Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 7 March 1274), was a Doctor of the Church, Philosopher, Theologian, Jurist, Dominican Friar, and Priest. Known as Doctor Angelicus "Angelic Doctor," and the Doctor Communis "Universal Doctor" his writings serve as a defense and proof of the validity of Christ's authority over all. The Summa contra Gentiles (also known as Liber de veritate catholicae fidei contra errores infidelium, "Book on the truth of the Catholic faith against the errors of the unbelievers"). The Summa contra Gentiles consists of four books. The structure of Saint Thomas's work is designed to proceed from general philosophical arguments for monotheism, to which Muslims and Jews are likely to consent even within their own respective religious traditions, before progressing to the discussion of specifically Christian doctrine.
Book I begins with general questions of truth and natural reason, and from chapter 10 investigates the concept of a monotheistic God. Chapters 10 to 13 are concerned with the existence of God, followed by a detailed investigation of God's properties (chapters 14 to 102). When demonstrating a Truth about God which can be known through reason, St. Thomas gives multiple arguments, each proving the same Truth in a different way.
Whether you are a history enthusiast, a student of religion, or simply curious about the impact of the Roman Catholic Church on the world, this playlist is designed to provide an informative and engaging journey through its captivating past. Subscribe to the Contemplating History channel for more educational content and immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of history.
06 April 2026
Summa Contra Gentiles Book I: God Is Not the Formal or Abstract Being of All Things
From Contemplating History
The Life of His Majesty the King Christian IX of Denmark ~ (1818–1906)
From The Romanian Monarchist
Christian IX (8 April 1818 – 29 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 15 November 1863 until he died in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg.
A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Christian grew up in the Duchy of Schleswig as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg, which had ruled Denmark since 1448. Although having close family ties to the Danish royal family, he was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish throne. Following the early death of his father in 1831, Christian grew up in Denmark and was educated at the Military Academy of Copenhagen. After unsuccessfully seeking the hand of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom in marriage, he married his double second cousin, Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, in 1842.
In 1852, Christian was chosen as heir-presumptive to the Danish throne in light of the expected extinction of the senior line of the House of Oldenburg. Upon the death of King Frederick VII of Denmark in 1863, Christian (who was Frederick's second cousin and husband of Frederick's paternal first cousin, Louise of Hesse-Kassel) acceded to the throne as the first Danish monarch of the House of Glücksburg.
The beginning of his reign was marked by the Danish defeat in the Second Schleswig War and the subsequent loss of the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, which made the king immensely unpopular. The following years of his reign were dominated by political disputes, for Denmark had only become a constitutional monarchy in 1849, and the balance of power between the sovereign and parliament was still in dispute. Despite his initial unpopularity and the many years of political strife, in which the king was in conflict with large parts of the population, his popularity recovered towards the end of his reign, and he became a national icon due to the length of his reign and the high standards of personal morality with which he was identified.
Christian's six children with Louise married into other European royal families, earning him the sobriquet "the father-in-law of Europe". Among his descendants are King Frederik X, King Philippe of Belgium, King Harald V of Norway, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, and King Felipe VI of Spain.
More Than 'Apostle to the Apostles': Magdalene's Other Easter Virtues
Mary Magdalene is often known as the Apostle to the Apostles, because she was the one who brought the news of the Empty Tomb to the Apostles.
From Aleteia
By Tom Hoopes
Mary Magdalene is the saint most often mentioned in the Easter Gospels, but there's more to her story than we sometimes consider.We often hear that Mary Magdalene is “the apostle to the apostles” because she is the messenger to Jesus’ companions. But there is so much more.
Apart from Jesus and St. Peter, Mary Magdalene is the saint most often mentioned in the Easter Gospels. Don’t miss the other ways she is a model for Christians in the Easter accounts.
First: Mary Magdalene models the beatitudes and works of mercy.
Mary Magdalene was a faithful Jew who carefully observed the Saturday Sabbath day of rest that began when the sun went down on Friday, right after Jesus was buried, and lasted until dawn on Sunday.
But the Gospel of John tells us that, “On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark.” That means she left her home in time to serve Jesus at the earliest possible moment she legally could. And the service she planned to do, anointing the body of Jesus, is of the essence of Christianity.
Service to the dead is both a corporal and spiritual work of mercy, and Jesus had said “Blessed are they who mourn.”
Second: Mary Magdalene covered a lot of ground on Easter morning.
Think of how many steps Mary put in at Easter: She walked in the dark to the tomb in the first place, with other women, and when she found the Tomb empty, the Gospel of John says “she ran” to tell the Peter and John.
Where did she run? After Peter and John inspected the tomb, John reports that “the disciples went back to their homes,” plural (in most translations).
So on her mad dash to tell these two Apostles, she had two stops — then she later made another.
Third: She prays through her faith problems.
As I point out in my “This Sunday” column, just seeing the burial cloths was enough for Peter and John to believe. But it wasn’t enough for Magdalene.
They left satisfied, “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.” The angels mentioned in all accounts of the Resurrection ask her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” and she says, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
Then she turns around. I love what St. John Chrysostom says about that:
“Methinks that while she was speaking, Christ suddenly appearing behind her, struck the angels with awe; and that they having beheld their Ruler, showed immediately by their bearing, their look, their movements, that they saw the Lord.”
Angels don’t have bodies, but you can picture these figures suddenly coming to attention, like soldiers who see the sergeant approaching in a drill line — or, better, like pilgrims seeing the monstrance approaching in a procession.
Fourth: Mary makes a big mistake but gets the biggest things right.
When she turns and sees Jesus, though, she doesn’t recognize him. Anyone who has met someone in an unexpected context can understand why. But she mistakes him for a gardener.
That is significant, because in Holy Week, Jesus fulfills God’s desire to restore Eden, the first Garden, inhabited by Adam, the first gardener — and here is the New Adam establishing a new Eden, and he looks like a gardener. He is the Divine Sower, and he looks like a human sower; he is the Son of the Vineyard owner, and he looks like a vinedresser.
But then, Mary boldly tells this man, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
The theologian Father Bruce Vawter said, “Mary speaks the language of love, not even considering whether what she offers to do would be possible for her.”
Fifth: Mary reveals the Good Shepherd.
It’s when Jesus speaks her name — “Mary” — that she finally recognizes him and embraces him. This is a beautiful callback to earlier in the Gospel of John, when Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, who “calls his own sheep by name.”
As he puts it there, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” When he calls your name, you both know who he is and you know who you are a little more, too.
Mary is so convinced now, Jesus has to say “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.”
She becomes a model for us of the moment we will hear him call our name, at the end of our life, and it will be time to hold on to him, forever.
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