ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Priest and Doctor of the Church – January 28
Seeking Truth, Loving Christ, and Living with Wisdom
Introduction
We have access to more information than ever before, yet information alone does not make us wise. Wisdom helps us recognize what is true, choose what is good, and direct our lives toward God.
St. Thomas Aquinas devoted his remarkable intelligence to this pursuit. He was a Dominican friar, priest, teacher, theologian, and man of prayer. His life shows that serious study and deep faith can strengthen one another, and that the purpose of learning is fulfilled through love and service.
On January 28, the Church commemorates this great teacher, commonly called the Angelic Doctor and the Common Doctor. His example invites us to know our faith more deeply and to allow that knowledge to transform our lives.
Birth and Early Education
Thomas was born around 1225 at Roccasecca, near Aquino in southern Italy, into a noble family. As a child, he received his early education at the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino.
He later studied in Naples, where he encountered the philosophy of Aristotle and came to know the Dominican friars. Their commitment to preaching, study, and a life of poverty attracted him.
His early formation reminds us of the importance of cultivating both intellectual curiosity and spiritual attentiveness. Children’s questions about God deserve patient consideration. Such questions can become the beginning of a lifelong search for truth.
Choosing the Dominican Vocation
Thomas entered the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans, in 1244. His decision disappointed his family, who had different ambitions for him.
His relatives detained him and attempted to persuade him to abandon the Dominican vocation. He nevertheless persevered and eventually resumed life with the friars. His choice expressed a desire to follow Christ through the particular form of religious life to which he felt called.
This experience offers a lesson in discernment. A vocation should be approached through prayer, wise guidance, and freedom. Families serve their children well when they help them recognize God’s call rather than measuring every choice by status or financial advantage.
A Student of St. Albert the Great
Thomas studied under St. Albert the Great, first in Paris and later in Cologne. Albert recognized his ability and helped prepare him for a life of teaching.
A well-known traditional account describes classmates interpreting Thomas’s quietness as dullness and calling him the “dumb ox.” Albert is remembered as predicting that his teaching would one day be heard throughout the world.
The story reminds us how easily we misjudge others. Quietness does not indicate a lack of intelligence, nor does confidence guarantee wisdom. Teachers and parents should make room for different personalities and ways of learning.
Thomas also illustrates the value of mentorship. A gifted teacher can help another person discover how to place ability at the service of God.
His Service as Priest, Teacher, and Preacher
Thomas became a priest and devoted his ministry to teaching, writing, preaching, and prayer. He served in major centers of learning in France and Italy, helping form students and fellow friars.
His work included interpreting Scripture, examining philosophical questions, and explaining Christian doctrine. His service also involved defending the vocation and teaching ministry of the mendicant religious orders.
His priesthood reminds us that intellectual work can be pastoral service. A person who patiently explains the faith helps others pray with understanding, form their conscience, and respond confidently to difficult questions.
Knowledge becomes fruitful when it is shared generously.
His Major Writings
Thomas’s best-known work is the Summa Theologiae, a systematic exploration of Christian theology. It considers God and creation, the human journey toward God, and Jesus Christ as the way of salvation. Its treatment includes virtue, moral action, grace, and the sacraments. Thomas left the work unfinished.
His other writings include the Summa contra Gentiles, biblical commentaries, disputed questions, and commentaries on philosophical works.
The familiar structure of his theological articles presents objections, considers an authoritative argument, explains his answer, and responds to the objections. This approach requires careful listening before reaching a conclusion.
It offers a valuable example for our own conversations. We should understand another person’s question accurately before attempting to answer it.
Faith and Reason
One of Thomas’s lasting contributions is his explanation of the relationship between faith and reason. Both come from God, the source of truth, although they have distinct ways of knowing.
Reason can investigate creation and recognize truths about human life. Faith receives what God reveals, including mysteries beyond reason’s unaided reach. Thomas showed how these forms of knowledge can work together.
St. John Paul II likewise presented Thomas as an important guide for the encounter between faith and reason in Fides et Ratio.
This teaching encourages us to welcome honest questions. Studying science, history, philosophy, or theology can deepen our understanding when we pursue truth with humility.
Parents and catechists should help young people see that the Church values thoughtful inquiry. A difficult question can become an opportunity for deeper formation.
His Arguments for the Existence of God
Thomas presented five ways of reasoning toward God’s existence. These begin with features of the world, including change, causation, contingent existence, degrees of perfection, and the ordered activity of natural things.
They are philosophical arguments about the ultimate foundation of reality. They seek to explain why the world exists and acts as it does, rather than inserting God merely where a scientific explanation is missing.
For a homily, their practical invitation is to look at creation with thoughtful wonder. The world can awaken questions about its source, meaning, and purpose.
Wonder becomes spiritually fruitful when it leads us toward gratitude and responsibility for the gifts entrusted to us.
A Life Rooted in Prayer
Thomas’s scholarship was joined to prayer. He sought understanding while remaining aware that God infinitely exceeds the reach of the human mind.
An account preserved by his early biographers describes him praying before a crucifix in Naples. Christ is said to have asked what reward he desired for his work, and Thomas replied: “Nothing but Yourself, Lord.” This is a received account of his spiritual life, expressing the Christ-centered purpose of his learning.
The response offers a searching question for us. What do we most desire from God? We rightly ask for health, protection, guidance, and help. Thomas encourages us also to desire communion with the Lord Himself.
Prayer grows deeper when we seek to love God as well as receive His gifts.
His Love for the Holy Eucharist
Thomas is especially remembered for his Eucharistic devotion and teaching. At the request of Pope Urban IV, he composed liturgical texts for the feast of Corpus Christi.
The hymns associated with him include Pange Lingua, whose final verses form Tantum Ergo; Sacris Solemniis, which includes Panis Angelicus; Verbum Supernum, whose concluding verses form O Salutaris Hostia; and the sequence Lauda Sion. Adoro Te Devote is also traditionally attributed to him.
These texts give prayerful expression to Catholic faith in Christ’s Real Presence. Thomas’s devotion shows that theological understanding can lead naturally toward adoration.
We can follow his example by preparing thoughtfully for Holy Communion, spending time in thanksgiving afterward, and making room for Eucharistic adoration.
Wisdom Expressed Through Virtue
Thomas explored how grace, reason, freedom, and virtue shape a Christian life. He treated the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, together with the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
These virtues are practical. Prudence helps us discern a wise course of action. Justice directs us to give others what is due to them. Fortitude strengthens us to remain faithful amid difficulty. Temperance helps us govern desires and habits.
We grow in these virtues through repeated choices supported by grace. Honest work, patient speech, fair treatment, and disciplined use of time gradually shape our character.
Learning about goodness should encourage us to practice it.
Humility Before the Mystery of God
Near the end of his life, Thomas stopped writing after a profound experience during Mass in December 1273. According to the account preserved by his biographers, he considered his writings small in comparison with what had been revealed to him.
This episode expresses the limits of even great theological achievement before the mystery of God. It does not mean that his writings lacked value. They continue to serve the Church, while his response reminds us that knowledge should lead toward humility.
The more we learn, the more carefully we should speak. Wisdom includes knowing the limits of our understanding and remaining willing to receive correction.
His Death and the Date of His Memorial
Thomas died on March 7, 1274, at the Cistercian Abbey of Fossanova while traveling to the Council of Lyon at the request of Pope Gregory X.
He was canonized by Pope John XXII on July 18, 1323. His remains were transferred to the Dominican church in Toulouse on January 28, 1369, the date associated with his present memorial.
The Church’s remembrance honors both his learning and the faithful religious life through which he offered that learning to God.
Doctor of the Church and Patron of Education
Pope Pius V declared Thomas a Doctor of the Church in 1567. Pope Leo XIII named him patron of Catholic schools and universities in 1880.
The Second Vatican Council recommended his contribution to theological formation and Catholic education. His influence also remains visible in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
His titles recognize a teacher whose work helps the Church understand and communicate the faith. They also invite students and educators to unite learning with moral responsibility.
An Illustration for Family Life
Imagine a young person asking a parent why Catholics believe Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. A hurried response might dismiss the question or simply demand acceptance.
A more helpful response would listen carefully, explain what the Church teaches, and seek reliable guidance where necessary. Parent and child could then pray together and participate in the liturgy with greater understanding.
This reflects Thomas’s example: questions are received seriously, answers are pursued patiently, and knowledge leads toward worship.
Messages for Our Christian Life
Thomas calls us to study our faith seriously. Scripture, the Catechism, and sound Catholic teaching help us develop an informed understanding.
He calls us to pray as we learn. Knowledge should nourish love for God and concern for others.
He calls students and teachers to use their gifts responsibly. Learning carries an obligation to seek truth and serve the common good.
Finally, he calls us to humility. Our understanding remains limited, and the mystery of God invites continuing wonder, worship, and trust.
Conclusion
St. Thomas Aquinas placed his intelligence at the service of Christ and His Church. His life brought together study, prayer, preaching, and Eucharistic devotion.
May his intercession help us seek truth with courage, receive it with humility, and express it through lives of virtue and love. Like him, may we come to desire above all the Lord Himself.
