Doctor Communis, Doctor Humanitatis, Doctor Angelicus

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, and there are few better tributes to this man than the passage from Ecclesiasticus which the Church proposes for our reflection as the scriptural reading from the Office of Readings for the Common of Doctors of the Church.

He who devotes himself to the study of the law of the Most High will seek
out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be concerned with
prophecies; he will preserve the discourse of notable men and
penetrate the subtleties of parables; he will seek out the hidden meanings of
proverbs and be at home with the obscurities of parables. He will serve among
great men
and appear before rulers; he will travel through the lands of
foreign nations, for he tests the good and the evil among men. He will set
his heart to rise early to seek the Lord who made him, and will make
supplication before the Most High; he will open his mouth in prayer and make
supplication for his sins.
If the great Lord is willing, he will be filled with the spirit of
understanding; he will pour forth words of wisdom
and give thanks to the
Lord in prayer. He will direct his counsel and knowledge aright, and
meditate on
his secrets. He will reveal instruction in his
teaching,and will glory in the law of the Lord's covenant. Many will
praise his understanding, and itwill never be blotted out; his memory will not
disappear, and his name will live through all generations. Nations will
declare his wisdom, and the congregation will proclaim his praise. - Ecclesiasticus 39:1-10

Enbrethiliel's Chesterton Thursday was devoted to Chesterton's biography of the 'Dumb Ox' and major congratulations are due to Lauren over at the Cnytr 'blog who is entering the novitiate of the Third Order (i.e. for lay people) of the Domincans on this day. Ad multos annos!