Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. Combining the theological principles of faith with the philosophical principles of reason, Aquinas ranked among the most influential thinkers of medieval Scholasticism.
He is also known within the latter as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis. Inspirational Thomas Aquinas quotes on the trinity, wisdom, humility, philosophy and eucharist will uplift your spirit.
If you’re searching for wisest quotes by philosophers that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of powerful Aristotle quotes, top Socrates quotes, and John Wesley quotes.
Most Famous Thomas Aquinas Quotes
Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works
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
Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.
The greatest kindness one can render to any man consists in leading him from error to truth. Aquinas
The knowledge of God is the cause of things. For the knowledge of God is to all creatures what the knowledge of the artificer is to things made by his art.
For those with faith, no evidence is necessary; for those without it, no evidence will suffice. Thomas Aquinas
How can we live in harmony? First, we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.
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
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
Because we cannot know what God is, but only what He is not, we cannot consider how He is but only how He is not.
To love is to will the good of the other. Thomas Aquinas
All that is true, by whomsoever it has been said has its origin in the Spirit.
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
The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false.
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
To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.
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
To convert somebody go and take them by the hand and guide them
There can be no joy in living without joy in work. Thomas Aquinas
Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches.
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
It is clear that he does not pray, who, far from uplifting himself to God, requires that God shall lower Himself to him, and who resorts to prayer not to stir the man in us to will what God wills, but only to persuade God to will what the man in us wills.
To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. Thomas Aquinas
If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ because He Himself is the way.
God has no need for our worship. It is we who need to show our gratitude for what we have received. Thomas Aquinas
God should not be called an individual substance since the principle of individuation is matter.
If you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust. Thomas Aquinas
Hold firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church.
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
That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell
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
It is possible to demonstrate God’s existence, although not a priori, yet a posteriori from some work of His more surely known to us.
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
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.
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
Human salvation demands the divine disclosure of truths surpassing reason.
It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes. Thomas Aquinas
It is necessary to posit something which is necessary of itself, and has no cause of its necessity outside of itself but is the cause of necessity in other things. And all people call this thing God.
One cannot use an evil action with reference to a good intention. Thomas Aquinas
The theologian considers sin mainly as an offense against God; the moral philosopher as contrary to reasonableness.
One aspect of neighborly love is that we must not merely will our neighbors good, but actually work to bring it about. Thomas Aquinas
We can’t have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterward we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.
There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship. Thomas Aquinas
Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need.
How can we live in harmony? First, we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God. Thomas Aquinas
Well ordered self love is right and natural
Happiness is secured through virtue; it is a good attained by man’s own will. 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.
If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ because He Himself is the way. Thomas Aquinas
Happiness is secured through virtue; it is a good attained by man’s own will.
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
The things that we love tell us what we are.
Better to illuminate than merely to shine; to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate. Thomas Aquinas
All the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly.
True peace consists in not separating ourselves from the will of God. Thomas Aquinas
The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing
Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand. 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.
Faith will tell us Christ is present When our human senses fail Thomas Aquinas
Temperance is simply a disposition of the mind which binds the passion.
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
Law is nothing other than a certain ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the person who has the care of the community.
Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious. Thomas Aquinas
If forgers and malefactors are put to death by the secular power, there is much more reason for excommunicating and even putting to death one convicted of heresy
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
Law; an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has the care of the community.
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
