ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

1224-1274

Our Lord Appears to

During the years of his

theological maturity, from

1269 to 1272, St. Thomas

Aquinas was called to Paris

to resolve the complicated

question of the nature

of the Eucharistic Sacrament.

Before St. Thomas started

his dissertation, he went in

church to pray and then

finally wrote the actual text.

Once the exhibit was

concluded, St. Thomas

returned to church and that

is when Our Lord Jesus

appeared to him to confirm

the righteousness of his

writings.

uring his second tenure as professor in Paris, St.

Thomas found himself in the middle of a

dispute taking place among the professors at

the Sorbonne University in regard to the Eucharistic

sacrament. The dispute was about two points: a) if

the senses perceive the presence of the so-called “acci-

dent”, such as color, taste, durability and quantity, it

would be the concrete extension of the true and real

Eucharistic Bread and Wine; b) faith confirms that in

the sacrament exists the Body and Blood of Christ,

which is an apparent contrast with the former theory.

Parisian theologians were clearly divided between the

objective theory and the value of faith. They decided

to ask St. Thomas because they already had the

opportunity of experiencing his philosophical intelli-

gence and his theological sanctity. They asked him to

offer and communicate his opinion, in that his theo-

logical wisdom would become the rule to follow.

Thomas then,as he usually did, retreated

himself to prayer and contemplation and started to

pray with great fervor and devotion. Soon after, he

quickly jotted down in writing the least amount of

words with the most precise clarity possible, what

his mind was able to understand and what The

Lord inspired him to write. He returned in church,

went to the altar and laid down his written answers

under the eye of the Crucifix and prayed: “Our

Lord Jesus, actually and forever present in this

Blessed Sacrament, I am asking You to help me

understand Your truth and to be able to teach and

confer it without any possibility of errors. So, I

beseech thee, Oh Lord, to concede me this grace: If

the things that I wrote about You and with Your

blessing are true, make it possible for me to say and

teach them publicly. If, instead, I have written

something that is not in tune to the truth revealed

and alien to the mystery of the sacrament, stop me

from inferring anything that could deviate from the

Catholic faith.” This was the humble prayer of the

theologian who understands that he is dealing with

things much higher than himself and that he has a

grave responsibility towards his people. Father

Reginaldo, his secretary, and other brethren were

fortunate enough to observe St. Thomas while in

deep prayer, when suddenly Christ appeared and

motioned towards his writings and said: “You wrote

well about the sacrament of my Body and you wrote

ell and according to truth; you also have resolved

the question that was posed to you. This understanding

of the Truth defines and holds true, as long as man is

present on earth.” Having heard this, Thomas was

filled with joy and thanksgiving, and prostrated himself

and knelt down at the altar in front of our Lord.

The miracle consists in the

Crucifix animating Itself to

confirm to St. Thomas that his

writings were righteous

G. Francesco Barbieri, called:

“Guerelino”, St. Thomas Aquinas

writing while assisted by Angels

(1662)

Church of St. Dominic

in Naples, Italy