Summa Made Simple

In the 1997 film, “The Devil’s Advocate”, lawyer John Milton (Al Pacino) is Satan tempting his son Kevin (Keanu Reeves) to join him in his ambition to rule Earth. Milton: Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, h...

Saint Thomas teaches that every capital vice spawns a whole army of smaller sins in its wake — he calls them the “daughters” of that vice. In this three-part series, we’re examining the eight daughters of lust: blindness of mind, thoughtlessness, inconstancy, rashness, self-love, hatred of God, love of this world, and despair of the future. These aren’t random side effects — they flow directly fro...

Some bad habits arrive alone. Others bring an entire entourage. Aquinas calls these “capital vices”—the vices that lead the others. Lust, he argues, is one of them. Why does one compromise make the next one easier? Why does losing hope often make lustful temptation harder to resist? And why do certain desires seem to pull other bad decisions in behind them? This episode explores the relationship b...

Not every decision has the same consequences. Some choices affect only you. Others shape families, futures, and generations yet to come. In this episode, Aquinas tackles a question that sounds outdated but turns out to be surprisingly modern: Why are some desires more dangerous than others? His answer is both simple and unsettling. The more powerful a human act is, the more important it becomes to...

Most bad decisions don’t start with bad intentions. According to Aquinas, some desires have a unique power: they don’t just influence your choices—they can cloud your ability to reason in the first place. In this episode, we explore why lust has long been considered one of the most dangerous vices, what it means to act against reason, and why the real battle isn’t just about behavior—it’s about pr...

In this episode of Summa Made Simple , we explore one of the most challenging and frequently misunderstood questions in the Summa Theologiae : Is virginity more excellent than marriage? Drawing on Scripture, the Church Fathers, and the reasoning of St. Thomas Aquinas, we examine why the Church has traditionally regarded consecrated virginity as a higher state of life while at the same time affirmi...

What exactly makes virginity a virtue? In this episode of Summa Made Simple , we continue our exploration of chastity and virginity through a series of fascinating objections: If everyone begins life as a virgin, how can virginity be a virtue? If married people can become saints, does that not disprove virginity as a virtue? And if virginity can never be restored once lost, does that mean it diffe...

NOTE: This episode deals with adult themes and may not be suitable for younger audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Virginity sounds outdated, impractical, maybe even unhealthy. Aquinas knew these objections long before modern culture did. This episode explores a forgotten distinction that changes the conversation completely: virtue is not about avoiding extremes at all costs. It’s about dir...

NOTE: This episode deals with adult themes and may not be suitable for younger audiences. Listener discretion is advised. What happens when every craving gets treated like a command? According to Aquinas, that’s not freedom—it’s imprisonment. This episode explores chastity not as prudish rule-following, but as the struggle to keep reason in the driver’s seat when desire wants control. And it pushe...

“It just happened” is one of the most comforting—and dangerous—stories we tell ourselves. Because in reality, most outcomes are set in motion long before the moment things fall apart. This episode unpacks a hard truth: even if your awareness fades later, your earlier decisions still count. And they don’t just count—they carry forward into everything that follows. You’re not judged only by what you...

Common sense says the greater the chaos a vice causes, the worse it must be. Aquinas disagrees. This episode explores why drunkenness can be seriously sinful without being the gravest evil, and why some sins strike deeper than self-destruction. Along the way: intention, the hierarchy of goods, the devil’s “path of least resistance,” and a moral puzzle involving an assassin over drinks. Read the re...

Here’s a claim that sounds wrong at first: not all drunkenness is a sin. Drawing on Thomas Aquinas, this episode draws a hard line between what happens to you and what you choose to do . Because the real issue isn’t the state of being drunk—it’s the decision that got you there. We get into edge cases most people ignore: accidental intoxication, social pressure, responsibility for others, and why “...

Everyone argues about alcohol. Almost no one defines the real problem. Drawing from Thomas Aquinas, this episode cuts through the noise: alcohol isn’t inherently wrong—but losing control is. When reason gets pushed aside, everything else follows—bad decisions, damaged relationships, and avoidable regret. But here’s where it gets uncomfortable: sobriety isn’t equally easy for everyone. Age, tempera...

Gluttony doesn’t end when the meal does. According to Thomas Aquinas, it leaves behind six lasting effects—what he calls the “daughters” of gluttony. And they show up where you least expect: in your thoughts, your words, and your behavior. Why do people talk too much after indulging? Why does clarity disappear? Why do large family gatherings spiral into conflict? This episode connects the dots—rev...

Most people think gluttony means one thing: eating too much. Aquinas disagrees. In this episode, we break open a far sharper insight:gluttony has five distinct forms — and most of them have nothing to do with quantity. You might not overeat…and still be deeply caught in it. Eating too early. Obsessing over “perfect” food. Needing it expensive. Eating fast, mindlessly, constantly. Suddenly, glutton...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from £5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you! You’ve been told gluttony is about eating too much. It isn’t. It’s about why you eat. Gluttony, as the Summa defines it, isn’t about the amount on your plate. It’s about whether your desire for food is ordered — governed by reason — or whether...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you ! You followed every rule. One meal. No seconds. And according to Aquinas, it still counted for nothing. In this episode, we unpack why Lent falls before Easter — not after — and why that order matters more than most people think. Then Aquinas...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you ! Modern culture tells us to “listen to your inner child.” To “Just do it!” and to “Obey your thirst!” Aquinas would say that’s exactly the problem. In this episode, we explore one of the most unexpected claims in the Summa : intemperance is ch...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you ! We’ve heard a thousand sermons about excess. Almost none about deficiency. In this episode, we dive into the vice of insensibility — the strange and nearly forgotten sin of refusing legitimate pleasure. Can denying wine, sex, or even simple j...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you ! You don’t have a discipline problem. You have a dictator problem. In this episode, we unpack why abstinence and fasting aren’t medieval leftovers but weapons against the quiet tyranny of desire. Drawing from Aquinas, we break down the differe...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you ! Some pleasures don’t just tempt you—they hijack you. In this episode, we unpack why temperance isn’t about being boring or repressed, but about protecting your freedom, your integrity, and your sanity. Aquinas shows how unchecked desire corru...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you ! Does more pleasure mean more happiness? Or does lived experience say otherwise? Drawing from Aquinas, this episode shows why excess quietly sabotages enjoyment, and how the virtue of temperance doesn’t suppress desire but trains it. From food...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you ! Perseverance is more than willpower — it’s a virtue that keeps you holding on to good goals when things get hard. In this episode, we explore two vices that oppose perseverance: effeminacy (softness, indulgence, avoiding hardship) and pertina...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you ! Starting is easy. Lasting is not. In this episode, we break down what perseverance really is — not as raw willpower, but as a virtue that shows up in two very different ways: the perseverance you need to get through ordinary days, and the per...

Love this content? Become a paying subscriber and help create more. Support via Substack (from $5 a month) | Support on Patreon (from $1 a month) Thank you ! Patience gets talked about constantly, yet not many can actually define it. In this episode, we strip away the soft, modern version of patience and get precise: patience is the virtue that helps us bear the sorrow other people cause us — with...