St. Thomas Aquinas wrote his formidable Summa Theologiae in the thirteenth-century for beginners—that is, for you, your grandma, and me—, not for the intelligentsia. This work is—borrowing J. A. Di Noia’s idea—a monumental commentary on a single Scriptural verse that describes the purpose of man’s existence:

“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2).

This course humbly aims at making his aspiration reality today without diluting the clarity and depth of the Angelic Doctor’s perennial doctrine. Aquinas is not an aloof figure buried under some dilapidated medieval tomes. Rather, he is very much alive today in the Church triumphant, interceding for the Christians struggling here on earth and illuminating their mind with his inexhaustible wisdom.

Each course unit is a synthesis of a question of the Summa. Since synthesis always entails selection, there might be some articles in a question whose content is not thoroughly reflected in the synthesis. The dialogical format is inspired by Peter Kreeft’s works published by Ignatius Press that narrate Socrates’ fictional encounter with modern philosophers, such as Socrates Meets Kant (2009), Socrates Meets Descartes (2012), and Socrates Meets Hume (2012).