Archbishop Gomez’s homily for St. Thomas Aquinas’ 800th birthday

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles celebrated a Gold Mass for Scientists at Our Savior Church on Jan. 28 on the campus of the University of Southern California, on the 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Thomas Aquinas. The following is adapted from his homily.

By Archbishop José H. Gomez | New World of Faith

It is a joy to celebrate this Gold Mass with you and to hold up the noble vocation of our Catholic men and women in science.

And it’s fitting that we celebrate this Mass today, on the 800th birthday of St. Thomas Aquinas, who was one the world’s wisest men and one of the church’s greatest teachers.

St. Thomas understood that all creation is the work of the one creator, from the tiniest organism to the furthest planets in the solar system. And he taught us that all of creation has a telos, a divine direction and purpose, that all things in heaven and earth flow from and follow the creator’s plan of love.

In St. Thomas’ words, “Creatures came into existence when the Key of Love opened his hand.”

So, we ask his intercession today in this holy Mass. For all of us, but in a special way for our scientists.

St. Thomas once said, “Our wisdom does not consist in discovering the natures of material realities, nor the course of the stars, or any such like; rather, it concerns Christ alone.”

He wasn’t trying to discourage scientific research or new discoveries. No. Just the opposite. He wanted us to know where to look to find the answers. He wanted us to understand that if we seek the truths of creation apart from the creator, we seek in vain.

So, St. Thomas urged us to seek first the “mystery of [God’s] will,” the mystery of his “intense love for humanity.” And that’s what Jesus is talking about in the Gospel today.

Let’s listen again to his words: “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

In God’s plan of love, Jesus came to gather a new family from out of all the peoples on earth, the family of God, his Catholic Church. And what unites us as brothers and sisters in this new family is not blood, but faith, our faith in God’s plan for creation, and our desire to serve God’s plan with our lives.

That’s what Jesus came to show us, it’s at the heart of the prayer he taught us: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus came down from heaven, not to do his will, but the will of the Father who sent him.

As we heard in that first reading today, from the Letter to the Hebrews: “For this reason, when he came into the world, he said … Behold, I come to do your will, O God.”

Brothers and sisters, Jesus calls us to learn from him, to listen to his words, and to do what we see him doing. The point is that everything we do, no matter what our vocation, everything must start with this one desire: to do God’s will, from the heart.

God created us out of love to know him and to love him. He made us in his own image, the imago Dei, and gave us the gifts of reason and free will so that we could seek him and find him.

We can know the beauty of the world that God created, we can unlock the deepest secrets of nature, we can make discoveries that change lives and open new possibilities for the human family.

Through the things that he has made, we can know the maker and his love, and we can share in his divine life.

If we seek God’s will first, he will do the rest. That’s the promise Jesus made to us: if we seek, we will find; if we knock, the door will be opened to us.

There’s a beautiful story from near the end of St. Thomas Aquinas’ life.

Thomas is on his knees in the chapel of St. Nicholas in Naples. He hears Jesus speaking to him from the crucifix on the wall.

Jesus says, “You have spoken well of me, Thomas. What reward would you like?”

Thomas replies, “Nothing but yourself, Lord.”

As we prepare to meet the Lord today in the holy Eucharist, let us make that our prayer.

May we want nothing but Jesus! And, like Jesus, may we seek, not our will, but the will of the one who sent him.

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us! Most holy Mary, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us!