On Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the book of Job (42:7-17) entitled "Job is justified by God and his enemies are refuted". Our treasure, which follows, is from the Exposition on John by Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest.
Saint Thomas was born about the year 1225 into the family of the Count of Aquino. He first studied at the Monastery of Monte Casino and later at the University of Naples. Afterwards he joined the Friars Preachers and completed his studies at Paris and Cologne, his instructor being Saint Albert the Great. Becoming himself a teacher, he wrote many learned volumes and was especially renowned for his philosophical and theological studies. Saint Thomas died near Terracina on March 7, 1274.
He was canonized in 1323 and made a Doctor of the Church in 1567. In 1965, the Second Vatican Council taught that seminarians should learn "under the guidance of Saint Thomas," to "illuminate the mysteries of salvation as completely as possible."
The Exposition on the Gospel of John is considered one of Thomas's greatest scriptural works because it combines careful analysis of the Gospel text with the insights of earlier Church Fathers. Aquinas explains the meaning of John's Gospel verse by verse, focusing especially on the divinity of Christ, the mystery of the Trinity, grace, faith, the sacraments, and eternal life. His goal was not merely academic study but helping Christians grow in understanding and love of God.
In our "treasure" today entitled "The Way to Come to True Life," from his Exposition on John, Saint Thomas teaches that Jesus Christ is the source of true and eternal life, and that people come to this life by believing in Him, following His teachings, and living in union with God. Aquinas explains that worldly goods and achievements can never fully satisfy the human heart; only Christ can lead us to the fullness of life for which we were created. The central lesson is that faith in Jesus, nourished by God's grace and expressed through a life of love and obedience, is the path that leads from spiritual darkness to the abundant and everlasting life God desires for us.
The main take-away from our first reading (Job 42:7–17) is that God vindicates Job's faithfulness and corrects those who wrongly judged him. Although Job suffered greatly, he remained sincere in seeking God, and in the end God reveals that Job's friends did not speak rightly about Him. After Job prays for them, God restores his fortunes and blesses him abundantly. The passage teaches that God sees the truth of a person's heart, that suffering is not necessarily a punishment for sin, and that faith, humility, forgiveness, and trust in God will ultimately be rewarded according to His wisdom and justice.
