Quotes from Thomas Aquinas

For although the will cannot be inwardly moved by any creature, yet it can be moved inwardly by God.

A thing is lovable according as it is good. But God is infinite good. Therefore He is infinitely lovable.

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.

Charity, by which God and neighbor are loved, is the most perfect friendship.

To disparage the dictate of reason is equivalent to contemning the command of God.

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.

Godhead here in hiding, whom I adore Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more, See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art

God is not related to creatures as though belonging to a different "genus," but as transcending every "genus," and as the principle of all "genera.

There would not be a perfect likeness of God in the universe if all things were of one grade of being.

There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning.

There can be no joy in living without joy in work.

We can open our hearts to God, but only with Divine help.

To pretend angels do not exist because they are invisible is to believe we never sleep because we don't see ourselves sleeping.

This Blood that but one drop of has the power to win all the world forgiveness of its world of sin.

He who achieves power by violence does not truly become lord or master.

So, to detract from the perfection of creatures is to detract from the perfection of divine power.

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.

God answered the prayers of animals.

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.

Angels transcend every religion, every philosophy, every creed. In fact Angels have no religion as we know it... Their existence precedes every religious system that has ever existed on Earth.

The soul is perfected by knowledge and virtue.

Arrive at knowledge over small streamlets, and do not plunge immediately into the ocean, since progress must go from the easier to the more difficult.

A scrap of knowledge about sublime things is worth more than any amount about trivialities.

The soul is like an uninhabited world that comes to life only when God lays His head against us.