THE FAITHFUL can experience Christ and make him known by seeking wisdom and joy the way St. Thomas Aquinas did, Alaminos Bishop Napoleon Sipalay Jr., O.P. said during Mass celebrating the feast of the saint on Monday, Jan. 27, at the Santisimo Rosario Parish Church.
Sipalay said Aquinas’ mystical experience that revealed to him the greatness of Christ was a gift of wisdom that the Dominican saint had prayed for.
“Our Dominicans understood that the wisdom of St. Thomas is born out of prayer. He listened to the inspiration of God and spoke to God, thanking Him for giving him wisdom,” the bishop said.
“That is my prayer. That we can experience that kind of experience St. Thomas had. That we can see a glimpse of Christ’s life, the life of the resurrection.”
Sipalay added that having a “joyful trust” in Christ can lead to this experience.
“The presence of the Lord is always manifested in joy, and we have come to know the evangelical joy. In St. Thomas Aquinas, he had that joyful trust in the Lord,” he said.
He also urged Thomasians to emulate their patron saint by being a light to other people and bringing them closer to Christ.
“We’re instruments to illumine others and point out for them Christ. Despite all the trials, maybe persecution, we will not waver in making Christ known.”
To honor the great theologian and Doctor of the Church, the Vatican granted a plenary indulgence to participants of St. Thomas’ jubilee celebrations until the 800th anniversary of his birth in 2025.
The Mass coincided with the closing of the Double Jubilee of St. Thomas Aquinas that commemorated the 700th anniversary of his canonization and 750th death anniversary.
Sipalay also led the conferment of the teaching mandate or academic mandatum on faculty members of the Institute of Religion and UST Junior High School, teaching Christian living education or theology courses.
The Triduum Masses were led by Fr. Jayson Gonzales, O.P. and Fr. Manoj Don, O.P. of the priory of St. Thomas Aquinas and Fr. Felix delos Reyes, O.P., officer in charge of the Faculty of Philosophy.
St. Thomas’ actual feast day is on Jan. 28.
This year’s celebration is themed “St. Thomas Aquinas: Illumined by Truth, Anchored in Hope.”
