St. Thomas Aquinas OP, patron saint of students and universities, was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, a Scholastic thinker and one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in Western traditions.

St. Thomas Aquinas described envy as “sorrow for another’s good.” He viewed it as a sin against charity, where one cannot rejoice at the good of others but instead sees it as a diminishment of his own good.

Aquinas linked envy to pride and vainglory, as it stems from a desire to be superior and a fear of being surpassed.

Now a son of a common couple — a policeman and a housewife — who was a graduate of a Thomasite system of secondary education left his hometown to try his luck in far and distant Manila in 1961 and he became an audit executive after only one and a half decades, holding office in Malacañang to the surprise of his townmates.

Now he lives in the beautiful and comely city of Roxas from whose bosom sprung the world famous coloratura soprano singer, Jovita Fuentes, whose “Ahay Kalisud” is often heard as a melancholic tune in eternity, symbolic of an abandoned birthright.

This tale of a young man who tried his luck in distant Manila 64 years ago would be a most fascinating story to tell, and to be heard and seen in various colors to interestingly attain blockbuster status like a movie — The Auditor!

“In Catholic theology, envy is a sin defined as sadness or resentment at another’s good fortune or excellence, with a desire to acquire it for oneself. It’s considered a capital sin, meaning it can lead to other sins and immoral behavior. Envy is more than simple jealousy; it involves the belief that another’s blessings diminish one’s own, and can lead to a desire to harm the other person.”

Aristotle in Rhetoric defined envy as “the pain caused by the good fortune of others,” while Kant in Metaphysics of Morals defined it as “a reluctance to see our own well-being overshadowed by another’s; the standard we use to see how well off we are is not the intrinsic worth of our own.”

Plato portrayed envy as a harmful state of mind. He suggested that envious individuals experience sadness at the happiness of others and joy at their misfortune.

God has been with me, with Father James B. Reuter, S.J., my mentor in speech and drama at the Ateneo de Manila, Padre Faura. He inspired me to greater heights, solemnized my wedding with an Assumption and UP coed on 22 April 1961, and on 22 April 1991 he concelebrated our Silver Wedding anniversary with His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin at the Archbishop’s Palace.

Father Pierre Tritz, S.J. was a French national who gave up his French citizenship to become a Filipino. As our friend, he enrolled our daughter in the primary grades at the Immaculate Conception Academy, Intramuros, and later in high school at ICA, Greenhills, San Juan City. He advised us that our daughter will learn both Chinese and English. Father Tritz enabled me to teach English in different schools.

The continuing gifts, in a true story, under the mercy of God, will follow.

Email: artbesana@gmail.com