In today’s episode, we explore Thomas Aquinas’s discussion on the mission of the divine persons in Summa Theologica, Part One, Question 43, Articles 4–8. Aquinas explains why only the Son and the Holy Spirit are sent and why the Father is never sent.

We begin by addressing the key objections:

• If mission means being sent, does this imply inferiority?
• Can God’s presence truly change when He is omnipresent?
• If mission follows procession, does that mean only the Son and Spirit can be sent?

Aquinas clarifies that mission does not imply inferiority but follows the eternal order of procession—the Son proceeds from the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from both. Their mission in creation is not a change in God but a new presence in the world:

• The Son is sent visibly through the Incarnation.
• The Spirit is sent invisibly into the souls of believers.
• The Father is never sent because He does not proceed from another.

In the end, we see that divine mission is not about hierarchy, but about God’s way of making Himself present in the world through grace and salvation.

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Tune in for this deep dive into Thomistic theology, where we uncover the richness of divine mission and its role in Christian doctrine!