Subj : =?UTF-8?Q?28_January_=E2=80=93_St_Thomas_Aquinas_OP?= To : All From : rich Date : Wed Jan 27 2021 09:17:56 From: rich 28 January =E2=80=93 St Thomas Aquinas OP (1225-1274 aged 49 ) =C2 Doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor) and Doctor communis (Common Doctor). Priest, Religious, Master Theologian, Philosopher, Writer, Teacher, Jurist. Also known as =E2=80=93 The Great Synthesiser, The Dumb Ox= , The Universal Teacher. St Thomas was born of noble parents at Aquino in Italy, in 1226. At the age of nineteen he received the Dominican habit at Naples, where he was studying. Seized by his brothers on his way to Paris, he suffered a two years=E2=80= =99 captivity in their castle of Rocca-Secca but neither the caresses of his mother and sisters, nor the threats and stratagems of his brothers, could shake him in his vocation. While St Thomas was in confinement at Rocca-Secca, his brothers endeavoured to entrap him into sin but the attempt only ended in the triumph of his purity. Snatching from the hearth a burning brand, the Saint drove from his chamber the wretched creature whom they had there concealed. Then marking a cross upon the wall, he knelt down to pray and forthwith, being rapt in ecstasy, an angel girded him with a cord, in token of the gift of perpetual chastity which God had given him. The pain caused by the girdle was so sharp that St Thomas uttered a piercing cry, which brought his guards into the room. But he never told this grace to anyone save only to Father Raynald, his confessor, a little while before his death. Hence originated the Confraternity of the =E2=80=9CAngelic Warfare,=E2=80=9D for the preservatio= n of the virtue of chastity. Having at length escaped, St Thomas went to Cologne to study under Blessed Albert the Great and after that to Paris, where for many years he taught philosophy and theology. The Church has ever venerated his numerous writings as a treasure-house of sacred doctrine =E2=80=93 while in naming him the Angelic Doctor she has indicated that his science is more divine than human. The rarest gifts of intellect were combined in him with the tenderest piety. Prayer, he said, had taught him more than study. His singular devotion to the Blessed Sacrament shines forth in the Office and hymns for Corpus Christi, which he composed. To the words miraculously uttered by a crucifix at Naples, =E2=80=9CWell hast thou writt= en concerning Me, Thomas. What shall I give thee as a reward?=E2=80=9D he replied, =E2=80=9CNaught save Thyself, O Lord.=E2=80=9D He died at Fossa-Nuova, 1274, on his way to the General Council of Lyons, to which Pope Gregory X had summoned him. https://anastpaul.com/2019/01/01/ Reflection. The knowledge of God is for all, but hidden treasures are reserved for those who have ever followed the Lamb. And if He gave His life for us, then it should not be difficult to bear whatever hardships arise for His sake. If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross. Christ endured much on the cross and did so patiently, because =E2=80=9Cwhen he suffered he did not threaten, he was led like a sheep to the slaughter and he did not open his mouth.=E2=80=9D --St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church <><><><> A Prayer to Mary, the Gate of Paradise "By one woman came death, by another life; through Eve came perdition, through Mary, salvation."--St. Augustine. Hail, thou resplendent star, Which shineth o'er the main, Blest Mother of our God, And ever Virgin-Queen. Hail, happy gate of bliss, Greeted by Gabriel's tongue, Negotiate our peace, And cancel Eva's wrong. Loosen the sinner's bands; All evils drive away; Bring light unto the blind; And for all graces pray. Exert the mother's care, And thus thy children own; To Him convey our prayer, Who chose to be thy Son. O pure, O spotless Maid, Whose virtues all excel; Oh make us chaste and mild, And all our passions quell. Preserve our lives unstained, And guard us on our way, Until we come to thee, To joys that ne'er decay. Praise to the Father be, With Christ, His only Son, And to the Holy Ghost, Thrice blessed Three in One. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .