[International Theological Commission: Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Year of Faith]
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 16, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is the translation of the statement released by the International Theological Commission regarding the Year of Faith.
www.zenit.org/article-35742?l=english
Fides quaerens intellectum,theology exists only in relation to the gift of faith. It presupposes the truth of the faith and endeavours to demonstrate its “boundless riches” (Eph. 3:8), both for the spiritual joy of the whole community of believers and as a service to the Church’s evangelising mission.
The International Theological Commission gratefully welcomes, therefore, the invitation of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his Apostolic Letter Porta fidei (October 11, 2011), to celebrate a Year of Faith. Each member of the International Theological Commission will take part personally in various events commemorating this Year of Faith. But, as a community of faith, the International Theological Commission wishes to heed the message of conversion which is central to the Year of Faith and to renew its commitment to the service of the Church. In order to do so, on December 6, 2012, the International Theological Commission, led by its President, Most Rev. Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will make a pilgrimage to the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major during its annual Plenary Meeting, and will entrust there its activities and those of all Catholic theologians to the intercession of the faithful Virgin Mary, model for believers, bulwark of the true faith, who is proclaimed “blessed” because she believed (Lk. 1:45).
In connection with the Year of Faith, the International Theological Commission is committed to providing – in medio Ecclesiae – its own specific contribution to the new evangelisation promoted by the Apostolic See, by plumbing the revealed mystery for the benefit of believers, using all the resources of reason enlightened by faith, so as to promote the reception of that faith in the world of today, since “the essential content that for centuries has formed the heritage of all believers needs to be confirmed, understood and explored ever anew, so as to bear consistent witness in historical circumstances very different from those of the past” (Pope Benedict XVI,Porta fidei, n. 4).
The recent document of the International Theological Commission, entitled Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria, develops the understanding that theology is entirely derived from faith, and that it is practised in constant dependence on the faith that is lived by the people of God under the guidance of its pastors. In fact, only faith allows the theologian to reach really the object of theological enquiry: the truth of God that bathes the whole of reality in the light of a new day – sub ratione Dei. It is also faith animated by charity which awakens in the theologian the spiritual dynamism needed in order to explore tirelessly the “wisdom of God in its rich variety … made known … in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:10-11). As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “when anyone has a ready will to believe, he loves the truth he believes, he dwells upon it and embrace it with whatever reasons he can find in support of it” [cum enim homo habet promptam voluntatem ad credendum, diligent veritatem creditam et super ea excogitat et amplectitur si quas rationes ad hoc invenire potest] (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, IIae-IIae, q.2, a.10).
The theologian works to “inculturate” in human intelligence, in the form of an authentic science, the intelligible content of “the faith that was once and for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). But the theologian also pays particular attention to the act of faith itself. It is the theologian’s task to “understand more profoundly not only the content of the faith, but also the act by which we choose to entrust ourselves fully to God, in complete freedom. In fact, there exists a profound unity between the act by which we believe and the content to which we give our assent” (Pope Benedict XVI, Porta fidei, 10). The theologian highlights the great human significance of that act (cf. Pope John Paul II, Fides et ratio, 31-33), investigating how God’s prevenient grace draws out from the very heart of human freedom the “yes” of faith, and showing how faith is the “foundation of the entire spiritual edifice” [fundamentum totius spiritualis aedificii] (St. Thomas Aquinas, In III Sent., d. 23, q. 2, q.1, a.1, ad 1; Cf. Summa theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. 4, a.7), in that it informs all the various dimensions of Christian life, personal, familial and communitarian.
Not only is the work of the theologian dependant on the living faith of the Christian people, attentive to “what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (Rev. 2:7), but its whole purpose is to foster the growth in faith of the people of God and the evangelising mission of the Church. Theology “begets, nourishes, defends, and strengthens that most wholesome faith” (St. Augustine, De Trinitate, XIV, 1,3). Indeed, the vocation of the theologian, in responsible collaboration with the Magisterium, is to serve the faith of God’s people (cf. Instruction Donum veritatis of May 24, 1990).
In the same way, the theologian is the servant of Christian joy which is “the joy of truth” [gaudium de veritate] (St. Augustine, Confessions, X, 23, 33). St. Thomas Aquinas distinguished three dimensions in the act of faith: “It is one thing to say: ‘I believe in God’ (credo Deum), for this indicates the object. It is another thing to say: ‘I believe God’ (credo Deo), for this indicates the one who testifies. And it is yet another thing to say: ‘I believe unto God’ (credo in Deum), for this indicates the end or goal of faith. Thus, God can be regarded as the object of faith, as the one who testifies, and as the end of faith, but while the object of faith and the one who testifies can be a creature, only God can be the end of faith, for our mind is directed to God alone as its end” (St. Thomas Aquinas, In Ioannem, c. 6, lectio 3). Believing unto God (credere in Deum) is essential to the dynamism of faith. By adhering with personal faith to the Word of God, the believer consents to the supreme attraction exerted by the full and absolute Good that is the Blessed Trinity. It is the desire for happiness, deeply rooted in every human heart, which drives the spirit and leads the human being to fulfilment in confident surrender to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this sense, faith – and theology as the science of faith and wisdom – offers to all “lovers of spiritual beauty” (St. Augustine, Regula ad servis Dei, 8,1) a full-flavoured foretaste of eternal joy.
“This encounter with personalism [in the thought of Martin Buber] was for me a spiritual experience that left an essential mark, especially since I spontaneously associated such personalism with the thought of St. Augustine, who in his Confessions had struck me with the power of all of his human passion and depth. By contrast, I had difficulty penetrating the thought of Thomas Aquinas, whose crystal-clear logic seemed to me to be too closed in on itself, too impersonal and ready-made.” ~ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Milestones
This might seem like nitpicking, but I think that taking liberties with the meaning of words (such as in the case of same-sex “marriage”) is a sign of either dishonesty or a disordered mind. The “World Youth Day” (aka Catholic Woodstock) events last about a week each, and this “Year of Faith” is scheduled to last for 13 months.
A day does not last for a week, and a year is not 13 months; minds that would be this casual with such unambiguous, well-understood words must be regarded with great suspicion when it comes terms such as “The New Evangelization” — while it may actually be evangelization, for what religion does it evangelize?
I first thought the jig was up when JPII declared the year 2000, instead of 2001, as the year of the bimillenial jubilee.
When even a pontiff can’t do basic math or use a calendar correctly, the jig really is up.
Liberalism, an equal opportunity destroyer ( of mental faculties ).
For links to Porta Fidei, and the Plenary Indulgence info, plus more verifiable documentation with links provided go to:
whatcatholicsreallybelieve.com
or search ” What Catholics REALLY Believe SOURCE “.
Lousy catechesis for the Catholic in the pew over the past 40 years from each Diocese is a major part of the problem.
What have our Bishops and Priests been doing?
The answer to evangelising is so simple, as stated at the web site.
Theologians are not going to help the majority of Catholics. We have to do the job ourselves.
CCC ” 2105 …..The social duty of Christians is to respect and awaken in each man the love of the true and the good.
It requires them to make known the worship of the one true religion which subsists in the Catholic and apostolic Church. ”
The web site is a good source for all of us. Save it as a favorite and pass it on to others.
Hi, ANNE. I think you are new here, so welcome.
As you will learn, what passes for Catholicism here IS Catholicism as it has been handed on, integrally, and always in the same meaning and always in the same understanding – the position of every council and pope until 1962.
Which, unfortunately ( and I am quite sure absolutely unintentionally on your part ), is NOT precisely what gets taught in the CCC to which you linked.
Since the CCC was Santo Subito’s baby, you can imagine how Traditionalists view it.
VERY suspiciously and with sound reason. The problem is not with the majority of items it contains – with which any good Catholic could hardly disagree – but rather with the “innovations” and “evolutions” it contains, being the product of the hijacker liberal Modernists who have usurped the reigns of power in the Vatican since 1962 ( or, ’58, if you prefer ). These men were and are actual popes. It’s just that their skulls have been filled with mush and it is clear that SOME of what they teach is impossible for Catholics to follow.
In the CCC the Second Council of the Vatican plays an ENORMOUS role and I think you will agree that the list of problems resulting for both the individual Catholic and the Church Herself from that Council is endless. Here is a link to an anlysis of 25 major doctrinal errors which are part of Vatican II, hence part of the CCC:
www.catholictreasures.com/articles/25errors.html
And in case you are absolutely new to Catholic Tradition, we use an analogy about a glass of fine vintage wine which is 99.9% pure nectar and only 0.1% strychnine. It may look, smell and taste fabulous – but it still kills you.
We recommend without exception the Catechism of the Council of Trent and avoidance at all costs of the errors of Vatican II and its proponents. I am no chemist but I’ll just bet that the CCC and the Modernists who run the Church today constitute a whole lot more than 0.1% of the “blend” in teaching that most Catholics hear or read today.
And, ANNE, here is a link to the Catechism of the Council of Trent:
archive.org/details/thecatechismofth00donouoft
IMHO, a link to a better online edition of the Roman Catechism:
www.cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/trent/tindex.htm
Si! Muy bueno!
Much easier to use.