Today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, O.P., a great saint and doctor of the Church. In his honor I'd like to share just a small fraction of his beautiful wisdom and insight that have been and continue to be such a great gift to the Church. You can find a biography of St. Thomas here.
Study is one of the four pillars of the Dominican Order to which St. Thomas belonged, and without doubt he is an exemplar of this trait! He wrote the Summa Theologica, the Summa Contra Gentiles, and many other works that give an insightful and rational defense of the truths of the Faith. Yet he also said "I learn more things from praying before a crucifix than I do from books." He definitely makes a good patron for students and teachers and helps point us to God, the source of all truth and the goal of all our actions, including study. The following is a prayer before study that he wrote:
Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion. I ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
-Saint Thomas Aquinas, OP
St. Thomas is also a good patron to invoke to help us practice the virtue of chastity. His family was opposed to him becoming a Dominican. In an effort to dissuade him from following his vocation, his family even went so far as to lock him in a tower and send a woman to try to tempt him to sin against chastity. Through the grace of God, he resisted, chasing her out of the room with a burning log from the fire. He marked the sign of the Cross on the door, and angels came and girded him with a cincture about his waist, representing the special graces he received to persevere throughout his entire life in purity and chastity.
Truly I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more that could be said about this amazing and inspiring saint! <3
Study is one of the four pillars of the Dominican Order to which St. Thomas belonged, and without doubt he is an exemplar of this trait! He wrote the Summa Theologica, the Summa Contra Gentiles, and many other works that give an insightful and rational defense of the truths of the Faith. Yet he also said "I learn more things from praying before a crucifix than I do from books." He definitely makes a good patron for students and teachers and helps point us to God, the source of all truth and the goal of all our actions, including study. The following is a prayer before study that he wrote:
Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion. I ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
-Saint Thomas Aquinas, OP
St. Thomas is also a good patron to invoke to help us practice the virtue of chastity. His family was opposed to him becoming a Dominican. In an effort to dissuade him from following his vocation, his family even went so far as to lock him in a tower and send a woman to try to tempt him to sin against chastity. Through the grace of God, he resisted, chasing her out of the room with a burning log from the fire. He marked the sign of the Cross on the door, and angels came and girded him with a cincture about his waist, representing the special graces he received to persevere throughout his entire life in purity and chastity.
The Prayer of St. Thomas for Purity
Dear Jesus,
I know that every perfect gift,
and especially that of chastity,
depends on the power of Your providence.
Without You a mere creature can do nothing.
Therefore, I beg You to defend by Your grace
the chastity and purity of my body and soul.
And if I have ever sensed or imagined anything
that could stain my chastity and purity,
blot it out, Supreme Lord of my powers,
that I may advance with a pure heart in Your love and service,
offering myself on the most pure altar of Your divinity
all the days of my life. Amen.
(As a sidenote, check out the Angelic Warfare Confraternity!)
For me, St. Thomas' great love for the holy Eucharist stands out in a special way. He wrote the great Eucharistic hymns Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, O Salutaris, Lauda Sion, Adoro Te Devote, Panis Angelicus... His sublime poetry in honor of our Eucharistic Lord truly lifts one's heart to Him. The prayer quoted below is his "O Sacrum Convivium."
I like this quote too... :)
"Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate."
Truly I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more that could be said about this amazing and inspiring saint! <3
I'll close with the collect from today's Mass: O God, who made Saint Thomas Aquinas outstanding in his zeal for holiness and his study of sacred doctrine, grant, we pray, that we may understand what he taught and imitate what he accomplished. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Images (c) Emily Chudy 2016. (Photos from www.pixabay.com)
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