WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Soldiers of Christ: St. Thomas Aquinas

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

St. Thomas Aquinas was a medieval Italian priest and theologian whose writings have influenced the entire world. He is a Doctor of the Church and the patron saint of universities and scholars. 

Hi, I'm Faith Roy's and this is Soldiers of Christ on Radio Free Hillsdale, a feature where I highlight the life of Catholic and Orthodox saints. Today's saint is Thomas Aquinas, a medieval Italian priest whose writings are known across the globe. Thomas was born to a wealthy family in 1225 in an old county of the Kingdom of Sicily. Thomas was sent to a Benedictine monastery at the age of five in hopes that he would choose to become a monk. In 1239, he was sent to Naples to further his studies. He proved himself to be extremely bright and quickly surpassed his teachers in his understanding of grammar, logic, music, math, and astronomy. Despite his accomplishments and the corruption that surrounded him,

Thomas' heart remained pure and he desired to enter religious life. Against his parents' wishes, he entered the order of the Dominicans and received his habit. Soon after, his mother and siblings tried to dissuade him, him of this vocation, and even kidnapped him. They detained him for two years, during which they endeavored to destroy his vocation by laying traps for Thomas to fall into vice. But the young man remained steadfast in his faith and prayed to God for protection from these evils. Two angels appeared to him in a dream, and assured him his prayer had been heard. Even though he suffered much and was a prisoner, Thomas still advanced in virtue and knowledge by reading the Holy Scriptures

in Aristotle's metaphysics. When he was finally given back to the Dominicans, they found he had made great progress in his studies. He traveled to the University of Paris and studied under the Great Dominican scholar, Albertus Magnus. In 1248, he declined Pope Innocent the Fourth's invitation to be the abbot of Monte Cassino, and instead followed Albertus to continue his studying.

He began to teach and write several books on theology. A few years later, Thomas Ritchell, turn to Paris to earn his masters in theology, and was soon appointed the regent master in theology there. He continued to write and teach, traveling to different locations in order to preach and lecture. Eventually, he was invited to Rome to serve as the papal theologian and to teach at a Dominican school about philosophy and theology. It was during this time that Aquinas wrote his most famous work, the Summa Theologi, which continues to be published and read by many today. When Aquinas was about 50, the Dominicans asked him to establish a university. He started one in Naples and took

the position of Regent Master Post. One day, a sacristan saw Thomas crying and levitating in prayer in front of an icon of the crucified Christ. The Lord said to Aquinas, You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you have for your labor? The saint humbly replied, nothing but you, Lord. What happened next, Thomas never spoke of, but he completely abandoned his normal work, and when others begged him to return to it, he replied, I cannot, because all that I have written seems like straw to me. In 1274, he was traveling when he hit his head on a tree branch and became ill. He never fully recovered and passed away on March 7th.

He was canonized to saint only 50 years later and was named a doctor of the church. St. Thomas Aquinas is the patron saint of universities and scholars, and his feast day is celebrated on January 28th. There are many writings of St. Thomas, but one in particular can be inspiring to us all, for he wrote, The soul is like an uninhabited world that comes to life only when God lays his head against us. Thank you for listening to Soldiers of Christ. I'm Faith Roy's with Radio Freehillsdale 101.7 FM.