A Reaction on Summa Theologica

- Joseph Raymund Mira

Part 1: Summary

Saint Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica or Summa Theologiae is a compendium of theological

consists of articles about topics on faith and philosophy. These articles follow a pattern: question – objection

– counter statements – conclusion. The questions reflect on the theological dicta of the Catholic Church. 2

The questions, in the broader scheme, are grouped into treatises. A treatise is a group of questions sharing a

common theme on theological topics. Objections are the anti-theses of the (yet to be stated) conclusions. 3

Counter statements are usually references of some credible pieces of literature such as The Bible, and the

works of Aristotle. Saint Thomas then makes the actual arguments on the topic being discussed by the

preceding questions. These are coined as conclusions, which are introduced by the objections. 4 Sometimes

Saint Thomas writes replies to the objections to give further clarifications.

Summa Theologica explains three major topics: God and His essence; Man and his relationship to

God; Christ, His Nature, and Sacraments. 5 In the first part, Saint Thomas elucidates on the topics about God

such as Proof on His Existence, His Nature, and Creation. Saint Thomas also briefly discusses the subject of

Angels. In the second part, the Doctor of the Church, Saint Thomas Aquinas, touches on the discussion of

the purpose of Man here on Earth. He also tackles “habits, types of law, vices and virtues, prudence and

justice, fortitude and temperance, graces, and the religious versus the secular life.” 6 In the third part, Christ

is presented as the mediator between God and Man. 7 Saint Thomas has also discussed the importance of the

Sacraments for the faithful.

1
1. The Editors, “Summa Theologiae”, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Summa-theologiae, (accessed on May 8,
2020).
2
2. “Summa Theologica;Thomas Aquinas;Structure”, Grade Saver, https://www.gradesaver.com/summa-
theologica/wikipedia/structure, (accessed on May 8, 2020).
3
3. “Summa Theologica;Thomas Aquinas;Structure”, Grade Saver, (accessed on May 8, 2020).
4
4. “Summa Theologica;Thomas Aquinas;Structure”, Grade Saver, (accessed on May 8, 2020).
5
5. “Summa Theologica: Structure, Scope and Purpose”, Spark Notes,
https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/aquinas/section1/ (accessed on May 8, 2020).
6
6. “Summa Theologica: Structure, Scope and Purpose”, Spark Notes, (accessed on May 8, 2020).
7
7. “Summa Theologica Summary and Study Guide”, Super Summary, http://www.supersummary.com/summa-
theologica/summary/ , (accessed on May 8, 2020).
Part 2: Reaction

My reaction focuses on Saint Thomas’s argument on Happiness, particularly on the statement: “…

final and perfect happiness can consist in nothing else than the vision of the Divine Essence.” 8 To put into

simpler words, for Saint Thomas, perfect happiness is only attained at the presence of The Creator or for

Catholics, God. Saint Thomas then stated that there are two types of happiness – imperfect and perfect. To

quote: “…is that perfect happiness (beatitudo) is not possible on earth, but an imperfect happiness (felicitas) is.”9

Humans as we are, we desire happiness. It is in our very nature – the pursuit of happiness. That is

why we do such certain actions to fulfill our pursuit. I, for example, buy the latest iPhone model because it

makes me happy. But happiness on owning the latest iPhone is much lesser than on being able to obtain a

degree. And yet, happiness on obtaining a degree is much lesser than on having a successful professional

career. The same as before, the happiness of having a successful professional career is/can be lesser than

happiness on other things. This kind of happiness is called imperfect because simply, the object that this

happiness depends on is not perfect. There are always other things that are of greater value. On the other

hand, perfect happiness or beatitudo, is the kind of happiness which object is perfect.

“This is to be found, not in any creature but in God alone, because every creature has only
participated goodness. Therefore, God can only satisfy the will of man, according to the words of
the Psalms (102:5): “Who alone satisfies your desire with good things” Therefore, God alone
constitutes man’s happiness.10

We strive to become happy. We always search for avenues for happiness. Possession of material

things, financial security, prosperous love life, those are examples of things that make us happy. But then,

we tend to forget that all things in this world are limited. They are limited in space, time, matter. One day,

they will be nonexistent and we can’t stop that inevitable phenomenon. So, in other words, happiness in this

world is just temporary. It is good that Saint Thomas Aquinas has reminded us through his Summa

Theologica, that we should focus our lives to the most perfect being, God. God cannot not exist. He is not

limited by space, time, matter. By focusing our lives on Him, we can find such avenues that will lead us in

His presence because in His presence, we can only attain the perfect happiness. In a Christian perspective,

8
8. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, trans. Summa Theologica, (London: William Berton, `1923), 802.
9
9. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 804.
10
10. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 804.
there is life after death. God is our creator and one day, we’ll return to Him. It is a focal point of our

Christian doctrine because our way of living as Christians flows from this premise. From this, we can learn

virtues and how to live by them. Virtues then can merit us to be in presence with our Creator in the afterlife.

To wrap it up, the way for perfect happiness is to live by virtues.

But then, it is a sad reality that people have become materialistic. Many people choose to do such

malicious acts to quench their hunger for material satisfaction. There are so many people who want to

become druglords because as they all believe, “It’s easy money!”. Some men and women participate in such

perverted actions just to satisfy their lust. They tend to forget that their body is a temple and should be

treated as sacred. Some women flaunt their voluptuous curves just fish for compliments from men who only

see sexuality in every woman.

It is highly recommended that more people should read works like Summa Theologica to have proper

guidance in their lives. Works like this can help us to think more critically rather than understanding only

the things in front of us. We can be more reflective about our lifestyles. It is by reflection that we can

straighten our old crooked ways.