Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. An immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, he is also known within the latter as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis. The name Aquinas identifies his ancestral origins in the county of Aquino in present-day Lazio, Italy. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology and the father of Thomism; of which he argued that reason is found in God. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy developed or opposed his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and political theory. These Thomas Aquinas quotes will motivate you in life.
Best Thomas Aquinas Quotes
- “The things that we love tell us what we are.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “The greatest kindness one can render to any man consists in leading him from error to truth.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “For those with faith, no evidence is necessary; for those without it, no evidence will suffice.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “We must love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject, for both, have labored in the search for truth, and both have helped us in finding it.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
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“Nothing created has ever been able to fill the heart of man. God alone can fill it infinitely.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “We set forth our petitions before God, not in order to make known to Him our needs and desires, but rather so that we ourselves may realize that in these things it is necessary to turn to God for help.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “To love is to will the good of the other.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “To pretend angels do not exist because they are invisible is to believe we never sleep because we don’t see ourselves sleeping.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Fear is such a powerful emotion for humans that when we allow it to take us over, it drives compassion right out of our hearts.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “What does it take to become a saint? Will it.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
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“Better to illuminate than merely to shine.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “God himself would not permit evil in this world if good did not come of it for the benefit and harmony of the universe.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “There can be no joy in living without joy in work.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “It is only God who creates. Man merely rearranges.” ~ Thomas Aquinas Quotes
- “God has no need for our worship. It is we who need to show our gratitude for what we have received.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
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“A man’s heart is right when he wills what God wills.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “If you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath, and a glass of wine.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire, and to know what he ought to do.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “To bear with patience wrongs done to oneself is a mark of perfection, but to bear with patience wrongs done to someone else is a mark of imperfection and even of actual sin.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “When the devil is called the god of this world, it is not because he made it, but because we serve him with our worldliness.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “He (Mohammed) seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh urges us. His teaching also contained precepts that were in conformity with his promises, and he gave free rein to carnal pleasure. In all this, as is not unexpected; he was obeyed by carnal men. As for proofs of the truth of his doctrine, he brought forward only such as could be grasped by the natural ability of anyone with very modest wisdom. Indeed, the truths that he taught he mingled with many fables and with doctrines of the greatest falsity.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
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“No man truly has joy unless he lives in love.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Of all the pursuits open to men, the search for wisdom is most perfect, more sublime, more profitable, and more full of joy.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Characteristics which define beauty are wholeness, harmony, and radiance.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “One cannot use an evil action with reference to a good intention.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “One aspect of neighborly love is that we must not merely will our neighbors good, but actually work to bring it about.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
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“God destines us for an end beyond the grasp of reason.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “The things we love tell us who we are.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “How can we live in harmony? First, we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Don’t ask who said it? Ask what they said.” ~ Thomas Aquinas Quotes
- “Happiness is secured through virtue; it is a good attained by man’s own will.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution; justice without mercy is cruelty.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ because He Himself is the way.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless he takes medicine, he will die. Even so in the spiritual life a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored to health, and this grace is bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
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“Beware of the person of one book.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Suppose a person entering a house were to feel heat on the porch, and going further, were to feel the heat increasing, the more they penetrated within. Doubtless, such a person would believe there was a fire in the house, even though they did not see the fire that must be causing all this heat. A similar thing will happen to anyone who considers this world in detail: one will observe that all things are arranged according to their degrees of beauty and excellence and that the nearer they are to God, the more beautiful and better they are.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Better to illuminate than merely to shine; to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “To love God is something greater than to know Him.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “True peace consists in not separating ourselves from the will of God.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
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“Faith is God’s work within us.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Christ was either liar, lunatic, or Lord!” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “The Church has ever proved indestructible. Her persecutors have failed to destroy her; in fact, it was during times of persecution that the Church grew more and more; while the persecutors themselves, and those whom the Church would destroy, are the very ones who came to nothing. . . .Again, errors have assailed her; but in fact, the greater the number of errors that have arisen, the more has the truth been made manifest. . . . Nor has the Church failed before the assaults of demons: for she is like a tower of refuge to all who fight against the Devil.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Faith will tell us Christ is present When our human senses fail.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Whatever is received is received according to the nature of the recipient.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Bestow upon me, O Lord my God, understanding to know thee, diligence to seek thee, wisdom to find thee, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace thee.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
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“The celebration of Holy Mass is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the cross.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “There is but one Church in which men find salvation, just as outside the ark of Noah it was not possible for anyone to be saved.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; It signifies Love, It produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Good can exist without evil, whereas evil cannot exist without good.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary’s maternal intercession.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Obedience unites us so closely to God that it in a way transforms us into Him so that we have no other will but His. If obedience is lacking, even prayer cannot be pleasing to God.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “Love follows knowledge.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
- “There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
