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Proquest Dissertations ST. THOMAS AQUINAS' MYSTICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL IN THE LECTURA SUPER IOANNEM By Kevin Frederick Vaughan A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Theology, St. Michael's College and the Department of Theology of the Toronto School of Theology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theology Awarded by the University of St. Michael's College Toronto 2009 © Kevin F. Vaughan Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-53124-2 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-53124-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Nntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada ABSTRACT Title: St. Thomas Aquinas' Mystical Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel in the Ledum Superloannem Degree: PhD Year of Convocation: 2009 Kevin Frederick Vaughan Theology Department Faculty of Theology, University of St. Michael's College Recently, some scholars and members of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church have criticized modern methods of interpretation for their inability to address the spiritual or theological nature of the Bible. Reminding us of the Church's teaching on the importance of the Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church in biblical interpretation, these critics advocate returning to premodern methods and approaches as a way of curtailing the excesses of the modern. My intent in this dissertation is to contribute to our understanding of premodern biblical exegesis by studying one of its most distinctive and elusive features, the mystical interpretation. As a focus for this study, I have chosen St. Thomas Aquinas' interpretation of the Gospel of St. John in the Lectura supra Evangelium S. loannis. I further focus my study on one aspect of the mystical interpretation, namely the ratio mystica. Conclusions are drawn by methods respecting the historical context and compositional structure unique to the Commentary. I begin the study then by situating the Commentary within the Dominican program of education at the University of Paris in the ii thirteenth century, and with an assessment of Thomas' general teaching on the mystical interpretation of sacred Scripture. With this background in mind, I proceed to the textual analysis of the Commentary, beginning with Thomas' prologue. I then provide a classification and cursory overview of the forms employed by Thomas in his mystical interpretation, followed by a detailed analysis of the 12 cases of the ratio mystica. On the basis of the textual analysis, I conclude that the ratio mystica is the exegetical congruent to the demands made on interpretation by the type of spiritual signification discussed in the Summa Theologiae, la, Ql, alO. This mode of signification allows it to transcend the literal meaning through an immediate relation to the Gospel's end, while at the same time serving the literal by way of collating, foreshadowing, and mnemonic functions. Finally, using Thomas' description of John's conditio and his teaching on exercitia spiritualia, I demonstrate how the ratio mystica presupposes and exercises a spiritual disposition in the reader requisite for encountering divine mysteries. in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have been written without the kind assistance of my supervisor, Dr. Robert Sweetman, who by his wisdom and experience navigated me through the many shoals of the research and writing process. I am also indebted to the other members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Joseph Goering and Fr. Gilles Mongeau, SJ, for their insight and direction on this project; as well as to Thomas F. Ryan for his questions and comments during a challenging, yet rewarding, defence. Special mention must be made of Fr. Jean-Marc Laporte, SJ, whose patience and knowledge have benefitted this project from its inception to its finish. I would also like to thank all those who assisted me throughout my doctoral program. I owe special gratitude to the members of my doctoral committees, namely, Sr. Mary Ellen Sheehan, Fr. Robert Doran, SJ, Fr. Gordon Rixon, SJ, Fr. Joseph Plevnik, SJ, Fr. Scott Lewis, SJ, and Dr. Harold Wells. I must also mention my Advanced Degree Directors, Fr. T. Allan Smith, CSB, and Dr. John L. McLaughlin, without whose gentle prodding, I would never have finished. Furthermore, I would like to thank the Faculty of Theology at St. Michael's College for its constant support, both personally and financially, especially Dr. Margaret O'Gara and Dr. Michael Attridge for their sagely direction, and Sr. Anne Anderson and Fr. Mario O. D'Souza for their allowing me the opportunity to teach at the Faculty. I am also indebted to the students and staff, present and past, of St. Michael's College Student Residence, especially, Mr. Duane Rendle, Mr. Kevin Dancy, Mr. Martin Bergeron, Dr. Marc Cels, Mr. David Dagenais, Mr. Liam O'Hare, and Fr. Albert Trudel, OP; as well as to the Sisters of St. Joseph, especially Sr. Anne Marie Marrin and Sr. Conrad Lauber. And I cannot forget the assistance of Fr. David Balas, O. Cist., Fr. Roch Kereszty, O. Cist, and Dr. John Norris, all of the University of Dallas, who first suggested this study to me. And finally for their personal support, I would like to thank Ms. Teresa Zaleski, my brother Geoffrey and his family, and my parents, Fred and Carol, to whom I dedicate this dissertation. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv INTRODUCTION I CHAPTER 1: THE SETTING OF THE SUPER IOANNEM 24 1. The Bible and Dominican Education in the Thirteenth-Century 24 2. Thomas' Biblical Education 29 3. Ledum super Ioannem 30 4. The Super Ioannem and Interpretive Method 33 4.1 Biblical Interpretation 34 4.2. Concept of 'Mystery' 41 CHAPTER 2: THE PROLOGUE TO THE SUPER IOANNEM 48 1. John and Isaiah 48 2. The Contemplation of John 50 2.1. The Height of John's Contemplation .51 2.2. The Fullness of John's Contemplation 60 2.3. The Perfection of John's Contemplation 63 3. John and the Natural Sciences 65 4. The Matter of John's Gospel 67 4.1. John and the Other Evangelists 68 5. The Order of John's Gospel 70 6. The End of John's Gospel 73 7. The Author of John's Gospel 74 8. Conclusion 79 CHAPTER 3: THE RATIO MYSTICA AS AN EXEGETICAL TECHNIQUE 81 1. The Manifestations of the Mystical Interpretation in the Super Ioannem 81 1.1. The Mystical as a Mode of Interpretation 82 1.1.1 mystice 82 1.1.1.1. Signification 85 1.1.1.1.1 Signifying terms 86 1.1.1.1.2 Signifiers 86 1.1.1.1.3 Signified 89 1.1.1.2. Auctoritates 89 1.1.1.2.1. Biblical authorities 90 1.1.1.2.1.1. New Testament 90 1.1.1.2.1.2. Old Testament 90 1.1.1.2.2. Patristic Authorities 91 1.1.1.3. Literal meaning 92 VI 1.1.1.4. Other mystical meanings 92 1.1.1.5 The broader meaning of mystice 92 1.1.1.6 Distribution of mystice throughout the Super Ioannem .. .94 1.1.2. mysticus 94 1.1.2.1. ratio mystica 94 1.1.2.2. causa mystica 95 1.1.3. mysterium 97 1.2. The Mystical as an Object 99 1.3. mysticus and/or mysterium and their Variants as used in Auctoritates 101 2. Cursory Description of the rationes mysticae 101 2.1. Setting of the ratio mystica 102 2.1.1. Number and Placement within the Commentary 102 2.1.1.1. Within the Commentary as a whole 103 2.1.1.1.1. In relation to the divisio textus 103 2.1.1.2. Within Chapters and Lectures 104 2.1.1.3. In relation to other forms of the mystical interpretation 104 2.1.2. Literary genre: narration or dialogue 106 2.1.3. In relation to the ratio litteralis 107 2.2. Form of the ratio mystica 108 2.2.1 Number of rationes mysticae 108 2.2.2. Subject of the ratio mystica 109 2.2.3. Themes 112 2.2.4.
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