Tag: St. Thomas Aquinas

Today’s readings

Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the pre-eminent philosophers and theologians of our Church.   At the age of five years old, Thomas was promised to the famous Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino.  His parents were hoping that one day he would become the abbot of that community, which had become a very prestigious and politically powerful position.  He later went to Naples to study, and a few years later abandoned his family’s plans for him and instead joined the Dominicans.  By order of his mother, Thomas was captured by his brother and brought back home, where he was kept essentially under house arrest for a year.

Once free, he resumed his stay with the Dominicans and went to Paris and Cologne to study.  He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, and directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo.  He is very much known for his prolific writings, which have contributed immeasurably to philosophy, theology, and the Church.  Thomas spoke much of the wisdom revealed in Scripture and tradition, but also strongly taught the wisdom that could be found in the natural order of things, as well as what could be discerned from reason.

His last work was the Summa Theologiae, which he never actually completed.  He abruptly stopped writing after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273.  When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “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.”  He died March 7, 1274.

Thomas has taught us through his life and writing that the only thing that can cause the house of the Church to crumble is ignorance.  We strengthen ourselves and our community by studying the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, applying reason and revelation to the challenges of our world and our time.  “Hence we must say,” Thomas tells us, “that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act.  But he does not need a new light added to his natural light, in order to know the truth in all things, but only in some that surpasses his natural knowledge” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, 109, 1).

In our Gospel today, Jesus speaks of those who are taught by God and do God’s will as his brothers and sisters.  Saint Thomas was one who taught the wisdom of following that will so that we might be the brothers and sisters of Christ.

Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the pre-eminent theologians of our Church.   At the age of five years old, Thomas was promised to the famous Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino.  His parents were hoping that one day he would become the abbot of that community, which was a very prestigious and politically powerful position.  He later went to Naples to study, and a few years later abandoned his family’s plans for him and instead joined the Dominicans.  By order of his mother, Thomas was captured by his brother and brought back home, where he was kept essentially in house arrest for a year.

Once free, he resumed his stay with the Dominicans and went to Paris and Cologne to study.  He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, and directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo.  He is very much known for his prolific writings, which have contributed immeasurably to theology and the Church.  Thomas spoke much of the wisdom revealed in Scripture and tradition, but also strongly taught the wisdom that could be found in the natural order of things, as well as what could be discerned from reason.

His last work was the Summa Theologiae, which he never actually completed.  He abruptly stopped writing after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273.  When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “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.”  He died March 7, 1274.

Thomas has taught us through his life and writing that the only thing that can cause the house of the Church to crumble is ignorance.  We strengthen ourselves and our community by studying the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, applying reason and revelation to the challenges of our world and our time.  “Hence we must say,” Thomas tells us, “that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act.  But he does not need a new light added to his natural light, in order to know the truth in all things, but only in some that surpasses his natural knowledge” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, 109, 1).

In our Gospel today, Jesus speaks of those who do God’s will as his family.  Saint Thomas was one who taught the wisdom of following that will so that we might be the brothers and sisters of Christ.

Today’s readings

Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the pre-eminent theologians of our Church.   At the age of five years old, Thomas was promised to the famous Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino.  His parents were hoping that one day he would become the abbot of that community, which was a very prestigious and politically powerful position.  He later went to Naples to study, and a few years later abandoned his family’s plans for him and instead joined the Dominicans.  By order of his mother, Thomas was captured by his brother and brought back home, where he was kept essentially in house arrest for a year.

Once free, he resumed his stay with the Dominicans and went to Paris and Cologne to study.  He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, and directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo.  He is very much known for his prolific writings, which have contributed immeasurably to theology and the Church.  Thomas spoke much of wisdom revealed in Scripture and tradition, but also strongly taught the wisdom that could be found in the natural order of things, as well as what could be discerned from reason.

His last work was the Summa Theologiae, which he never actually completed.  He abruptly stopped writing after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273.  When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “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.”  He died March 7, 1274.

Thomas has taught us through his life and writing that the only thing that can cause the house of the Church to crumble is ignorance.  We strengthen ourselves and our community by studying the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, applying reason and revelation to the challenges of our world and our time.  “Hence we must say,” Thomas tells us, “that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act.  But he does not need a new light added to his natural light, in order to know the truth in all things, but only in some that surpasses his natural knowledge” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, 109, 1).

In our Gospel today, Jesus speaks of one not being able to break into the strong man’s house.  We are blessed to have the fruits of Saint Thomas’s vast work to guide our understanding of God and strengthen us in the fight against evil.

Today’s readings

Mass with the school children:

I have a feeling that today’s Gospel reading is one that Saint Thomas Aquinas probably loved.  Saint Thomas was known for the way that he explained the faith: he did it systematically, breaking down complex ideas into smaller parts so that we can understand them.  So then this Gospel reading, in which Jesus is explaining the Kingdom of God – a very complex idea indeed! – probably inspired Saint Thomas in his work.

Saint Thomas was a very smart young man from a very rich and influential family.  When he was only five years old, he was promised to the famous Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino, where he was to study with the monks. His parents were hoping that one day he would become the abbot of that community, which was a very prestigious and politically powerful position. He later went to Naples to study, and a few years later abandoned his family’s plans for him and instead joined the Dominicans, which is a different religious order known for living in poverty and preaching to the poor.  His family didn’t like that, so by order of his mother, Thomas was captured by his brother and brought back home, where he was imprisoned in his own house for a year.

He escaped, and once free, he went back to the Dominicans and moved to Paris and Cologne to study. He held was a professor in Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, and directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo. He is very much known for his scholarly writings, which have contributed so much to theology, that is, what the Church knows and believes about God.  Saint Thomas spoke much of wisdom that can be found in Scripture and tradition, and he also strongly taught the wisdom that could be found in the natural order of things, in the world God created, as well as what could be found in reason, just putting on our thinking caps and using the brains God gave us.

His last work was the Summa Theologiae, which he actually never completed. He abruptly stopped writing after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “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.”  He just felt like all that he wrote – which was a lot! – couldn’t even begin to describe God in all his wonder and glory.  He died March 7, 1274.

Saint Thomas felt that it was vitally important for all of us to learn everything that we could about God and the world he created.  He felt that the biggest enemy to the Church and to the world was ignorance, and he did everything he could to combat that enemy.  So today, on his feast day, this is a good day to think about the great gift that we have here at Notre Dame school.  Here we can come together and learn not just about math and science and reading and culture, but also about God and the Church.  Saint Thomas is the patron of all students, and with his intercession, all of you should make the most of that great gift.  There is no limit to what you can learn by studying and using God’s gift of your intellect and reason, and so maybe today, in honor of Saint Thomas Aquinas, you might say a prayer of thanks to God for your school and your intellect, and maybe even resolve to try a little harder to make better use of those great gifts.

Saint Thomas once said, “Lord, in my zeal for the love of truth, let me not forget the truth about love.”  As we give God thanks today for the gift of our school and our ability to learn, let us also give God thanks for the love that he pours out on us each day.