St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas was born in Rocca Secca in the Kingdom of Naples, around 1225 or 1227. His father, Landulph, was a Count of Aquino, and Theodora, his mother, was the Countess of Teano. His family was related to the Emperors Henry VI and Frederick II, and to the Kings of Argon, Castile, and France. Before his birth a holy hermit foresaw his vocation, telling Theodora, “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." At age five, he was sent to receive his first training from the Benedictine Monks of Monte Cassino. He was recognized as being meditative and devoted to prayer. About 1236 he was sent to the University of Naples. There, his professors were Pietro Martini and Petrus Hibernus. Thomas soon transcended Martini, and was transferred to Peter of Ireland, who taught him logic and the natural sciences. Between 1240 and August, 1243, he received the habit of the Order of St. Dominic, being directed by John of St. Julian, a noted preacher of the convent of Naples. The city pondered why a young man of such noble birth would draw on the attire of a poor friar. His ambivalent mother, neither joyful nor sorrowful, hastened to Naples to see her son. Fearing Theodora might take Thomas away, the Dominicans sent him to Rome. There, Thomas’s brothers, who were soldiers under Emperor Frederick, captured him in Aquapendente and restrained him in the fortress of San Giovanni at Rocca Secca. Trying to destroy his vocation, his family constrained him for nearly two years. During his time in captivity, the Dominicans provided him with new habits, and through the offices of his sister, he acquired some books: the Holy Scriptures, Aristotle’s Metaphysics, and the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard. Either because his mother saw that the hermit's prophecy would eventually be fulfilled or because his brothers feared the threats of Innocent IV and Frederick II, he was set free. After pronouncing his vows, his superiors sent Thomas to Rome, where Innocent IV investigated his motives for joining the Friars Preachers, and dismissed him with a blessing, forbidding any further resistance with his vocation. Thomas was brought to Cologne and placed under the influence of Albertus Magnus. In 1245 Albert was sent to Paris, and Thomas accompanied him as a student. In 1248, after returning from Paris, Albert had been appointed regent of the new studium generale, and Thomas was to teach under him as a Bachelor. He frequently preached the Word of God, in Germany, France, and Italy. His sermons were forceful, redolent of piety, and full of solid instruction, abounding in apt citations from the Scriptures. Around this time he was ordered to prepare himself to obtain the degree of Doctor in Theology from the University of Paris, but this was postponed due to a dispute between the university and the friars. The influence of St. Louis IX and eleven papal Briefs were required before peace was firmly established, and St. Thomas was admitted to the degree of Doctor in Theology on October 23, 1257. He had renowned fame throughout Europe. Paris claimed him as her own; the popes wished to have him near them; the studia of the order were eager to enjoy the benefit of his teaching; hence we find him successively at Anagni, Rome, Bologna, Orvieto, Viterbo, Perugia, in Paris again, and finally in Naples. On December 6, 1273, he completed his Summa Theologica. He died on March 7, 1274.

St. Thomas Aquinas provided five arguments that God exists. The first came from his analyzing of Aristotle’s works. He believed that since every object that is in motion is put in motion from some other object or force, there must have been an unmoved mover, God, who first put things in motion. In his second argument, he reasoned that no object creates itself. Ultimately, there must have been an uncreated being, God, who began the existence of all things. His third explanation defined two types of beings: contingent and necessary beings.

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