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ST. JOHN the EVANGELIST CCD
Grades:  Kindergarten through Junior High
Phone: 916 -483-4628
Email: ccd@sjecarmichael.org

January 23

As our CCD students currently focus on the great Truths of our Catholic Faith, we should likewise celebrate on January 28, the feast day of one of our most brilliant lights of our Catholic Church, St. Thomas Aquinas. This medieval doctor of our Catholic Church’s father was the Count of Aquino Landulph, whose ancestry can be traced all the back to the Lombard kings and the heads of several houses of Europe. On the other hand, his mother Theodora descended from a Norman baron, who had conquered Sicily. Thomas was born in 1226 in his father’s castle of Roccasecca, which was located on a mountain between Rome and Naples. Actually, Thomas was the sixth son born to this family. At the age of five, Thomas began his education at Monte Cassino, where he was educated at a Benedictine school. Aged monks who lived there, often considered the serious and quiet Thomas to be highly intelligent, because he frequently asked many appropriate questions about their manuscripts. During a military conflict between Pope Gregory IX and the Emperor Frederick II when Thomas was only fourteen, he entered the University of Naples to begin his undergraduate work. It was here that Thomas was introduced to the philosophy of Aristotle, Averroes, and Maimonides, who greatly influenced him. Also during this time, Thomas was seriously attracted to becoming a Dominican, the order which he joined early in 1244 at the age of nineteen. This news soon reached his family, who became indignant because this order was one of the more humble of the mendicant orders, and it was constantly scorned socially. Consequently, his mother sent word to her older sons, who were serving in the army in Tuscany, to overtake Thomas. Forcibly, Thomas was brought back to the castle of Monte San Giovanni Compano, and held captive there for one year. His sisters, however were on his side, and so they brought many books to Thomas during his confinement. There he read Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Peter Lombard’s Sentences, which was the most popular handbook of the period. In contrast, his brothers, who were still oppositional to his vocation, tried to break Thomas’ vow of chastity by introducing him to a woman of loose character, whom Thomas drove forcibly out of his room. It was then that during his deep sleep, two angels awoke Thomas. In 1244 with the help of his sisters, a band of Dominicans in disguise freed Thomas and accompanied him to Naples. Later, he traveled to Rome, and then to Paris to study at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Paris. In Paris, Thomas met the Dominican scholar Albertus Magnus, the Chair of Theology at the College of St. James, who later became known as St. Albert the Great. For many years, beginning in 1248, Thomas traveled, taught, and preached with Albertus Magnus, a famous lecturer, who was well-known for his interest in experimental and biological sciences, and also the work of Aristotle. Often, they made their way through the Alps finding shelter under the stars, and they ate food given to them in charity along the roadside. During Albert’s teaching, other professors and students called Thomas, Albert’s would-be teacher, “the dumb Sicilian ox” because Thomas had a bulky figure, and he had a quiet demeanor. Albertus defended Thomas with these words, “We have called Thomas ‘dumb ox’ but I tell you his bellowing will yet be heard to the utmost parts of the earth.” It was actually during this period that the most humble Thomas began his commentary on the Ethics of Aristotle. Not only did Thomas receive his degree of the Bachelor of Theology, but he likewise became a Doctor of Theology in 1256. His numerous writings include twenty volumes. As Father of the School of Thought, Thomas encompassed writings on theology, apologetics, and philosophy. He argued that God is the source of both the light of natural reason and the light of faith. He likewise incorporated Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity. Some of his best-known works are Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles, which were written between 1265 and 1272. Together they form the fullest and most exact exposition of Catholic dogma yet given to the world. The study of Thomas’ works has long been used as the core of study for those seeking ordination. In addition, Thomas is distinguished for his famous poems and his Eucharistic hymns, which form part of our Church’s liturgy. When St. Thomas Aquinas received his last rites, he prayed, “I receive Thee, ransom of my soul. For the love of Thee, have I studied and kept vigil, toiled, preached, and taught….” On March 7, 1274, during a commentary on “The Song of Songs” St. Thomas Aquinas died. It was on July 18, 1323, that Pope John XXII canonized St. Thomas Aquinas. As a scholar, he is depicted either with an open book, or writing with a quill, because he is the patron saint of students, schools, and all universities.
 OUR PRAYER: COME, HOLY SPIRIT, DIVINE CREATOR, THE TRUE SOURCE OF LIGHT AND THE FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. POUR FORTH YOUR BRILLIANCE UPON MY INTELLECT. DISSIPATE THE DARKNESS OF SIN AND IGNORANCE, WHICH COVERS ME. GRANT ME A PENETRATING MIND TO UNDERSTAND, AND THE ABUNDANT GRACE TO EXPRESS MYSELF. THIS I ASK THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, TRUE GOD AND TRUE MAN. AMEN.


Mrs. Joanne Giffard, CCD/Religious Education Coordinator                                                                                   ccd@sjecarmichael.org