Saint Thomas Aquinas:

Feast day : 28 January

Today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas who was a Dominican friar who lived during the period 1223 to 1274. He is probably one of the greatest theological masters of Christianity and his thoughts have dominated Catholic teachings for centuries. He was canonised by Pope John XXII on July 18, 1323. On April 11, 1567, Pope Pius V declared him a Doctor of the Church. Among all the Doctors of the Church, the literary works and teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas have been the most popular and widely approved and supported by several Popes in the history of the Church. For St. Thomas, the way to live for God was the pursuit of truth and the reason he pursued truth was because he loved God. During his final visit to his sister Theodora, she asked him how to become a saint. His answer was “Will it.”

Early life:

He was the youngest boy born to a noble Catholic family in the town of Aquino. At the age of five, he was sent to be educated by the Benedictines at Monte Cassino. His parents offered him as an oblate and hoped that someday he would be the abbot. During his teens, he entered the Order of St. Dominic at Naples. His choice of this newly founded, mendicant (begging) Order met severe opposition from his family. He was literally captured by his family and imprisoned in the family castle. His sisters tried to weaken his resolve whilst his brothers sent a temptress to his quarters. Seeing the girl he ran to the fireplace, seized a burning stick and chased her from the room. Then he traced a cross on the wall with the charred wood. When he fell asleep, he dreamed two angels came and girded him about the waist with a cord, saying “On God’s behalf we gird you with the girdle of chastity, a girdle which no attack will ever destroy.” From thereon, throughout his life he had no temptations against purity.

Vocational life:

When his family finally released him, he went to Cologne and studied under St. Albert the Great from 1248 to 1252. During his years there, he was dubbed ‘the Dumb Ox’ by his fellow students because he was a large, quiet and non committal young man. But his brilliance in presenting his thesis and answering objections to it called forth the famous prophetic remark of St. Albert the Great: “You call him ‘the Dumb Ox,’ but one day the bellowing of this Ox will resound throughout the world.” In the following years he wrote several books and commentaries. In 1269 he resumed teaching at the University of Paris. This period of a little more than three years was the most productive literary period of his entire life. Besides scriptural and philosophical commentaries, he produced the bulk of his most famous work, the Summa Theologiae or the ‘Summa Theologica’ during this time.

Later he was recalled to Italy in 1272. He was appointed by the provincial chapter of the Order to found a ‘stadium generale’. He chose Naples to do this. At Naples, there was an incident where Our Lord spoke to St. Thomas from the Cross: “Thomas, you have written well of Me; what reward do you ask of your labor?” The reply was, “None other, Lord but Thyself.” On December 6, 1273, St Thomas “underwent a wonderful transformation” while offering Mass. “After this Mass, he never wrote or dictated anything; in fact, he laid down the instruments of writing, though he was yet working on the third part of his greatest literary work ‘The Summa Theologica’. When his friend Reginald enquired about this decision, he stated “I cannot go on. Because all that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared with what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” After his ecstasy, his new understanding and knowledge made him feel that human words were incapable of leading the mind to an adequate idea of the truth about God and His creation.

Death and Sainthood:

He soon became ill and to add to this on his journey in 1274 to the Council of Lyon he met with an accident and hurt his head. He paused his journey and stayed at the Cistercian Monastery of Fossanuova where though he was taken good care of by the monks, he died on March 7, 1274 after receiving the Viaticum and the Extreme Unction. He was buried originally at Fossanuova, where the monks noticed a strong fragrance coming from his tomb. In 1368 the relics were taken to Toulouse, to the Domincan Church and they have been in the Church of St. Sernin in Toulouse, France since then.

During his final visit to his sister Theodora, she asked him how to become a saint. His answer was “Will it.” He was canonised by Pope John XXII on July 18, 1323. On April 11, 1567, Pope Pius V declared him a Doctor of the Church. His feast day is celebrated on January 28.