January 28 - St. Thomas Aquinas
Born: 1225 in Sicily
Died: March 7, 1274
Nationality: Italian
Vocation: Religious
Attributes: holding a book and quill
Patronage: Thunderstorms, sudden death
Canonization: July 18, 1323 by Pope John XXII
St. Thomas Aquinas is a Doctor of the Church and perhaps one of the most influential thinkers in Catholic history. He was born in 1225 to a noble family. He had several sisters and three brothers. One night during his youth, his sister was killed by lightning; ever since, Thomas had a great fear of thunderstorms and often sat in a Church until they passed. His parents sent him to the Benedictine monastery of Monte Casto for his education where they dreamed he would one day become abbott. He left Monte Casto to study at the University of Naples and there he encountered the Order of Preachers belonging to the Dominicans. Thomas joined the order at age 19, much to the dismay of his parents. They were not opposed to Thomas entering religious life, but they opposed a group that lived a life of such poverty. They went so far as to kidnap Thomas and bring him home for a year against his will. His brothers went so far as to send a prostitute into his chamber so that he would break his vows of chastity. Although this backfired because Thomas chased her around the room with a torch until she screamed to be let out. During his time in the chamber he continued to study and memorize Scripture, until his family finally relented and allowed him to join the Dominicans.
Thomas traveled to Cologne where he studied under St. Albert the Great to finish his education and become ordained as a priest. In his classes, Thomas was quiet and timid, as many of his classmates were lively and outspoken. Thomas also was a large man for his time so his classmates deemed him unintelligent and nicknamed him a “dumb ox.” However, they were soon proved wrong as Thoams excelled in his studies.
St. Thomas Aquinas accomplished many things during his career. He taught as a professor at the University of Paris, traveled with the court of Pope Urban IV, preached, and wrote many works. His most influential work, although left incomplete at the time of his death, the Summa Theologiae, works through and defends Catholic theology. He wrote many other works on Scripture as well. King St. Louis IX often sought Thomas for advice.
St. Thomas spent just as much time in prayer as he did studying. It is recorded that he had mystical visions of Jesus speaking to him and on one occasion, Thomas’ body was lifted into the air during prayer. After celebrating Mass one December, Thomas stopped writing the Summa, he had a revelation and then said, “I cannot go on…. All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” Thomas caught a serious illness and died around three months after this experience, on March 7, 1274.
St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.