February 25 - The Dumb Ox

February 25 – The Dumb Ox

Thomas was born to wealthy parents. He had everything given to him. Too much food, not enough exercise, an easy life. His classmates and siblings taunted him with all of the things that were wrong with him.

All Thomas wanted to do was live a quiet life serving God. He was a Dominican and wanted to just be a preacher. His family wanted him to be something different, so at one point his brothers kidnapped him and placed terrible temptations before him, prostitutes and prestige. He refused it all.

He finally escaped from his family and ran to the University of Paris. He was a slow methodical thinker and they called him “Dumb-Ox.”

He studied everything and along with other scholars became fascinated by Aristotle, works by Maimonides and other philosophers. He worked to bring together philosophy and theology, calling philosophy – reason and theology – revelation. He believed that they didn’t contradict each other, both came from God.

Thomas saw that reason was based on knowledge of our senses and while that can lead us to God, only revelation can show the God of the Bible for who He is and who mankind is in the scheme of God’s world. However, revelation and reason can work together to help man explain himself.

Thomas Aquinas was one of the great scholars of the Middle Ages. He wrote ‘Summa Theologica’ (Summation of Theology) over a period of seven years. Translated into English, it takes up 4000 pages. He wrote other pieces, but this was his greatest and he never finished it.

In 1273 he went to a communion service and was profoundly touched by God. He looked back on his amazing work and said, “All that I have written is only so much straw, compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” He refused to write any more and died three months later.

This brilliant man transformed the church’s approach to theology, yet it was a personal moment with God that changed his life in the end.