The Angelic Doctor and Beatific Vision
“Perhaps no figure from medieval scholasticism is as well known as Thomas Aquinas. Responsible for a number of writings, his best known being the Summa Theologica, this 13th-century philosopher/theologian described the ultimate goal of human life as attaining what he called the Beatific Vision.
As finite beings, we have finite knowledge, Thomas reasoned, and so rational knowledge can only go so far in satisfying our desire to know God and be like Him. In like manner, faith supported by revelation is imperfect because ‘now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face’ (I Corinthians 13:12 NRSV). The true depth of God’s holiness is beyond what we can expect in this lifetime. The Beatific Vision, the ultimate understanding of God and God’s presence, awaits us in the life to come.
On Oct. 23, 1257, Thomas became a doctor of theology. After that, he spent his life teaching, writing, preaching, traveling and praying. Although he was most known for his scholastic endeavors, his biographers regularly attest to the visions and ecstasies Thomas received during his prayers. In 1273, after he had finished a treatise on the Eucharist, three fellow monks saw him praying and heard a voice coming from the crucifix on the altar, ‘You have written well of me, Thomas, what reward do you want?’ To which Thomas replied, ‘Nothing but You, Lord.’
Later that year, on Dec. 6, Thomas laid aside his pen while still working on his Summa Theologica. When one of the priests encouraged Thomas to continue his writings, Thomas simply replied, ‘I cannot, for everything I have written is like straw compared to what has been revealed to me.’ Barely three months later, on March 7, 1274, Thomas passed through the veil between this life and the next, making his vision complete.
The medieval scholastics consistently say that our understanding and grasp of God, even the words we use to describe Him, are but shadows of the reality that will one day be revealed. Terms like ‘holiness’ fall short of all that God truly is. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that for all our knowledge and all our human striving, to be conformed to the image of God we must conceive of Him as He is: so much more than the artificial boundaries we construct.”
~Bruce N. G. Cromwell
As finite beings, we have finite knowledge, Thomas reasoned, and so rational knowledge can only go so far in satisfying our desire to know God and be like Him. In like manner, faith supported by revelation is imperfect because ‘now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face’ (I Corinthians 13:12 NRSV). The true depth of God’s holiness is beyond what we can expect in this lifetime. The Beatific Vision, the ultimate understanding of God and God’s presence, awaits us in the life to come.
On Oct. 23, 1257, Thomas became a doctor of theology. After that, he spent his life teaching, writing, preaching, traveling and praying. Although he was most known for his scholastic endeavors, his biographers regularly attest to the visions and ecstasies Thomas received during his prayers. In 1273, after he had finished a treatise on the Eucharist, three fellow monks saw him praying and heard a voice coming from the crucifix on the altar, ‘You have written well of me, Thomas, what reward do you want?’ To which Thomas replied, ‘Nothing but You, Lord.’
Later that year, on Dec. 6, Thomas laid aside his pen while still working on his Summa Theologica. When one of the priests encouraged Thomas to continue his writings, Thomas simply replied, ‘I cannot, for everything I have written is like straw compared to what has been revealed to me.’ Barely three months later, on March 7, 1274, Thomas passed through the veil between this life and the next, making his vision complete.
The medieval scholastics consistently say that our understanding and grasp of God, even the words we use to describe Him, are but shadows of the reality that will one day be revealed. Terms like ‘holiness’ fall short of all that God truly is. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that for all our knowledge and all our human striving, to be conformed to the image of God we must conceive of Him as He is: so much more than the artificial boundaries we construct.”
~Bruce N. G. Cromwell
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