by the brilliant Brian Johnson. Today he used the first quote he ever memorized, which happens to be the first quote that I ever memorized as well! Of course, I have to share it with you. (Because it’s Shakespeare, I will leave it in the original, exclusive male language.) He says: This above all, to thine own self be true. And it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. We can use a little advice like that these days.
- Today Christians in many lands celebrate the great scholar/saint Thomas Aquinas whose writings are studied by theologians and students the world over even today – eight centuries after his death. It is said, however, that at the end of his life in 1274, Thomas had a mystical vision that caused him to stop writing and enter into silence. When he was asked to continue his writing, he answered, “I cannot, for everything I have written seems to me like straw.” It seems that he was overcome with a love that could not be described in any human language. We would do well sometimes to consider the value of silence as an approach to God.
- In the devotional pamphlet Living Faith, I found this prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas that seems appropriate for today. Perhaps you may claim it as your own: Grant me, O Lord, my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.
Much to contemplate in celebration of this great Saint!
This morning I am feeling a desire to take life one moment at a time, conscious as I go through the day of all the people near and far who do not have the luxury of heated houses and blanketed beds in which they may choose to hunker down to wait out winter’s extreme behavior. This dangerous moment is deceptive in my neighborhood because the sun is streaming in and the sky is blue, whereas in many places the wind has caused storm surges from the beaches and lake effect snow measured in feet rather than inches to warn of possible catastrophe. My only warning of frostbite is looking out my bedroom window to see the wild dancing of the trees. Somehow this moment seems akin to the world situation where on some days there seems to be danger everywhere.
Yesterday’s celebration was for me a great – and surely lasting – gift, a “love fest” of sorts where energy is high and everyone is happy for everyone else. Late in the day I opened a gift from a friend and found a book that I was thrilled to receive entitled Love Poems From God; Twelve Voices from the East and West. The book fell open to the poem I will type below that I assumed was written by the mystical poet, Hafiz, because of what it sounded like. This morning I was surprised to find the author to be St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), the great (but in my acquaintance usually cerebral) theologian of the Roman Catholic Church. I have been softening to Thomas lately and will surely have a broader appreciation for his spirituality by the time I finish this book! Because it’s a book of poems, I suspect it will be a companion of mine for many years to come.
Today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), one of the most celebrated theologians of all times, held in the esteemed title of Doctor of the Church. Not only was he a theologian and philosopher but he was also a very devout man and priest who wrote beautiful prayers and hymns. Fr. Don Miller (Franciscan Media) captures the essence of his genius, I think, when he comments that “unity, harmony and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural truth pervades his writing.”
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 