"ANGELIC DOCTOR"

Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Mt 23:8-12

The best preacher is the best witness. The best homily is the preacher’s life. The best pulpit is the here and now. Pope Paul VI wrote in Evangelii Nuntiandi, “Modern man no longer listens to teachers but to witnesses. And if he listens to teachers, it is because they are first witnesses.”

What we preach and how we live are intimately related with each other: they are either compatible or incompatible. When what we preach is irreconcilable with how we live, we lie. When what we preach is congruent with how we live, we are truthful.

Today, we remember in the liturgy a man who always searched for and live by the truth. Thomas Aquinas, born in 1224, is known as the symbol of universally approved orthodoxy. He eloquently explained our faith in his Summa Theologica and captured the hearts of many by his sanctity. With his mastery of philosophy and scholastic theology undisputed and his holiness of life profound, Thomas gained the title of “Angelic Doctor” and was declared Patron of Catholic Schools by Pope Leo XIII.

Thomas Aquinas is a preacher par excellence because he was truthful. He was truthful because he lived by what he preached. We may not become doctors of the Church, but we can be angelic like Thomas if our lives bear witness to what we preach.