stom betook
himself to prayer and then wrote his answer to the difficulty. "But
since he would not dare," says William of Tocco, "to expound his opinion
in the Schools before the Masters of the University without first
consulting Him of Whom he was treating and to Whom he had prayed that he
might teach correctly, he came to the altar and there spread out the
pages he had written before Him; then, lifting up his hands to the
Crucifix, he prayed and said: 'O Lord Jesus Christ, Who art most truly
contained in this wondrous Sacrament and Who as Supreme Artificer ever
wondrously workest, I seek to understand Thee in this Sacrament and to
teach truly concerning Thee. Wherefore I humbly pray Thee that if what I
have written spring from Thee, and be true concerning Thee, then Thou
wouldest enable me to declare it and clearly expound it. But if I have
written ought which is not in harmony with Thy Faith and which accords
not with the Mysteries of this Sacrament, then I pray Thee that nought
may proceed from my mouth which deviates from the Catholic Faith.' Then
those who watched saw on a sudden Christ standing before the Saint and
on the paper he had written, and they heard Him say: 'Well hast thou
written of Me in this Sacrament of My Body, and well and truly hast thou
answered the question put to thee, as far, that is, as it can be
understood by man in this life, or expressed in human words.'"[11]

And it was ever the same throughout his life: in God he sought God.
Hence his incessant meditation on the Holy Scriptures; hence his
diligent study of the writings of the Fathers of the Church. "Master,"
said a band of his students to him as they looked on Paris spread before
them--"Master, see what a lovely city Paris is! Would you not like to be
its owner?" And with a Saint's simplicity he replied: "Far rather would
I have the Homilies of Chrysostom on S. Matthew! For if this city were
mine then the task of governing it would take me away from the
contemplation of things Divine and deprive my soul of its
consolations!"[12]

And his companion Reginald has told us how he studied to know the things
of God. For he tells us that when the Saint was occupied with his
Commentary on Isaias and could not arrive at any satisfactory
explanation of a certain passage he gave himself up to fasting and
prayer. Then one night Reginald heard voices in the Saint's cell, and
whilst he wondered what this might mean at that hour, S. Thomas came to
hi