Can 13th-century wisdom from St. Thomas Aquinas be helpful for us today? Absolutely.
Dr. Bill Yarchin, Fr. Richard Rubin, Dr. Nancy McLoughlin, and Ariel Vapor met in the Lab on Sunday mornings at 9 on the first Sundays of May, June, and July to discuss The Tao of Thomas Aquinas by Matthew Fox.
Can a 13th-century philosopher have any wisdom for our times? Episcopal priest Matthew Fox thinks so. In this slim volume Fox makes the teachings of medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas super-accessible for anyone seeking a profound spirituality that finds its expression in action.
“Tao” refers to a mindful way of life integrating one’s outer world and inner soul, in this book expressed as compact nuggets of wisdom. For example, under “Compassion is the fire that Jesus came to set on the earth,” Aquinas explains how any act of compassion is a real-world manifestation of divinity in human form. He presents biblical models of such action in Jesus and the biblical prophets.
The Faith Lab teaching team met at 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings in the Lab on May 4th, June 1st, and July 6th, and explored a timeless spirituality that empowers us to be a life-giving presence in the world.
We had copies of the book available at the Ushers’ Table, or you may download the Kindle version at amzn.to/4lyBCDN
MAY 4, FIRST MEETING: CHAPTERS 1–9
Knowing God and knowing what that means
JUNE 1, SECOND MEETING: CHAPTERS 10–17
Communion with God and what that means for wisdom
JULY 6, THIRD MEETING: CHAPTERS 18–31
The call of the Christian as prophet to participate in wisdom in the world