If Something Is True

Topic: Truth, Law, & Principle

If something is true, no matter who said it, it is always from the Holy Spirit.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, born into a noble family in Roccasecca, Italy, was a renowned Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. As an Italian Dominican, he was profoundly influential in the tradition of scholasticism, earning the titles of Doctor Angelicus and Doctor Communis. His academic journey began at the University of Naples, where he first encountered Aristotle's works that would greatly shape his future philosophical and theological perspectives. Inspired by these ideas, Aquinas joined the Dominican Order, a religious community founded by Saint Dominic dedicated to preaching and teaching.

Aquinas later traveled to Paris to pursue further studies at the prestigious University of Paris, becoming a student of Albert the Great. As a distinguished scholar and theologian, Albert the Great imparted invaluable insights that significantly influenced Aquinas's development. After concluding his studies in Paris, Aquinas returned to Italy, imparting his knowledge as a lecturer at the University of Naples and the University of Rome. In addition to his educational pursuits, he served as an advisor to the Pope, strengthening his bond with the Church.

Throughout his career, Aquinas penned numerous works, the most notable being the Summa Theologica. This extensive treatise synthesized Christian theology and philosophy, segmented into three parts that discuss God, man, and the Christian life respectively. This work, among others, solidified Aquinas's substantial impact on Catholicism, providing defensible arguments against challenges from other religious traditions and contributing significantly to the development of Catholic doctrine. The philosophy and theology of Aquinas, known as Thomism, remains influential in contemporary Catholic thought. Predicated on the reconciliation of faith and reason, Thomism has evolved with scholars like John of St. Thomas, Francisco Suarez, and Jacques Maritain further refining its principles. Its application extends beyond theology, influencing fields such as philosophy, law, economics, and facilitating dialogue between religion and science.

(ca. 1225-1274) Christianity
De Veritate

Aquinas, Thomas. Truth (Quaestiones Disputatae de Veritate). Translated by James V. McGlynn, Henry Regnery Company, 1953, q. 1, a. 8. [Thomas Aquinas, De Veritate, q. 1, a. 8.].

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Theme: Truth

About This St. Thomas Aquinas Quotation [Commentary]

Thomas Aquinas teaches that truth is not bound by its source, stating, “If something is true, no matter who said it, it is always from the Holy Spirit.” He affirms that the Spirit moves beyond divisions of culture, religion, or intellect, revealing truth wherever it is found. This understanding calls for humility, urging us to recognize wisdom in unexpected places rather than dismissing ideas based on their origin. For Aquinas, truth is always sacred because it belongs to God, and its recognition requires openness rather than exclusion.

This perspective shaped Aquinas’s approach to faith and reason. Under the influence of Albert the Great, he saw the study of nature as a means of encountering divine wisdom, believing that scientific inquiry and theology both lead to truth. His words encourage looking beyond rigid boundaries, whether between faith traditions or disciplines of knowledge. If all truth comes from the Holy Spirit, then its presence must be acknowledged not only in theology but also in philosophy, science, and diverse religious traditions.

Aquinas’s teaching remains essential today in a world often divided by ideology. His words do not invite relativism but a deeper trust in truth itself, which, when sincerely pursued, always leads to God. Whether found in a scientist’s discovery, a philosopher’s reasoning, or the devotion of another tradition, truth belongs to the Holy Spirit. Aquinas’s insight challenges us to recognize the Spirit’s movement in all places, broadening our understanding of divine presence beyond the limits of any single tradition.

Fr. Richard Rohr Commentary [Excerpts]

“I was born 75 years ago today. I know 75 is a somewhat arbitrary number, yet our culture has assigned it some significance. CAC staff encouraged me to share my journey, and they sifted through old photo albums to illustrate my very human path. So today I offer a few reflections from my own “particular” life. I hope you, too, can see in your life your own unique manifestation of the image and likeness of God, each of us “crying what I do is me: for that I came” in Gerard Manley Hopkins’ words. …

This one Holy Spirit has moved through all of us over time—creating the Franciscans and the Second Vatican Council for Catholics, the Baptism in the Spirit for many Protestants, deep mystical movements in all faith traditions, and a growing recognition, as St. Thomas Aquinas often wrote, “If something is true, no matter who said it, it is always from the Holy Spirit.” In time, I could not help but see the many faces of Christ and the Spirit in serene Hindus, native peoples in love with the natural world, my socially conscious Jewish friends, profound Buddhist wisdom, Sufi God-lovers, and, of course, in loving Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants of every stripe, often in spite of their denomination or theology rather than because of it.”

―St. Thomas Aquinas often wrote, “If something is true, no matter who said it, it is always from the Holy Spirit.”
BY Mvenner, March 31, 2018.

* Thomas Aquinas, De Veritate, q. 1, a. 8. The statement “Omne verum, a quocumque dicatur, a Spiritu Sancto est” was used repeatedly by Aquinas; he gave credit for it to Ambrose, an earlier Doctor of the Church.

Fr. Billy Swan Commentary, The Truth of Things

Here I argue that the thought of St. Thomas is again required by the Church to dialogue confidently with modern science [one of three reasons why]…

Thomas invites us to love both the natural sciences and the science of faith. Under the influence of St. Albert the Great (c. 1200-1280), Thomas appreciated the scientific study of creation as an enterprise of observation, discovery, and contemplation of all that God had made. He saw a harmony between science and faith, since, for Thomas, it is truth that unites both faith and the natural sciences. He wrote that “all truth irrespective of who expresses it, comes from the Holy Spirit” (Summa theologiae, 1-2.109.1). This means that for both the believer and the scientist, what unites them is a passion for what is true.

What also unites them is a disdain for relativism. The implications of this insight for us today is that we should not be afraid to dialogue with science—to know its power and its limits. When I worked in science, the study of physics, chemistry, and biology were not threats to my faith but routes to contemplation of all God’s handiwork, which moved me to praise him even more.

―Fr. Billy Swan, St. Thomas Aquinas and Our Dialogue with Modern Science, January 28, 2021.

If Something Is True

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