In his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s gospel, Aquinas defines compassion this way: 

Forced to flee Israeli attacks on Rafah, Gazan pizza chef Mohammed Israeli is now working with World Central Kitchen to find creative ways to feed war-stricken Palestinians from his car.

To be compassionate is to have a heart that suffers from the misfortune of others because we think of it as our own…..You are truly compassionate when you are eager to repel the misfortune of others.  

We see in this passage a source of Meister Eckhart’s definition of compassion when he says, “what happens to another, whether it be a joy or a sorrow, happens to me.”

In a sermon, Aquinas says, “One must first of all love one’s neighbor in order to love God worthily.”   

In his Commentary on Job, he remarks: 

Dorothy Day, Co-Founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, holding up her prison outfit, signed by all her fellow prisoners. Photo by Chris Payden-Travers, posted by Jim Forest on Flickr.

Job teaches that ‘he who robs his friend of compassion in the time of misery leaves fear of the Lord behind,’ that is, the reverence that he ought to have for God, on account of whom and in whom his neighbor must be loved.  ‘He who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see?’ as is said in the first letter of John.

Notice how “fear of the Lord” for Aquinas is about the reverence we have for God and our neighbor. 

Interdependence lies at the heart of Aquinas’ teaching on compassion.  One looks at another’s distress as one’s own, and if all things are united with all things, it is necessary that all things come together into one whole.  And thus, all things will share in one thing, as parts share in the shape of the whole.

He gives an example from our bodies: A member naturally exposes itself for the safety of the whole, as when without hesitation up goes the arm to ward off a blow.

The Hero: How disarming the Monterey Park gunman gave Brandon Tsay renewed purpose in life. Los Angeles Times.

A similar tendency is displayed in the political virtues, as when the good citizen risks death for the safety of the commonwealth: this is a natural motion if we suppose that people are born to belong to a state….The human being is a social animal and one’s desire is not satisfied in providing for oneself, but one wants to be in a position to take care of others.  This, however, must be understood within limits.

This is how meaning and morality enter into politics.  Indeed, in Aquinas’s understanding, “Aristotle’s work on the Politics [is] a conclusion to the whole work of the Ethics.”  Aquinas wrote commentaries on each. 


Adapted from Matthew Fox, Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality, pp. 392f.

See also Fox, Passion for Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart

Banner Image: “To Be Strong Means To Be United.” A handful of activists call for solidarity on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sheffield, England. Photo by Tim Dennell on Flickr.


Queries for Contemplation

Consider how Aquinas recognizes Aristotle’s work on the Politics as a “conclusion” to his work on Ethics.  How do politics and ethics interact in our current politics?  In how the media covers politics?  Can we do better?


Recommended Reading

Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality

Matthew Fox renders Thomas Aquinas accessible by interviewing him and thus descholasticizing him.  He also translated many of his works such as Biblical commentaries never before in English (or Italian or German of French).  He  gives Aquinas a forum so that he can be heard in our own time. He presents Thomas Aquinas entirely in his own words, but in a form designed to allow late 20th-century minds and hearts to hear him in a fresh way. 
“The teaching of Aquinas comes through will a fullness and an insight that has never been present in English before and [with] a vital message for the world today.” ~ Fr. Bede Griffiths (Afterword).
Foreword by Rupert Sheldrake

Passion for Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart

Matthew Fox’s comprehensive translation of Meister Eckhart’s sermons is a meeting of true prophets across centuries, resulting in a spirituality for the new millennium. The holiness of creation, the divine life in each person and the divine power of our creativity, our call to do justice and practice compassion–these are among Eckhart’s themes, brilliantly interpreted and explained for today’s reader.
“The most important book on mysticism in 500 years.”  — Madonna Kolbenschlag, author of Kissing Sleeping Beauty Goodbye.  


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4 thoughts on “Aquinas on Compassion & Politics, continued”

  1. “God’s Glory, the Blueprint of Life is Embedded Within Us”

    Politics and ethics are currently at war with one another and could be for a long time in the foreseeable future. For compassion and compassionate acts to be delivered, we must rise above ‘the fray’. Like medics tending the wounded on the battlefield with shells exploding above and around us, we need to press on with our mission. And in our mission, we could be collateral damage but our lives, whether short or long, have always been the price to pay for realization of God’s glory. – BB.

  2. Jeanette Metler

    “The human being is a social animal and one’s desire is not satisfied in providing for oneself, but one wants to be in a position to take care of others. THIS HOWEVER, MUST BE UNDERSTOOD WITHIN LIMITS.”

    Providing for and taking care of others, does not negate doing the same for oneself. There is a necessary balance that must be found between both, otherwise burn out results. Jeshua himself retreated, taking time away to rest and rejuvenate in his position of provision and caring.

    Another expression of this balance required that he demonstrated, was to provide and care for… in union with many others, which also included relying in and depending upon the living essence and presence of the Spirit dwelling within not only himself, but others as well.

    Throughout learning this necessary balance we begin to understand that in and of ourselves alone we are limited, however in union with… our understanding begins to expand as we also become aware, that together we are much more than our own personal limitations.

  3. Our personal and communal spiritual journeys are intimately related in the Divine Flow of LOVING Healing Diverse ONENESS in the Sacred Process of the ETERNAL PRESENT MOMENT…

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