The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-03-14
Continued from Page IL
THE ANGELIC DOCTOR.

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toll that devotion to study demands.
Even if your talent be meagre, the
one talent, with the rain and the sun
shine of Gods grace, will bear more
abundant and more abiding fruit, than
the three and five laid up and put
away in napkin.
The Fount of Wisdom.
Would you know the secret of the
intellectual triumph of your sainted
Patron? He united with the widest
learning, the iveliest charity, the
deepest humility, talent for prayer,
and angelic purity.
st. Thomas realized that love is
power, is knowledge, is strength all
he had and all he did sprang from
the fountain of his boundless charity.
He learned more wisdom, he tells us,
at the foot of the Crucifx, than from
the lips of his teachers. And his love
for Christ in the Holy Eucharist has
become immortaliZed, since through
out the world his devotional hymns
are used to express the emotions of
the Catholic flock at Benediction. Is
there need to tell you, that with the
Blood of Christ purpling your lips, and
His Eucharist Body, the body of Him
who is the Author of truth and virtue,
in your hearts frequently, aye, as your
daily bread, you are furnished with
special assistance, not only for over
coming evil, but also for acquiring
knowledge?
Love of Humility.
st. Thomas was a saint, because he
was humble No rank or office in the
Church was there, to which his virtue
and scholarly attachments might not
have done honor; but in his deep hui
mility he would have none of them.
His heart was set on incorruptible
treasures. The white habit of the
friar was his only badge during life,
his shroud in death. Towards the
close of his career all that he had
written, all that he had acquired, ap-
peared to him as SO much rubbish
compared with what he had seen and
what had been revealed to him"
Would that his example of intellec-
tual humility were oftener copied
nowadays! The more deeply we pen
citrate the secrets of nature and of
God, the greater reason have we for
humbling ourselves and making pro-
fession of our ignorance. The most
profound philosopher at best succeeds
in acquiring only measure of wis
dom and sanctity. Nothing more
readily than humility will gain the
confidence and the respect of our fell
bowman
st. Thomas was a learned man, be-
cause he was man of prayer. His
crucif1x was his library; his favorite
spot, in the shadow of the tabernacle:
and there were the sources of all his
knowledge. His marvellous science"
his confessor says of him, twas due
far less to the power of his genius,
than to the efficacy of his prayer"
He was a learned man because he
was man of purity. He was pure
with the purity of an angel He was
an angel before he rose to be the An
gelic Doctor. No wonder that his soul,
a chalice of innocence breathing the
sweet fragrance of heaven, was made
the receptacle for celestial light, for
thoughts that are impaired only to
the clean of heart; that the low whis-
pering of the Divine Spirit swelled
into clarion note, loud and clear,
that has filed the uttermost bounds
of the earth.
A Benediction and Inspiration.
You are gathered here this morning
to honor your Patron, st. Thomas. He
asks, | am sure, no other tribute of
your. love and respect than the pledge,
that as long as you are under his tut
elage you will be studious, humble,
prayerful, pure. The commonplace
character of these simple counsels
makes their influence none the less
salutary and uplifting. The image of
st. Thomas is ever in this Chapel.
His grand, majestic spirit is surely