St. Thomas Aquinas - It never ceases to amaze me....

There are certain truths that once you realize them, you notice them everyday in our surroundings. There is the legend that St. Thomas was given the gift of angelic purity, and his mind, cleaned of attachment, could penetrate the deepest truths, and untangle the most complex problems. The Beatitudes tell us "Blest are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." Numerous Eastern yogas and meditation systems teach this same principle. Classical Taoism, for instance, teaches that one must undo the damage done by excess sexual indulgence before one can even begin meditating effectively.

There is a connection between morality and intellect. As often as St Augustine is held up as the opposite pole of St. Thomas, his words echo this sentiment, " A man has as many masters as he has vices."

This is so obvious as we look into ourselves, our surroundings, and our society. When one suffers from a wound of greed, lust, anger, sloth, or any of the other vices, it clouds one's vision of the world and blinds one to even natural truths, much less the spiritual. Every newspaper printed seems to support this.