1.
THE
QUESTION WAS: All of the
following are TRUE statements about St. Thomas Aquinas except for one. WHICH
ONE IS NOT TRUE?
A. He was a friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Catholic Church
B. He said Mass, turning bread
and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ
C. His future was prophesied by a holy hermit
D. He received early training by the Benedictine monks
E. He was called the “Dumb Ox”
F. Pope Innocent IV gave him permission to the join the Friars
Preachers
G. Two angels appeared to him in a dream
H. He wrote a treatise on the Eucharist
I. He often went into ecstasy
during the Mass
J. He was seen being lifted into the air in ecstasy at the altar
K. He said only baptized people may receive the Sacrament of
Confirmation validly
L. After his death, miracles were confirmed after people prayed to
him
M. Upon
struggling to interpret super difficult Bible passages, he fasted
N. He had a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother
O He made a lifelong vow of virginity
P.
He was a member of Mensa.
Q. One of his sisters entered the convent
THE ANSWER IS……..
"P" THEY ARE ALL TRUE EXCEPT FOR JOINING MENSA!!!
He really
was nicknamed the “Dumb Ox of Naples” before people realized this awkward, tall
guy was a brilliant theologian and philosopher.
By the way, all of the above items are mentioned
in this article in Catholic Encyclopedia.
St.
Thomas Aquinas, once a Dominican friar in Naples back in the 13th
century, is best known for his brilliant work called Summa
Theologica and his sanctity of life.
Here are some intriguing facts about
him:
Some writings of his day say the Blessed
Mother appeared to St. Aquinas to tell him his life and writings were
acceptable to God. The Apostles Peter and Paul assisted him in interpreting an
obscure Bible passage
St. Thomas was lifted in ecstasy at the
altar. (levitation)
According to Catholic Encyclopedia:
It is not surprising to read in the biographies
of St. Thomas that he was frequently abstracted and in ecstasy.
Towards the end of his life the ecstasies
became more frequent. On one occasion, at Naples
in 1273, after he had completed his treatise on the Eucharist,
three of the brethren saw him lifted in ecstasy,
and they heard a voice proceeding from the crucifix
on the altar, saying "Thou hast written well of
me, Thomas; what reward wilt thou have?" Thomas replied, "None other
than Thyself, Lord" (Prümmer, op. cit., p. 38). Similar declarations are
said to have been made at Orvieto and at Paris.
After his family sent St. Thomas a
temptress girl (in order to end his virginity, thus ending his plans to enter
an order of poor friars), St. Thomas prayed vehemently for strength. In a
dream, he was sent two angels, who gave him the permanent gift of never
suffering sexual temptations again.
According to Catholic Encyclopedia:
When the temptress had been driven from
his chamber, he knelt and most earnestly implored God
to grant him integrity of mind and body. He fell into a gentle sleep, and, as
he slept, two angels appeared to assure him that his prayer
had been heard. They then girded him about with a white girdle, saying:
"We gird thee with the girdle of perpetual virginity."
And from that day forward he never experienced the slightest motions of concupiscence.
When St. Thomas entered the Order of
Preachers, it fulfilled the prediction of a holy hermit who had made
this statement to Thomas’ mother even before Thomas was born!
The hermit prophesied:
"He will enter the Order
of Friars Preachers, and so great will be his learning and sanctity
that in his day no one will be found to equal him" (Prümmer, op. cit., 18
as cited in Catholic Encyclopedia)
Before receiving
Holy Communion before he died, St. Thomas said:
I wish now to use it in affirming that I
firmly believe and know as certain that Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, Son
of God and Son of the Virgin Mary, is in this Sacrament.”
(source: Catholic Encyclopedia)
And
“…if I have written anything erroneous
concerning this sacrament or other matters, I submit all to the judgment and
correction of the Holy Roman Church, in whose obedience I now pass from this
life” (source: Catholic
Encyclopedia)
St. Thomas received the Sacrament of
Holy Orders from the Archbishop of Cologne.
According to one biography of St.
Thomas, "When consecrating at Mass, he would be overcome by such intensity
of devotion as to be dissolved in tears, utterly absorbed in its mysteries and
nourished with its fruits." Source: www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/TOMAQUIN.htm)
EXTRA! EXTRA! GET YOUR Summa Theologica!
It’s one of the most famous Christian
writings in the history of Christianity!
Here is the part of Summa on the Existence of God.
Related articles: by more recent writers:
The Marian Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas
St.
Thomas Argues that Mary should be called the Mother of God
Aquinas and the Immaculate Conception
St.
Thomas Argues that Mary took a lifelong vow of virginity
G.K.
Chesterton’s Essay on St. Thomas Aquinas
St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church
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