Second in a two-part series of articles
“The pursuit of wisdom especially joins man to God in friendship,” St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in his theological work, “Summa Contra Gentiles.” Known as one of the Catholic Church’s greatest theologians and philosophers, St. Thomas also had such a high degree of purity and holiness he is referred to as the “Angelic Doctor.”
As part of St. Agnes in Baton Rouge’s participation in the USCCB National Eucharistic Revival and the St. Thomas Aquinas Triple Jubilee (Centenaire Thomas d’Aquin: 2023 – 2025), Msgr. Robert Berggreen recently gave a presentation on this theological master of the spiritual life at St. Agnes Church.
Titled, “Getting to Know the Angelic Doctor: His Life, Virtues and Gifts to the Church,” Msgr. Berggreen highlighted the special connection between St. Agnes and St. Thomas.
The first tie between the two saints Msgr. Berggreen highlighted was that both were born in influential aristocratic families, and both were from central Italy. St. Agnes came from Rome and St. Thomas came from just south of Aquino, which is just south of Rome.
St. Agnes came from a noble Roman family and St. Thomas came from a mixed Germanic family and was related to the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Holy Roman emperors.
“And they were also known for their exceptional purity, both having gone through terrible ordeals to test their purity in their teens,” said Msgr. Berggreen.
St. Agnes, whose name in Greek means “purity” and in Latin means “lamb,” died a virgin martyr at the age of 12 in 304 A.D.
“Various accounts exist about her martyrdom, but what is common of them is that she vowed virginity, some say resisting advances of the Roman prefect’s son,” said Msgr. Berggreen. “St. Agnes steadfastly withstood the violent pressure of the Roman prefect during her trial, was publicly exposed to shame, but miraculously preserved. She was tortured by fire, but without harm, and she was finally beheaded.”
St. Agnes is one of the most renowned of the early martyrs, finding a prominent place in the Roman Canon of the Mass and a well celebrated feast day, and is a central model of Christian purity, Msgr. Berggreen pointed out.
“We could well use her example in the world today,” Msgr. Berggreen said.
St. Agnes is the patron saint of young girls, rape victims and chastity.
St. Thomas’ purity was also challenged during his adolescence by his own family.
When St. Thomas joined the Dominican order against his family’s wishes, they became irate.
“His aristocratic family could not stomach him being part of a band of itinerant beggars, which the Dominicans were,” said Msgr. Berggreen.
St. Thomas’ brothers abducted him with the consent of his mother and the approval of the Holy Roman Emperor.
“His family locked him in two of their two of their castles for two years, in an effort to persuade him to abandon the Dominican order,” Msgr. Berggreen said.
While St. Thomas was confined, his brothers enlisted a prostitute to entice him to leave the Dominican Order. The saint took a brand out of the fire and chased her out of the room.
Msgr. Berggreen noted there are many miraculous manifestations of St. Thomas’ purity, such as the time he fell asleep and in a vision two angels came to him from heaven and bound a cord around his waist, saying “On God’s behalf, we girdle you with the girdle of chastity, which no attack can ever destroy.”
This angels’ gift preserved St. Thomas from sexual temptation and bestowed on him a high degree of purity that ennobled his thoughts and actions, stated Msgr. Berggreen.
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote extensively about angels as well as the hymn Pange Lingua for the feast of Corpus Christi.
As a tribute to the “Angelic Doctor” each of the stained-glass windows at St. Agnes Church are adorned with an angel holding a ribbon presenting a line from “Pange Lingua,” beginning with the stained-glass window immediately to the left of the baptistry, on which is inscribed, “Sing, my tongue, the Savior's Glory.” On ribbon in the final stained-glass window is inscribed: “Thou hast written well of Me, Thomas.”
“(Regarding) the angel’s gift, Pope Pius XI wrote, ‘If St. Thomas had not been victorious when his chastity was in peril, it is very probable that the church would never have had her Angelic Doctor, ’ ” said Msgr. Berggreen.
Even with his angelic gift of purity, St. Thomas had a model of purity in his life: Saint Agnes, Msgr. Berggreen emphasized.
St. Thomas kept a relic of St. Agnes with him at all times. According to one of St. Thomas’ biographers, St. Thomas performed a miracle during which he cured his companion from a strong fever by using the relic and requesting St. Agnes’ intercession. To celebrate this, St. Thomas declared that he would give a feast for his students each year in honor of St. Agnes. He was only able to do this once, since he died the following year.
“The thought of Thomas giving a feast for his students in honor of the young virgin martyr Agnes touches my heart,” said Msgr. Berggreen “St. Thomas is not the remote, sterile academic that some people make him out to be.”
The monsignor added, “Even the saints needed to rely on other saints. We need models of purity, too. In the blessed Octave, from January 21st to the 28th, in which we celebrate the feasts of St. Agnes and St. Thomas Aquinas, we have two great models bound together in many areas and in many ways.”