St. Thomas Aquinas was born circa 1225 in Roccasecca, Italy. He was a
Philosopher and theologian,he was Combining the theological principles of faith with the philosophical principles of reason.
St.Thomas Aquinas died on March 7, 1274, at the Cistercian monastery of Fossanova, near Terracina, Latium, Papal States, Italy.
St.Thomas Aquinas had eight siblings, and was the youngest child. His mother, Theodora, was countess of Teano. Before St. Thomas Aquinas was born, a holy hermit shared a prediction with his mother, foretelling that her son would enter the Order of Friars Preachers, become a great learner and achieve unequaled sanctity.
St. Thomas Aquinas was sent to the Abbey of Monte Cassino to train among Benedictine monks when he was just 5 years old He was described as "a witty child" who "had received a good soul." He was questing that
"What is God?" to his benefactors.St. Thomas Aquinas remained at the monastery until he was 13 years old, when the political climate forced him to return to Naples.
His journey of education at low level spent the next five years completing his primary education at a Benedictine house in Naples. On his studies,St. Thomas Aquinas studied Aristotle's work, that contributed later to become a major launching point for St. Thomas Aquinas's own exploration of philosophy.
He leave at the Benedictine house, which was closely affiliated with the University of Naples,he also developed an interest in more contemporary monastic orders.
St.Thomas Aquinas was particularly drawn to those that emphasized a life of spiritual service, in contrast with the more traditional views and sheltered lifestyle he'd observed at the Abbey of Monte Cassino.
St. Thomas Aquinas began attending the University of Naples in Circa 1239
St. Thomas Aquinas continued to pursue his studies with the Dominicans in Naples, Paris and Cologne from 1245 to 1252. Within 1250, St.Thomas Aquinas teach theology at the University of Paris, under the tutelage of St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas subsequently earned his doctorate in theology.
He proved an exemplary scholar, though, ironically, his modesty sometimes led his classmates to misperceive him as dim-witted
After completing his education, St. Thomas Aquinas devoted himself to a life of traveling, writing, teaching, public speaking and preaching. Religious institutions and universities alike yearned to benefit from the wisdom of "The Christian Apostle."
At the forefront of medieval thought was a struggle to reconcile the relationship between theology (faith) and philosophy (reason). St. Thomas Aquinas's work goes on to discuss faith and reason's roles basing on both work perceiving and proving the existence of God.
His believed was based on the existence of God in five ways, mainly by:
1. Observing movement in the world as proof of God, the "Immovable Motor";
2. Concluding that the impermanent nature of beings proves the existence of a necessary being, God, who originates only from within himself;
3. Observing cause and effect and identifying God as the cause of everything;
4. Noticing varying levels of human perfection and determining that a supreme, perfect being must therefore exist; and
5. Knowing that natural beings could not have intelligence without it being granted to them it by God. Subsequent to defending people's ability to naturally perceive proof of God, St.Thomas also tackled the challenge of protecting God's image as an all-powerful being.
St. Thomas Aquinas's treatises touched upon the questions and struggles of medieval intellectuals, church authorities and everyday people alike.St.Thomas combining traditional principles of theology with modern philosophic thought to preach the word of God.
St. Thomas Aquinas agreed to go to Naples and start a theological studies program for the Dominican house neighboring the university in June 1272. While he was still writing prolifically, his works began to suffer in quality.
At the Feast of St. Nicolas in 1273, St. Thomas Aquinas had a mystical vision that made writing seem unimportant to him. At mass, he reportedly heard a voice coming from a crucifix that said, "Thou hast written well of me, Thomas; what reward wilt thou have?" to which St. Thomas Aquinas replied, "None other than thyself, Lord."
On his confessor, Father Reginald of Piperno, urged him to keep writing, he replied, "I can do no more. Such secrets have been revealed to me that all I have written now appears to be of little value." St. Thomas Aquinas never wrote again.
St. Thomas Aquinas by January 1274 embarked on a trip to Lyon, France, on foot to serve on the Second Council, but never made it there. On his journey St.Thomas fell ill at the Cistercian monastery of Fossanova, Italy. The monks wanted St. Thomas Aquinas to stay at the castle, leading to him to sense that his death was near, St.Thomas preferred to remain at the monastery, saying, "If the Lord wishes to take me away, it is better that I be found in a religious house than in the dwelling of a layperson."
The end of the story
On his deathbed, St. Thomas Aquinas said his last words to the Cistercian monks who had so graciously attended him on the deathbed: "This is my rest forever and ever: Here will I dwell for I have chosen it." (Psalm 131:14) Often called "The Universal Teacher," St. Thomas Aquinas died at the monastery of Fossanova on March 7, 1274. He canonized by Pope John XXII in 1323.
Reference from site of
www.biography.com/people/st-thomas-aquinas-9187231
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