In the year that St. Francis of Assisi passed away, the man who would be called a Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, was born in 1226 in the castle of Roccosecca in Aquino, Italy. At age five, St. Thomas Aquinas was sent to live with the Benedictines of Monte Cassino. When I was a young backpacker in my twenties, I had the chance to visit the abbey at Monte Cassino where my maternal grandfather's cousin was the abbott.
In 1243, St. Thomas Aquinas joined the Dominicans of Naples. As a reward for his fidelity, God granted him the gift of perfect chastity, something the average person would consider a curse. St. Thomas Aquinas was a prolific writer who left his "Summa Theologica" incomplete. He is known as the foremost proponent of natural theology. He died on March 7, 1274. Canonized: 1323. He said, "The things that we love tell us what we are."
2 comments:
I learned about Thomas Aquinas in philosophy class and his simple proofs of the existence of God touched me deeply.
Thank you for your comment. Glad you were touched by St. Thomas Aquinas.
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