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Rev. Sebastian Walshe, O.Praem., is a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College’s Class of 1994. In 2005, he was ordained a priest in the Order of Praemontre. Having completed a PhD in philosophy at the Angelicum in Rome, he now teaches in the Norbertine’s seminary at St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County, California. He kindly gave the homily at the Mass of Thanksgiving offered at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel prior to the Gala Dinner on September 30, 2006. The favors of the Lord I will recall, the glorious deeds of the Lord. Because of all He has done for us; for He is good to the house of Israel, He has favored us according to His mercy and His great kindness. (Isaiah 63:7) In the second article of the Tertia Pars of the Summa Theologiae, after giving ten different reasons why it was most fitting that God should become Incarnate to save us, St. Thomas concludes by stating: “There are, however, many more reasons which could be given, but they are above the comprehension of human understanding.” The best, the highest reasons behind the Divine love for us remain hidden in this life, only to be revealed in the glory of the life to come. Quantum potes, tantum aude: quia maior omni laude, nec laudare sufficis, we sing in the tremendous Eucharistic hymn of praise, the Lauda Sion: As much as you are able to praise Him, so much dare, since He is more than all your praises fair, nor does all your strength suffice to offer praise of sacrifice. Gratitude for Innumerable Blessings Perhaps the surest mark of persons advanced in the spiritual life is a deep and constant spirit of gratitude and joy: for persons who are very close to God are more constantly and profoundly aware of the higher goods which God constantly lavishes upon His beloved ones. As we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the foundation of Thomas Aquinas College, we turn once again to God in a profound and humble spirit of gratitude. Yet we ought to consider carefully what are the deepest reasons for which we should be grateful, lest our praise be less than as much as we are able, and our gratitude be lacking even in the sight of men. Perhaps the most tangible and visible manifestation of God’s blessings upon the College are the material blessings bestowed upon it in recent years. The College is on its best financial footing since its foundation, and many worthy buildings have replaced the shantytown of temporary modular units which once adorned Ferndale Ranch. When I first visited the College in 1985, before I was a student there, there was only one permanent building, St. Joseph Commons. Today we are on the verge of dedicating the crown jewel of the College, an exquisitely-fashioned temple dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. Yet, thankful as we are for such goods, they cannot be the deepest reason for our gratitude to God, since material goods are the very least of all goods. The College has reached its maximum projected enrollment, and every year an abundance of bright and capable young students apply for entrance to the College, many more than we can accept. Moreover, the faculty of the College is among the brightest and most dedicated in our fair nation. Yet neither can these be the deepest reasons for our gratitude to God, since in the sight of the Lord even a very few can defeat a numberless army, and God who has no need of any instruments, can make use even of the weakest to effect His purpose. The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes What, then, is the deepest reason for which we ought to give gratitude to God on this anniversary of the foundation of Thomas Aquinas College? The Gospel from today’s holy Mass leads us to understand the true greatness of Thomas Aquinas College and its founders. In a foreshadowing of the Holy Eucharist, Jesus satisfies the hunger of a great multitude: that earthly bread was meant to be a sign leading the multitude to feast upon the Bread which came down from heaven. And while this historical event took place 2,000 years ago, Jesus bestows His blessings throughout all time using His weak, yet chosen instruments. Thirty-five years ago, Jesus once again lifted up His eyes and saw a great multitude coming toward Him, and through many trials, He tested the founders of this College, though He Himself knew full well what He was about to do. These were men unskilled in so many ways, lacking the knowledge and resources to achieve such an arduous good, yet they were children without guile who brought to Jesus their few loaves and fishes. Jesus blessed them, and by His blessing, a great multitude was fed and continues to be fed to this day-—fed not with bread that perishes, but with the bread of sound doctrine that leads to life, and most especially with the Bread of Angels, the Holy Eucharist, which has been and must always continue to be the one true foundation of Thomas Aquinas College. The Greatest Good—Love for the Holy Eucharist The truth is that the greatest good which the College has accomplished in her 35 years is that she has brought those who have come through her gates to Jesus in the Eucharist. The whole curriculum, the whole order of life observed in the College has been for the sake of this. In this way the College has imitated her holy patron and teacher St. Thomas, whose whole life, his teaching, his labors, his keeping vigil, were for the sake of Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist. In my years as a student at Thomas Aquinas College my love for Jesus in the Sacrament of the Altar grew immensely. That love bore fruit in my vocation to religious life in an order which is dedicated especially to the Blessed Sacrament, and it bore more fruit still when I was ordained a priest of Jesus Christ in the year of the Most Holy Eucharist. For this I am most deeply grateful since I am sure that none of this would have happened without the instruction I received at the College, and without the good example of the tutors and priests there. Beloved in Christ, if Thomas Aquinas College is to flourish in the future as it has in the past, we must not lose sight of its special mission in the Church, a mission so akin to that of her heavenly patron St. Thomas. We must render thanks and praise to God for this gift most of all. Let us dare to praise Him for the gift of a profound love of the Eucharist which has been nourished so greatly and so often through the mission of Thomas Aquinas College. And with this high praise upon our lips, God Himself will lavish upon us still further gifts, for it is easier for God to give much than to give little. May the merciful Lord see fit to give us His very self, today in the Holy Eucharist, and one day when the veil is torn asunder, in full vision of blessed eternity when for once and always, we shall finally praise Him as we ought. -- 35th Anniversary 2007 |
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