Tuesday, November 19, 2019

"And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary" - The Highest Spiritual Event in 1273





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The Highest Spiritual Event in 1273

Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274) wrote a great book to try to present his theory on the God and Christianity.
It consists of three parts. Part I treats of God, who is the "first cause, himself uncaused" (primum movens immobile) and as such existent only in act (actu) – that is, pure actuality without potentiality, and therefore without corporeality. His essence is actus purus et perfectus. This follows from the fivefold proof for the existence of God; namely, there must be a first mover, unmoved, a first cause in the chain of causes, an absolutely necessary being, an absolutely perfect being, and a rational designer. In this connection the thoughts of the unity, infinity, unchangeability, and goodness of the highest being are deduced. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa_Theologica)
However, he abandoned the effort to further elaborate his theory as he met the God spiritually:
It is traditionally held that on one occasion, in 1273 at the Dominican convent of Naples in the chapel of Saint Nicholas, after Matins, Thomas lingered and was seen by the sacristan Domenic of Caserta to be levitating in prayer with tears before an icon of the crucified Christ. Christ said to Thomas, "You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you have for your labor?" Thomas responded, "Nothing but you, Lord."After this exchange something happened, but Thomas never spoke of it or wrote it down....
 On 6 December 1273, another mystical experience took place. While he was celebrating Mass, he experienced an unusually long ecstasy. Because of what he saw, he abandoned his routine and refused to dictate to his socius Reginald of Piperno. When Reginald begged him to get back to work, Thomas replied: "Reginald, I cannot, because all that I have written seems like straw to me" (mihi videtur ut palea). As a result, the Summa Theologica would remain uncompleted. What exactly triggered Thomas's change in behavior is believed by Catholics to have been some kind of supernatural experience of God. After taking to his bed, he did recover some strength.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aquinas)
The God acknowledged Aquinas' effort and accepted Aquinas' wish to see the God.  However, in the wake of this communication with the God, Aquinas realized that what he had written about God had no value and thus abandoned his further efforts, although he did not deny his own work.

There can be infinite ways of describing the God.  But the God must be above those descriptions.  For example, even if there had been a primitive human being in Africa who though about future of human beings 3 million years ago, he must have stopped wondering about and dreaming of future any more if he had been allowed to glimpse the world of today in the 21st century as he got shocked so much.  Like such a human being, Aquinas must have been shocked to see infinite aspects of the God.   

Besides, Christ Jesus simply told His Disciples to call the God the Father in Heaven, while He did not teach them any theories, including those considered by Aquinas, about the God.

It is thought that whoever does not faithfully follow and observe the words and teachings of the God is not allowed to glimpse any aspect of the God.  In other word, those who do not believe in the God cannot see any piece of truth about the God, since they are not allowed to enter Heaven.

Anyway, it seems that the mankind spiritually climbed the highest position in 1273 after the first century when the Gospels were established.


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Joh 11:17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
Joh 11:18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
Joh 11:19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
Joh 11:20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
Joh 11:21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Joh 11:22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
Joh 11:23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.