ST Thomas Romeo

St.
Thomas Aquinas
ITALIAN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIAN AND PHILOSOPHER
Born: 1225,Roccasecca,Lazio, Italy
Died: March 7,1274,Fossanuova Abbey, Italy
Canonized: July 18, 1323, Avignon, France
Major Shrine: Church of Jacobins, Toulouse, France
Patron: Catholic University , Colleges, and Schools
Biography
Philosopher and theologian St. Thomas Aquinas was born circa 1225 in Roccasecca, Italy.
Combining the theological principles of faith with the philosophical principles of reason, he
ranked among the most influential thinkers of medieval Scholasticism. An authority of the
Roman Catholic Church and a prolific writer, Aquinas died on March 7, 1274, at the Cistercian
monastery of Fossanova, near Terracina, Latium, Papal States, Italy.
Philosophy
Aquinas was a Christian theologian, but he was also an Aristotelian and an Empiricist, and he
substantially influenced these two streams of Western thought. He believed that truth becomes known
through both natural revelation (certain truths are available to all people through their human nature
and through correct human reasoning) and supernatural revelation (faith-based knowledge revealed
through scripture), and he was careful to separate these two elements, which he saw as complementary
rather than contradictory in nature. Thus, although one may deduce the existence of God and His
attributes through reason, certain specifics (such as the Trinity and the Incarnation) may be known only
through special revelation and may not otherwise be deduced.
His two great works are the "Summa Contra Gentiles" (often published in English under the title "On
the Truth of the Catholic Faith"), written between 1258 and 1264, and the "Summa
Theologica" ("Compendium of Theology"), written between 1265 and 1274. The former is a broadly-
based philosophical work directed at non-Christians; the latter is addressed largely to Christians and is
more a work of Christian theology.
The Summa Contra Gentiles
The Summa contra Gentiles shows Aquinas putting forward important arguments in favor of the
Christian faith. This Summary was for the benefit of missionaries working among Jews and Muslims.
Aquinas left Paris for Naples in 1259, where he was head of the Dominican house of studies.
The Summa contra Gentiles is a profoundly significant work in the history of philosophy. In many ways it
acts as an encyclopedia of the learning of the day in that we can find our way into the mental life of the
era in which it was written. Keep in mind that this work contains the lectures of a great Doctor at the
most prestigious university in Europe in the middle of the thirteenth century.
Aquinas divides the Summa contra Gentiles into four books. The first three books try to set out
theological positions that can be established by philosophical reasoning alone. Book IV, an exposition of
scripturally revealed doctrine, complements the first three books. The topics of these books are as
follows:
Book I: Of God as He is in Himself—This deals with the method of discussing God, whether God’s
existence can be proved, God’s nature and other attributes.
Book II: God the Origin of Creatures—Book II examines God as creator and the nature of creation, while
paying particular attention to the nature of human beings.
Book III: God the End of Creatures—This book considers God as the good and the end (goal) of purposive
action and his providential government, especially regarding rational creatures.
Book IV: Of God in His Revelation—Book IV deals with Christian teaching on the trinity and incarnation,
the sacraments, the resurrection of the dead and their final state.
The Summa Theologica
Summa Theologica answers many questions regarding Western Christianity and its beliefs. To this
day, Summa Theologica is one of the foremost authorities on Christianity for theological scholars. Aquinas
takes his philosophical and ethical reasoning from Aristotle.
Summa Theologica is divided into three parts:
Part one is mostly about God. Aquinas attempts to prove that God exists and answers many questions devoted
to the subject. He asserts that the notion that God exists is proof itself that He exists and demonstration of that
fact is a possibility, which Aquinas intends to do. He later offers his proofs on God’s existence.
Part two of Summa Theologica focuses on man and his purpose on earth. Overall, man’s purpose on earth it to
be happy. To be happy, man must follow ethical rules and responsibilities delineated by God. Aquinas
acknowledges that perfection by man is unobtainable, therefore it was necessary for God to help in man’s
pursuit of perfection, which is why He created Christ.
The final part of Summa Theologica focuses on Christ. Christ is the mediation between God and man. Man’s
potential became perfect within Jesus. All the perfection of faith and love that man could theoretically grasp
became possible in Jesus. All of Christ’s sacrifices were necessary to obtain deliverance for man. He
ultimately became the bridge allowing God’s forgiveness of mankind’s sins, as His sacrifice came from faith
and love.
Aquinas believed that the existence of God is neither self-evident nor beyond proof.
In the "Summa Theologica", he details five rational proofs for the existence of
God, the "quinquae viae" (or the "Five Ways"), some of which are really re-statements
of each other:
 The argument of the unmoved mover (ex motu): everything that is moved is moved
by a mover, therefore there is an unmoved mover from whom all motion proceeds,
which is God.
 The argument of the first cause (ex causa): everything that is caused is caused by
something else, therefore there must be an uncaused cause of all caused things,
which is God.
 The argument from contingency (ex contingentia): there are contingent beings in the
universe which may either exist or not exist and, as it is impossible for everything in the
universe to be contingent (as something cannot come of nothing), so there must be
a necessary being whose existence is not contingent on any other being, which is
God.
 The argument from degree (ex gradu): there are various degrees of perfection which
may be found throughout the universe, so there must be a pinnacle of perfection from
which lesser degrees of perfection derive, which is God.
 The teleological argument or argument from design (ex fine): all natural bodies in
the world (which are in themselves unintelligent) act towards ends (which is
characteristic of intelligence), therefore there must be an intelligent being that guides
all natural bodies towards their ends, which is God.

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St.

Born: 1225,Roccasecca,Lazio, Italy

Died: March 7,1274,Fossanuova Abbey, Italy

Canonized: July 18, 1323, Avignon, France

Major Shrine: Church of Jacobins, Toulouse, France

Patron: Catholic University , Colleges, and Schools

The Summa Contra Gentiles

Summa Theologica is divided into three parts:

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