The Feast of Thomas Aquinas

This Wednesday, January 28, we celebrate the feast of our parish patron, Thomas Aquinas.

Thomas was born in Roccasecca, Italy in 1224.  His parents were aristocrats who had big plans for their son.  They expected Thomas to become the Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery, Monte Cassino.  But Thomas had more simple aspirations—resolving to join the Order of Dominican Friars instead.  Hoping he would change his mind, his parents imprisoned him for a year.  But Thomas persisted, eventually becoming a Dominican in 1244.

At that time, the Dominicans, more commonly known as the Order of Preachers, had only been in existence for a little more than 25 years.  Their mission then, as it is today, was and is to study, to teach and to preach the Word of God.

 

Thomas became a highly sought-after writer, preacher and teacher, working in universities in France and Italy.  He was offered the position of Archbishop of Naples, but he turned it down, choosing to remain committed to the mendicant simplicity of the Dominicans.

Thomas wrote an enormous body of literature, but at the end of his life, he compared everything that he had written to straw.  One day after praying at the Dominican convent in Naples, the Lord was believed to have spoken to Thomas saying, “You have written well of me Thomas!  What do you desire?”  To which, Thomas replied, “Only you, Lord Jesus.”  Thomas knew that only in Jesus would he find true joy.

Throughout his life, Thomas chose to follow his heart, rather than his ego.  He chose to focus on the will of God rather than other person’s ideas of who he should be or what he should become.  Over and over, he chose simplicity and humility over pride and self-importance.

The work of Thomas Aquinas continues to influence our thinking and our faith.  He is considered the Church’s greatest theologian and philosopher.