Irish Dominican on Thomas Aquinas and the Eucharist

In the current issue of The Tablet, Irish Dominican Liam G Walsh, writes on Aquinas and the Eucharist, 'Food for the journey'.

Walsh sees the Eucharist as the culmination of Aquinas' entire theology.

"Thomas is clear that people in a state of sin should not receive the sacrament; to do so would be to profane the Eucharist and so add sin to sin.

"And yet he holds that desire for the sacrament takes away sin, and he will even allow that, in certain circumstances, serious sin is taken away by actual participation in the sacrament. The forgiving grace of God is always impelling people towards partaking of the Eucharist," Fr Walsh writes.

He sees Aquinas as placing the Eucharist not just at the heart of human spirituality and devotion but at the summit of the divine mystery that comes from God and returns to God.