As we know, this is Catholic Schools Week throughout the United States. How wonderful to celebrate today the patron saint of all Catholic Schools and a highly revered member of our Dominican Order, St. Thomas Aquinas.
Thomas was born in southern Italy in 1225 of noble descent, and at 5 years old his parents gave him over to the Benedictine monastery with the hope that he would love that life and become the Abbot someday. However, that was not to be. Much to his mother’s disappointment, he joined the Dominicans, which was unheard of for a person of his noble rank. His family did not want him to become a poor friar, so when the Order sent him to Rome, his brothers kidnapped him at his mother’s insistence and confined him for two years hoping he’d change his mind. His sisters, however, brought him books on religion and philosophy so that he would continue his learning. Finally, his mother consented to set Thomas free. He took his vows as a Dominican and studied in Cologne under St. Albert the Great. He excelled in speech and logic and eventually held many professorial and leadership positions in leading universities.
His greatest contributions to the church are his writings. His best known work written between 1265-1274 is The Summa Theologica, which synthesized church teachings and still remains influential today. He never finished it, however, because while he was saying Mass, Thomas had a vision of heaven’s glory which made him feel like his work was worthless.
On his deathbed 3 months later at age 50 of an illness, he is reported to have pointed to all of his books and said “After what I have experienced, all that is just straw.”
When we sing the “Pange Lingua” during our Holy Thursday procession, we are singing the hymn St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in 1264 for the feast of Corpus Christi.
Despite his genius, he was a humble man. Because of his simplicity and reserved nature, his peers initially mistook him for being unintelligent and even called him ‘the dumb ox’ because of his stout stature. The Church, however, honors Thomas with the title Doctor of the Church for his incredible depth of theology and philosophy.
St. Thomas is surely an example of Jesus’ words to us in today’s gospel when he says: ‘Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me.’ Although these words may sound like a rebuke of his mother and family who were waiting outside for him, Jesus is really inviting every one of us to become his disciple which transcends even family bonds.
St. Thomas accepted that invitation and answered the call with heart and mind through study and prayer. May we imitate Thomas by continuing to learn about Christ through our prayer and study of Scripture.
St. Thomas Aquinas,
patron saint of Catholic universities and schools, pray for us.
