Title of the work in Latin
MEDULLA S. THOMAE AQUITATIS PER OMNES ANNI LITURGICI DIES DISTRBUITA, SEU MEDITATIONES EX OPERIBUS S. THOMAE DEPROMPTAE
Compilation and arrangement by
FR. Z. MÉZARD O. P.
NOTE
All titles with an asterisk contain material that is no longer attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas.
9. Thursday after the First Sunday of Lent: It Was Fitting for Christ to Be Crucified Among Thieves
Thursday after the First Sunday of Lent
Christ was crucified between thieves for one reason when considering the intention of the Jews, and for another reason when considering the order of God.
Regarding the intention of the Jews, they crucified two thieves beside Christ, as Chrysostom points out, "so that He would partake of their dishonor. Nevertheless, no one refers to them, while the cross of Christ is honored everywhere. Kings, laying aside their crowns, take up the cross: in the midst of crowns, arms, the sacred table, everywhere in the world the cross shines."
As for the ordering of God, Christ was crucified among thieves because, as Jerome says, "just as Christ was made a curse for us on the cross, so He was crucified as a criminal among criminals, for the salvation of all."
2. Second, as Pope Leo says, "two thieves were crucified, one on the right side and the other on the left side of Christ, so that in this very spectacle of the gallows there would be mirrored that separation which He Himself will make when He comes to judge men." And Augustine says: "If you reflect well, you will see that this cross was a tribunal. The judge is placed in the middle; the one who believed was saved; the other, who reviled, was condemned. Thus it is seen what Christ will do one day, of the living and the dead, placing those on His right and the others on His left."
3. Third, according to Hilary, because "the two thieves crucified—one on the right, the other on the left—show that all the diversity of the human race is called to participate in the mystery of Christ's Passion. But as the division between the faithful and the unfaithful corresponds to the right and left sides, one of the two, the one placed on the right, was saved by the justification of faith."
4. Fourth, because, as Bede says, "the thieves crucified with the Lord symbolize those who, under the faith and confession of Christ, undergo the agony of martyrdom or live under the rules of a stricter discipline. And those who work for eternal glory are represented by the thief on the right; while those whose eyes are set on human glory imitate the actions of the thief on the left."
III, q. XLVI, a. 11
(P. D. Mézard, O. P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
#God #Deus #Isten #Gott #Jesus #Católico #Catholic #Katholik #katholisch #Katolikus #catholique #Faith #Fé #foi #信仰 #Latin #Latim #Gospel #Evangelho #Evangélium #évangile #Dieu #福音 #日本 #カトリック #Bible #Biblestr #Nostr #Grownostr