This
past Monday, the Church celebrated the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. The
“Angelic Doctor” is best known for his understanding of Church doctrine and for
his prolific contributions to theology. But did you know that Aquinas is also
venerated for his holy purity?
The Angelic
Warfare Confraternity, an apostolate of the Dominican Friars “dedicated to pursuing and promoting chastity
together under the powerful patronage St. Thomas Aquinas and the Blessed Virgin
Mary,” shares this story from Aquinas’s life, during a time when his family was attempting to
convince him to abandon the Dominican Order:
After a number of attempts at breaking Thomas’s will, his brothers conceived one last plan. While Thomas was alone, his brothers introduced a scantily clad prostitute into his room. They were certain that physical temptation would drive him to break his vow of chastity, after which he would surely abandon his religious vocation.
The plan did not work as intended. Immediately, Thomas snatched a burning brand from the hearth, drove her from the room with it, and slammed the door behind her. He emblazoned the sign of the cross on the door with the red-hot brand, and fell to his knees in prayer. With tears of thanksgiving in his eyes, he prayed to be preserved in his chastity, purity, and intention to live the religious life.
