Aquinas' visions?

[cmaried]

I was reading a little commentary about Aquinas, in which towards the end of his life, he had some majestic, heavenly visions that caused him to denounce his writing as "straw", in comparison to what he saw. Apparently, though, Jesus didn't think his work was straw. According to legend, Thomas heard our Lord say "You have written well of me, Thomas

Comments

[iohanne]

Chronologically though, didn't the treatise he wrote on the Eucharist of which Christ approved come before his heavenly vision that caused him to stop writing? At any rate, what we know of the saints is heresay. Thomas Aquinas did not himself see Christ approve his treatise - other monks supposedly heard that voice. Other monks also claimed to see him levitate. The sceptic in me always reserves a little doubt for these fanciful tales; Even if they may be perfectly true and indicative of Thomas' sanctity I have no reasonable evidence to believe them out right

[iohanne]

Well, I kind of answered that in my post. I'd imagine Thomas would simply say so; surely he already wrote of God's transcendence. Would not a mind as great as his realise that the little light he offers is better than total darkness?

[foundunicorn]

I can see that he would not have the words to describe the "heavenly visions" and all his other works pail in comparison.
I have had dreams (from reading sub atomic physics) that words would hard pressed to describe.

[napoleonofnerds]

His work was being widely ridiculed by the intellectual community of the Middle Ages. His best friend in college, a Franciscan theologian named St. Bonaventure, was publicly teaching that he was a heretic, and despite his influence people were beginning to think that Aristotle himself had no merit within the Christian worldview. He'd been marginalized by being sent away from Paris, and the papal court was increasingly skeptical of him. Certain bishops had begun issuing warnings about his work.

If I were him, I'd be depressed about the worth of my scholarship too.

[cmaried]

Oh that's too bad:-/ Here I thought he was somehow immune to being belittled by his contemporaries. Shows how much I know!

[napoleonofnerds]

For a while after he died there were some bishops that actually banned the teaching of his books. It wasn't for a while after he died that his work gained the respect it did, which is why the modern Church tends to use moral frameworks which are only sort of Thomistic.