Feast day January 28
St. Thomas Aquinas
The Angelic Doctor · 1225–1274
For the ones who want to think their way to God. Reason and faith, two paths up the same mountain.
In their words
To love is to will the good of the other.
Life
Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church. His Summa Theologica remains one of the most influential works in theology, harmonizing reason and faith. He wrote hymns for the feast of Corpus Christi and, late in life, reportedly said all his writing was "as straw" compared to what he had glimpsed of God.
A prayer
Prayer Before Study
Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of my understanding. Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born: an obscurity of sin and of ignorance. Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally. Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm. Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.