The 1983 Code of Canon Law doesn’t mention many saints apart from their feast days.  As you can imagine, the greats such as the Mary the Mother of God, Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Joseph, come up.  Apart from them, the Code doesn’t name drop very much.  You do find, however, St. Thomas Aquinas.  He is named once explicitly and once implicitly.

Canon 252 § 3, in the section on theological formation of seminarians, states:

“There are to be classes in dogmatic theology which are always to be based upon the written word of God along with sacred tradition, in which the students may learn to penetrate ever more profoundly the mysteries of salvation, with St. Thomas as their teacher in special way…”

Let’s just say that in my day we didn’t get a lot of Aquinas.  I wonder how many seminaries are using a lot of Aquinas.  Would they not be in violation of the universal law of the Church?  I digress.

The Code also says about preparation of seminarians in philosophy:

Can. 251 Philosophical instruction must be grounded in the perennially valid philosophical heritage and also take into account philosophical investigation over the course of time. It is to be taught in such a way that it perfects the human development of the students, sharpens their minds, and makes them better able to pursue theological studies.

To whom else does this point but St. Thomas Aquinas, who is explicitly named in the very next canon which I quoted above?

His scriptis, I was recently sent by the nice people at The Aquinas Institute, which has its seat at Wyoming Catholic College, a beautiful set of volumes of St. Thomas Aquinas’ commentaries on Pauline letters.

Think about this for a moment.

Both the Novus Ordo and the Usus Antiquior privilege the letters of Saint Paul, either as second readings or as lessons.  Priests (well… congregations, actually) could benefit enormously by looking at what the Angelic Doctor wrote about pericopes selected for Holy Mass while they prepare their homilies in either the newer or older forms.

Let’s see the books I was sent.

The are well bound in blue, with gold embossed print and logos.

The numbering clearly indicates that they are working on the Opera Omnia.

The next is slightly blurry.  Sorry.

The pages within are sheer text.

Here is a larger image so you can see what the page layout is like.

Here is how they describe the preparation of the text.

Commentary on the Letters of Saint Paul: Complete Set (Latin-English Edition) – $170 – to buy them click HERE.

• Buy vol. 37 – Romans – HERE
• Buy vol. 38 – 1&2 Corinthians – HERE
• Buy vol. 39 – Galatians & Ephesians – HERE
• Buy vol. 40 – Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon – HERE
• Buy vol. 41 – Hebrews – HERE

And just because these fine books come from Wyoming, I’ll remind you also to refresh your coffee supply and get gifts for Christmas from the Wyoming Carmelites.

[CUE MUSIC]

They now have K-CUPS!

As you sip your piping Fr. Z mug of Mystic Monk Coffee…

Think:

“If Father had these volumes, perhaps his sermons would be better! If I hear one more time, ‘As I was shaving this morning…’, I may just bash my head open on the pew!”

Or Think:

“That seminarian I know probably isn’t getting any Aquinas in his course work as Canon Law says he should.  I better get these for him. And they have English, too!  Helpful, since the seminary is also violating Can. 249 which says ‘The program of priestly formation is to provide that students not only are carefully taught their native language but also understand Latin well and have a suitable understanding of those foreign languages which seem necessary or useful for their formation or for the exercise of pastoral ministry.’ Where can I click on Fr. Z’s blog to buy these books for a Christmas present!”

Look at getting these books, and this coffee, as enlightened self-interest together with love of neighbor.

Mystic Monk Coffee!  It’s swell!

And so is the Aquinas Institute complete Summa Theologiae!

Summa Theologiae: Complete Set (Latin-English Edition) – $270 – to buy click HERE

• Summa Theologiae Prima Pars, 1-49 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
• Summa Theologiae Prima Pars, 50-119 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
• Summa Theologiae Prima Secundae, 1-70 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
• Summa Theologiae Prima Secundae, 71-114 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
• Summa Theologiae Secunda Secundae, 1-91 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
• Summa Theologiae Secunda Secundae, 92-189 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
• Summa Theologiae Tertia Pars, 1-59 (Latin-English Edition) HERE
• Summa Theologiae Tertia Pars, 60-90 (Latin-English Edition) HERE