St. Thomas of Aquinas made a breakthrough discrimination between being and being. In the case of man, we are dealing with an entity made up of body and soul. God cannot be claimed to be complex. The Lord God is simply a pure act, I mean, uncomplicated. What, then, is the essence of God? The Universal Doctor answers on the basis of the rationale and evidence of the Scriptures that it is the existence in itself. God is perfect by this, his nature is unvarying and constant. Moreover, the Lord God recognizes all another beings in himself, as they are the effects of His being.
Why is this discrimination so important? due to the fact that it overthrows all superstitions about the "living God", the "dynamic Holy Spirit," etc... If God is perfect, it means that the principles which he gave us in Revelation stay unchanged. By Revelation, Christians realize the Scriptures and the Magisterium of the Church, which she teaches them.
The Popes have repeatedly ruled that Tomism is an effective defence against all heresy, let us exchange:
1. Aeterni Patris — Leon XIII
2. Pascendi dominici aggregates — Pius X
3. Studiorum ducem — Pius XI
4. Humani generis — Pius XII
These wonderful encyclicals assure us that Tomism is simply a hammer for all heresies and innovations that undermine the unchanging deposit of the Christian faith, which is expressed in our Credo. Faithful in this I myself do not appreciate adequate wealth of Tomism. I am convinced that Saint Thomas' theology will keep Catholics' religion in the One, Holy, Universal and Apostolic Church, which will never be a Synod-Sobor Church.
As the distinguished theologian Garrigou-Lagrange said: The current crisis in the Church is not a crisis of faith, but a very serious illness of intellect.
The tragedy of our times is that this illness of intellect affected the Church at the very top. On the another hand, we should hope that there will be a real revival of the Church, which will remove all fresh raids. Archbishop Sheen beautifully expressed the fact about the Church's mission:
Who will save the Church? Not bishops, not priests, not nuns. This is your duty, the faithful people. That's why you have the sense, the eyes and ears to save the Church. It is up to you to make certain that priests behave like priests, bishops like bishops and nuns, as it was for monks!
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Speech to the Knights of Columbus, 1972.
We must stand up for the only Church, we cannot compromise with any mistake, we must defender the bishops and even the pope himself. Their office was given to them from God only to defend the deposit of faith.
Read also:
P. Krzemiński: Bishop who guards the deposit
