Dominican. Philosopher and theologian, master of Christian doctrine. He integrated faith and reason

Today we celebrate Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a Dominican friar, priest, and Doctor of the Church. The life and teaching of this saint can be summed up in an episode handed down by the early biographers. - One morning, as Thomas was accustomed to do, he was praying before the Crucifix in the Chapel of Saint Nicholas in Naples, when the church sacristan overheard a dialogue. Thomas, with concern, was asking whether everything he had written about the mysteries of the Christian faith was correct. And the Crucifix replied: “You have spoken well of me, Thomas. What is your reward to be?” And Thomas’s answer is the one that we too, as friends and disciples of Jesus, would always want to give: “Nothing but Yourself, Lord!” —“Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you” (Saint Thomas Aquinas).