"Like straw"

That is how St. Thomas Aquinas described everything he had written, after he had been blessed with a vision of God.

That is also how I would describe (more accurately) any effort on my part to do justice to the breadth and depth of St. Thomas' great theological and philosophical works.

So, I will just point out one or two of his greatest works and leave a more proper exposition to others.

• Perhaps the greatest and most famous of his works is the Summa Theologica. English versions are available online at the great New Advent website (http://www.newadvent.org/summa/), the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/), et al.
  
  St. Thomas generally wrote in an extremely structured style that can be difficult for modern readers to appreciate at first. As one begins to read, however, one quickly becomes impressed with his enormously analytical and logical mind. The more one reads, the more one uncovers more and more the depth of his insights and of his devotion to God: a treasure trove for which there is no equal.
  


• His Summa Contra Gentiles is another of his greatest works, devoted to explaining the faith to non-Christians. English versions are available online at the Digital Library at Dartmouth College(http://dciswww.dartmouth.edu:50080/v3?db=312&page=h&node=1&dfn=3).
  


• Today's Office of the Readings includes an excerpt from one of St. Thomas' spiritual conferences. I have posted a copy on my other blog Toward Contemplation.
  


• St. Thomas' works in the original Latin are available at www.corpusthomisticum.org
  


• St. Thomas' glorious poetic side is fully displayed in the hymns he wrote for the Feast of Corpus Christi. The following site nicely presents the original Latin alongside a line-by-line English translation: http://www.smart.net/~tak/Prayers/corpus_christi.html.

Genitori, Genitoque
Laus et jubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.
Amen.