It’s not easy being a student. In fact, it is not supposed to be. School, at any level – from pre-K to grad school — is meant to be challenging. Paraphrasing St. John of the Cross, “to come to enjoy what you don’t know, you must go through what you don’t know,” and even though learning is a deeply satisfying experience, the process itself can often be frustratingly hard, and we might find ourselves in need of a little help from our friends.
That’s where St. Thomas Aquinas, patron saint of scholars, walks in: here’s a prayer he himself wrote, addressing God as the source of all knowledge.
Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of my understanding. Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of sin and ignorance. Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally. Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm. Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion. I ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And today we celebrate...