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St. Thomas Aquinas |
The family of this brilliant intellectual were so much opposed to the idea that he should become a Dominican monk that they held him prisoner for fifteen months in the hope of dissuading him. They failed. As a monk Thomas met the greatest brains of the thirteenth century, studying in Paris and in Cologne and finally becoming a famous lecturer in Paris himself. So great was his influence that Thomas was also asked to teach at many Italian Universities; but Paris remained his spiritual and intellectual home until the year 1272, when he set up a great school at Naples.
St Thomas labored to prove to the sluggish minds of human beings that God exists, that he is love and that in him is every possible perfection. His writings have long been recognized as intellectual masterpieces, even by those who disagree with them.
Thomas Aquinas was no dry and boring person although he was very shy. He loved to laugh; but he also wrote, 'I cannot understand how a person can even smile, if he is in a state of mortal sin.' He died in 1274.
From A Calendar of Saints -
The Lives of the Principal Saints of the Christian Year
Prayer of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Grant me, 0 Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you.
Amen.
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