The Quotable Summa Theologica

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was without question the greatest theologian in the history of the Catholic Church, and the "Summa Theologica" (1271-1274) was his masterpiece and one of the most influential theological books ever written. The goal herein is to make the thought and reasoning of this marvelous compendium of the Angelic Doctor more accessible and able to be referenced quickly. My overwhelming emphasis in collecting excerpts will be on theology itself; with far less on the topics of spirituality, ethics, and other areas. Sometimes even those of us who love Aquinas, have neither the time nor desire to read through the reasoning chain that he uses in the 3,500-page "Summa" to come to his conclusions. St. Thomas’ style in the Summa is a wonderful method and fabulous teaching device, but perhaps there are a lot of people like me who would also like to see concise, easily obtainable “answers” from Aquinas. I hope you, the reader, will benefit from my true labor of love.