Ode to Thomas

THE THOMIST A SPECULATIVE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY EDITORS: THE DoMINICAN FATHERS OF THE PROVINCE OF ST. JosEPH Publishers: The Thomist Press, Washington, D. C. 20017 VoL. XXXVIII JANUARY, 1974 No.1 In Commemoration ofthe Seventh Centenary of the Death of St. Thomas Aquinas 1274-1974 ODE TO THOMAS There was a man Sent from God Whose name was Thomas Aquinas. He was not a Doubting Thomas You might even call Him Believing Thomas. He was not the True Light But he did build An edifice That housed a lot of people For a lot of years. He looked at Motion And inferred A motor. He looked at Effect And saw A cause. He knew That nothing Never was. He reasoned a Best. 4 PASTOR LEWIS CHAMBERLAIN He saw Someone At the Helm Of things. He balanced It all. And leveled it And built One spacious Room For debate. Reason worked there As did the Philosopher Also Dionysius We must confess But not as architects But helpers. The house was Built on the Ground Of the isness Of things The Truth of the Scriptures And the reality Of God. It was a good House All things are good. It was a sturdy house There was allowance for Stress and Strain. ODE TO THOMAS It was a house that Long endured And survived many An earthquake. The roof pointed Toward Heaven All things desire God. It was no sin To call it good There is one goodness Yet many goodnesses. God was in it God is in all things And innermostly But God was not .Enclosed_by it. God was also in The ground around And the sky above. It was not meant to Be an eternal house Eternity is not the same As the now of time. It was a place where Men thought Thoughts After God The ultimate beatitude And saw God By grace. To see God is not To comprehend God 5 6 PASTOR LEWIS CHAMBERLAIN But they saw the House and the grounds And the sky And Something Else. The Son lived There As Lord The Son is not less. And the Spirit As Love. Faith was discussed there A mean And things unseen. But it was First The dwelling place Of HE WHO IS The infinite ocean of substan<'<' Whose being knows no Past or future As Augustine says. It was built in an Age When great houses Were an ideal Something greatly To be desired. The light of Aquinas Is waning His house Is crumbling. ODE TO THOMAS His certainties Don't seem So sure Or certain He's probably glad. For in the end He knelt down And worshipped Like Thomas. The Disciple. Meneely Presbytm-ian Church Dallas, Texas pASTOR LEWIS CHAMBERLAIN 1 ...