St. Thomas of Villanova, Saint of the day for 10 September

(1488 - 8 September 1555)

History of St. Thomas of Villanova
Saint Thomas was from Castile in Spain and received his surname from the city where he grew up. He received a higher education from the University of Alcala and became a popular philosophy professor there.

After joining the Augustinian friars in Salamanca, Thomas was ordained a priest and resumed his teaching, despite constant distraction and poor memory. He became prior and then provincial of the friars, sending the first Augustinians to the New World. He was appointed by the emperor to the archbishopric of Granada, but refused. When the seat became vacant again, he was forced to accept. The money the cathedral chapter gave him to furnish his home was instead given to a hospital. His explanation was that “our Lord will be better served if your money is spent on the poor in the hospital. What does a poor friar like me want with furniture? "

He wore the same habit he had received in the novitiate, repairing it himself. Canons and servants were ashamed of him, but could not persuade him to change. Several hundred poor people came to Thomas' door every morning and received a meal, wine and money. When criticized for being exploited at times, he replied: “If there are people who refuse to work, that is the job of the governor and the police. My duty is to assist and relieve those who come to my door “. He took in orphans and paid his servants for every abandoned child they brought him. He encouraged the rich to imitate his example and be richer in mercy and charity than they were in earthly possessions.

Criticized for refusing to be harsh or quick in correcting sinners, Thomas said: “Let him (the complainant) ask if Saint Augustine and Saint John Chrysostom used anathemas and excommunication to stop the drunkenness and blasphemy that were so common among the people under their care. "

While he was dying, Thomas ordered that all the money he owned be distributed to the poor. His material possessions were to be given to the rector of his college. Mass was being celebrated in his presence when, after Communion, he took his last breath, reciting the words: "Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my spirit".

Already in his life Tommaso da Villanova was called "alms" and "the father of the poor". He was canonized in 1658. His liturgical feast is on 22 September.

Reflection
The absent-minded professor is a comic figure. Tommaso da Villanova earned even more derisive laughter with his determined meanness and his willingness to let himself be taken advantage of by the poor who flocked to his door. He embarrassed his peers, but Jesus was enormously pleased with him. We are often tempted to look at our image in the eyes of others without paying enough attention to how we look to Christ. Thomas still urges us to rethink our priorities.