His parents had a cushy job picked out for him. Thomas would become abbot (leader) of a wealthy monastery that had grown lax in monastic rigor. Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1225-1274) did not share his parent’s enthusiasm for this prearranged scheme. He aspired to set out for Roma and join the Dominicans, a new order of begging friars. His rich family refused to entertain the idea that Thomas would become a beggar, so his brothers abducted him and bought him home. Thomas was held prisoner in the family castle for a year. They tried to deprogram him, and even went so far as to hire a prostitute to seduce him, but Thomas drove her away with a burning stick. His mother showed him clemency and deliberately left a castle window open so Thomas could escape under the cover of darkness. He traveled to Paris to study with the Dominicans.
Not that he had a promising start. He didn’t speak much so his fellow students thought he was slow and nicknamed him “Dumb Ox.” When a Dominican professor, Albertus Magnus, caught wind of the bullying, he exploded, “You call him a dumb ox, but his teaching will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world.”
These words turned out to be prophetic. Thomas Aquinas rose through the ranks to teach theology at the University of Paris and later returned home to Italy as professor at the University of Naples. Historians regard him as the finest writer and ablest theologian of the Middle Ages. One quote from Aquinas stands out above the rest, “The things we love tell us what we are.” How true–we are what we love. His prayer is a keeper: