MEDULLA S. THOMAE AQUITATIS PER OMNES ANNI LITURGICI DIES DISTRBUITA, SEU MEDITATIONES EX OPERIBUS S. THOMAE DEPROMPTAE
Compilation and arrangement by
FR. Z. MÉZARD O. P.
NOTE
All titles with an asterisk contain material that is no longer attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas.
4. Saturday After Ash Wednesday: The Grain of Wheat
Saturday After Ash Wednesday
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24)
I. — The grain of wheat is used in two ways: for making bread and for sowing. The above verse pertains to the grain of wheat as seed, not as the substance of bread, because in the latter case, it does not need to fertilize in order to bear fruit. If the grain of wheat does not die, it does not lose its seminal virtue, but it changes in species. "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies" (1 Corinthians 15:36)
Now, just as the Word of God is seed in the soul of man, in the sense that it is introduced by sensible voice to produce the fruit of good works, cf. "The seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11); so the Word of God, clothed in flesh, is the seed sent to the world to yield a great harvest. For this reason, it is also compared to the mustard seed, as is read in the Scriptures (Matthew 13). Our Lord says: "I came as seed to bear fruit; and thus, truly I say to you, ‘unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone,’ that is, if I do not die, the fruit of the conversion of the peoples will not be produced." It is also compared to the grain of wheat because He came to restore and sustain human lives: indeed, this is primarily what wheat bread does. “The bread strengthens a man’s heart” (Psalm 103:15) and “the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:52).
II. — “but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).
Our Lord alludes here to the usefulness of the Passion, as if He were saying: unless I fall to the ground, humbled, in my Passion, no benefit will follow, for if the grain of wheat does not die, it remains unproductive. But if it dies, that is, if I am punished and killed by the Jews, much fruit will be produced:
1. The fruit of the remission of sins. "The whole fruit will be the expiation of his sin" (Isaiah 27:9). This fruit was produced by the Passion of Christ, cf. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
2. The fruit of the conversion of the Gentiles to God. "It was I who chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). This fruit was produced by the Passion of Christ, cf. “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).
3. The fruit of glory. "The fruit of good works is glorious" (Wisdom 3:15). And, this fruit too was produced by the Passion of Christ, cf. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Christ, by a new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:19).
In Joan, XII
(P. D. Mézard, O. P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
#God #Deus #Isten #Gott #Jesus #Católico #Catholic #Katholik #katholisch #Katolikus #catholique #Faith #Fé #foi #信仰 #Latin #Latim #Gospel #Evangelho #Evangélium #évangile #Dieu #福音 #日本 #カトリック #Bible #Biblestr #Nostr #Grownostr
quotingTitle of the work in Latin
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MEDULLA S. THOMAE AQUITATIS PER OMNES ANNI LITURGICI DIES DISTRBUITA, SEU MEDITATIONES EX OPERIBUS S. THOMAE DEPROMPTAE
Compilation and arrangement by
FR. Z. MÉZARD O. P.
NOTE
All titles with an asterisk contain material that is no longer attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Friday after Ashes: The Crown of Thorns*
6th Friday after Ash Wednesday
“Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his wedding, and in the day of the joy of his heart” (Ct 3:11)
It is the voice of the Church inviting the souls of the faithful to contemplate how admirable and beautiful is their Spouse. For the daughters of Zion are like the daughters of Jerusalem, holy souls, inhabitants of the Kingdom of God, who enjoy, with the angels, perpetual peace and the contemplation of the glory of the Lord.
I. — Go forth, that is, leave the turbulent life of this world, so that, with a free spirit, you may contemplate Him whom you love. And behold King Solomon, that is, the true and peaceful Christ. With the crown wherewith his mother crowned him; as if to say: consider Christ, who, for us, became flesh, who took the flesh from the flesh of His Virgin Mother. The crown is His flesh, the flesh He took for us, the flesh in which He died, destroying the empire of death; the flesh in which He rose, leaving us the hope of resurrection.
Of this crown, the Apostle says (Heb 2:9): “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death.” It is said that His mother crowned Him, for the Virgin Mary gave Him the flesh of her flesh.
On the day of His wedding, that is, at the time of His Incarnation, when He united Himself to the Church, without blemish or wrinkle; or when God united Himself to man. On the day of the joy of His heart. The joy and jubilation of Christ is the salvation and redemption of humankind; “and when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep’” (Lk 15:6).
II. — All this can also be applied to the Passion of Christ, in a literal sense. Indeed, Solomon, foreseeing in spirit the Passion of Christ long before, warns the daughters of Zion, that is, the Israelite people: Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon, that is, Christ; with the crown, or the crown of thorns, which His mother, the synagogue, crowned Him on the day of His wedding, when He united Himself to the Church, and on the day of the joy of His heart, when He rejoiced for having, through His Passion, redeemed the world from the power of hell.
Go forth, therefore, and leave the darkness of unbelief, and behold, that is, understand that He who suffers as a man is truly God. Or again: go outside of His city to see Him, crucified, on Mount Calvary.
Expositio in Canticum canticorum, III
(P. D. Mézard, O. P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
#God #Deus #Isten #Gott #Jesus #Católico #Catholic #Katholik #katholisch #Katolikus #catholique #Faith #Fé #foi #信仰 #Latin #Latim #Gospel #Evangelho #Evangélium #évangile #Dieu #福音 #日本 #カトリック #Bible #Biblestr #Nostr #Grownostr
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