How Can a 750-Year-Old Monk Still Affect Australia?

If I asked 10,000 people to name someone who shaped this country, you might hear names like:

Captain Cook

Banjo Patterson

or Henry Lawson

But there is one name which I can almost guarantee you won’t hear. St Thomas Aquinas. A saint whose influence on Australia has often been understated.

St Thomas Aquinas died at just the age of 49 over 700 years ago, but he went on to change the course of Christianity forever.

Aquinas was an extraordinary man… and a relatively normal one. From the age of 5, he was in the monastery. Later in life, he joined the Dominican order, which focused on understanding God through studying and sharing that understanding through preaching.

St Thomas through his prayer, holiness, and astounding intellect had a unique ability to understand who God is. Writing over 8 million words, he explored everything from the nature of God to the sacraments. 

This little Italian monk became the world’s greatest theologian.

But on his way to a council, he suffered a head injury that he wouldn't recover from.

But despite that, St. Thomas Aquinas’ impact still lives on.

 

Here are the top 7 ways that Aquinas still impacts Australia:

 

1. Thomism is infectious

As a Dominican, St Thomas’ special calling was to preach. Whether it be for those who were confused about Christianity or doubted it entirely - Aquinas removed their false ideas with clarity.

Now, thanks to his great example, across Australia, there are hundreds of priests and Catholics inspired to preach. 

In Sydney, Aquinas has had a massive influence on Bishop Anthony Fisher. Not only does he belong to the same religious community, but just listen to one of his sermons - they are scattered with his rich thoughts. Even his book about 21st-century ethics was guided by this great saint.

But, even moving away from St Mary’s Cathedral, there are hundreds of priests moved by St Thomas. 

In America, there is a shortage of priests, but in the Dominican order, it actually grew. There is something about the life of St Thomas that draws people to it. And looking around in Australia, a similar trend seems to be happening here too.

Aquinas is like some sort of superbug. You think he’s St Thomas and Thomism is done for, and just then spreads everywhere and affects everyone.

Even your everyday parish priest- I can guarantee you that at some point in their education they either read Aquinas or someone who studied Aquinas. 

You just can’t get rid of the guy.

The impact of St Thomas in Australia is so underestimated. But in reality, it’s probably affected every pulpit.

 

2. He proved you don’t have to choose between ‘believing’ and ‘thinking’ 

This is a very common objection against Christianity;

‘Christianity is false because you’re asking someone to believe in something without evidence. That’s illogical!’

The place of faith and logic is something that in the Church was a hot topic.

On one side, you had the people who believed that all you need is faith. And on the other extreme, you have the group that believes that you can understand everything through reason, faith is useless.

St Thomas didn’t have a bar of that.

He showed how reason is a gift from God that helps us understand the world around us. But faith perfects reason. 

There is only so far that your mind can go. If you had the smartest philosophers of all time, they would be able to come to some understanding of God and morality. But it would not be everything, and at times… they can get it wrong.

When we have faith, we take a bit of a shortcut and understand how things actually are through God’s mind.

To really emphasise the point, he constructed his world-famous book, the Summa Theologiae, through the two lenses of faith and reason. 

He proved without needing any Bible, that God has to exist. But through faith showed that He exists in a Trinity.

St Thomas united these two realities, and helped us realise that “truth cannot contradict truth” (St Pope John Paul II)

People don’t generally believe in illogical things. Currently, almost 40% of Australians have no religion. If no one had ever done what St Thomas achieved, I can assure you it would be much higher.

 

3. He’s the ghostwriter of the Catholic Church.

You cannot comprehend how important St Thomas’ teachings have been for the Church. Popes and bishops look to him when they make decisions that affect Australia.

Even at the Council of Trent, they placed his book on the high altar next to the Bible. It might seem trivial, but Pope Leo XIII called that his unique and “greatest glory.” It was the Church’s way of subtly saying other than the Bible, St Thomas has given the biggest contribution to understanding God.

Councils and Popes make decisions for the whole world, including Australia. So you can be sure, that St Thomas has influenced their decision-making.

Pope Paul VI’s famous encyclical, Humane Vitae, impacted Australia and was full of Thomistic ideas like the “natural law”. Even in Vatican II,  you have great Thomistic theologians like Fulton Sheen and Karol Wojtyla (also known as Pope John Paul II) who were present at the event.

The Church’s teaching affects everywhere. And when you have St Thomas acting like it’s ghostwriter - well, then you’ll be sure that he will have left his mark on Australia.

 

3. He brings the soul back to Uni

University isn’t just about getting a degree.

It’s about having an encounter with the divine. 

Christ said that he is “the way and the truth” (John 14:6). Through their studies, even non-religious study, you come to uncover this God of Truth more deeply.

Recently, however, the opposite has been true. Catholics went to university and existed as atheists and ‘modernists’.

St Thomas Aquinas has helped put an end to this, and even reverse it.

Not only is he “an authentic model for all who seek the truth,” (St Pope John Paul II) but has reinvigorated the youth.

At Sydney University, the Catholic Chaplaincy works alongside the Dominican order to strengthen the students’ faith. From Latin Masses to Thomistic Reading Groups, students can use uni as an opportunity to grow closer to God.

And it’s not just Sydney Uni. You can see this Thomistic influence through Notre Dame, UTS Catholic Society, ANU Catholic Society, and Adelaide Catholic Society… just to name a few.

And these make a difference. As Dr Robert Haddad proclaimed in an interview “it’s phenomenal” because of “what they are doing nationally, internationally, the vocations that have been formed by that.”

 

4. Pints with Aquinas!

Saint Thomas Aquinas did a lot for the Church, but… he isn’t very understandable. 

Thousands of pages of dense theology, complicated concepts, and jargon mean that few people understand Aquinas’ wisdom. But he ignited a spark that consumed the world.

He gave rise to a movement of people who have a deep understanding of God and can effectively evangelise to everyday people.

In America, they were given the great theologian and TV personality, Venerable Fulton Sheen. In Australia, we were given the great Matt Fradd.

Matt Fradd started off explaining Aquinas’ books but now has transitioned into an interview-like podcast. Nevertheless, the podcast, Pints with Aquinas, makes God accessible to literally millions of people… at the click of a button.

Although Matt Fradd is the most well-known podcaster, Francis Tamer has also been impacted by Aquinas. 

Do you remember how Aquinas helped transform university life? Well, Francis Tamer is one of those people who have been impacted by those societies. It “single-handedly” formed this Catholic influencer’s faith and zeal.

Now he spreads that to thousands through his podcast.

 

6. He deepened our love of the Eucharist.

St Thomas was a bit of a nerd. 

But he was also a saint.

 

As a saint, he intercedes for Australia. Aquinas also has an inexpressible love for God, especially in the Eucharist.

St Thomas was a fan of Aristotle and plenty of other philosophers - but the Eucharist was the one thing that he actually adored.

Forming the most clear explanations of the Real Presence, Aquinas helped millions of people, including Australians. Through this, people understood how God can appear in the form of bread and had their faith strengthened.

Through his music, (yes, he even wrote music) people developed a similar zeal for the Eucharist that Aquinas had. His song, Tantum Ergo Sacramentum is about praising God and adoring the Triune God who becomes present in the Eucharist.

Traditionally, this song is played in Latin Mass parishes. However, you can even hear an English rendition throughout Australia on Holy Thursday Mass.

Even in the Novus Ordo, St Thomas leaves his mark.

 

7. Fuelling the next (and first) generation of Australian saints

In April, Pope Francis will be canonising Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint.

Carlo Acutis’ most defining quality was his deep devotion to the Eucharist. He didn’t just coincidentally love it. His love was strengthened by a tradition around him and St Thomas is one of the main pillars of that tradition.

Even in August, university student Pier Giorgio Frassati will be canonised. He was not only a Dominican but wore the Medal of St Thomas so that Aquinas could intercede for him and grant chastity.

Will these two people though be the only modern-day saints?

 

I strongly doubt it. 

Sooner or later, there will be more saints, and some of those will probably come from Australia. Looking around at the thousands of priests, podcasters, and university students who are being influenced by St Thomas - it would be a miracle if he didn’t help play a role in their lives.

Saints tend to live around other saints. So what could genuinely happen is that an entire group of Aussie saints (who are probably living now) are influenced by this man. 

St Thomas Aquinas, the Patron, the Saint, and Mastermind lived only to middle age, but despite that has changed the course of the Church greatly in Australia.

With a little bit of love, great things can happen. And Aquinas had such great love that he wanted nothing but God.

Never doubt what good can come from your life. It’s our goal to become one of those new saints. If you too want to be moved by the impact of St Thomas as the entire Church has been for hundreds of years, then check out the books we have in store for you!

 

God Bless,

Virtue Books and Gifts