Modus Revelatio: Aquinas and the Hierarchy of Intellects

Aquinas distinguishes three classes of men in regard to revelation: those who received revelation and passed on knowledge in written form (the prophets/apostles), those whose task it is to interpret and teach what has been given in revelation (the episcopacy), and the body of the laity who are simply charged to believe and have faith in what they are taught. As aforementioned, revelation occurs at the moment of cognition, which only comes through illumination of the intellect through the Holy Spirit.
Aquinas writes that, “It is necessary that some supernatural disposition should be added to the intellect in order that it may be raised up to such a great height.” The Divine Essence must be added to the human intellect by God and through His grace, for the essence of a higher nature cannot be understood by a lower nature except through the action of the higher nature. The natural power of man’s intellect, Aquinas argues, is insufficient for the Divine Substance. Therefore, if revelation is to be attained, an outside agent must intensify the created intellect’s ability and parameters concerning spiritual visions. As noted, any created intellect, however, by definition cannot possess enough power to serve as an outside agent. The only agent, then, awesome enough to envision and convey the Supreme Intellect is the Supreme Intellect. The Divine Essence thus becomes not only the object that is sought but also the medium by which the illumination of the intellect occurs. In this sense, the nature of God, as revealed to man on earth, is both understanding (the means by which He is understood) and the understood.