Today is the Feast Day of St. Albert the Great
St. Albert, Pray for Us
St. Albert the Great, The Universal Doctor of the Church, Pray for Us!
In reflecting on today’s Feast Day of Saint Albert the Great, I am reminded of how spiritual guidance and mentorship can lead us into deeper prayer and friendship with God. Saint Albert guided many, but most notably his student, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Just as Saint Ambrose led the heart of Saint Augustine towards Jesus, so too did Albert shape the theological vision of the one we now refer to as the Angelic Doctor.
Born in Lauingen, Germany, around the year 1200, Albert displayed early signs of a keen and disciplined mind. He pursued the classical disciplines before entering the Order of Preachers. As a Dominican, he immersed himself in theology and was eventually called to teach in Cologne. There, he encountered a young Thomas Aquinas.
At the heart of Albert’s life was the conviction that faith and reason are not adversaries but companions on the journey toward God. This conviction shaped his theology and deeply influenced Thomas’s synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy with the Catholic faith. Their shared conviction is beautifully expressed in Fides et Ratio, where St. John Paul II affirmed that “faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth”.
When I think of Saint Albert, I am reminded of Saint Paul. God appoints “teachers” in the Church (cf. 1 Cor 12:28), and Albert’s mentorship echoes Paul’s own nurturing of Timothy, calling forth courage, shaping doctrine, and preparing a soul for its mission.
But Albert’s pursuit of wisdom was not confined to theology. He was captivated by all of God’s creation, seeing the divine fingerprint everywhere. His curiosity was boundless:
He was the first man in 1500 years to study the physiology of plants. He described bees, ants, spiders, eels, salmon–and their habits. He knew as much as or more that the doctors and dentists of his day about medicine, surgery and dentistry. He had a great fund of knowledge about herbal remedies. . . an expert on horses and their diseases. St. Albert knew that gunpowder could be made from sulphur, saltpeter and charcoal. He conducted chemical experiments and held the possibility. . . that synthetic metals…could be made.
—Fr. Christopher Rengers
The Book of Proverbs declares, “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding” (Prov 3:13). Saint Albert’s pursuit of all wisdom, whether in creation or in doctrine, was not as something to be hoarded but as a gift to be shared, a light to be passed on.
Saint Albert’s Example is Relevant Today
His example speaks to us still.
In a world craving connection and meaning, we too are invited to become spiritual companions to those around us. Within our families, parishes, classrooms, and friendships, we are often placed in the path of others not to “fix” them, but to listen, to walk alongside them, and to help them hear the gentle whisper of God’s voice in their lives.
This call to be a spiritual guide and friend is not reserved for the brilliant or the bold. It is entrusted to all who are willing to listen deeply, speak truth with love, and walk in the light of Christ. We may never know the full impact of our quiet presence, a simple prayer, or a timely word of encouragement, but God does. And in His providence, even a single act of mentoring can shape the heart of a future saint.
May St. Albert intercede for us, that we might become wise guides. May he walk alongside us as we seek to grow in patience, humility, and an authentic faith. May the light of Christ illuminate through us in a manner we may not know, awakening the hearts of those who seek Jesus. Lord, let me do my part in participating in Your work of forming Your saints.
“The surest and quickest way to attain perfection, is to strive, for purity of heart. Once the obstacles have been removed, God finds a clear path and does wonders, both in and through the soul.
—St. Albert the Great
Today’s Mass Collect
O God, who made the Bishop Saint Albert great by his joining of human wisdom to divine faith, grant, we pray, that we may so adhere to the truths he taught, that through progress in learning we may come to a deeper knowledge and love of you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
© 2025, Lawain McNeil, Mission Surrender, LLC.
I feel like in the unknowing celebration of this day yesterday I came across a movie called Finding Altamira to which my biggest reflection, waking up this morning, was why separate logic and faith when all they want is to dance together for our glory? Thank you for sharing these beautiful words.