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Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Story of the Dumb Ox
Shows how St. Thomas was big, quiet and slow to speak, thus being called the \"Dumb Ox\" by fellow students. Shows for children 10 and up how this \"Dumb Ox\" became the greatest teacher in the history of the Church. Impr. 81 pgs 16 Illus, PB
63 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
3 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Mary Fabyan Windeatt
101 books25 followersMary Fabyan Windeatt was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1910. Interested in music as a child, she received a degree in music from Toronto Conservatory of Music at the age of fifteen and a further degree in music from Mount Saint Vincent College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1927. This same year she moved with her family to San Diego, California, graduating from San Diego State College in 1934 with a degree in business.
She moved to New York to seek employment in the field of advertising but was unsuccessful. With time on her hands, she began to write and in 1934, she sent a story, which was accepted for publication, to a Catholic magazine. She continued to write while pursuing her studies, graduating in 1940 with a master’s degree from Columbia University.
Miss Windeatt eventually contributed verse, book reviews, short stories, and articles to thirty-three different publications and wrote numerous biographies of saints for children. The first biography, Saints in the Sky, The Story of St. Catherine of Siena, was published in 1941. Considerable research went into her books; for example, she traveled to Peru in the summer of 1941 prior to publishing Lad of Lima, The Story of Blessed Martin de Porres in 1942. (St. Martin de Porres was canonized a saint in 1962.) In addition to her biographies, she also wrote the text for twenty-eight Catholic coloring books and was a regular contributor to the monthly Dominican magazine The Torch in which many of her books originally appeared in serial form. A third-order (secular) Dominican, she has been called the “storyteller of the saints”—especially Dominican saints.
Later in life, Miss Windeatt moved near St. Meinrad’s Abbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana with her mother. She died on November 20, 1979.
Under their original titles, the series of saint biographies that Mary Fabyan Windeatt wrote in the 1940’s and 1950’s are currently out of print. However between 1991 and 1994, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. republished twenty of these saint biographies.
Rich in Roman Catholic culture and doctrine, these books illustrate to both children and adults how the Faith was lived every day by the saints; they inspire us to know, love, and serve God as the saints did. Mary Fabyan Windeatt had the ability to relate much factual information about each saint while seasoning the narrative with the doctrinal truths they lived. While each saint shines forth in these books, these writings also reveal to us Ms. Windeatt’s own strong Catholic beliefs; her faith too lives on.
She moved to New York to seek employment in the field of advertising but was unsuccessful. With time on her hands, she began to write and in 1934, she sent a story, which was accepted for publication, to a Catholic magazine. She continued to write while pursuing her studies, graduating in 1940 with a master’s degree from Columbia University.
Miss Windeatt eventually contributed verse, book reviews, short stories, and articles to thirty-three different publications and wrote numerous biographies of saints for children. The first biography, Saints in the Sky, The Story of St. Catherine of Siena, was published in 1941. Considerable research went into her books; for example, she traveled to Peru in the summer of 1941 prior to publishing Lad of Lima, The Story of Blessed Martin de Porres in 1942. (St. Martin de Porres was canonized a saint in 1962.) In addition to her biographies, she also wrote the text for twenty-eight Catholic coloring books and was a regular contributor to the monthly Dominican magazine The Torch in which many of her books originally appeared in serial form. A third-order (secular) Dominican, she has been called the “storyteller of the saints”—especially Dominican saints.
Later in life, Miss Windeatt moved near St. Meinrad’s Abbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana with her mother. She died on November 20, 1979.
Under their original titles, the series of saint biographies that Mary Fabyan Windeatt wrote in the 1940’s and 1950’s are currently out of print. However between 1991 and 1994, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. republished twenty of these saint biographies.
Rich in Roman Catholic culture and doctrine, these books illustrate to both children and adults how the Faith was lived every day by the saints; they inspire us to know, love, and serve God as the saints did. Mary Fabyan Windeatt had the ability to relate much factual information about each saint while seasoning the narrative with the doctrinal truths they lived. While each saint shines forth in these books, these writings also reveal to us Ms. Windeatt’s own strong Catholic beliefs; her faith too lives on.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 18, 2014
Cute and easy read... great little first person introduction to St. Thomas for young and not-so-young.
November 2, 2017
I very much enjoyed this quick biography. I found this in a church donation box and almost skipped over it as it's written for children, but enjoyed every moment of it.
January 16, 2021
Excellent introductory biography of a wonderful brilliant saint.
March 23, 2024
4.5⭐️
All of Mary Fabyan Windeatt’s books are so good, and St. Thomas Aquinas is one of my favorite saints! The rest of her saint books are amazing, as well!!!!
All of Mary Fabyan Windeatt’s books are so good, and St. Thomas Aquinas is one of my favorite saints! The rest of her saint books are amazing, as well!!!!
September 2, 2023
I have been asked several times if I have ever read and reviewed any of the books by Mary Fabyan Windeatt. This was the second volume I have read and it was an amazing read, I could hardly put it down, and as I shared with my youngest children ages 15 and 13 they want to read it as well.. I am usually asked by reader who found my series of reviews of books in these two series:
Encounter the Saints - Pauline Books and Media
Vision Books for Young Readers – Ignatius Press
From this first one I would state they are on par with the Encounter the Saints Series, and a little below the reading level of the Vision Books for Young Readers series. According to the TAN site there are 20 books in TAN edition of the series. It appears a few of these had alternate titles in previous editions. There also appears to be 7 other volumes not available from TAN. There are also companion and teaching manuals for many of the volumes. There are also some colouring books, and some audio dramas, but back to this volume. The description of this book states:
““The Dumb Ox” was a perfect nickname for young Thomas Aquinas—although it was none too kind. Thomas was big, slow to speak—a quiet and solemn youth. Even Father Albert was inclined to think him rather dull. No one knew about Thomas’ amazing memory, or that he knew most of the bible by heart, or that no subject was difficult for him. One day, Thomas decided to amuse himself by writing a paper on a really hard problem in Theology. Then, somehow, after writing it, he lost it. A few days later it turned up on Father Albert’s desk. Father Albert read it, then called Thomas to his cell. “Brother Thomas,” he asked, as the student entered the room, “did you write this?” This book describes what happened next, plus the other events in Thomas’ remarkable life. It tells how his mother fought against his vocation, how his brothers kidnapped him and put him in a tower, how his sisters helped him, and how angels brought him something from heaven. All in all, this book shows how Thomas “The Dumb Ox” came to be the Patron of Catholic Schools and the greatest teacher ever in the history of the Catholic Church.”
About the author TAN books states:
“Mary Fabyan Windeatt was known as the “Storyteller of the Saints” in the 50’s and 60’s. Her renditions of the lives of the saints and important events in Catholic history are some of the best-known Catholic books for children. Your child will love her engaging style, and you will love the faith-filled message and lessons in virtue!”
And also:
“Mary Fabyan Windeatt lived from 1910-1979 and grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada. The Mount Saint Vincent College awarded her a Licentiate of Music degree when she was just seventeen, and she began writing Catholic works when she was about twenty-four. Later she sent one of her stories to a Catholic magazine, and after it was accepted, she continued to write. In total she composed at least twenty-one children's books, as well as periodical children's pages written for The Torch, a monthly Dominican magazine.”
I have had this volume and one other on my shelf for a while now. But I had not got around to reading them. In part I found the covers lacked appeal. And in part because of my dual form of dyslexia I greatly prefer eBooks. Because with digital books I can change the page colour the font and font colour. However after reading the first one I now desperately want to read all of them I can lay my hands on. And even though I own a physical copy of this one, I picked up the eBook to make reading easier.
This story is like a mashup between Deadpool and typical biography. The story is written as if Thomas is speaking and interacting directly with the readers. This happens on a number of occasions and is part of what makes this such an excellent volume. In fact the book begins with this:
“I HAVE been dead a long time. In fact, I died on March 7, 1274, and my body now rests in the Dominican church in Toulouse, France. But my body is the least important part of me. It is my soul that matters, and my soul has been having a wonderful time for hundreds of years because it is in Heaven.
Through the grace and by the gift of God, my soul sees all the boys and girls in the world today. My soul knows each of you very well, the schools you attend, the teachers who instruct you in religion, arithmetic and geography. My soul is very anxious that you do well in school, that you learn much—especially about our holy Catholic Faith, and that you grow up to do great things. This is not so strange, since some years ago the Pope made me Patron of Catholic Schools. He gave me special charge of each Catholic student in the world. I have been very busy since then helping boys and girls in their work.
As I said, my body is in the French city of Toulouse, but my soul is very much alive. Someday your soul and my soul will meet. In the meantime, please believe that I am your friend, always ready to listen to your troubles, your plans, your studies.
But who am I?”
Reading the book is therefore much like a conversation. We are getting to know a new friend, a friend in heaven. The chapters in the book are:
Introduction
I Go to School
I Go to Naples
I Go to Prison
I Go to Cologne
I Go to Paris
I Go to Heaven
I Go to Work
Prayers
The prayers in the book are:
Prayer to Saint Thomas Aquinas Before Study Or Lecture
Prayer to Saint Thomas Aquinas to Obtain A Special Favor
Prayers of the Angelic Warfare
Prayer of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Prayer for Purity
Another Prayer of Saint Thomas
Prayer to Saint Thomas Aquinas Patron Of Catholic Schools
And if you pick up the digital edition of the book there is a bonus booklet at the end, Confession Its Fruitful Practice: With an Examination of Conscience originally published by the Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration. The book itself was originally published serially in The Torch and was later republished in book format as My Name Is Thomas. The book received the:
Nihil Obstat
Imprimi Potest
Imprimatur
This was a fascinating read. I knew the broad strokes of Saint Thomas’s life, but I was unaware of some of the details. His brothers hog tying him and locking him in a castle to prevent his service in the order. His sisters coming around and believing in his calling and lowering him out a window in a basket. The story is part action and adventure. And it is about the greatest adventure, finding our calling from God and learning to live it out.
I loved the two books I have read in this series and I plan on tracking down all the volumes in the series and reading them. You can buy the set of 20 physical books from TAN. They do not have a collection of the eBook, and not even all 20 have eBook editions available. I find this a pity, I have a dual form of dyslexia and prefer eBooks so I can change the font, and the font and page colour to make reading easier. And my son has eye tracking issues and prefers eBooks as well. This is one of the volumes that does have a digital edition, and as mentioned with a great bonus section. It was well worth the read.
This is a great read in an excellent series. I am glad TAN has brought it back into print. I can easily recommend this book and the series for home, school or church library! It is an excellent read for the whole family.
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan!
Encounter the Saints - Pauline Books and Media
Vision Books for Young Readers – Ignatius Press
From this first one I would state they are on par with the Encounter the Saints Series, and a little below the reading level of the Vision Books for Young Readers series. According to the TAN site there are 20 books in TAN edition of the series. It appears a few of these had alternate titles in previous editions. There also appears to be 7 other volumes not available from TAN. There are also companion and teaching manuals for many of the volumes. There are also some colouring books, and some audio dramas, but back to this volume. The description of this book states:
““The Dumb Ox” was a perfect nickname for young Thomas Aquinas—although it was none too kind. Thomas was big, slow to speak—a quiet and solemn youth. Even Father Albert was inclined to think him rather dull. No one knew about Thomas’ amazing memory, or that he knew most of the bible by heart, or that no subject was difficult for him. One day, Thomas decided to amuse himself by writing a paper on a really hard problem in Theology. Then, somehow, after writing it, he lost it. A few days later it turned up on Father Albert’s desk. Father Albert read it, then called Thomas to his cell. “Brother Thomas,” he asked, as the student entered the room, “did you write this?” This book describes what happened next, plus the other events in Thomas’ remarkable life. It tells how his mother fought against his vocation, how his brothers kidnapped him and put him in a tower, how his sisters helped him, and how angels brought him something from heaven. All in all, this book shows how Thomas “The Dumb Ox” came to be the Patron of Catholic Schools and the greatest teacher ever in the history of the Catholic Church.”
About the author TAN books states:
“Mary Fabyan Windeatt was known as the “Storyteller of the Saints” in the 50’s and 60’s. Her renditions of the lives of the saints and important events in Catholic history are some of the best-known Catholic books for children. Your child will love her engaging style, and you will love the faith-filled message and lessons in virtue!”
And also:
“Mary Fabyan Windeatt lived from 1910-1979 and grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada. The Mount Saint Vincent College awarded her a Licentiate of Music degree when she was just seventeen, and she began writing Catholic works when she was about twenty-four. Later she sent one of her stories to a Catholic magazine, and after it was accepted, she continued to write. In total she composed at least twenty-one children's books, as well as periodical children's pages written for The Torch, a monthly Dominican magazine.”
I have had this volume and one other on my shelf for a while now. But I had not got around to reading them. In part I found the covers lacked appeal. And in part because of my dual form of dyslexia I greatly prefer eBooks. Because with digital books I can change the page colour the font and font colour. However after reading the first one I now desperately want to read all of them I can lay my hands on. And even though I own a physical copy of this one, I picked up the eBook to make reading easier.
This story is like a mashup between Deadpool and typical biography. The story is written as if Thomas is speaking and interacting directly with the readers. This happens on a number of occasions and is part of what makes this such an excellent volume. In fact the book begins with this:
“I HAVE been dead a long time. In fact, I died on March 7, 1274, and my body now rests in the Dominican church in Toulouse, France. But my body is the least important part of me. It is my soul that matters, and my soul has been having a wonderful time for hundreds of years because it is in Heaven.
Through the grace and by the gift of God, my soul sees all the boys and girls in the world today. My soul knows each of you very well, the schools you attend, the teachers who instruct you in religion, arithmetic and geography. My soul is very anxious that you do well in school, that you learn much—especially about our holy Catholic Faith, and that you grow up to do great things. This is not so strange, since some years ago the Pope made me Patron of Catholic Schools. He gave me special charge of each Catholic student in the world. I have been very busy since then helping boys and girls in their work.
As I said, my body is in the French city of Toulouse, but my soul is very much alive. Someday your soul and my soul will meet. In the meantime, please believe that I am your friend, always ready to listen to your troubles, your plans, your studies.
But who am I?”
Reading the book is therefore much like a conversation. We are getting to know a new friend, a friend in heaven. The chapters in the book are:
Introduction
I Go to School
I Go to Naples
I Go to Prison
I Go to Cologne
I Go to Paris
I Go to Heaven
I Go to Work
Prayers
The prayers in the book are:
Prayer to Saint Thomas Aquinas Before Study Or Lecture
Prayer to Saint Thomas Aquinas to Obtain A Special Favor
Prayers of the Angelic Warfare
Prayer of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Prayer for Purity
Another Prayer of Saint Thomas
Prayer to Saint Thomas Aquinas Patron Of Catholic Schools
And if you pick up the digital edition of the book there is a bonus booklet at the end, Confession Its Fruitful Practice: With an Examination of Conscience originally published by the Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration. The book itself was originally published serially in The Torch and was later republished in book format as My Name Is Thomas. The book received the:
Nihil Obstat
Imprimi Potest
Imprimatur
This was a fascinating read. I knew the broad strokes of Saint Thomas’s life, but I was unaware of some of the details. His brothers hog tying him and locking him in a castle to prevent his service in the order. His sisters coming around and believing in his calling and lowering him out a window in a basket. The story is part action and adventure. And it is about the greatest adventure, finding our calling from God and learning to live it out.
I loved the two books I have read in this series and I plan on tracking down all the volumes in the series and reading them. You can buy the set of 20 physical books from TAN. They do not have a collection of the eBook, and not even all 20 have eBook editions available. I find this a pity, I have a dual form of dyslexia and prefer eBooks so I can change the font, and the font and page colour to make reading easier. And my son has eye tracking issues and prefers eBooks as well. This is one of the volumes that does have a digital edition, and as mentioned with a great bonus section. It was well worth the read.
This is a great read in an excellent series. I am glad TAN has brought it back into print. I can easily recommend this book and the series for home, school or church library! It is an excellent read for the whole family.
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan!
October 17, 2018
This book is a brief biography of St. Thomas Aquinas. This book has all the major details for a young audience. This book also has prayers asking The saint for help. The only thing I didn't like about it is it describes the haphazard years of his life poorly. Other that that, a quick read and a good one.
July 1, 2018
Written in the voice of Thomas for children of an earlier era, these few pages offer a simple outline of his life and a few of his prayers.
August 31, 2020
Learn about Thomas Aquinas, his purity and perseverance in about an hour
February 25, 2024
Only ~60 pages, it’s a nice quick read. I read it out loud to my 6-year-old son, and it was well received. Written in first person, I absolutely love how the author lets us into the inner thoughts and feelings of St. Thomas Aquinas. I especially like how the author explores St. Thomas’ vision of heaven and his consequential vow to leave his life’s work of Summa Theologica unfinished. Also, it was a brilliant move of the author to have St. Thomas invite his readers into a friendship beyond the pages of the book, a heavenly friendship. The author articulates St. Thomas’ call from over 700 years ago and invites the readers to live a pure life, pure in body and soul, for the Lord. What an important and compelling charge for the 21st century: to live a pure and holy life, one of humility and obedience, and to use our intellect and other gifts for His greater glory.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2021
This is the book on St. Thomas Aquinas. He is patron saint of Universities, Academies, Colleges and Catholic Schools. He has groups of people praying for him in the Angelic Warfare.
His parents sent him to the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino when he was very young for his education. His dad wanted him to someday become the Abbot. He wanted to be a Dominican and while in college took the habit. His dad had passed and his mother fought to get him out of his commitment and go to the Benedictine as his father had wished. He was imprisoned for 18 months before his sisters helped him escape. He went back to college and became a great scholar. He wrote prayers and hymns for the church. Angels came down and gave him a cord with 15 knots to remember to say 15 Hail Marys a day.
His parents sent him to the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino when he was very young for his education. His dad wanted him to someday become the Abbot. He wanted to be a Dominican and while in college took the habit. His dad had passed and his mother fought to get him out of his commitment and go to the Benedictine as his father had wished. He was imprisoned for 18 months before his sisters helped him escape. He went back to college and became a great scholar. He wrote prayers and hymns for the church. Angels came down and gave him a cord with 15 knots to remember to say 15 Hail Marys a day.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2021
Love it! My 13th favorite!
August 25, 2024
Quyển này bản tiếng Việt là Tự bạch của thánh Augustino, viết về hành trình ông đến với Chúa. Khá ổn.
August 14, 2021
My 10 year old son and I read this book together as part of his homeschool curriculum. It was a great book for his age and I enjoyed it just as much!
January 6, 2011
I just really enjoy this series of books.
June 25, 2012
Wonderful book.
August 30, 2012
Again, love the first person!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews