Saint Thomas Aquinas

An altarpiece in Ascoli Piceno, Italy,
by Carlo Crivelli (15th century)

The 28th of January is the feast day of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He is the patron saint of Academics; against storms; against lightning; apologists; Aquino, Italy; Belcastro, Italy; book sellers; Catholic academies, schools, and universities; chastity; Falena, Italy; learning; pencil makers; philosophers; publishers; scholars; students; University of Sto. Tomas; Sto. Tomas, Batangas; and theologians.

The following is from Wikipedia:

Saint Thomas Aquinas O.P. (/əˈkwaɪnəs/; Italian: Tommaso d'Aquino, lit. 'Thomas of Aquino'; 1225 – 7 March 1274), was an Italian^[3][4] Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. He was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, within which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis.^[5] The name Aquinas identifies his ancestral origins in the county of Aquino in present-day Lazio.

He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology and the father of Thomism. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy developed or opposed his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and political theory. Unlike many currents in the Church of the time,^[6] Thomas embraced several ideas put forward by Aristotle—whom he called "the Philosopher"—and attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity.^[7] The works for which he is best known are the Summa Theologiae and the Summa contra Gentiles. His commentaries on Scripture and on Aristotle form an important part of his body of work. Furthermore, Thomas is distinguished for his eucharistic hymns, which form a part of the Church's liturgy.^[8]

The Catholic Church honors Thomas Aquinas as a saint and regards him as the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood, and indeed the highest expression of both natural reason and speculative theology. In modern times, under papal directives, the study of his works was long used as a core of the required program of study for those seeking ordination as priests or deacons, as well as for those in religious formation and for other students of the sacred disciplines (philosophy, Catholic theology, church history, liturgy, and canon law).^[9]

Thomas Aquinas is considered one of the Catholic Church's greatest theologians and philosophers. Pope Benedict XV declared: "This (Dominican) Order ... acquired new luster when the Church declared the teaching of Thomas to be her own and that Doctor, honored with the special praises of the Pontiffs, the master and patron of Catholic schools."^[10]

References

1.  Saint Thomas Aquinas – CatholicSaints.Info
2. Jump up^ A. C. Brown, Jonathan (2014). Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy. Oneworld Publications. p. 12. ISBN 978-1780744209. Thomas Aquinas admitted relying heavily on Averroes to understand Aristotle.
3. Jump up^ Conway, John Placid, O.P., Father (1911). Saint Thomas Aquinas. London.
4. Jump up^ Rev. Vaughan, Roger Bede (1871). The Life and Labours of St. Thomas of Aquin: Vol.I. London.
5. Jump up^ See Pius XI, Studiorum Ducem 11 (29 June 1923), AAS, XV ("non modo Angelicum, sed etiam Communem seu Universalem Ecclesiae Doctorem"). The title Doctor Communis dates to the fourteenth century; the title Doctor Angelicus dates to the fifteenth century, see Walz, Xenia Thomistica, III, p. 164 n. 4. Tolomeo da Lucca writes in Historia Ecclesiastica (1317): "This man is supreme among modern teachers of philosophy and theology, and indeed in every subject. And such is the common view and opinion, so that nowadays in the University of Paris they call him the Doctor Communis because of the outstanding clarity of his teaching." Historia Eccles. xxiii, c. 9.
6. Jump up^ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/
7. Jump up^ http://www.dartmouthapologia.org/articles/show/125
8. Jump up^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31211/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas
9. Jump up^ Code of Canon Law, Can. 252, §3 [1]
10. Jump up^ Benedict XV Encyclical Fausto appetente die 29 June 1921, AAS 13 (1921), 332; Pius XI Encyclical Studiorum Ducem §11, 29 June 1923, AAS 15 (1923), cf. AAS 17 (1925) 574; Paul VI, 7 March 1964 AAS 56 (1964), 302 (Bouscaren, vol. VI, pp. 786–88).