Jean-Pierre Torrell, O.P.’s definitive scholarly biography of St. Thomas Aquinas has recently received its third edition. Translator Matthew Minerd returns to the Catholic Culture Podcast to discuss what we can learn from Fr. Torrell about the life of St. Thomas and the context in which works like the Summa theologiae were written. This episode is a deep dive into Thomas’s vocation in a number of senses – his Benedictine formation and eventual decision to become a Dominican instead, his intellectual formation as a student of St. Albert the Great and eventual Bachelor of the Sentences, and his duties in teaching, writing, disputation and preaching as a Master of the Sacred Pages at the University of Paris and elsewhere. Looking into these things can teach us much about Thomas’s spirituality, his working methods, and the intellectual climate of the time. Links Jean-Pierre Torrell, O.P., Saint Thomas Aquinas: Vol. 1, The Person and His Work https://www.cuapress.org/9780813235608/saint-thomas-aquinas/ Matthew Minerd’s essay in defense of Garrigou-Lagrange https://www.academia.edu/97075759/Who_Wasnt_the_Sacred_Monster_of_Thomism_Overcoming_Certain_Narratives_about_Fr_Reginald_Garrigou_Lagrage_OP_in_the_Hope_of_Mutual_Honesty_Among_Faithful_Catholics Ep. 38 with Minerd on Garrigou-Lagrange https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-38-sacred-monster-matthew-k-minerd/ Kirwan and Minerd, The Thomistic Response to the Nouvelle Theologie https://www.amazon.com/Story-Great-Medieval-Book-Rethinking/dp/1551117185 Philipp W. Rosemann, The Story of a Great Medieval Book: Peter Lombard’s ‘Sentences’ https://www.amazon.com/Story-Great-Medieval-Book-Rethinking/dp/1551117185 This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio  Go to Catholic Culture's website for tons of written content, including news, articles, liturgical year info, and a vast library of documents: https://www.catholicculture.org