742 Years Ago Today, Thomas Aquinas Experienced an Epiphany and Would Never Write Again

The Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas, (alterpiece)
Francisco de Zurbarán, 1631

One of the most brilliant minds in the history of the Church was St. Thomas Aquinas, born 790 years ago. He dedicated his life to creating a complete synthesis of Catholic philosophy and theology. But when he was 48 years old, he stopped writing. When asked why, he answered: "The end of my labors has come. All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been revealed to me."

What had happened was this. On the feast of St. Nicholas (December 6) he had a vision of Christ, who said to him, “You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you have for your labor?” Thomas answered, "Nothing but you, Lord." Jesus gave him what he asked, and Thomas seems to have recognized how infinitely superior this new wisdom was to anything he had ever known. Three months later he passed into eternal life.

From Fr. René Butler's homily.