2. Early Life
Born in Roccasecca, Naples, Italy in the castle of
his father Landulf, Count of Aquino. He grew up
with seven siblings.
Expected to enter the monastery, so at the young
age he began his education at Monte Cassino.
Faced many temptations after wanting to join the
Dominican order but remained devout and trusted
in God’s loving plan.
3. Theological Study
Persevered and went to study at the Faculty
of Arts at the University of Paris where he
met a Dominican scholar, later to be saint,
Albertus Magnus who taught Thomas Aquinas
Theology. Aquinas was quiet but extraordinary
student who put forth amazing effort in all his
schoolwork while maintaining close relationship
with God.
In 1265, Thomas was called to Rome to serve the
papal theologian and was later ordered by the
Dominican chapter of Agnani to teach at the
stadium conventuale. This was when his academic
career in Theology peak.
4. Greatest Contribution
While Thomas was teaching, he wrote many books
including the famous, Summa Theologiae, which
was helpful to beginning students.
As years passed, the Dominicans called
Aquinas to establish a University of his
own because of his great devotion to
teaching Theology.
5. Day by day, Aquinas eventually become one of the
greatest scholastic philosophers and continued
writing about Christ.
In 1273 Thomas was spotted by the sacristan
Domenic of Castera to be crying and levitating in
prayer before Jesus.
6. Jesus was please with Thomas’ teaching and
writing of God that He offered him a reward
of his desire. Despite this offer, Thomas
replied humbly, “Nothing but you, Lord.”
In 1274, Thomas Aquinas became very ill and
received his last rights at the Cistercian Fossanova
Abbey where he said “I receive thee, ransom of my
soul. For the love of thee have I studied and kept
vigil, toiled, preached and taught..”. He then died
that year on March 7th. Then in July 18,1323,
Pope John XXII canonized him St Thomas Aquinas
patron of students and all universities.
Late Life
7. Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you.
Amen.
Prayer of St Thomas Aquinas
8. “Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you”,
• always put myself in the midst of God presence.
• asking for his strength to know God more intimately.
• doing my daily reflection on the word of God, I can felt that
God talking to me through the Gospel in Eucharistic Mass, lectio
divina, rosary prayer and benediction as well holy hour.
Reflection
9. “a heart to seek you”,
• a heart that continue searching for the greatness of God
through divine office reading and also spiritual reading.
• From this reading, I can know much better through the
witnesses of the saints and Gospel, how God’s work a miracle
happen through them. “Hence we must say that for the
knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine help, that
the intellect may be moved by God to its act.”(Summa
Theologiae)
Reflection
10. “wisdom to find you”
• reflects the experience of his grace and mercy in my lives.
• acknowledge that I sometimes neglected his wisdom in my lives.
I tend to go on my own ways rather than follow his will. I
thought that it is the best for me but things sometime not in
favor with my decisions. I sometime felt like God abandon me
and leave me alone in despair and loneliness. Out of my
conscience, God actually with me in my desperation, waiting for
me to ask and seeking his wisdom through the working of Holy
Spirit.
Reflection
11. “conduct pleasing to you”
• commitment and behavior in searching God. Am I really
meditate to the word of God? Am I walk the talk in my daily
life? This is what I reflect on the prayer. Sometimes I do felt
hard to focus on my daily life and thinks that I have offended
God in my words and actions.
• But as I meditate on this prayer more frequently, I can felt
that God that always by my side, guiding me, giving me courage
and starts to pleasing him by pleasing others around me. It’s
really makes my day more meaningful as I put my whole self
into God hands.
Reflection
12. “Faithful perseverance in waiting for you”
• continue with faithful as much determination, energy, or
fortitude as one can until the end of a race, competition, or
contest. Sometimes in life, it feels everything is competition
even our faith.
• This reminds me about Gospel reading on Matthew 25:1-13
about “Parable of the ten wedding attendants”, which told that
readiness of the sensible bridesmaids waiting, even prepare the
flask of oil as preparation for lateness of the bridegroom to
arrive.
• Sometimes I do question myself, if I do really persevere and
faithful in this vocation. Do I really go into deep in searching
God’s will in my life? This question always lingering in my mind.
• As I pray this prayer, I sense that God only want me to be
more faithful just as Mother Teresa of Calcutta quotes “God
Reflection
13. “a hope of finally embracing you”
• a hope to be with God at the end of our life. Finally to be
together with God our Father in heaven and sit in his glory and
say that I have done my best God.
• As I pray this prayer, I put my wholeheartedly my own self
into his hand, to be with me, to guide me, to lift me up in my
sadness, to joyfully cheering in my happiness, in times of
troubles and in time of peace.
• It’s also remind me to pray for all the faithful departed and
those that need my prayer as I need others to pray for me.
Reflection
