James Miguez over at the Thomism list on Yahoo posted an excellent article on Aquinas’ view on why Christ, the living revelation, never wrote this revelation down.

Aquinas understood himself to be a “Catholicae veritatis doctor,” (preface, STh I) that is a teacher or doctor of Catholic truth. This truth is founded upon the teaching or doctrine of Jesus Christ. Sacred teaching is also founded upon the teaching of Christ which known as Revelation, insofar as Jesus revealed the truth of God himself to us. Jesus, however, did not write his teaching down.

Why? Aquinas answers:

“It was fitting that Christ should not commit His doctrine to writing. First, on account of His dignity: for the more excellent the teacher, the more excellent should be his manner of teaching. Consequently it was fitting that Christ, as the most excellent of teachers, should adopt that manner of teaching whereby His doctrine is imprinted on the hearts of His hearers; wherefore it is written (Matthew 7:29) that “He was teaching them as one having power.” And so it was that among the Gentiles, Pythagoras and Socrates, who were teachers of great excellence, were unwilling to write anything. For writings are ordained, as to an end, unto the imprinting of doctrine in the hearts of the hearers” (STh III, 42, 4).

The teaching of Jesus Christ is given heart to heart, that is person to person and not at all primarily with abstract intellectual propositions. It is also existential, historical, but at the same time supernatural. This is because the teacher is the divine person of Christ, while the hearers are human persons, each with a heart to accept and to understand this teaching. In this manner the intellectual aspect of sacred teaching follows upon the planting of the seed in the heart.

We have to open our hearts, therefore, and not just our minds if we are to understand what Jesus is saying to us, uniquely as human persons.

In this manner Jesus also reveals who we are as human persons. Our very understanding of ourselves and who God is depends upon a heart (our hearts) accepting the truth of a divine person spoken in the flesh two thousand years ago. All of this exceeds mere human reason. Thus the human person cannot be understood solely by natural means apart from revelation given heart to heart from Jesus.

Hope this helps someone to understand Jesus and Catholic teaching, including philosophy.

James

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