David Russell Mosley

Epiphanytide

St Thomas Aquinas

27 January 2015

The Edge of Elfland

Hudson, New Hampshire

Dear Friends and Family,

Today is the feast day of St Thomas Aquinas. St Thomas was a Dominican Friar from Italy who taught at the University of Paris. The good doctor has increasingly become an important part of my life. Not only has his theological acumen enhanced my own, meager as it may be; but I have lately been equally influenced by his prayer life. Thomas had a profound prayer life, and according to his hagiographer was subject to visions as well.

I want to leave you with one of his prayers, which has been a help to me:

For the Attainment of Heaven

God of all consolation,

You Who see nothing in us

but what You have given us,

I invoke your help:

After this life has run its cource,

grant me

knowledge of You, the first Truth,

and enjoyment of Your divine majesty.

O most bountiful Rewarder, endow my body

with beauty of splendor,

with swift responsiveness to all commands,

with complete subservience to the spirit,

and with freedom from all vulnerability/

Add to these

an abundance of Your riches,

a river of delights,

and a flood of other goods

So that I may enjoy

Your solace above me,

a delightful garden beneath my feet,

the glorification of body and soul within me,

and the sweet companionship

of men and angels around me.

With You, most merciful Father,

may my mind attain

the enlightenment of wisdom,

my desire

what is truly desirable,

and my courage

the praise of triumph.

There, with You, is

refuge from all dangers,

multitude of dwelling places,

and harmony of wills.

There, with You, resides

the cheerfulness of Vern*

the brilliance of Summer,

the fruitfulness of Autumn,

and the gentle repose of Winter.

Give me, O Lord my God,

that life without death

and that joy without sorrow

where there is

the greatest freedom,

unconfined security,

secure tranquility,

delightful happiness,

happy eternity,

eternal blessedness,

the vision of truth,

and praise, O God.

Amen

From Aquinas, Thomas. The Aquinas Prayer Book: The Prayers and Hymns of St. Thomas Aquinas. Translated and edited by Robert Anderson and Johann Moser. Manchester: Sophia Institute Press, 2003.

Sincerely yours,

David

*I chose to translate vernalis as Vern, rather than the translators choice of Spring, simply because I prefer the symmetry of two latin based names for seasons and two Anglo-Saxon.