Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope
Today is the memorial of Saint Pope Pius X (born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, 1835-1914). His papacy was marked by a commitment to preserving traditional Catholic doctrine in the face of modernism. One of his most significant contributions during his papacy was his endorsement of the teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas, which was rooted in his conviction that St. Thomas's intellectual framework provided a solid foundation for addressing the challenges posed by modern thought and for maintaining the coherence and integrity of Catholic doctrine. But more than one hundred years after the death of Saint Pius X, the Thomistic intellectual framework is already considered "ancient history." Some Catholic circles had already abandoned Thomistic intellectual thought, even among priests in general and priest scholars in particular. One of the reasons for the abandonment of the thought of St. Thomas was due to poor teaching in some seminaries or schools of theology. But Pius X's endorsement of Thomistic intellectual thought in retrospect was significant because he demonstrated that a firm grasp of Thomistic philosophy was indispensable for sound theological inquiry and for safeguarding the faith in a rapidly changing intellectual landscape.
One of the greatest contributions of St. Thomas that people are often unaware of is his biblical commentaries. For instance, if we examine St. Thomas' commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew, specifically on the parable of the wedding banquet, he offers profound insights that help us understand this parable. St. Thomas starts with a question about the meaning of marriage in the parable. He explains that there are several meanings of marriage. First, marriage is the unity of human nature with the divine. Second, marriage represents the unity between the Word Incarnate, as the bridegroom, and the Church, as the bride. So basically, it is the union between Christ and the Church. Or, it can also mean the marriage of the Word Incarnate himself with our soul. In other words, the soul becomes a partaker of God’s glory through faith. Finally, marriage refers to the union in the afterlife, when our mortal body has the union with God. All of that interpretation points to Christ. Therefore, when there is a question about whether some guests do not wear a wedding garment, the garment refers to Christ Himself. So, we must put Christ in us. St. Thomas said that there are many different ways for us to put Christ on as our wedding garment, some through the sacrament, some through charity and love, and some through the remembrance of death. The bottom line is that having a wedding garment is an invitation for all Christians to put on Christ through good works, through a holy life, and through true charity.