Let us pray with today’s Gospel Reading (Mark 4:1-20) as we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church:

Lord Jesus Christ,

You, the Divine Teacher, speak Your Word with patience and love, scattering the seed of the Kingdom generously upon every heart. You desire not only that we hear, but that Your Word take root, grow, and bear abundant fruit.

Lord, on this Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, priest and Doctor of the Church, and humble seeker of truth, we thank You for the gift of a mind enlightened by faith and a heart totally surrendered to Your wisdom. Through his life, You showed us that faith and reason are not opposed, but together lead us more deeply into the mystery of God.

Grant us, Lord, hearts like good soil: free from hardness, distraction, and fear, open to Your truth, and persevering amid trials and challenges. Remove from us whatever chokes Your Word, pride, superficiality, anxiety, and attachment to passing things.

Through the intercession of Saint Thomas Aquinas, teach us to love truth,
to seek understanding with humility, and to allow Your Word to shape our thoughts, choices, and actions. May our learning never be separated from holiness, nor our knowledge from charity.

May the seed of Your Gospel bear fruit in our lives, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold, for the good of the Church and the salvation of the world. Amen