Saint John Bosco: Born: 1815
Died: 1888/1889
Canonized: 1934 by Pope Pius XI
Patronage:
apprentices; boys; editors; Mexican young people; laborers; schoolchildren; students; young people
Saint of the Day – January 28 – Saint Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Story (1225 – March 7, 1274)
By universal consent, Thomas Aquinas is the preeminent spokesman of the Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation. He is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor.
At five he was given to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino in his parents’ hopes that he would choose that way of life and eventually became abbot. In 1239, he was sent to Naples to complete his studies. It was here that he was first attracted to Aristotle’s philosophy.
By 1243, Thomas abandoned his family’s plans for him and joined the Dominicans, much to his mother’s dismay. On her order, Thomas was captured by his brother and kept at home for over a year.
Once free, he went to Paris and then to Cologne, where he finished his studies with Albert the Great. He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo, combated adversaries of the mendicants, as well as the Averroists, and argued with some Franciscans about Aristotelianism.
His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings. The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, pervades his writings. One might expect Thomas, as a man of the gospel, to be an ardent defender of revealed truth. But he was broad enough, deep enough, to see the whole natural order as coming from God the Creator, and to see reason as a divine gift to be highly cherished.
The Summa Theologiae, his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, deals with the whole of Catholic theology. He stopped work on it after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “I cannot go on…. All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” He died March 7, 1274.
Reflection
We can look to Thomas Aquinas as a towering example of Catholicism in the sense of broadness, universality, and inclusiveness. We should be determined anew to exercise the divine gift of reason in us, our power to know, learn, and understand. At the same time we should thank God for the gift of his revelation, especially in Jesus Christ.
Saint Thomas Aquinas is a Patron Saint of:
Catholic Colleges and Universities
Educators/Teachers
Philosophers/Theologians
Students
Saint of the Day – November 25 – Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr
Saint Catherine:
Born: 287; Died: 305 (aged 17-18)
Patron Saint: Unmarried girls, Apologists, Archivists, Educators, Jurists, Lacemakers, Lawyers, Librarians, Nurses, Maidens, Mechanics, Philosophers, Preachers, Scholars, Schoolchildren, Scribes, Secretaries, Spinsters, Students, and Theologians
Saint of the Day – January 28 – Saint Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Story (1225 – March 7, 1274)
By universal consent, Thomas Aquinas is the preeminent spokesman of the Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation. He is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor.
At five he was given to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino in his parents’ hopes that he would choose that way of life and eventually became abbot. In 1239, he was sent to Naples to complete his studies. It was here that he was first attracted to Aristotle’s philosophy.
By 1243, Thomas abandoned his family’s plans for him and joined the Dominicans, much to his mother’s dismay. On her order, Thomas was captured by his brother and kept at home for over a year.
Once free, he went to Paris and then to Cologne, where he finished his studies with Albert the Great. He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo, combated adversaries of the mendicants, as well as the Averroists, and argued with some Franciscans about Aristotelianism.
His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings. The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, pervades his writings. One might expect Thomas, as a man of the gospel, to be an ardent defender of revealed truth. But he was broad enough, deep enough, to see the whole natural order as coming from God the Creator, and to see reason as a divine gift to be highly cherished.
The Summa Theologiae, his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, deals with the whole of Catholic theology. He stopped work on it after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, “I cannot go on…. All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” He died March 7, 1274.
Reflection
We can look to Thomas Aquinas as a towering example of Catholicism in the sense of broadness, universality, and inclusiveness. We should be determined anew to exercise the divine gift of reason in us, our power to know, learn, and understand. At the same time we should thank God for the gift of his revelation, especially in Jesus Christ.
Saint Thomas Aquinas is a Patron Saint of:
Catholic Colleges and Universities
Educators/Teachers
Philosophers/Theologians
Students
Saint of the Day – July 11 – Saint Benedict
Saint of the Day – August 13 – Saint Cassian of Imola
Saint of the Day – February 27 – St. Gabriel Possenti aka Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
St. Gabriel Possenti’s Story (March 1, 1838 – February 27, 1862)
Born in Italy into a large family and baptized Francis, Saint Gabriel lost his mother when he was only four years old. He was educated by the Jesuits and, having been cured twice of serious illnesses, came to believe that God was calling him to the religious life. Young Francis wished to join the Jesuits but was turned down, probably because of his age, not yet 17. Following the death of a sister to cholera, his resolve to enter religious life became even stronger and he was accepted by the Passionists. Upon entering the novitiate he was given the name Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Ever popular and cheerful, Gabriel quickly was successful in his effort to be faithful in little things. His spirit of prayer, love for the poor, consideration of the feelings of others, exact observance of the Passionist Rule as well as his bodily penances—always subject to the will of his wise superiors— made a deep impression on everyone.
His superiors had great expectations of Gabriel as he prepared for the priesthood, but after only four years of religious life symptoms of tuberculosis appeared. Ever obedient, he patiently bore the painful effects of the disease and the restrictions it required, seeking no special notice. He died peacefully on February 27, 1862, at age 24, having been an example to both young and old.
Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was canonized in 1920.
Reflection
When we think of achieving great holiness by doing little things with love and grace, Therese of Lisieux comes first to mind. Like her, Gabriel died painfully from tuberculosis. Together they urge us to tend to the small details of daily life, to be considerate of others’ feelings every day. Our path to sanctity, like theirs, probably lies not in heroic doings but in performing small acts of kindness every day.
Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows is a Patron Saint of:
Clergy
Students
Young People
//Franciscan Media//
Saint of the Day – January 28 – Saint Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) was born into a wealthy and noble family in Aquino, Italy. He was the pious and brilliant son of a count, and a lucrative future was planned for him. When Thomas set off to enter the newly founded Dominican order to be a poor mendicant friar, his mother held him prisoner in the family castle in order to dissuade him. His brothers tried to destroy his purity, and thus his vocation, by tempting him with a prostitute. However Thomas resisted and turned to God for help; as a result, angels were sent to guard and preserve his chastity. This long ordeal only strengthened his vocation, and eventually he escaped and joined the Dominicans. He was ordained to the priesthood and went on to become a famed professor and prolific writer. His works remain immensely influential in philosophy and theology, the most famous being his Summa Theologica, and multiple popes have upheld him as the model of a systematic Catholic education. St. Thomas Aquinas is the foremost Doctor of the Catholic Church, known as the “Angelic Doctor” for his purity of mind and body, and remarkable intelligence. St. Thomas Aquinas is the patron of schools and universities, students, philosophers, theologians, apologists, academics, and chastity. His feast day is January 28.
//Catholic Company//
Saint of the Day – October 21 – Saint Ursula & Her 11,000 Companions
St. Ursula (4th c.) was a pious Christian princess from Britain, perhaps Wales. According to the 13th century Golden Legend she set sail and embarked on a pilgrimage to Rome with a large court of handmaids prior to settling in what is today western France, where she was to be joined in marriage to a local governor. Along her pilgrimage route she attracted many followers who were influenced by her holy example. On the return journey St. Ursula and her traveling maidens fell into the hands of the Huns, violent nomads from the East, who had invaded large swaths of Europe. St. Ursula and her company of virgins and other followers, which numbered 11,000, were tortured in an effort to have them renounce their faith. Steadfastly refusing, they were massacred in Cologne, Germany and buried together in a mass grave over which was built the Basilica of St. Ursula. Due to the varying accounts of her martyrdom and the difficulty of separating fact from legend, her feast day was suppressed in modern times. St. Ursula is the patroness of the Ursulines, a female religious order founded in 1535 by St. Angela Merici for the education of young girls. St. Ursula is also the patron of students, teachers, Catholic education, and of a holy death. Her feast day is October 21st.
//Catholic Company//
Saint of the Day – August 13 – Saint Cassian of Imola
St. Cassian of Imola (4th c.) was the Bishop of Brescia near Milan, Italy. When a wave of persecution erupted under the Roman Emperor, Cassian fled to Imola, Italy, where he found work as a schoolmaster teaching children how to read and write. He was a disciplined and effective educator. In addition to instructing his students in the Christian faith, he also taught them a form of shorthand that allowed them to write as fast as they could speak. A city official discovered that Cassian was a Christian and denounced him to the government authorities. Cassian was arrested and ordered to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, which he refused. As punishment the local judge ordered that he be stripped, bound, and tied to a stake. He was then turned over to his pagan students, numbering about 200, to be tortured to death. His students used their iron styli (writing instruments) to mercilessly carve into his skin and slowly stab him to death. St. Cassian died from the many wounds inflicted all over his body. St. Cassian of Imola is the patron saint of students, school teachers, shorthand writers, court reporters, stenographers, and parish clerks. His feast day is August 13th.
//Catholic Company//