Summa Theologica

BY: JOHN N YAGONG

 The Summa Theologica is divided into three parts, and each of these three parts contains numerous subdivisions

THEOLOGY
the Summa considers the nature and extent of sacred doctrine, or theology. Aquinas concludes that, although theology does not require philosophy to promote knowledge of God, philosophy nevertheless can be of service to the aims of theology.

 concerns the existence of God and is subdivided into three Articles. FIRST Aquinas maintains that the proposition God exists is self-evident in itself, but not to us, and thus requires demonstration. The Second Article concludes that such a demonstration is indeed possible, despite objections to the contrary

 Third Article addresses the question of whether God exists, and in this Article, Aquinas offers his Five Ways as proofs for the existence of God.

ANALYSIS
The existence of God is the necessary foundation of any theology. Before discussing any other topics, Aquinas needs to establish the crucial fact that God exists, since, without certainty of Gods existence, the conclusions of the rest of the Summa would be in doubt or even in vain.

ETHICS
The Purpose of Man offers an extensive discussion of man, who is said to have been made in Gods image. The first 5 questions, each of which is subdivided into various Articles, deal with mans last end, the things in which mans happiness consists, what happiness is, the things that are required for happiness, and the attainment of happiness.

 First, in contrast to irrational animals, man has the faculty and will of reason. The will, also known as the rational appetite, seeks to achieve both its end and the good, and so all acts, being guided by the will, are for an end.

 Second, mans happiness does not consist of wealth, honor, fame, glory, power, the goods of the body, or pleasure. In fact, mans happiness cannot consist in any created good at all, since the ultimate object of mans will, the universal good, cannot be found in any creature but rather only in God, who is the source of all good.

 Third, happiness is mans supreme perfection, and each thing is perfect insofar as it is actual. Mans final and complete happiness can consist only in contemplating the Divine Essence, although the possibility of this contemplation remains withheld from us until we are in the world to come

 Fourth, the things required for happiness must derive from the way in which man is constituted and designed for a purpose, since happiness consists in mans attainment of that final purpose.

 Finally, man is capable of attaining happiness, that is, of seeing God, and one person can be happier than another insofar as she is better inclined to enjoy him. Happiness excludes the presence of evil, though, and since evil is present in this world, it is impossible for man to be happy in this life.

ANALYSIS
Happiness is the goal of human life, and every human being is on the path toward the complete actualization of his or her potential. Indeed, humans actualization and realization of their potential is exactly what constitutes happiness. Humans potential, or what humans can be, consists in the contemplation of the Divine Essence.

CHRIST
The Sacraments he doctrine of the sacraments follows the Christology; the sacraments "have efficacy from the incarnate Word himself They are not only signs of sanctification, but bring it about. It is inevitable that they bring spiritual gifts in sensuous form, because of the sensuous nature of man

 the words of institution the form of the sacraments. Contrary to the Franciscan view that the sacraments are mere symbols whose efficacy God accompanies with a directly following creative act in the soul, Aquinas holds it not unfit to agree with Hugo of St. Victor that "a sacrament contains grace", or to teach that they "cause grace".

Final analysis
Adopting Aristotelian principles and concepts, Aquinas attempts to explain the origin, operation, and purpose of the entire universe and the role that everything in the universe plays in the attainment of that purpose

 Aquinas never doubts the truth of the tenets of his faith. Rather, he employs techniques of argument that he learned in the disputatios to state, defend, and elaborate those tenets. The grandiose scope of the Summa Theologicaderives from Aquinass belief that a very significant portion of theology can be expressed and codified in a comprehensive and rational