St. Thomas Aquinas, ora pro nobis

St. Thomas Aquinas was one of the most important contributors to Western thought. Almost anything you learn in modern philosophy, ethics or political theory is a reaction against (or agreement with) his thoughts. He is considered to be a "Doctor of the Church", an honor to which only 33 men and women have been named throughout the Church's history. The Catholic Church considers him to be the greatest of her theologians. He's also the patron saint of students. In short: he's a pretty important guy.

Today is the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas. He's the perfect prayer partner to turn to when you need God's help and guidance with your studies. So, CCM will have St. Thomas Aquinas prayer cards available after the Masses this Sunday. Be sure to take one to remind you that even a young man who was once derided by his peers for being a "dumb ox" can turn out to be one of the greatest thinkers of all time.




Fr. Joe:
St. Thomas' life was marked with interesting stories and events. When I was a seminarian, I was captivated by this image of Thomas:

It's a picture of angels fastening a belt (girdle, really) around Thomas' waist so that he may have chastity to overcome temptation. The woman in the background, as legend tells us, is a prostitute sent by Thomas' family to break his vocation down. The angels are saving him by, as some accounts read, squeezing the concupiscence out of him. So, just a note, sometimes being a good student is also being a disciplined student. And not so much this:

Glory Daze: Anyone watch this? Anyone?