St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is one of the most well-known saints, but also one of the most misunderstood. In my experience teaching high school theology, students often summarize him as an out-of-touch theologian because of the style of his writing. However, investigating the man behind the writings has helped me to gain better clarity and inspiration from my namesake.
I have been studying theology and philosophy for 15 years. I have taught religion to young people for eight years. In my journey of studying and teaching, I often come across St. Thomas in a quote or a footnote. When a contemporary writer is attempting to explain something, they will frequently reference Aquinas as their resource. For too long, I was intimidated by his writings. For too long, I wrote him off as someone who I was not smart enough to understand or appreciate.
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All of this changed when a priest recommended that I should get to know Aquinas the man before studying St. Thomas, the theologian. He suggested reading a historical novel called “The Quiet Light” by Louis De Wohl. The work has much to do with the family of St. Thomas, but it also has so many stories that help reveal the personality of Aquinas. Ultimately, behind the man who wrote over eight million words in his life is a person of deep prayer and conviction.
When Aquinas was a young boy, he lived in a Benedictine monastery. His family dedicated him to this prestigious life of prayer and study from an early age. St. Thomas was a great student and immersed himself in uniting his soul to God in prayer. As a young man, he encountered the Dominicans and was captivated by their witness and mission for evangelizing. He left the Benedictines to join this newly formed religious order, despite the skepticism around his choice.
Thomas’ parents disagreed with his decision to leave the prestigious Benedictine monastery to become a poor beggar and preacher, and they locked him in a room in their large estate in an effort to stop his actions. During his almost full year of captivity he was known to be kind to his family members and was often entrenched in deep prayer. Learning this fact allowed me to see that we must cling to Christ in the challenging moments of our lives. Aquinas was convinced that he was called to something that his family disagreed with. And yet, he spent the vast majority of his time in close correspondence with God.
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Aquinas did not degrade or speak down to his captors. He prayed intensely and acted with love towards those who were unaware of how their behavior was against God’s providence. Whether it is the illness of a loved one, challenges at work or a fear to speak up for truth — we can all learn from the prayerfulness and kindness of St. Thomas. In our trials, we are tremendously close to Christ crucified. It is his heart that desires to reveal to us that we are never alone.
The other moment that stands out in St. Thomas’s life happened during his celebration of Mass towards the end of his life. At the end of that Mass, he entered the sacristy to take off his vestments and he began to tell his secretary, Reginald, that he had a vision of Christ during the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. He then commented that all he had written in his life “was straw” compared to what he saw. After that experience, Aquinas never wrote another word.
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He spent his remaining days in long periods of prayer in his cell and in the chapel. It was this encounter with Christ’s sacrificial love that defined his final days on this earth. His final decision to be captivated by prayer over theology reveals that we are all called to intimate union with God while we are on earth.
The real St. Thomas is one of deep prayer. So, if we desire to be changed by one of the greatest theologians in Church history — we should become more like him. Be people of deep prayer. People who cling to God when there are challenges and who enter each Mass with a vision for the profound sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The real St. Thomas would ask us of nothing less.
