Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas

Knowing the Love of Christprovides a thorough introduction to the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas in accessible language. As a complement to the many short introductions to St. Thomas’s philosophy, this book fills a gap in the literature on Thomas—a comprehensive introduction to his thought written by theologians. With enthusiasm and insight, Michael Dauphinais and Matthew Levering make available the vast theology of Thomas Aquinas.

Focusing upon the Summa Theologiae, Dauphinais and Levering illumine the profoundly biblical foundations of Thomas’s powerful vision of reality. Drawing upon their own experience, the authors guide readers into grappling with the fresh and penetrating insights of St. Thomas. Students at all stages of theological education will find this book an enriching introduction to the mysteries of the Christian faith.



“Dauphinais and Levering capture the teaching of Thomas with thoroughness, lucidity, and completeness. I find this book an extraordinary accomplishment.” —Romanus Cessario, O.P., St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts



“The beginner often finds St. Thomas Aquinas daunting. Dauphinais and Levering have done a masterful job of presenting the major themes of Thomas’ thought in a clear, concise, and yet faithful fashion. Anyone wanting to begin to study Thomas could not find a better starting point than this book. An added blessing is that the book will lead the reader to a deeper love and appreciation of the Christian Gospel. Aquinas himself would heartily approve.” —Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap., University of Oxford



“The strength of this book is to give an overview of Aquinas’ theological developments in prose that is accessible to nearly everyone. It is a remarkable piece of work.” —David B. Burrell, C.S.C., University of Notre Dame



“One of St. Thomas’s many prodigies was his ability to speak, at once, as a biblical theologian and a dogmatic theologian. He is the exemplar in both fields. I know of no other introductory text that presents Thomas’s dual genius so richly, so clearly, and in a way that is accessible to ordinary lay Catholics and undergraduates.” —Scott Hahn, Franciscan University of Steubenville