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St. Thomas Aquinas
Parish
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A Letter from Rev.
Joseph K. Kalladan, Pastor
Sunday Bulletin - January 27,
2008
Dear Parishioner,
Last Saturday, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish had the yearly
solemn celebration of our Patron, one of the greatest
theologians and philosophers of the Catholic Church. It was
certainly fitting that we had such classy festivities in his
honor, which was very well participated in and enjoyed by
everyone. Liturgically, the Church commemorates his feast
day every year on January 28th. However, for
pastoral and practical reasons we anticipated this year, we
celebrated our patronal festivities last Saturday. I feel
certain that our dear patron is pleased with the way
we celebrated his feast.
Allow me to give a brief reflection on his life as we join
the whole Catholic Church to memorialize this great Man of
Faith on January 28th. Born in 1225 to one of the
most influential families of Italy, the Aquino family,
related to Emperor Ferdinand of the Holy Roman Empire and
king of France, young Thomas, combined with his brilliant
intelligence, was cut out for a glorious career in the world
of his time. In fact, his family had already enrolled him at
the age of five as an oblate of the most famous center of
learning, the Benedictine Monastery of Monte Casino with the
hope that he would eventually become the abbot of that
monastery and thus bring honor and glory to the Aquino
Family. Thomas, now a young man, strongly felt that God had
a very different design for him and expressed it to the
great shock of his family. He wanted to join the newly
formed Mendicant Order, the Dominicans, who eked their
living mostly begging for bread. His own mother and the
whole Aquino Family, seeing their fond hopes dashed to the
ground, were determined to do everything in their power to
dissuade their son, including two years of solitary
confinement, from pursuing his dreams which they considered
to be totally opposed to the brilliant career that lay
ahead of him. Nothing on earth could dissuade that young man
from following God's call. With the Psalmist he prayed:
"Here am I Lord, I come to do your will". Finally, his
family accepted defeat and he became a professed member of
the Dominican Order.
It is interesting to note that his school mates used to call
him by the despicable nickname: “DUMB OX" because he was a
very simple and humble man of faith. However, his teacher,
St. Albert the Great, who was known in his times
as the "walking encyclopedia" clearly understood the
brilliance of his young student. They both nurtured a deep
love and affection for each other over the years. On October 23, 1257, he and his dear
friend St. Bonaventure received their doctorates in theology
and Thomas soon after gave his inaugural lecture, "The
Majesty of Christ". He was the featured and the most sought
after lecturer at the great universities of Europe, like
Paris, Cologne etc. where classes had to be conducted
outdoors as no classroom could contain those eager learners
who often numbered over thirty thousand. Ranked with
St. Paul and
St. Augustine as a preeminent
Christian Theologian, Thomas was responsible for
synthesizing Aristotelian thought with Christian dogma and
rendering theology into a science. He harmonized reason and
faith and laid the foundations of the Scholastic Philosophy.
Within his short span of 49 years of life, sixty works are
accredited to him, the greatest of which is the "SUMMA
THEOLOGIE". This monumental work alone is considered one of
the greatest works of theology in all of church history.
Today, the whole Christian world honors this Man of God. The
Aquino family wanted to make Thomas great from their own
earthly perspectives, while he looked at himself from God's
point of view. Nothing could deter him from following God's
call. As we are privileged to be under the patronage of this
great Man of Faith, let us pray that we may imitate him and
be inspired by his openness to God. As he did, let us allow
God to be the true guide to our own lives.
Dear St. Thomas, Our Patron, pray for us, your
children here at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish.
Fr. K.K.
____________________________
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