That It Was Fitting That Christ Should Be Crucified with Thieves

Taken from Medulla S. Thomae Aquinatis which arranges various short texts from St. Thomas Aquinas' corpus based on the liturgical year. I will be posting the day's meditation each day and will be bringing it into print once I'm through it.

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Thursday after the First Sunday of Lent

That It Was Fitting That Christ Should Be Crucified with Thieves

Christ was crucified between thieves from one intention on the part of the Jews, and from quite another on the part of God’s ordination.

1. As to the intention of the Jews, Chrysostom remarks (Hom. lxxxvii in Matth.) that they crucified the two thieves, one on either side, that He might be made to share their guilt. But it did not happen so; because mention is never made of them; whereas His cross is honored everywhere. Kings lay aside their crowns to take up the cross: on their purple robes, on their diadems, on their weapons, on the consecrated table, everywhere the cross shines forth.

As to God’s ordinance, Christ wa