St. Thomas Aquinas
Patron Saint of students and all
universities
Thomas age is
the most disputed part in any of his biographies. Since scholars, due to the
scarcity of facts does not agree on the year of the saint's birth. Some would
say he was born on 1225, some later on 1227, still others in between of those
years. Which is which, that does not matter. The core of the matter is that we have
a great saint to commemorate with. However, they all agree that Thomas died of
March 7, 1274 at the monastery of Fossa Nuova.
He was born in a
well-off family, in the castle of Rocca Secca in the old county of the Kingdom
of Sicily. His father Landulph was Count of Aquino,
born from an old high-born south Italian family, and his mother Theodora was
Countess of Teano, of noble Norman descent.
At the age of
five, Thomas began his early education at Monte Cassino under the supervision
of the Benedictine monks. He displayed an extraordinary intelligence and virtue
which lead his preceptors to predict that someday he will be great and renown
throughout the world.
True enough
since his enrolment in 1236 at the studium generale in
Naples where "he was introduced to his philosophical influences of Greek philosopher
Aristotle, Islamic philosopher Averroes of Cordoba," and Maimonides, he
proved his aptitude greater than his teachers.
His vocation to
the priesthood was believed to be at the instigation of John of St. Julian, a
Dominican preacher, "who influenced him to join the recently founded
Dominican Order." He pursued his vocation despite his family's
disapproval. It was said that in the family's effort to keep him from entering
the Dominican Orders, Thomas was held captive in "the fortress of San Giovanni at Rocca Secca"
for nearly two years. During his confinement, "two of his brothers
hired a prostitute to seduce him, and eventually destroy his vocation but
legends claim Thomas drove her off with a fire iron. After she left, Thomas prayed
to have pure mind and heart then he fell asleep, and had a dream. In his dream two
angels appeared to him, affirming that his prayer was heard by God, sign of it was
the girdle the angels put to him to strengthened his resolve to remain
celibate.
Gaining his
freedom, he went to Paris from 1248 until 1252 for further studies where he was
believed to be mentored by a Dominican scholar Albertus Magnus (Albert the
Great), who was then the Chair of Theology at the College of St. James. During which
he was ordained priest.
"Thomas was
quiet and seldom spoke at the university, leading other students to believe he
was mentally delayed, but Albert prophetically said, "You call him the
dumb ox, but in his teaching he will one day produce such a bellowing that it
will be heard throughout the world."
His mentors
prophecy proved to true since, Thomas' famous work, Summa
theologiae, and many other writings preceding this wonderful work renders
him prolific writing, teacher and doctor of the church.
Sometimes in
1273, Thomas was believed to have received a revelation from the Savior, during
which under the spell of ardent prayer in the Chapel of St. Nicholas, "Christ
is said to have told him, "You have written well of me, Thomas. What
reward would you have for your labor?" Thomas replied, "Nothing but
you, Lord." But since then, Thomas stopped his writing because for him his
work was "seems like straw" to what he saw from the revelation.
Gregory X
convened the Second Council of Lyon on 1 May 1274 in which he invited the saint.
On his journey to the meeting, on January 1274, Thomas health failed him. He
became ill and stopped his journey "at the Cistercian Fossa Nuova Abbey,
where the monks cared for him for several days." Thomas died on March 7,
1274 during a commentary on the Song of Songs. "His remains were placed in
the Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse on January 28, 1369."
"It is not
known who beatified Thomas, but on July 18, 1323, Pope John XXII canonized him.
His original feast day was March 7, the day of his death, but because the date
often falls within Lent, in 1969, a revision of the Roman calendar changed his
feast day to January 28, the date his relics were moved to Toulouse. Pope Pius
V declared Saint Thomas Aquinas a doctor of the church, saying Thomas was
"the most brilliant light of the Church."
Saint Thomas is
often depicted with an open book or writing with a quill.
Sources:
1. 1. McBrien, Richard. Lives of the Saints: From Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John
XXIII and Mother Theresa. HarperCollins: New York. 2001. P90-92.
2. 2. Google:
a.
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2530
b.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14663b.htm
c.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/aquinas/
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