5x7in St.Thomas Aquinas Icon

An original icon of St.Thomas Aquinas from our February Prayer Card Club! 

While theological virtues are caused only by an act of God (i.e. our baptism), Aquinas emphasizes that the growth of both theological and natural virtues require the exercise of our will. Growth in theological virtues is accomplished through regular prayer and participation in the sacraments, wherein we make an active choice to engage in the supernatural habit granted to us by God. For natural virtues, both their cause and growth lie in repeated action.
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This means that, in order to obtain and grow in the habit of temperance, we cannot simply think favorably of temperance, or devise a plan to obtain it; rather, we must take a definitively temperate action.

The sacraments played a huge role in the life of St.Thomas Aquinas and his pursuit of virtue. In this icon, the Eucharist radiates light as a sun at the center of his robes. This reminds us that Christ is the true light and source of all wisdom. As a Dominican friar devoted to a life of prayer, study, and preaching, Aquinas spent long hours before the Blessed Sacrament. His great theological works were attributed to this deep interior life of contemplation rather than just intellect.
And the scroll in this icon features his final prayer, Domine, non nisi Te (“Lord, nothing except You”) which again emphasizes that his life and his work was offered to Christ, who he loved above all else.

5x7in, 23.5K gold