Saint Thomas Aquinas Doctor of the Church Feast Day: January 28

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Symbol: Chalice, Monstrance, Dove or Ox 

He was born toward the end of the year 1226. He was the son of the Count of Aquino, who, when St. Thomas was five years old, placed him under the care of the Benedictines of Monte Casino. His teachers were surprised at the progress he made, for he surpassed all his fellow pupils in learning as well as in the practice of virtue. When he became of age to choose, St. Thomas renounced the things of this world and resolved to enter the Order of St. Dominic in spite of the opposition of his family. In 1243, at the age of seventeen, he joined the Dominicans of Naples. Some members of his family resorted to all means over a two year period to break his constancy, but he persevered in his vocation. St. Thomas not only wrote but he preached often. He left the great monument of his learning, the "Summa Theologica", unfinished, for on his way to the second Council of Lyons, he fell sick and died in 1274. St. Thomas was one of the greatest and most influential theologians of all time. He was canonized in 1323 and declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V.

 (excerpt: catholic.org/saints) “

Three things are necessary for our salvation: to know what we ought to believe; to know what we ought to desire; and to know what we ought to do.” St. Thomas Aquinas.