Legenda sancti Thomae de Aquino
The Name and Vocation of Thomas
The name Thomas is explored for its spiritual significance, reflecting his profound wisdom and divine grace.
The name Thomas is interpreted as abyss, twin, divided, marked, or perfected. This holy doctor Thomas was truly like a deep abyss, for he was profound in knowledge and wisdom; it’s not without reason that he was called Aquinas after his homeland, since he drew from the most abundant waters of heavenly doctrine. Because of this, the passage from Ecclesiasticus 15 can be said of him: 'He gave him to drink the water of saving wisdom.' And in Revelation 22: 'The angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.' And in Proverbs 20: 'Drawn from the waters of worldly vanity and his own birth, he was restored to his mother the Church through the religious life,' a figure of Moses. He was also twofold in the beauty of his devotion and the clarity of his intelligence. Furthermore, he was separated from worldly desires and the pomp of the world, leading a most holy life. Finally, he was marked or perfected by the splendor of all virtues. For this reason, he was well named Thomas, which can be interpreted as 'my Thau,' that is, 'my sign' or 'my perfection.' God enlightened him and filled him with such gifts of grace that he was a true sign and consummation of God—that is, a perfect work of God. A certain Bishop of London wrote his history and life. His feast is celebrated on the Nones of March, the day he departed from this world to eternal glory.
The Life and Labors of the Angelic Doctor
A biographical account of Thomas's early life, his entry into the Order of Preachers, and his dedication to contemplation over worldly power.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, a distinguished doctor of the Order of Preachers, was born to noble parents: his father, Landolfo, came from the illustrious family of the Counts of Aquino, bordering Campania and the Kingdom of Sicily, and his mother, Theodora, was of Neapolitan stock. Through a holy hermit named Bonum, it was foretold to his mother that the child she would bear would be a great man in the world; he was born in the year of our Lord 1225. While still an infant, as he was being bathed, he reached out his arm—with no one helping him—and took hold of a small scrap of paper lying on the ground, on which the angelic salutation was written, and his mother could barely take it from him. When this boy was five years old, he was sent by his parents to the monastery of Monte Cassino to be instructed in the first elements of letters and to be imbued with good manners. When he was seven, he was sent to Naples to study the liberal arts, where he learned all the arts in the span of seven years with such speed of natural talent, and excelled everyone in intelligence and labor, that he was a wonder to all. When he was fourteen, having been chosen by the Lord as a virgin, he entered the most holy order. the Order of Preachers. In that same year he entered the order, he was led to Rome by the friars of the aforementioned order and was being taken from Rome through Tuscany to Paris, so that he might be distanced from his own people. He was seized by his parents while on the journey, taken by force from the friars by his own brothers in the flesh, and sent to his mother at the castle of San Giovanni. There he was held, guarded, and kept in prison for nearly two years in the habit of the order, which he never abandoned, nor could he be swayed in any way to give it up. Dedicated there to prayer, contemplation, and the study of the Scriptures, he made great progress in the school of the highest Master, and he drove away the tempter of vehement lust from his prison with a burning brand. Because of this victory, he received such a gift from God that he never again felt the sting of carnal desire. After he was returned to the order, he was sent to Cologne, where Albert the Great, a doctor and professor of the same order, was teaching philosophy and theology, and he was greatly instructed by him for the space of eleven years. When he reached the twenty-seventh year of his age, he was sent to Paris and received the degree of bachelor in theology. After he had lectured on the Sentences in a praiseworthy manner and was held in veneration by all for his admirable solutions to questions, he was admitted to the mastership of sacred theology in the thirtieth year of his age. Living only twenty years after that, he composed the greatest and most beautiful books, which nearly reach the number of one hundred. He had such grace from God that he knew things that were hidden from others through the revelation of God, with the blessed Peter and Paul appearing to him. He was inflamed with the love of God and was so caught up in the contemplation of divine mysteries that even while eating he would think about them, and while at the table of King Saint Louis, he would think he was in his own cell. Relying especially on divine help, he declared a most difficult question concerning the Sacrament of the Body of Christ, which was unknown to all the masters at Paris. This distinguished doctor frequently appeared in ecstasy and the alienation of his sensory powers, his mind raised to God; he was also seen in prayer, lifted one cubit and sometimes two from the ground. Whenever the holy man wanted to dispute, lecture, or write something, he would first go to prayer and find what he was looking for so readily available, as if he were reading it in a book. Furthermore, his love for true wisdom was so great that he refused the Archbishopric of Naples, to which Pope Clement IV wanted to promote him, choosing instead to lecture on Chrysostom’s homilies on Matthew in Paris. Explaining his reasoning to the friars, he said, "If this city were mine, the burden of governing it would rob me of the contemplation of divine things and hinder the consolation of soul that Holy Scripture provides."
The Passing and Miraculous Fragrance
The account of Thomas's death, the miraculous signs surrounding his passing, and the enduring fragrance of his relics.
Finally, this distinguished doctor, flourishing in knowledge and eminent in doctrine, was called by Pope Gregory X to the General Council held at Lyon on May 1, 1274. He died on the journey at the Cistercian monastery of Fossanova, in the diocese of Terracina, at the beginning of his fiftieth year. At his passing, there was no lack of miraculous signs to indicate the departure of this holy doctor from this world and to demonstrate the beginning of his eternal happiness; a star, like a comet, was seen over that same monastery for three days before the doctor’s death, and it disappeared on the day he passed away. The Lord Albert the Great was also in Cologne. While at the table, he suddenly began to weep and said to those present, "Brother Thomas of Aquino, my son in..." ...Christ, who was the light of the Church, has departed from this light today." The subprior of Fossanova, who was suffering from almost total blindness, was also moved to make a vow. He went to the tomb of Saint Thomas and, while praying to God through the merits of this saint, he received the benefit of sight and cried out before the entire community, "Blessed be God, who through the merits of Saint Thomas has made me see clearly!" And for a long time afterward, he lived and became the Bishop of Umbriatico. A clear miracle also appeared during the two translations of the sacred body of blessed Thomas. A very sweet and fragrant scent came from him, which was a sign that his knowledge would be spread throughout the whole world, and that while he lived, he was fragrant with every virtue. For no impulse of pride nor any stench of any mortal sin came from him while he lived. Fourteen years after his happy death, when the precious treasure of his sacred body was uncovered, the body was found whole in its limbs and in the cloth of his habit, and only the tip of his nose appeared slightly diminished. A scent so strong also emanated from it that all the monks were stirred to leave their cells to see such a miracle. The Lady Theodora, a countess, asked the abbot of the monastery of Fossanova for the right hand of this same sacred body, which he could not easily pull from the body, even though it had lain in the earth for fourteen years; but being forced, he cut it off with a blade, and it gave off a wonderful scent to those who venerated it. Then, when a certain man of great fame, forty-two years after the death of Saint Thomas, was seeking precious relics to place in a certain chapel of the Holy Cross that he had had built near Salerno, and had come to the chapel of the castle of San Severino in the diocese of Salerno, and the aforementioned hand had been shown to him and he had despised it, he immediately began to suffer from a great trembling of his whole body, and it seemed to him that he had a head as large as a chest and excessively heavy. However, having returned to himself and repenting bitterly for the irreverence he had committed, when he had reverently adored it, he was freed from that trembling and the swelling of his body. When he had kissed it, he felt a maximum scent coming from it, such as and as much as he had never remembered perceiving. That scent from the touch of the sacred hand clung to him and his hood, which he wore on his neck, for a long time, so that he himself and his hood were fragrant to those among whom they moved. When many asked him what fragrant thing he was carrying with him, he was compelled to recite the series of the miracle often, and from then on, as they assert, he received such devotion to Saint Thomas and confidence that, as often as any temptation came to him or danger threatened, by recommending himself to the merits of Saint Thomas and invoking his name, he felt himself immediately freed from the attack and danger. It must be noted, however, that that scent coming from the limbs of the blessed man is miraculous, because it is not felt as often as the limbs are adored, nor by everyone who adores them, but when it pleases and the devotion of the persons merits it. From which it is manifest that it is not a scent procured by human ingenuity, which exists granted by divine virtue, nor is any scent of any natural thing found similar to it. So that God may be more glorified in his saint, whom he has made wonderful, a few of the many miracles are presented here to increase the devotion of the faithful.
Signs of Divine Mercy
A collection of specific miracles performed through the intercession of Saint Thomas for the sick and suffering.
A surgeon, crippled by gout for ten years and unable to walk on his own, dedicated himself to God and Saint Thomas. After kneeling by the saint's tomb and praying, he sprang up healed, praising God and His saint. Another man, haunted by a terrifying vision, lost all his strength and appeared as if dead, to the point that he felt nothing even when fire was applied to his limbs. After being brought to the tomb of Saint Thomas, he waited a short while, then rose from the sepulcher completely free and healthy. A certain woman feared that her two-month-old son, lying in his cradle, was in danger—especially because for four months she had been so severely burdened by deafness that she could barely hear the child even when he cried out ten times. At the urging of her husband, who was sad and shared her grief over the danger to their child, she made a fervent vow to the aforementioned man of God to deliver her from that same infirmity. After she had made the vow and slept that night, she found herself healed the next day by the saint's merits, just as she had hoped. A young girl had her throat so constricted by quinsy that she couldn't swallow anything or even breathe. But when her mother persuaded her to devoutly commend herself to the blessed man, and she was taken the next day to the monastery of Fossanova and had the saint's relics placed against her throat, she felt herself improve immediately, ate some bread, and returned home perfectly healed. A lay brother at Fossanova suffered from such severe pain in his right arm and shoulder that he had to keep it in a sling around his neck; it was completely useless to him and racked with intense pain. Finding no relief from doctors—and actually getting worse—he humbly commended himself to the saint for his holiness, and when he woke from sleep, he found himself completely healed. A four-year-old child was suffering from such painful swelling and redness in his ribs and leg, all the way down to his foot, that he couldn't be touched by his mother or anyone else without causing him injury and screaming, and he was unable to move himself. After the boy had been in such pain and distress for a month, and the doctors could find no hope of a cure for the little one without surgery, and with both nature failing and no help from medical skill to be found, they turned to God and His saint, Thomas. The child's mother commended him most devoutly to blessed Thomas, asking that by his merits he might free the boy from this illness without surgery. The child was carried to the monastery, placed upon the tomb, and after a short while, he rose up from there healed.
Canonization and Heavenly Glory
The formal recognition of Thomas's sanctity by the Church and his role as a patron for the faithful.
Because of this and many other testimonies—which God has made abundantly credible to mortals regarding this righteous man—Pope John XXII, while at Avignon in the seventh year of his pontificate, on the fifteenth day before the calends... of August, in the year of the incarnate Word 1322, and in the fiftieth year since the blessed passing of this man from this world, added him to the catalog of holy confessors to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, while he was still living on earth, made the saint... and once he was translated to heaven, He caused him to shine with many miracles, so that the faithful might find him a most kind patron before God and, by imitating his footsteps, be able to attain the heavenly kingdom.
Read the original Latin
Thomas interpretatur abyssus vel geminus vel divisus vel signalus sive consumunatus. Fuit siquidem hic sanctus doctor Thomas velut abyssus profundissima, scientia enim et sapientia profundissimus exstitit, ideoque non imumerilo Aquinas ex nomine patriae dictus est, quoniam doctrinae coelestis aquas naclus est abundantissimas, Propter quod illud Ecclesiast, XV scriplum de eo dici potest: aqua sapientiae salutaris potavit illum Dens; et Apocal, XXL: ostendit angelus Jlumen aquae vivae splendidum tamquam cristallum, procedens de sede Dei et agni; et Proverb, XX: aquis mundanae vanitatis et propriae nativitatis eductus per religiosam vilam restitutus est matri ecclesiae, Moysi figura, Fuit etiam geminus devotionis decorae eL intelligentiae claritate, Insuper divisus fuit a mundanis cupiditatibus et pompis religionis vitam sacerrimam ducens, Denique fuit signatus aut consuminatus omnium virtatum splendore, Quapropter bene nuncupatus est Thomas, quod potest interpretari quasi Thau meum, id est signum meum yel consummatio mea. Deus enim tantis eum illustravit aique perfudit gratiae donis, ut verum Dei signum atque consummatio, id est perfecia Dei operatio esset, Cujus hystoriam et vitam quidam episcopus Lodonensis conscripsit, Feslivilas autem ejus celebratur nonis Martii, quo die migravit ex hoc mundo ad perpetuam gloriam.
Sanctus Thomas de Aquino ordinis praedicatorum doctor egregius nobilibus orlus progenitoribus Landolfo patre de domo ac illustri prosapia comitum Aquinorum confinibus Campaniae et regni Siciliae, matre Theodora de Neapolitana stirpe exeunte duxit originem, Qui per sanctum eremita Bonum nomine matri suae fuit praenuntialus ex nomine nasciturus magnus in orbe, nalusque fuit anno domini MCCXXV, Hio existens infantulus cuin a cunis pro balneo solveretur, nutu divino chartulam quandam humi jacentem, in qua salutatio angelica continebatur, brachium nemine juvante extendens accepit, cui vix mater eripere potuit, Hic puer quinque annorum existens missus fuit parentibus ad monasterium montis Cassini erudiendus in primis litterarum elementis et moribus imbuendis, Cum autem septem annorum esset, missus est Neapolim ad studium artium liberaluum, Qui tanta celeritate naluralis ingenii omnes artes didicit in septem annorum spatio et praecellens omnes ingenio et labore cunctis erat admirabilis. Cum autem esset XIV annorum, virgo electus a domino intravit ordinem sacralissimuim. fratrum praedicatorum. Hic etiam eodem anno, quo intravit ordinem, cum per fratres ordinis praedicti fuissel Romam perductus et de Roma per Tusciam Parisios duceretur, ut a suis elongarelur. parentibus, raptus et capias fuit in ilinere per germanos suos carnales et vi ablatus fratribus et missus ad malrem suam in castro imonlis sancti Johannis, ubi detentus ct custoditus et clausus in carcere stetit quasi biennio in babitu ordinis, quem assumtum nunquam deseruit neo ad deserendum aliquatenus flecti poluit, Deditus vero ibidem orationi et contemplationi ac studio scripturarum Uunquam in schola summi magistri plurimum profecit et vehementis libidinis suggestricem a carcere cum stipite ignito fugavit, Unde ex hac victoria tale donum a Deo consecutus est, ut nullum stimulum voluptatis venereae postea senserit, Postquam antem redditus est ordini, missus est Coloniam, ubi docebat philosophiam et theologiam doctor Albertus magnus ejusdem ordinis professor, a quo plurimum eruditus est spatio annorum XI. Cum vero attigisset XXVIL annum aetatis suae, Parisios missus gradum baccalaureatus in theologia suscepit, Qui cum laudabiliter legisset sententias et omnibus esset venerabilis propter admirabiles quaestionum solutiones, assumtus est in magisterium sacrae theologiae anno suae aetatis XXX, Qui vivens dumtaxat postea XX annos, maximos et pulcherrimos libros composuit; qui libri fere complent centenarium numerum, Habuit autem tantam a Deo gratjam, ut dubia aliis occulta per revelationem Dei apparentibus ei beatis Pelro et Paulo cognosceret, Incendebatur enim Dei amore et ita rapiebatur in contemplatione mysteriorum divinorum, ut etiam comedendo circa illa cogitaret et exsistens in mensa sancti Ludovici regis putaret se esse in sindio et cella sua. Specialiter eliam adjutorio divino fretus quaestionem difficillunam de sacramento corporis Christi omnibus magistris Parisiensibus ignotam declaravit. Hic doctor egregius in ecstasi et alienatione virium sensitivarum mente frequenter apparuit in Deum elevatus, corpore etiam visus est in oralione exsistens uno cubito et aliquando duobus a terra sursum levari, Quotiens autem vir sanctus disputare, legere, scribere aliquid vellet, prius ad orationem accedens inveniebat sic in promtu, quod quaerebat, ac si in libro legeret.
Fuit insuper tantus amor verae sapientiae, nt archiepiscopatum Neapolitanum, ad quem eum volebat promovere dominus Clemens quartus papa, recusaverit et homilias Chrysostomi super Matthaeum praeelegerit civitati F'arisiensi, et rationem reddens dixit fratribus: civitas haec, si esset mea, propter curam regiminis mihi eriperet contemplationem divinonun et consolationem animi impediret, quam scriptura sancta donat. Tandem vero iste doctor egregius florens scienlia et doctrina eminens vocatus per Gregorium decimum papam ad generale concilium, quod celebratum fuit Lugduni calendis Maji anno domini MCCLXXIV, obiit in itinere in monasterio Fossae Novae Cisterciensis Ordinis Terracinensis dyoecesis nonis Martii aetatis suae anno L inchoante, In Obitu autem ejus non defuerunt signa miranda, quae sancti doctoris indicarent exitum ex hoc mundo et aeternae suae felicitatis demonstrarent initium, Nam stella quaedam ad modum cometae tribus diebus ante doctoris obitum super idem monasterium visa fuit eliam in die, quae sancto doctore migrante disparuit. Dominus etiam Albertus magnus Coloniae. in mensa exsistens coepit subito lacrymari dixitque assistentibus: frater Thomas de Aquino, filius meus in. Christo, qui fuit lumen ecclesiae, ex hac luce hodie migravit. Supprior etiam Fossae Novae patiens in oculis fere omnimodam caecitatem emisso voto adductus. ad sepulchrum sancti Thomae et orans Deum meritis smi sancti visns beneficium recepit et clamavit coram toto conventn: benedictus Dens, qui meritis sancti Thomae clare me videre fecit, Et longo tempore post vivens Umbralicensis ecclesiae faclus est episcopus. Manifestum quoque miraculum in duabus translationibus sacri corporis beati "Thomae apparnit.
Ex eo enim prodiit odor suavissimus et fragrantissimns, quod signum fuit scientiae snae diffundendae per totum orbem, et ipsum, dum viveret, redoluisse omnibus virtulibus, Nullus enim stimulus superbiae nec aliquis foetor cujuscunque peccati inortalis eo vivente exivit, Quarto decimo etimn anno ab ejus felici obitu, curi pretiosus thesaurus sacri corporis patefactus esset, inventum est corpus integrum membris et pannis sui habitns solaque nasi summitas paululun deminuta visa est, Odor quoqne tantus emanavit, ut omnes monachi inde excitati suas cellas exirent ad videndum tantum miraculum. Ejusdem sacri corporis manum dextram domina Theodora comitissa petivit ab abbate monasterii Fossae Novae, quam non potuit avellere leviter a corpore, quamvis jun annis XIV jacnisset in terra, sed compulsus eam ferro detruncavit, quae mirandum odorem eam venerantibus effundebat, Undc cum quidam vir magnae famae anno ab obitu sancti Thomae XLII quaereret pretiosas reliquias ad reponendum in quadam capella sanctae crucis, quam aedificari fecerat apud Salernum, et venisset in capella castri sancti Severini Salernitanae dyoecesis et sibi ostensa fuisset manus praedicta eamque despexisset, statim tremore magno totins corporis aegrotare coepit videbaturque sibi, quod haberet capnt grossum ad modum wnius cistae et nimis ponderosum, In se aulem reversus et poenitens acerrime de irreverentia facta, cum reverenter illam adorasset, a tremore illo et inflatione corporis liberatus est, Quam cum deosculatus esset, odorem maximum ex ea progredi sensit, qualem et quantum nunquam se meminerat percepisse, Odor autem ille ex tractu sacrae manus sibi et ejus capntio, quod in collo gerebat, multo tempore sio adhaesit, quod ipse et caputium redolebant illis, inter quos conversabantur, Quod pluribus interrogantibus, quid secun ferret odoriferun, compellebatur miraculi seriem saepe recitare, et extunc, ut asserunt, tantam devotionem ad sanctum Thomam et confidentiam accepit, quod, quotiens aliqua tentatio sibi adveniret vel periculum üinmineret, recommendans se meritis sancti Thomae et invocans nomen ejus se sensit ab impugnatione et periculo statim liberatum. Advertendum antem est, quod odor ille prodiens a membris beati viri miracnlosus est, quia non sentitur, quotiens adorantur membra, nec ab omnibus, qui ipsa adorant, sed quando placet et personanun devotio promeretur, Ex quo manifestum est, quod non sit odor humano ingenio procuratus, qui divina existit virtule concessus, neo ullius rei naturalis odor similis illi reperitur. Ut autem amplius glorificetur Deus in sancto suo, quem inirificavit, pauca de multis miraculis ad augmentum devotionis fidelium hic subduntur,
Quidam arte chirurgicus, sed per decennium infirmitate podagricus nec valens per se ambulare se Deo et beato Thomae devovit, juxta ejus tumulum incumbens oratione facta sanus prosiliit laudans Deum et sanctum ejus.
Alter quidam propter horribilem fantasmatis visionem omni virtute destitntus et inortuo similis videbatur, adeo nt igne meinbris ejus adinoto nullatenus sentiret. Qui poriatus ad tumulum sancti Thomae post morulain liber et sanus omnino a sepulchro surrexit,
Mulier quaedam, cum filium suum duorum mensiwn in cunis decubantem periclitari forinidaret, pro eo praesertim, quod per menses qualuor ex surditate adeo gravata esset decies exclamare, vagientem etiam puerum vix audivit. Viri sui inductione, qui moestus una cum illa cominunis filii periculo condolebat, praedicto viro Dei, nt eam ab eadem infirmitate eriperet, obnixius devovit emissoque voto cum nocte secuta dormiisset, in crastino se liberatam sancli meritis reperit, ut optabat,
Puella gutturis sui fauces squinantiae habens infirmitate constrictas in tantum, ut neque sunere quidquam posset neque respirare, dum devote se beato viro a matre persuasa commendaret ductaque fuisset in crastinum ad praedictum monasterium Fossae Novae suppositis gutturi suo sanctis reliquiis confestim melioratam se sensit, panem comedit perfecteque sanata rediit.
Quidam conversus Fossae Novae adeo gravem in brachio dextro et spatulo dolorem patiebatur, ut illud deferret suspensum ad collum et penitus ei inutile atque dolore vehementer afflictum, Qui neque medicoriun auxilio remedium inveniens, imo ampliore dolore gravatus, dum dicto sancto pro sua sanctitate se humiliter commendasset, a somno surgens se penitus liberatum cognovit,
Infans quidam quatuor annorum tumorem et ruborem in costis et crure usque ad pedem patiebatur adeo aíflictivum, ut nec a matre sua vel alio tangi sine laesione et clamore aliquatenus potuisset, neque se movere poterat. Cumque puer per mensem in tanto dolore et anxietate fuisset, et a medicis spes curationis sine incisione pueruli non inveniretur, deficiente natura artisque suffragio non invento recursum est ad Deum et sanctum suum Thomam, Mater enim infantuli beato Thomae ipsum devotissime commendavit, ut a dicta infirmitate absque incisione suis meritis puerum liberaret, qui delatus ad monasterium et positus super tumulum post aliquam morulam sanus inde surrexit. Propter haeo et alia testimonia multa, quae de hoc viro justo mortalibus credibilia per Deum facia sunt nimis, dominus Jobannes XXII papa apud Avenionem pontificatus sni anno septimo XV calend. Augusti, anno verbi incarnati MCCCXXIIH a felici vero transitu hujas viri beati ex hoc mundo, anno L decurrente illum sanctorum confessorum catalogo adjunxit ad laudem et gloriam domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui luno sanctum adhuc in terris viventem et. jam ad coelos translatum multis fecit coruscare miraculis, ut fideles ipsum invenirent apud Deum benignissimum patronum et ejus vestigia imitantes regna coelestia consequi possent.
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