Last
year on this date I had the great opportunity to be in Toulouse, France, to
celebrate the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. I have to admit it a sort of bipolar experience. On the one hand, it was awesome coming
to the tomb of this great saint. I
studied Aquinas quite a bit in seminary, learning how he translated the ancient
philosopher Aristotle’s thinking into Christian terms. He wrote one of the greatest treatises
of all time—the Summa Theologica—which, despite being four volumes long was
written for beginners. It was
amazing having Mass with the Dominicans with their heavenly choir and processing
with his relics on his feast.
On
the other hand, this was one of the only times of the year Mass is said at his
tomb. This former church is a
state museum that you have to pay to get into to see Aquinas’ tomb. This is indicative of the faith at
large in France—only 1% of people there go to Church. It was bizarre seeing this great saint resting where faith
is sorely lacking.
I
am currently reading Rediscovering Catholicism
by Matthew Kelly. His basic
premise is in order to reignite faith in the world we must first rediscover it
in our own lives.
We are reminded in Hebrews that
Jesus comes to “bring salvation to those who eagerly
await him.” The
world needs to turn back to God, and we must be the beacons to do this. We ask this great doctor of the Church
to pray for us and our society, that we may be more fully converted to Christ.
St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.
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