St Thomas Aquinas Popular Books
St Thomas Aquinas Biography & Facts
Thomas Aquinas (, ə-KWY-nəs; Italian: Tommaso d'Aquino, lit. 'Thomas of Aquino'; c. 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, an influential philosopher and theologian, and a jurist in the tradition of scholasticism from the county of Aquino in the Kingdom of Sicily. Thomas was a proponent of natural theology and the father of a school of thought (encompassing both theology and philosophy) known as Thomism. He argued that God is the source of the light of natural reason and the light of faith. He embraced several ideas put forward by Aristotle and attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity. He has been described as "the most influential thinker of the medieval period" and "the greatest of the medieval philosopher-theologians". According to the English philosopher Anthony Kenny, Thomas was "one of the greatest philosophers of the Western world". Thomas's best-known works are the unfinished Summa Theologica, or Summa Theologiae (1265–1274), the Disputed Questions on Truth (1256–1259) and the Summa contra Gentiles (1259–1265). His commentaries on Christian Scripture and on Aristotle also form an important part of his body of work. He is also notable for his Eucharistic hymns, which form a part of the Church's liturgy. As a Doctor of the Church, Thomas Aquinas is considered one of the Catholic Church's greatest theologians and philosophers. He is known in Catholic theology as the Doctor Angelicus ("Angelic Doctor", with the title "doctor" meaning "teacher"), and the Doctor Communis ("Universal Doctor"). In 1999, John Paul II added a new title to these traditional ones: Doctor Humanitatis ("Doctor of Humanity/Humaneness"). Biography Early life (1225–1244) Thomas Aquinas was most likely born in the family castle of Roccasecca, near Aquino, controlled at that time by the Kingdom of Sicily (in present-day Lazio, Italy), c. 1225. He was born to the most powerful branch of the family, and his father, Landulf of Aquino, was a man of means. As a knight in the service of Emperor Frederick II, Landulf of Aquino held the title miles. Thomas's mother, Theodora, belonged to the Rossi branch of the Neapolitan Caracciolo family. Landulf's brother Sinibald was abbot of Monte Cassino, the oldest Benedictine monastery. While the rest of the family's sons pursued military careers, the family intended for Thomas to follow his uncle into the abbacy; this would have been a normal career path for a younger son of Southern Italian nobility. At the age of five Thomas began his early education at Monte Cassino, but after the military conflict between Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX spilt into the abbey in early 1239, Landulf and Theodora had Thomas enrolled at the studium generale (university) established by Frederick in Naples. There, his teacher in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music was Petrus de Ibernia. It was at this university that Thomas was presumably introduced to Aristotle, Averroes and Maimonides, all of whom would influence his theological philosophy. During his study at Naples, Thomas also came under the influence of John of St. Julian, a Dominican preacher in Naples, who was part of the active effort by the Dominican Order to recruit devout followers. At the age of nineteen, Thomas resolved to join the Dominican Order. His change of heart, however, did not please his family. In an attempt to prevent Theodora's interference in Thomas's choice, the Dominicans arranged to move Thomas to Rome, and from Rome, to Paris. However, while on his journey to Rome, per Theodora's instructions, his brothers seized him as he was drinking from a spring and took him back to his parents at the castle of Monte San Giovanni Campano. Thomas was held prisoner for almost one year in the family castles at Monte San Giovanni and Roccasecca in an attempt to prevent him from assuming the Dominican habit and to push him into renouncing his new aspiration. Political concerns prevented the Pope from ordering Thomas's release, which had the effect of extending Thomas's detention. Thomas passed this time of trial tutoring his sisters and communicating with members of the Dominican Order. Family members became desperate to dissuade Thomas, who remained determined to join the Dominicans. At one point, two of his brothers resorted to the measure of hiring a prostitute to seduce him, presumably because sexual temptation might dissuade him from a life of celibacy. According to the official records for his canonization, Thomas drove her away wielding a burning log—with which he inscribed a cross onto the wall—and fell into a mystical ecstasy; two angels appeared to him as he slept and said, "Behold, we gird thee by the command of God with the girdle of chastity, which henceforth will never be imperilled. What human strength can not obtain, is now bestowed upon thee as a celestial gift." From then onwards, Thomas was given the grace of perfect chastity by Christ, a girdle he wore till the end of his life. The girdle was given to the ancient monastery of Vercelli in Piedmont, and is now at Chieri, near Turin. By 1244, seeing that all her attempts to dissuade Thomas had failed, Theodora sought to save the family's dignity, arranging for Thomas to escape at night through his window. In her mind, a secret escape from detention was less damaging than an open surrender to the Dominicans. Thomas was sent first to Naples and then to Rome to meet Johannes von Wildeshausen, the Master General of the Dominican Order. Paris, Cologne, Albert Magnus, and first Paris regency (1245–1259) In 1245, Thomas was sent to study at the Faculty of the Arts at the University of Paris, where he most likely met Dominican scholar Albertus Magnus, then the holder of the Chair of Theology at the College of St. James in Paris. When Albertus was sent by his superiors to teach at the new studium generale at Cologne in 1248, Thomas followed him, declining Pope Innocent IV's offer to appoint him abbot of Monte Cassino as a Dominican. Albertus then appointed the reluctant Thomas magister studentium. Because Thomas was quiet and did not speak much, some of his fellow students thought he was slow. But Albertus prophetically exclaimed: "You call him the dumb ox [bos mutus], but in his teaching he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world". Thomas taught in Cologne as an apprentice professor (baccalaureus biblicus), instructing students on the books of the Old Testament and writing Expositio super Isaiam ad litteram (Literal Commentary on Isaiah), Postilla super Ieremiam (Commentary on Jeremiah), and Postilla super Threnos (Commentary on Lamentations). In 1252, he returned to Paris to study for a master's degree in theology. He lectured on the Bible as an apprentice professor, and upon becoming a baccalaureus Sententiarum (bachelor of the Sentences) he devoted his final three years of study to commenting on Peter Lombard's Senten.... Discover the St Thomas Aquinas popular books. Find the top 100 most popular St Thomas Aquinas books.
Best Seller St Thomas Aquinas Books of 2024
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St. Thomas Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy
D.J. KennedyIncludes Table of Contents Kennedy’s Thomas Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy is a wonderful history of the philosophy of the 13th Century, its influence on St. Thomas Aquinas, and v...
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St. Thomas Aquinas
G. K. ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 – 1936) better known as G.K. Chesterton, was an English writer. He wrote on philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and deba...
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The Quiet Light
Louis de WohlThe famous novelist Louis de Wohl presents a stimulating historical novel about the great St. Thomas Aquinas, set against the violent background of the Italy of the Crusades. He te...
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Right And Reason
Rev. Fr. Austin FagotheyEthics both in theory and practice. Phrased in nontechnical language, Right and Reason is a thoroughly competent book in the philosophy of Ethics, which gives the science of morali...
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Introduction to Saint Thomas Aquinas, Ed., with an Introd. by Anton C. Pegis Study Guide
BookRags.comIntroduction to Saint Thomas Aquinas, Ed., with an Introd. by Anton C. Pegis Study Guide consists of approx. 39 pages of summaries and analysis on Introduction to Saint Thomas Aqui...
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The Political Ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas AquinasOriginally published in The Hafner Library of Classics in 1953, The Political Ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas provides important insights into the human side of one of the most influen...
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Study Guide to The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas
Intelligent EducationA comprehensive study guide offering indepth explanation, essay, and test prep for selected works by St. Thomas Aquinas, philosopher canonized by the Catholic Church. Titles in thi...
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The Everything Guide to Catholicism
Richard GribbleWhy do Catholics confess their sins? What does Jesus' second coming mean? How does someone, such as Mother Teresa, become a saint?This guide answers these questions and more. This ...
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The Homilies of St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas5 Books in 1! This book comes complete with a TouchorClick Table of Contents, divided by each section. Enjoy a collection of Homilies written by Saint Thomas Aquinas! The c...
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The Trinitarian Christology of St Thomas Aquinas
Dominic LeggeThis work brings to light the Trinitarian riches in Thomas Aquinas's Christology. Legge disproves Karl Rahner's assertion that Aquinas divorces the study of Christ from the...
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The Specification of Human Actions in St Thomas Aquinas
Joseph PilsnerHuman actions can be identified by species, such as murder, theft, or almsgiving. But how does one determine to which kind an action belongs? Joseph Pilsner explores Thomas Aquinas...
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Stories of the Saints
Carey Wallace & Nick ThornborrowPerforming Miracles. Facing Wild Lions. Confronting Demons. Transforming the World. From Augustine to Mother Teresa, officially canonized as St. Teresa of Calcutta, discover sevent...
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Ethics
Gordon MarinoIn Ethics: The Essential Writings, philosopher Gordon Marino skillfully presents an accessible, provocative anthology of both ancient and modern classics on matters moral. The phil...
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The Human Wisdom of St. Thomas
Josef PieperJosef Pieper has attached no commentary to the texts brought together in this breviary of the philosophy of St. Thomas, preferring that the reader should encounter them, “on his ow...
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A First Glance at St. Thomas Aquinas
Ralph McInernyThomism is solidly based on the assumption that we know the world first through our senses and then through concepts formed on the basis of our sense experience. In this informally...
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The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich
Thomas of MonmouthThe Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich is the medieval hagiography written in 1173. It tells the life story of a real personality, known as William of Norwich, that was su...
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Advent and Christmas Wisdom From St. Thomas Aquinas
Andrew Carl Wisdom, OPThe holy seasons of Advent and Christmas are a time to reflect on God's infinite love for us all and how through the birth of his son, Jesus Christ, Christianity was born. Advent a...
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St. Thomas Aquinas
G.K. ChestertonG.K. Chesterton's brilliant sketch of the life and thought of St. Thomas Aquinas acclaimed as the best book ever written on the great thirteenthcentury Dominican by such outstandin...
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St. Thomas Aquinas and Muslim Thought
Zulfiqar Ali ShahSt. Thomas Aquinas, the most known medieval philosophical theologian; the stal wart of scholasticism; the Doctor of Church; and one of the most influential figures in West ern Chri...
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12 Life Lessons from St. Thomas Aquinas
Kevin Vost, Psy. D.Here, Dr. Kevin Vost provides you with 12 essential life lessons, culled from the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Together these lessons will elevate your mind, enrich your spirit,...
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St. Thomas Aquinas
G. K. ChestertonAcclaimed as the best book ever written on St. Thomas, this outstanding profile introduces one of Christianity's most important and influential thinkers. G. K. Chesterton chronicle...
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Advent and Christmas Wisdom from St. Thomas Aquinas
Andrew Carl Wisdom, OPThe holy seasons of Advent and Christmas are a time to reflect on God's infinite love for us all and how through the birth of his son, Jesus Christ, Christianity was born. Advent a...
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Virtues Abounding
Mark O'Keefe, O.S.B.Living a morally good life today is a challenge. But we become fully and authentically human precisely by the decisions we make every daysome of them relatively simple, others comp...
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St. Thomas Aquinas
Ralph McInernySt. Thomas Aquinas enables the reader to appreciate both Thomas's continuity with earlier thought and his creative independence. After a useful account of the life and work of St. ...
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Knowing the Love of Christ
Michael Dauphinais & Matthew LeveringKnowing the Love of Christ provides a thorough introduction to the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas in accessible language. As a complement to the many short introductions to St. Tho...
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Saint Thomas Aquinas
G. K. ChestertonThis is the original 1933 edition of G. K. Chesterton's study of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Chesterton's Saint Aquinas is a man of mystery. Born into a noble family, Aquinas chose the l...
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St Thomas Aquinas
Vivian Boland OPIt may be surprising that the thought of a medieval theologian still informs many areas of intellectual debate, but there continues to be lively interest in the work of Thomas Aqui...
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St. Thomas Aquinas
Gilbert Keith ChestertonThis book makes no pretence to be anything but a popular sketch of a great historical character who ought to be more popular. Its aim will be achieved, if it leads those who have h...
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Charity as Divine and Human Friendship
Matthew Kauth STDThe purpose of this work is to explore and explain St. Thomas’ curious description of charity as a “kind of friendship of man for God.” This is achieved in two symphonic movements:...
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St. Thomas Aquinas
G. K. ChestertonAccording to Chesterton, "once Christ had Risen, it was inevitable that Aristotle should rise again." St. Thomas Aquinas provided that marvelous synthesis, which could only streng...
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The Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Rev. Stephen L. BrockIf Saint Thomas Aquinas was a great theologian, it is in no small part because he was a great philosopher. And he was a great philosopher because he was a great metaphysician. In t...
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The Catechetical Instructions of St Thomas Aquinas
David NicollThomas Aquinas is possibly the greatest of all the philosophers and theologians of the Catholic Church. His catechetical instructions are an ideal introduction to his thought, and...
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The Mystery of Predestination
John SalzaHow can an all loving God predestine some to eternal salvation while permitting others to fall away? Doesn't God offer the same amount of saving grace to everyone? Isn't predestina...
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Saint Thomas Aquinas
John Placid ConwaySaint Thomas Aquinas is known in the Catholic Church as the model teacher for anyone thinking of entering the priesthood. His love of learning and thinking is detailed in this book...
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St. Thomas Aquinas
AnonymousThe "Angelic Doctor" and "Universal Doctor," his intellect and learning were phenomenal, yet he was humble and charming. Knew the Bible by heart, remembered all he had read, could ...