The Remnant of Israel
From the Exposition on John by Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest (c. 1225 – 1274)
The remnant of Israel shall be led to pasture
Narrated by Fr. Frank Dugan
I am the Good Shepherd. Surely it is fitting that Christ should be a shepherd, for just as a flock is guided and fed by a shepherd so the faithful are fed by Christ with spiritual food and with his own body and blood. The Apostle said: You were once like sheep without a shepherd, but now you have returned to the guardian and ruler of your souls. The prophet has said: As a shepherd he pastures his flock.
Christ said that the shepherd enters through the gate and that he is himself the gate as well as the shepherd. Then it is necessary that he enter through himself. By so doing, he reveals himself, and through himself he knows the Father. But we enter through him because through him we find happiness.
Take heed: no one else is the gate but Christ. Others reflect his light, but no one else is the true light. John the Baptist was not the light, but he bore witness to the light. It is said of Christ, however: He was the true light that enlightens every man. For this reason no one says that he is the gate; this title is Christ’s own. However, he has made others shepherds and given that office to his members; for Peter was a shepherd, and so were the other apostles and all good bishops after them. Scripture says: I shall give you shepherds according to my own heart. Although the bishops of the Church, who are her sons, are all shepherds, nevertheless Christ refers only to one person in saying: I am the Good Shepherd, because he wants to emphasize the virtue of charity. Thus, no one can be a good shepherd unless he is one with Christ in charity. Through this we become members of the true shepherd.
The duty of a good shepherd is charity; therefore Christ said: The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep. Know the difference between a good and a bad shepherd: the good shepherd cares for the welfare of his flock, but the bad shepherd cares only for his own welfare.
The Good Shepherd doe not demand that shepherds lay down their lives for real flock of sheep. But every spiritual shepherd must endure the loss of his bodily life for the salvation of the flock, since the spiritual good of the flock is more important that the bodily life of the shepherd, when danger threatens the salvation of the flock. This is why the Lord says: The good shepherd lays down his life, that is, his physical life, for his sheep; this he does because of his authority and love. both, in fact, are required: that they should be ruled by him, and that he should love them. The first without the second is not enough.
Christ stands out for us as the example of this teaching: If Christ laid down his life for us, so we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
Saint Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225 – 1274) was born in 1225 in the family castle of Rocca Secca near Aquino, Italy. He was the son of Count Landulf of Aquino, a knight and relative of the Emperor and of the King of France, and Theodora. At 5, he was sent to the nearby Benedictine monastery, Monte Cassino for his early education. The abbot there was a kinsman of the Aquino family. At 14 he went to the University of Naples to finish his education studying the arts and sciences. At 19, he joined the Dominicans (Order of Preachers) there in 1244. This move was strongly opposed by his family, whose objection was not that he joined a religious order, but rather because he joined the Dominicans. His mother, Theodora, was quite content that he become a Benedictine and probably saw him destined as the future abbot at Monte Cassino. Theodora herself set out for Naples to persuade her son to return home. The friars, however hurried him off to their convent of Santa Sabina in Rome. When the angry lady followed in pursuit, Thomas was no longer to be found there. The master general of the Dominicans, who was on his way to Bologna, had decided to take Thomas with him, and a little party of friars set out on foot. Theodora sent word to the saint’s elder brothers, who were serving with the emperor’s army in Tuscany, to waylay and capture the fugitive. As Thomas was resting by the roadside near Siena, he was overtaken by his brothers at the head of a troop of soldiers, and after a vain attempt to take his habit from him by force, was brought back and held in confinement at the family castle for two years. During his captivity he studied the Sentences of Peter Lombard, learned a great part of the Bible by heart, and is said to have written a treatise on the fallacies of Aristotle.
Thomas prevailed and rejoined the Order of Preachers in 1245. He studied at Paris for three years, and then, accompanied by Albertus Magnus, attended the new Dominican college at Cologne. Thomas was ordained there 1250-51 and returned to Paris in 1252. Then, as a master of theology, he taught for the next nine years at Naples, Anagni, Orvieto, Rome and Viterbo. During those years he completed his work, Summa contra Gentiles and began his famous work Summa theologiae. He returned to university at Paris in 1269 and three years later was sent as regent to head a new Dominican house of studies at Naples.
Thomas was appointed to attend the General Church Council of Lyons, called to discuss the reunion of the Greek and Latin churches by Pope Gregory X in 1274, but he died on the way to Lyons at the Cistercian abbey of Fossa Nuova near Terracina, Italy on March 7, 1274. He was 49. Thomas was canonized by Pope John XXII in 1323, was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope St. Pius V in 1567, and was named patron of all universities, colleges, and schools in 1880 by Pope Leo XIII, who required all theological students to study his thought. The substance of his work became the accepted basis for modern Catholic theology.
Saint. Thomas Aquinas was probably the greatest theological master of all time. His writings were voluminous, characterized by his in-depth analysis of faith, reason, and revealed truth. He demonstrated that truths such as the existence of God, his eternity, his creative power and his attributes and divine providence can be discovered by natural reason alone. His greatest work, the unfinished Summa theologiae, is seen as the greatest exposition of theological thought ever written.
While a man of towering intellect, Aquinas was also a man of great humility and holiness. He experienced visions, ecstasies, and revelations. He left Summa theologiae unfinished because of a revelation he experienced while saying Mass in 1273. He composed the office for the feast of Corpus Christi and wrote hymns still used in Church services, notably Pange lingua, Adoro te devote and others.