St. Thomas of Aquino (St. Thomas Aquinas) is one of the Heavy Hitters of the Church: he was granted the title of “Doctor of the Church,” putting him in the company of such other saints as Augustine, Jerome, Gregory (the Great), Ambrose, and Teresa of Avila. His theological works continue to influence many philosophers and scholars. Truly in Thomas, as Butler writes, “virtue and learning mutually assist and improve each other.”

In short, Thomas was unafraid to think and found that thinking made him more virtuous and virtue led him to think more deeply. He was the anti- anti-intellectual of his era, and believed that learning should never be shunned because it leads to thinking that doesn’t fit neatly into orthodoxy.

Clearly, this could have gone one of two ways for Thomas–either being embraced for his contributions or being branded (maybe literally) as a heretic. What Thomas did was to use the language of the Church in service of his theology, and not his theology in service of the language of the Church.

Perhaps the most astounding and controversial theological teaching that he developed was his belief that evil, in and of itself, does not exist. To get to that point takes a little explaining. First, Thomas believed that any thought or desire that is native to us s human beings is, potentially, a good thing. Yet not all things that we might want can happen, or happen simultaneously. For example, we might want to eat gorge out on an expensive cheesecake for $12.00 a slice AND we might want to spend that $12.00 to help a friend in need to an entire dinner AND we might want to contribute that $12.00 to a cause that protects children from predators AND we might want to use that money to buy a ticket to see Black Panther. Thomas would suggest that each of these desires are normal, are–taken separately–good. But (there’s always a “but”!) the issue confronting humans lies in correctly ordering or prioritizing these goods. Evil, in Thomas’s theological worldview, is experienced when our desires become dis-ordered. So the desire to see an excellent action film, the desire to protect children, and the desire to eat a delicious dessert are, in and of themselves, fine and proper. But, for Aquinas, they must be properly ordered–it would be evil to place one’s desire to cheesecake ahead of one’s desire to protect children. By the same token, evil is not something separate and does not exist apart from the choices people make–it is not a transpersonal force.

Such teaching is of course controversial if taken seriously. It is open to critique, not the least of which is “WHO DECIDES which is the ‘right’ set of priorities?” and, as Thomas is recognized as a saint, you can believe that his answer would be the Church in its wisdom, tradition, and teachings. Absolutely agreed. Even Jesus told his disciples that there was a proper time for expensive ointment to be poured over him as a way to honor and care for him, ahead of the good that selling that ointment could do for the poor.

But what makes Thomas resonate within me some eight centuries after he thought and wrote is the outright affirmation that there is nothing inherently wrong or misguided in our human desires. And that our “job” is to figure out what desires merit our attention and when. We needn’t be at war with ourselves because of our impulses, wishes, and desires…rather, we are called to wield them.

So–it’s Thomas’s day today. I choose to think and write about what he still offers my life (and maybe yours) today.