Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church - 1225-1274
 
St. Thomas Aquinas was the pre-eminent philosopher and theologian of the Christian Middle Ages.  Much of his work was aimed at refuting philosophers of his time who had been led by their study of the Arab scholar Averroes to question the Eucharist and other doctrines.
 
A number of images of St. Thomas Aquinas follow the program seen at left in Gozzoli's Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Averroes lies vanquished under the feet of Thomas, who is assisted by Aristotle and Plato (on his left and right) and by the four Evangelists, who sit above him writing their gospels.
 
At the very top is Christ, whose words are printed in the space between the Evangelists: Bene scripsisti de me Thomma, "You have written well of me, Thomas."  A late version of the Golden Legend says these words were spoken to Aquinas by Christ as he contemplated the crucifix one night in prayer (image).  Another episode in the same work has St. Peter and St. Paul come one night while Aquinas is praying and help him to understand the scriptures (image).
 
The legend's emphasis on St. Thomas Aquinas's prayerfulness probably explains the phrase on the left leaf of the saint's book in the image at left. The same phrase appears in many other images of Aquinas: Veritatem meditabitur guttur meum et labia mea detestabuntur impium, "my mouth will meditate on truth, and my lips will detest the impious man" (Proverbs 8:7).
 
Aquinas was a Dominican, so he is normally shown in the black and white habit of that order with a distinct tonsure and often a shining sun on his breast as an emblem of his role as teacher of doctrine. Some portraits show a dove near his ear, symbolizing inspiration, and sometimes he holds a pen.
 
Feast day: March 7, changed in the 20th century to January 28.

Courtesy www.adu.edu

On Saturday, January 23, 2010 (and every 4th Saturday of the month in 2010) LA Schola will sing the Miss Papae Marcelli (Pope Marcella Mass) at the 5pm Vigil Mass.
 
Missa Papae Marcelli, or Pope Marcellus Mass, is a mass by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. It is his most well-known and most often-performed mass.  It was always sung at the Papal Coronation Mass (the last being the coronation of Paul VI in 1963).  The Missa Papae Marcelli consists, like most Renaissance masses, of  Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus/Benedictus, and Agnus Dei, though the Agnus Dei is in two parts rather than the common three. The mass is freely composed, not based upon a cantus firmus or parody. It is primarily a six-voice mass, though the use of the full forces is reserved for specific climactic portions in the text, and voice combinations are varied throughout the piece. It is set primarily in a homorhythmic, declamatory style, with little overlapping of text and a general preference for block chords such that the text, unlike many polyphonic masses of the 16th century, can clearly be heard in performance.
 
The mass was composed in honor of Pope Marcellus II, who reigned for three weeks in 1555. Recent scholarship suggests the most likely date of composition is 1562, when it was copied into a manuscript at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
 
Funding for LA Schola's 2010 performances at this Mass has been provided by an anonymous donor for all of 2010.

 

 

In commemoration of The First Year Anniversary of Robert Krueger's passing; The Holy Rosary will be said on Sunday 31January 2010 immediately following  Evening Prayer, (Vespers) at 5p.m.  All Parishioners and friends are invited to this celebration of Bob's life.
 

 

Interesting facts about

St. Thomas the Apostle, The Episcopal Church and The Anglican Community

 

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