January 28, Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas

Today, January 28, is the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas.  St. Thomas was born 1225 in Aquino, Kingdom of Sicily and died March 7, 1274 in the Kingdom of Sicily.  He was a priest, philosopher and theologian writing in such areas as metaphysics, logic, ethics, and politics.  His best known work is the Summa Theologica.

Wikipedia provides the following sketch of St. Thomas:

"Thomas Aquinas, O.P., also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino; (Aquino, 1225 – Fossanova, 7 March 1274) was an Italian priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis. "Aquinas" is not a surname (hereditary surnames were not then in common use in Europe), but is a Latin adjective meaning "of Aquino", his place of birth. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology, and the father of Thomism. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy was conceived as a reaction against, or as an agreement with his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law and political theory.

"Thomas is held in the Catholic Church to be the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood. The works for which he is best-known are the Summa Theologica and the Summa Contra Gentiles. One of the 33 Doctors of the Church, he is considered the Church's greatest theologian and philosopher. Pope Benedict XV declared: "The Church has declared Thomas' doctrines to be her own."

For more information about St. Thomas view the full Wikipedia entry.  Thanks to Tom McGrath for pointing out the Feast Day. P.S.: When we were in school, the feast day was March 7!

March 13, 2011 STA Visit Invitation

The following is a portion of a note which is being mailed to our classmates whose "snail mail" addresses we have on file.

January, 2011

Hi, Fellow Classmate:

It's fifty years since we stopped our daily procession through the doors of the red brick building on Leclaire Avenue by Washington Blvd: St Thomas Aquinas Grammar School.

Last November many of us attended a reunion arranged by a committee of our fellow students. It was a fun, magical evening getting together with long-ago friends not seen in half a century. We missed you if you weren't there. We want everyone to know about another special event coming up soon.

Through the efforts of Bill Stocker, the Pastor at St. Martin de Porres [formerly St. Thomas Aquinas Church] has graciously invited the graduation class of 1960 to participate in Mass at 10:30 a.m., March 13, 2011, followed by a tour of the church, and then, hold your breath, a tour of our fabulous school. That's right. Walk the halls, visit the classrooms and cloakrooms, and then meet in the old canteen for coffee, drinks [non-alcoholic] and pastries.

So, how many of you would like to see our old stomping grounds? The invitation is open to anyone, from any class. If you have siblings or friends who attended St. Tommies before or after us, please invite them to join us. As they say, the more the merrier.
 
Mark your calendars for:

Date: Sunday, March 13, 2011

Time: 10:30 a.m. Mass

Address: 5112 W. Washington Blvd.

and send an email to Elaine McIntyre Beaudoin confirming your attendance.  As we get closer to the event, information regarding parking, etc. will be posted.