At 8:30 in the Chapel each morning, after a chaplain recited , students approached the communion rail in a single-file line, kneeling and then kissing a first-class relic of the Angelic Doctor. The blessing, which takes place during finals week every semester, allows students to ask for St. Thomas’s prayers in an intimate, tangible way.
“It’s a good way to start because it reminds us why we study these great things and why we live, really,� says California sophomore Jakob Gueits. “It’s all to know God and for God; otherwise it’s all vanity. The blessing is also great as a source of comfort.�