St. Thomas Aquinas is widely regarded as one of the greatest theologians in Catholic Church history. His most comprehensive work Summa Theologiae is considered to be one of the best works of religious literature ever written. Though St. Thomas wrote the Summa for beginners, its 4,000+ pages can be a very daunting read; especially considering that over seven centuries have passed since it was first written. Even a good literal translation into English requires some explanation as the meaning of some terms used by St. Thomas have had their most common meanings altered over time.
Practical Theology: Spiritual Direction from St. Thomas Aquinas, written by Peter Kreeft, provides the modern reader with a means to more easily understand the Summa. It is not a complete treatment of the entire Summa but does provide the reader with nearly 360 bite-sized portions of the work along with supplementary comments that will greatly aid one in understanding the arguments presented by St. Thomas. It took me quite a while to work through this tome. Kreeft's book, while also lengthy, provides invaluable insights into the what, why, and how the Church believes what it does.
I discovered Practical Theology at formed.org. Formed.org is an excellent resource of books, movies, short videos, and audio lectures covering all aspects of Christian and Catholic faith. Formed.org may be available at no-cost to you if you live within a participating parish. You need not be Catholic to have free access to Formed.org. For those of you who don't have access to formed.org, I'll list some alternate locations immediately below where you can purchase this book. As I have no affiliations or any associations with the below retailers, it makes no difference to me how or where you purchase this book.
Ignatius Press Amazon.com Catholic Answers
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(This page was first posted on December 28, 2018)