The Sapiential Dimension of Theology according to St. Thomas

Abstract

In the wake of the (almost) universal rejection of neo-Thomism after the Second Vatican Council it was normal to view St. Thomas's theology within the prism of certain stereotypes. A particularly favoured generalisation said that in Thomas's theology Aristotle had trumped the Bible turning theology away from its principle source and power. In recent years however there has been a renewal in what this paper argues is a more holistic reading of St. Thomas focussing especially on his sapiential understanding of theology. Names synonymous with this renewal are Torrell, Emery, Pinckaers, Cessario, and Levering. It is the purpose of this paper to highlight the source of this more sapiential reading of St. Thomas by discussing four key dimensions of his understanding of theology: 1) what Thomas means by wisdom 2) the contemplative nature of theology 3) the unitive nature of theology 4) the importance of prayer and holiness for theology.

Look at My glorious Thomas, who gazed with the gentle eye of his intellect at My Truth, whereby he acquired supernatural light and science infused by grace, for he obtained it rather by means of prayer than by human study. He was a brilliant light, illuminating his order and the mystical body of the Holy Church.¹

In undergraduate studies in Theology my meetings with the Angelic doctor were rather fleeting. When St. Thomas was raised in a particular class it was always to highlight his “single” achievement: that he had married the Gospel to Aristotle resulting in a great systemisation of theology. This achievement was indeed great, we were told, but theology had “moved on.” For however great his achievement was, St. Thomas had also ushered in a rationalistic, non-scriptural and non-passionate age in theology. It was necessary to look at St. Thomas, but only as one significant author in the evolutionary chain of theology. This evolution resulted in the Second Vatican Council and a new era in theology where all previous authorities needed questioning and reappraisal. Thus my theological education was very much post-conciliar, where contemporary theologians were more important than theology as a whole and the giants of the twentieth century (Rahner, Balthasar, Küng et al) had replaced the Thomist monopoly of the pre-conciliar era.² The St. Thomas we were abandoning however was a stereotype: a dry rather sterile Aristotelian philosopher who did some theology on the side.

This stereotype of St.Thomas has been re-evaluated by a renaissance within Thomism that one might call sapiential. The principle figures in this renaissance are French speaking Dominicans beginning (prior to the Council) with Marie-Dominique Chenu and culminating in the work Jean-Pierre Torrell. Others who form part of this renewal include Servais Pinckaers (in moral theology), Gilles Emery (in Trinitarian theology), Serge-Thomas Bonino and American theologians, Matthew Levering, and Romano Cessario.³ For all these theologians (and Thomists) St. Thomas is first and foremost a theologian who must be understood in a holistic way taking into account his historical context and life as a Dominican friar, his work as a biblical theologian, his theological synthesis, his philosophical/metaphysical insights, and his mysticism. In light of this “renaissance” it is the purpose of this essay to briefly highlight some of the ways that St. Thomas may be described as a sapiential (wisdom) theologian.⁴ This I will do in the following order. First, I will look at what St. Thomas means when he speaks about wisdom. Here I will outline the three levels of wisdom in St. Thomas's writings, showing how each is important and distinct. Second, the question of whether theology is a contemplative wisdom will be addressed. Here we will find that contemplation for St. Thomas – understood differently to a prayerful mysticism – is at the heart of the theological enterprise. Third, I will address the question of whether there is an intrinsic unity in theology according to St. Thomas. And fourth, I will consider why prayer and holiness are important for St. Thomas in coming to theological knowledge.

Wisdom According to St. Thomas

Before looking more formally at St. Thomas's writing on wisdom, let us begin with his little known reflection on why a life dedicated to sapientia is worthwhile. Aquinas compares wisdom to the leisure of a game:

Zeal for wisdom has this privilege that, in pursuing its end, it suffices to itself… . In this the contemplation of wisdom is comparable to a game, for two reasons. First, because a game is enjoyable and the contemplation of wisdom carries with it the highest delight… . Then, because a game is not ordered to something else but to itself, and it finds in itself its own end; we also find this in the enjoyment of wisdom… . But contrary to what occurs in the case of our ordinary enjoyments, about which we anticipate that the least hindrance will bother our joy, sometimes greatly disturb it… . it is in itself that the contemplation of wisdom finds the cause of its delight. It does not suffer, therefore, from any anguish such as when we need to wait for something … . that is why divine wisdom compares its own delight to that of a game: “I rejoiced day after day, playing in his presence” (Proverbs 8:30).⁵

To understand St. Thomas's views on wisdom it is necessary to begin with his discussion of sacra doctrina in the first question of the Prima pars of the Summa Theologiae. This is complemented by St. Thomas's discussion of wisdom as a gift of the Holy Spirit in Question 45 of the Secunda secundae. We will notice that for St. Thomas there are three levels of wisdom: philosophical (human), supernatural (gift), and theological.⁶ Wisdom though, as we will see, is also soteriological and Christological.

In Question 1 of the Prima pars St. Thomas asks whether sacra doctrina ⁷ is the same as wisdom. This question is asked in the context of an overall discussion of the nature and purpose of sacra doctrina (theology) as an introduction to his Summa of theology. He begins his answer by stating simply that theology is wisdom above all human wisdom, “not merely in any one order, but absolutely.”⁸ St. Thomas defines wisdom as the ability to arrange and to judge. The higher the thing to be arranged and judged the greater the wisdom. He gives the example of the ordering of a building. The one who gives form to the building is called architect and is wiser than the one who constructs the materials. Furthermore, in the ordering of human affairs one is called wise when he directs his acts to a fitting end. Therefore, states St. Thomas, the one who considers the highest cause of the universe (God) is most fittingly called wise. He cites Augustine's definition of wisdom as “knowledge of divine things.” (De Trin. xii, 14) This wisdom is a reference to the highest form of philosophical wisdom. A more precise discussion of wisdom as an intellectual (philosophical) virtue is found in the Prima secundae, where Thomas follows Aristotle's definition of wisdom as an intellectual virtue concerning knowledge that is least knowable to our intellects but most knowable in its own nature (that is, the highest causes).⁹ St. Thomas concludes his response by speaking of a second type of wisdom, which is theological in nature: “But sacred doctrine essentially treats of God viewed as the highest cause – not only so far as He can be known through creatures just as philosophers knew Him –“That which is known of God is manifest in them” (Rm. 1:19) – but also as far as He is known to Himself alone and revealed to others. Hence sacred doctrine is especially called wisdom.”¹⁰ Thus sacra doctrina is theological wisdom, dependent on reason and revelation. It is in this way that the Thomist tradition sees theological wisdom as participatory, that is, an intellectual participation in the revelatory knowledge of God himself.¹¹ Theological wisdom according to St. Thomas is the link between sacra doctrina and the intellectual virtue of wisdom. This revelation of divine Wisdom is not something supernaturally just added on to natural reason to aid it to come to truth; rather it penetrates and reorders our natural reason in light of the God who has revealed it.¹²

In the same article in the Summa St. Thomas replies to the objection (n.3) that theology and wisdom cannot be connected because theology requires study whereas wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit. In this reply we get the important distinction between wisdom as gift and wisdom that is theological. Wisdom, as Thomas has pointed out, is the ability to judge correctly. Now there are two ways that one can judge rightly; therefore, Thomas writes, there is a two-fold wisdom. The first way of judging rightly is by way of inclination. This is the correct judgement of someone who is inclined to that judgement by the virtue they have. The second is by way of knowledge. This is the correct judgement of someone knowledgeable in moral science, although without (necessarily) possessing the virtue concerned. Thomas then relates this to the greatest wisdom, namely knowledge of divine things. “The first manner of judging divine things belongs to that wisdom which is set down among the gifts of the Holy Spirit: “The spiritual man judgeth all things” (1 Cor. 2:15). And Dionysius says (Div. Nom. ii): “Hierotheus is taught not by mere learning, but by experience of divine things.” The second manner of judging belongs to this doctrine which is acquired by study, though its principles are obtained by revelation.”¹³

This distinction is elaborated on by Thomas in the Secunda secundae, Question 45, where Thomas addresses wisdom as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What Thomas adds here is the notion of “connatural” knowledge. This knowledge pertains to the one who knows something because of how he lives his life. Thus, says Thomas, one can know that chastity is a good through the perfect use of reason (moral science). This though is different than the one who knows chastity is a good through the acquired virtue of chastity; that by actually living a chaste life one judges rightly in a “connatural” way.¹⁴“Accordingly it belongs to the wisdom that is an intellectual virtue to pronounce right judgment about Divine things after reason has made its inquiry, but it belongs to wisdom as a gift of the Holy Spirit to judge aright about them on account of connaturality with them.”¹⁵ Thomas states that wisdom as gift – connatural knowledge of divine things – is caused by the theological virtue of caritas and not faith because it unites us to God and its focus is the will.¹⁶

Therefore, in summary, St. Thomas affirms three distinct and irreducible “wisdoms”: first, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, that is, a knowledge of divine things that comes from the Holy Spirit and not through human reason; a scientia that comes through the mode of instinct and the inclination to love. The second is theological wisdom that comes from Sacred Teaching (sacra doctrina), founded on the first and infallible Truth (God) as outlined in canonical Scripture. The third is metaphysical wisdom, founded on human reason. The first and second have a divine source, although each according to its own way. The second and third, although in differing ways, use human concepts and reason.¹⁷ Metaphysical wisdom, the wisdom of the intellect, is perfected by divine Wisdom, which is only arrived at through faith. A point made by St. Thomas in his Commentary on the Gospel of John:

This intellectual life is made perfect by the true knowledge of divine wisdom, which is eternal life: “this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). But no one can arrive at any wisdom except by faith. Hence it is about in the sciences, no one acquires with them unless he first believed what is said by his teacher. Therefore, if we wish to acquire this life of wisdom, we must believe through faith that things propose to us by it. “He who comes to God must believe that he exists and rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6); or as we read in another verse of Isaiah, “if you do not believe you will not understand” (Isaiah 28:16).¹⁸

Moreover, Thomas's understanding of wisdom is also soteriological and Christological. The very first article of the first question of the Summa theologia addresses the need for theology (sacra doctrina). Thomas states that the telos of the human person needs to be known so that the thoughts and the actions of the person can be directed to this end. “Hence it was necessary for the salvation of man that certain truths which exceed human reason should be made known to him by divine revelation.”¹⁹ Even though human reason can know divine things unaided (philosophical wisdom), this knowledge is limited, prone to error, and available to only a few. Furthermore, our “whole salvation”, which is in God, depends on knowing the truth of God. “Therefore, in order that the salvation of men might be brought about more fittingly and more surely, it was necessary that they should be taught divine truths by divine revelation. It was therefore necessary that besides philosophical science built up by reason, there should be a sacred science learned through revelation.”²⁰ This statement, right at the beginning of his great Summa of theology, is a far cry from the common stereotype of St. Thomas that holds that his theology was merely a dressed up philosophy.

Finally, for Thomas, wisdom is Christological. Jesus Christ is Wisdom Incarnate. In the Prologue to his Commentary on the Sentences we find the following:

Among the many opinions coming from different sources as to what true wisdom might be, the Apostle gives one that is singularly firm and true when he says, ‘Christ, the power of God and wisdom of God, has become for us God-given wisdom’ (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30). This does not mean that only the Son is wisdom, since Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one wisdom, just as they are one essence. Rather, wisdom especially belongs to the Son because the works of wisdom in many ways agree with what is proper to the Son.²¹

To be wise then is to know the Son; theological wisdom begins with Jesus. As Matthew Levering puts it, sapiential theology (for St. Thomas) is “a participation in Christ's sacred instruction in divine Wisdom.”²² This Christological basis to theological wisdom is most fully expressed in Thomas's Commentary on John's Gospel. St. John's Gospel soars to sapiential heights, according to Thomas, precisely because he is the beloved disciple: “The true sign of friendship is that a friend reveals the secrets of his heart to his friends.”²³ In order to know we need to hear and learn:

In each way (that one comes to Christ) it is necessary that one hear and learn. The one who comes through a knowledge of the truth must hear when God inspires: “I will hear what the Lord God will speak within me” (Psalm 84:9); and he must learn through affection, as was said. The one who comes through love and desire-as the described below (John 7:37), “if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink”-must hear the word of the father and grasp it, in order to be moved in his affections. That that person learns the word in her grasp set according to the meaning of the speaker. But the word of God the Father breathes forth love. Therefore, the one who grasps it with eager love, learns. “Wisdom goes into holy souls, and makes them prophets and friends of God” (Ws 7:27).²⁴

Reflecting on St. Thomas's Commentary on the Gospel of Saint John, Michael Sherwin elaborates on this same point:

Consequently, in the discipline of the Christian life Christ is the beginning and principle of our wisdom in two ways. According to his proper nature in his divinity as the Word of God, he is wisdom itself. In relation to us, however, as the Word made flesh in the incarnation, he becomes a wisdom attainable by us (Ioan. I, lect. I, n. 34). Both as the word and as the word made flesh, therefore, Christ is the principle and wellspring of all our wisdom.²⁵

Theology as Contemplative Wisdom

I will now turn to the question of whether Thomas considers theological wisdom to be contemplative. Before addressing this it is necessary to consider what St. Thomas means by the word contemplation. This term is usually reserved for a type of ecstatic prayer or deep mystical union with God. For St. Thomas, however, theological contemplation is acquired whereas mystical contemplation is infused.²⁶ For the former, “the contemplative life consists in an act of the cognitive power directed by the will.”²⁷ Contemplation is the perfection of the knowing subject, and is qualified by the object known. Theological contemplation “ends” in the object desired to be known, namely God. Theological contemplation “requires all the intellectual and affective powers of the person dedicated to it, (and) all the resources of a graced nature open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”²⁸ This contrasts to mystical contemplation, which in no way resides in the capacity of human nature; it is purely a grace given. This is not to say there is no preparation for mystical contemplation just that it is not cognitive, but involves asceticism and prayer.²⁹

Therefore – back to our question – does Thomas consider theological wisdom to be contemplative (as he understands this term)? Again, our starting point here is the beginning of the Summa theologia and the discussion on the nature and purpose of sacra doctrina. Thomas asks in article 4: “Is theology a practical science?” His answer is yes; however, theology is principally speculative rather than practical. (For Thomas the words speculative and contemplative are interchangeable terms.³⁰) “Christian theology is about God, who makes men and is not made by them. It is therefore more contemplative than practical.”³¹ Because the end of theological wisdom is God it is not primarily concerned with creation, human action etc. (the practical); rather theological wisdom is contemplative (speculative) “because it is more concerned with divine things than with human acts; though it does treat even of these latter, inasmuch as man is ordained by them to the perfect knowledge of God in which consists eternal bliss.”³² The very structure of his Summa theologiae bears this out (the so called exit-return structure). St. Thomas begins his exploration with God, moves on to creation and the human person's seeking of God (morality), and ends with the means through which the person returns to God, namely Christ and the sacraments. As A.N. Williams has recently noted, St. Thomas's Summa theologiae, one of the greatest of all systematic theologies, can be understood both “as an exhortation to contemplation and an act of contemplation.”³³

There has been much recent literature on the contemplative nature of St. Thomas's work.³⁴ These studies situate St. Thomas in his milieu, namely as a thirteenth century Dominican whose academic work flowed from his spirituality, which was centred on the Word and the liturgy. It is from this starting point that we can understand St. Thomas's theology as being participatory, that is, a going out of oneself and entering into the very knowledge and love of God.³⁵ It is for this reason that Torrell describes St. Thomas as a spiritual master, a contemplative theologian:

When Thomas says that theology is principally speculative, he means that it is in the first instance contemplative; the two words are practically synonymous in Thomas. This is why – we shall not be slow to see this operative in Thomas's life – research, study, reflection on God can find their source and their completion in prayer. The Eastern Christians like to say of theology that it is doxology; Thomas would add some further clarification to that, but he would not reject the intention: the joy of the Friend who is contemplated is completed in song.³⁶

The twentieth century Thomist philosopher, Joseph Pieper makes a similar point seeing that the greatness of St. Thomas's philosophical and theological work lie in contemplation; “in his attitude of veneration toward everything that is – which veneration is revealed above all in his falling silent before the ineffability and incomprehensibility of Being.”³⁷ Pieper also notes the significance of Thomas stopping his work prior to his death – the infamous testimony of Bartholomew of Capua who recounts Thomas saying that his work, in the face of experiencing some type of ecstasis, seemed so much as straw.³⁸

The last word of St. Thomas is not communication but silence. And it is not death which takes the pen out of his hand. His tongue is stilled by the superabundance of life in the mystery of God. He is silent, not because he has nothing further to say; he is silent because he has been allowed a glimpse into the inexpressible depths of that mystery which is not reached by any human thought or speech.”³⁹

This contemplative dimension of St. Thomas's theology is highlighted by the importance he places on certain “image and likeness” texts found in the New Testament.⁴⁰ The imago Dei, our reason, sees the truth of God “in a mirror” (1 John 3:2). The goal of the theologian is to rise from a consideration of ourselves (our reason) to knowledge of God which is transformative. This knowledge, like all knowledge, involves the knower being assimilated into that which is known. Therefore, in order to know God we need to be transformed into God. This is the destiny of the blessed in heaven that have been perfectly transformed. Our earthly transformation is not perfect, but through faith, contemplation, and study we can “see in a mirror dimly.” (1 Corinthians 13: 12).⁴¹ Theology involves an elevation of the mind so as to make the mind more and more like God. In writing of Thomas's Trinitarian theology, the contemporary Thomist, Gilles Emery states: “We cannot know the essence of God the Trinity, but we can “tend” (tendere) toward the mystery above ourselves (superius), through contemplation, in order to know and love him more.”⁴²

The Unity of Theology According to St. Thomas

It is difficult for us to conceive of a theology faculty that does not have strictly segregated disciplines. This is simply a reflection of how modern research orientated universities operate.⁴³ However, this flies in the face of a sapiential understanding of theology, especially as St. Thomas understood it and as his more sapientially inclined disciples would interpret him. Thomas considers the intrinsic unity of theology at the beginning of the Summa theologiae asking: “Is Christian theology (sacra doctrina) a single science?”⁴⁴ The affirmative answer that Thomas gives is based on the oneness and simplicity of divine knowledge. The unity of theological wisdom is greater than philosophical wisdom as the latter has natural divisions while theology “extends to everything.”⁴⁵ Thus theology, for Thomas, “possessed a more intrinsic unity than philosophy, since the latter admits the innate duality of metaphysics and ethics?”⁴⁶ In theology all things are treated under the aspect of God, “either because they are God Himself or because they refer to God as their beginning and end.”⁴⁷ God is the subject of theological scientia therefore the end which the theologian pursues is not simply an accumulation of objective facts about God, but the living God himself.⁴⁸ This means that although theological knowledge treats of different aspects such as creation, salvation, Christ etc., its overarching object remains God who is the source of the intrinsic unity of theology.⁴⁹

St. Thomas understands that although there are natural distinctions or differing dimensions (what today we would call disciplines) in theology these should retain an underlying unity. Based on the studies of Jean-Pierre Torrell, we can describe three such dimensions in Thomas's work. First is the speculative dimension, or what is called intellectus fidei– to bring one's reason to what is held by faith. Second is his effort to understand (both historically and allegorically), so as to better preach, the sacred Scriptures. This dimension is the most neglected of Thomas's theology. His formal academic title was Magister in Sacra Pagina (Master of the Sacred Page) and Scripture was the soul of his theological vision.⁵⁰ The third dimension is what Torrell calls the mystical, meaning how, practically speaking, the Christian returns to God (what today is called moral theology). Each of these dimensions form a whole, a unity that, however, will become fragmented post-Thomas.⁵¹ Louis Bouyer sums up well this unitive dimension: “Theology, as St Thomas quite expressly understood it, is an organic whole, not artificially and as it were externally unified by an independent philosophy, but proceeding from the inner unity of God's revelation and his whole saving design, a unity which in any case is essentially mysterious.”⁵²

Prayer, Holiness, and Theological Knowledge

As I have noted, Thomas sees Jesus Christ as Wisdom incarnate; therefore, to be wise means to be a disciple of Jesus. For the Greeks, (for example, Plato), discipleship and knowledge were intertwined.⁵³ For a Christian this insight should be obvious. “If he really wants to know Christ, he must love Him; if he would understand he has to follow. Wisdom comes through discipleship.”⁵⁴ As already noted, Thomas believed that John's Gospel reaches to such sapiential theological heights because he was the beloved disciple: “The true sign of friendship is that a friend reveals the secrets of his heart to his friends.”⁵⁵ Matthew Levering puts it like this, “Since Christ is the Wisdom of God, his wisdom is the Trinity, and learning his wisdom, as his friend, means to share in his Trinitarian life.”⁵⁶

This is why prayer and theology are linked. Theology is not simply a rationalistic explanation of propositions of faith; rather, for Thomas, there is a double perfection in theology that needs to be in harmony: the intellectual and the affective. Theology communicates realities that are the object of speculation (the intellectual) that at the same time must be received in charity (the affective).⁵⁷ And as Gilles Emery, in commenting on the spiritual nature of Thomas's Trinitarian theology, states, “theology demands the practice of prayer (as the example of Thomas himself shows) by which the soul is purified, elevated toward the spiritual reality of God, and ordered to God by devotion. There is nothing more foreign to Thomas Aquinas than a rationalist conception of theology.”⁵⁸“The ultimate end (of theology),” writes Thomas, “is the contemplation of the first truth in the land of the Father (contemplation primae veritatis in patria).”⁵⁹ How do we attain this “first truth”? Through being purified by our actions (caritas): “Blessed are the pure of heart; they shall see God.” (Mt 5:8)⁶⁰ The theologian then “can only situate himself in relation to God, see in him his origin and his end, bring back to God everything in the universe as well as his own actions, and finally, pray to him, adore him, humble himself before him in contemplation.”⁶¹

To conclude this discussion of St. Thomas's sapiential approach to theology I will look at his inaugural lecture. This lecture, requested by the Chancellor of the University of Paris as part of the University's statutes, highlights well some of the themes I have been addressing.⁶² In this lecture Thomas comments on Psalm 103:13 “Watering the earth from his things above, the earth will be filled from the fruit of your works.” He takes from this passage the following as the theme for his lecture: “Similarly the minds of teachers, symbolized by the mountains, are watered by the things that are above in the wisdom of God, and by their ministry the light of divine wisdom flows down into the minds of students.”⁶³ Thomas is therefore outlining what the role of a theologian is. He first points out why theology (sacra doctrina) is exalted. The first way it is exalted is because of its source –“The fount of wisdom is the word of God on high” (Ecc 1:5). The second way is in its content, both philosophical and, more importantly, theological, especially as found in Sacred Scripture, which “are the highest things, in which this wisdom is said to dwell.”⁶⁴ And the third way that theology is exalted is “In the sublimity of its goal, because the goal of this teaching is very exalted, namely eternal life. ‘These things have been written so that you may believe and have life in his name’ (John 20: 31). ‘Seek the things that are above’ (Col 3:1).”⁶⁵

St. Thomas then highlights the profound dignity of the doctor commissioned to teach this wisdom, while commenting also on the conditions required of the disciple to hear and learn. He concludes on the need of the theologian to rely on God (through prayer) for wisdom:

Surely, no one would claim to possess in himself and from his own resources the needed aptitude to fulfil such a ministry (of the theologian). But this aptitude can be hoped for from God: “We cannot claim anything as our own. The power we have comes from God (2 Cor 3:5).” But to obtain if from God, we must ask it of Him: If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God and it will be given him, for God is a generous giver who neither grudges nor reproaches anyone (James 1:5).” Let us pray to Christ that he may wish to grant it to us. Amen.⁶⁶