St Thomas Aquinas & Blessed John of Fiesole Doctor Angelicus & Fra Angelico

St Thomas Aquinas was born at Roccasecca in c.1225. He died at Fossanova Abbey (a Cistercian monastery about 100km south of Rome in the province of Latina) on the 7^th March 1274 (his feast day is on the anniversary of the translation of his relics, 28^th January 1369). He was canonised on the 18^th July 1323 by Pope John XII who exclaimed during the eulogy, “He has enlightened the Church more than all other Doctors, and more profit can be gained in a single year by the study of his works, than by devoting a lifetime to that of other theologians.” Within this short life of about 50 years he contributed so much to Catholic philosophy and theology, including reconciling Christian doctrine with the best pagan philosophy and writing a most comprehensive and authoritative summary of theology, that his work is still recommended by the Church as a sure guide in the mysteries of salvation[1].

Bl John of Fiesole, better known as Fra Angelico, was born in c.1395 near Florence in the province of Mugello, Tuscany. He died on the 18^th February 1455 in Rome on which day his feast is celebrated. He was known for his holiness of life and his artwork, particularly that which decorated the priory of San Marco in Florence (now the museum of St Mark). He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on the 3^rd October 1992 and declared patron of artists in 1994, also by Pope John Paul II, where the Pope spoke of “the perfect integrity of his life and the almost divine beauty of the images he painted, to a superlative extent those of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

It is clear that both these men were saints before they were geniuses, i.e. their work flowed from a deep life of prayer and contemplation and was not intended to glorify the artist but the object of the art, God. They both embody the Dominican motto contemplare et contemplata aliis tradere, first to contemplate and then to pass on the fruits of this contemplation to others. Consequently, while their work and its effects are clear to all, their personalities are hidden behind the veil of humility, as is the case with the founder of the Order of Preachers and their model, St Dominic. So it is necessary to look at what they produced in order to obtain an insight into their prayerful nature. There can be no doubt, having meditated on some of the works of Fra Angelico, in particular his Christ on the Cross adored by St Dominic and The Mockery of Christ, both in the Museum of St Mark, Florence, that his art, as it were, was inspired by deep contemplation. The famous philosopher Hegel himself says of Fra Angelico's work that it is “unsurpassed in the solemn depth of its conception”; which simply means that hidden behind the work is a life imbued with prayer and meditation on the life of Christ. St Antoninus also expressed this sentiment when he said, “No one could paint like that without first having been to heaven”. Fra Angelico epitomises the Dominican ideal of communicating to others the beauty of God through preaching according to one's particular gifts, in this case an artistic genius.

The work of St Thomas was also clearly the result of a deep and abiding love of and meditation on the source of all goodness, truth and beauty, God. There are many stories attesting to the humble and contemplative spirit of this genius. One of the more amusing is of an occasion when he dined in the court of the great King Louis IX of France, now St Louis. While most average people would be either self-conscious about being in such illustrious company, or inveigling their way into their favour, Thomas was lost in thought. Suddenly, during a moment of silence, he struck the table and exclaimed, “That will be the end of the Manichaeans! (ergo conclusum est contra Manichaeos)” Oblivious to the distinguished surroundings, he had been meditating on the best way to defend Veritas, that is, the truth. He was also a man of deep prayer. In imitation of his Father Dominic, he used to read every day sections from the “Conferences” of Cassian, saying that, “In such reading I find devotion, whence I readily ascend to contemplation.” According to the testimony of the Dominican Peter of St Felix during his canonization process, each morning he celebrated Mass and then heard another Mass, and was sometimes so wrapt in contemplation during mealtime, that his food would be removed without him noticing. This can be better understood when his revelation to his dear friend Reginald of Piperno is known, that he learned more in prayer and contemplation than from men or books.

These two holy men are an admirable example of the variety of forms through which the Dominican charism can be fulfilled. The fact that they attained sanctity and excelled in such different fields of labour demonstrates the enduring and versatile nature of the Order founded by St Dominic. All Dominicans are called to contemplation and preaching but, as St Thomas taught, grace builds upon nature, and the excellence of the Order of Preachers lies in the fact that the fruit of each persons contemplation manifests itself in a unique expression.