asannounced that he wanted to become a Dominican, his family tried to stop him. Hisbrothers captured him and locked him up in a castle. His mother, sister and brothers kepthim there for two years.Finally, they changed their minds, and at last Thomas was allowed to jointhe Dominicans. Even there though, he still had some trouble. Thomas was a very bigman with a kind and humble manner. Because he didn't talk very much, everyone thoughthe was stupid. They called him 'the ox.' But when they heard him preach everyonerealized how wise and pious he really was. After he became a priest, Thomas studied inParis and then taught at universities in many cities of Europe. He wrote more than 40books and several beautiful hymns. All of his work praises God and has helped manypeople understand their faith better. At the end of his life, Saint Thomas stopped writing. He had a vision ofHeaven and decided that compared to the great glory of God, his writing was 'like straw.'Three months later, on his way to see the Pope, he died. He is now in Heaven, and after alifetime of studying and writing about God, he is in the presence of God. He was born in Italy in 1225, the son of a count. When he was five yearsold, his parents send him to study with the Benedictines of Monte Casino. There, andlater at the university of Naples, he was taught the 'liberal arts' - the Trivium; grammar,logic and rhetoric, and the Quadrium; music, mathematics, geometry and astronomy.This was a complete education in those times. His teachers were surprised by hisintelligence. He especially excelled in learning as well as practicing the virtues. When he was 19 years old, and old enough to decide how to spend his life,he announced that he wanted to become a Dominican friar. His family, who by someaccounts wanted him to become a Benedictine, protested violently. His mother instructedhis brothers to capture Thomas and lock him up in a castle. They kept him there for nearly two years, tryi...
