Lex nova non onerat:Understanding the beatitudes as 'law' in Thomas Aquinas

The beatitudes as they’ve come to us in the Gospel of Matthew play an<br/>important role in the life of the Church and in the literary and theological<br/>traditions of the West in particular. In this contribution in honor of the 800th<br/>anniversary of the birth of St. Thomas Aquinas, I would like to briefly recall this<br/>rich tradition and further reflect on one perspective that remains underdeveloped:<br/>the understanding of the beatitudes in relation to the treatise on law on the<br/>Summa Theologiae.