St. Thomas Aquinas
Feast Day: January 28
Thomas did not look impressive to everyone around him.
He was large, quiet, and slow to speak.
Some of his classmates even mocked him and called him the “Dumb Ox.”
But his teacher, St. Albert the Great, saw something different.
Albert is said to have predicted that the voice of this “dumb ox” would one day be heard throughout the world.
He was right.
Thomas Aquinas became one of the greatest theologians in Christian history.
He wrote about God.
The Trinity.
Creation.
Grace.
The sacraments.
Morality.
Prayer.
The Eucharist.
And nearly every major question of Christian theology.
Yet near the end of his life, after an intense experience of prayer, Thomas stopped writing.
Compared with what God had shown him, he said, everything he had written seemed like straw.
The man who spent his life studying truth ended by reminding the Church that God is greater than anything we can ever say about Him.
St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.
Who Was St. Thomas Aquinas?
St. Thomas Aquinas was born around 1225 in the Kingdom of Sicily, in what is now Italy.
He came from a noble family.
His relatives expected him to pursue an important and respectable position in the Church.
Thomas, however, became attracted to the newly founded Dominican Order.
The Dominicans were devoted to poverty, preaching, study, and teaching.
His family strongly opposed the decision.
His Family Tried to Stop Him
When Thomas attempted to join the Dominicans, members of his family intervened.
He was seized and held for months in an effort to change his mind.
They hoped he would abandon the Dominican vocation and choose a path they considered more suitable to his social rank.
Thomas refused.
Eventually, his family allowed him to leave.
He joined the Dominicans and continued his studies.
The young man who had been physically prevented from following his vocation eventually became one of the order’s greatest saints.
Student of St. Albert the Great
Thomas studied under St. Albert the Great.
Because Thomas was quiet, some fellow students assumed he was unintelligent.
Albert recognized his ability.
Thomas had an extraordinary mind.
He could hold complex arguments together, distinguish similar ideas, and explain difficult theology with unusual precision.
His silence was not emptiness.
He was thinking.
Faith and Reason
Thomas became one of the great Catholic teachers on the relationship between faith and reason.
He believed truth cannot contradict truth.
If God is the author of revelation and the creator of human reason, then genuine discoveries of reason cannot ultimately oppose the faith.
This allowed Thomas to make extensive use of philosophy, especially the works of Aristotle.
He did not accept everything ancient philosophers taught.
He examined their ideas carefully and used what was true.
The Summa Theologiae
Thomas’s most famous work is the Summa Theologiae.
He intended it as an organized introduction to theology for students.
The work asks questions.
Presents objections.
Gives contrary arguments.
Then offers a carefully reasoned answer.
Thomas discusses subjects ranging from the existence of God to morality, grace, Christ, and the sacraments.
He did not fear objections.
He stated them strongly before answering them.
That method is one reason his work remains so influential.
The Five Ways
Thomas is famous for presenting several philosophical arguments for the existence of God, commonly called the Five Ways.
They begin with features of the world such as change, causation, contingency, degrees of perfection, and order.
Thomas did not think these arguments explained everything about God.
They were starting points for showing that reason can reach certain truths about the Creator.
Faith then reveals truths reason could never discover on its own, such as the Trinity.
His Love for the Eucharist
Thomas was not only an intellectual.
He was deeply devoted to the Holy Eucharist.
Pope Urban IV asked him to prepare texts for the newly established Feast of Corpus Christi.
Thomas composed some of the Church’s most beautiful Eucharistic hymns.
Tradition associates him with texts such as Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, and Adoro Te Devote.
His theology of the Eucharist was not abstract.
It came from prayer.
Transubstantiation
Thomas helped explain the Church’s teaching on the Real Presence using the philosophical language of substance and accidents.
At Mass, the substance of bread and wine becomes the Body and Blood of Christ, while the appearances remain.
The Church calls this change transubstantiation.
Thomas’s explanation became one of the most important theological accounts of the doctrine.
He wanted Christians to understand that Christ is not merely symbolically present.
He is truly present.
Prayer Before Study
Thomas knew the limits of intelligence.
He prayed constantly for understanding.
Study, for him, was a spiritual act.
He believed the mind had to be disciplined, but also humble.
Knowledge should lead toward God.
That is one reason students, scholars, and schools often take Thomas as a patron.
“Everything I Have Written Seems Like Straw”
Near the end of his life, Thomas experienced something profound while celebrating Mass or praying.
Afterward, he largely stopped writing.
When urged to continue, he reportedly said that everything he had written seemed like straw compared with what had been revealed to him.
This did not mean his theology was worthless.
It meant he understood its limits.
Even the best human language remains small before the mystery of God.
His Death
Thomas died in 1274 while traveling to the Second Council of Lyon.
He was around forty-nine years old.
His life had been relatively short.
His writings were enormous.
His influence became even greater after his death.
A Doctor of the Church
Pope John XXII canonized Thomas Aquinas in 1323.
The Church later declared him a Doctor of the Church.
He is often called the Angelic Doctor.
His theology became especially influential in Catholic seminaries, universities, philosophy, moral theology, and apologetics.
What St. Thomas Aquinas Teaches Us
St. Thomas teaches us not to be afraid of difficult questions.
Faith does not need to hide from reason.
A serious question deserves a serious answer.
He also teaches us that intelligence should lead to humility.
Thomas knew an enormous amount.
But the more deeply he came to know God, the more aware he became that God exceeds every human concept.
That is the balance he gives us:
think deeply,
study carefully,
argue honestly,
and remain humble before mystery.
When Is the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas?
The Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas on January 28.
He is remembered as a Dominican priest, philosopher, theologian, Eucharistic poet, Doctor of the Church, and patron of Catholic schools, students, and scholars.
Prayer Inspired by St. Thomas Aquinas
Lord Jesus Christ,
give us the love of truth shown by St. Thomas Aquinas.
Help us to use reason well, study carefully, and never fear honest questions.
Keep us humble in what we know and patient with what we do not understand.
Deepen our love for You in the Holy Eucharist.
Bless students, teachers, philosophers, theologians, and all who seek wisdom.
And may everything we learn lead us closer to You.
St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us. Amen.
