A Thomistic perspective in honoring the Fatherland

| | Comments (0)
Independence Day Declaration of Independence.jpg

St Thomas Aquinas didn't have a theological opinion on America's Independence for obvious reasons, but he did have at least two thoughts on the virtue of the fatherland and a Catholic's perspective in honoring one's homeland. He sets in clear terms the proper order of our praise for our origins. Aquinas wrote:

"The virtue of piety helps us pay worship not only to one's father but also to one's fatherland" (II-II, Q. 102, a3).

And in another place he said, "Our existence and guidance in life come primarily from God, secondarily from our parents and our native country.  Religion gives expression to the faith, hope and charity which fundamentally unite us to God; in the same way loyalty expresses the love we have for our parents and native country" (II-II, Q101, a2). 

Leave a comment

About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

Categories

Archives

Humanities Blog Directory

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Paul Zalonski published on July 4, 2010 3:50 PM.

Independence Day in the USA was the previous entry in this blog.

Saint Maria Goretti is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.