St. Thomas Aquinas was a super-smart 13th-century Italian philosopher and priest who blended faith with logic to explore big ideas about God, the universe, and how we should live our lives. His epic book, the Summa Theologica, is like a detailed roadmap tackling thousands of tough questions on theology, ethics, and human nature—and if you want to dive in without the headache, the "Summa Made Simple" podcast breaks it all down into fun, straightforward episodes that make it click for anyone.
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Summa Made Simple Ep 58: “I Was Busy Chilling” and Other Signs of Pride
Some people won’t change their schedule for anyone.Others won’t commit to anything at all.“I’ll see if I can make it.”“Sorry, I was busy chilling.”
Both people have the same fault. Each one follows his own will and no one else’s.
In this episode we look at twelve degrees of humility from an old rule for monks, and at the order Aquinas puts them in. He starts with the root: you fear God, you pray, and you keep his commandments in mind. Then he moves to what you want. You don’t hold on to your own plans no matter what. You obey the people who have real authority over you — your boss, a client, your parents, your partner, the state, the Church.
And you keep obeying when obeying makes your life hard. Caring for a parent who is old and sick means hospital trips, cooking, cleaning, and very little time left for your own plans. A couple who stay open to life take on school fees, sick children, and no holiday this year. Patience means you carry all of that and keep obeying anyway.
Most of us don’t live in a monastery. This episode shows what these degrees of humility look like for the rest of us, in an ordinary week.
Read Along Here:
Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 161. Article 6. Whether twelve degrees of humility are fittingly distinguished in the Rule of the Blessed Benedict? (https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3161.htm#article6)
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1 Nov 2026
Summa Made Simple Ep 57: The Drunk on the Street May Be Holier
You walk past a drunk lying on the street.You think, “At least I’m not like that.”That one thought tells you more about yourself than about him.
This episode takes on a question most of us never ask out loud: does humility mean you have to put yourself below every person you meet — even the beggar, even your own subordinates at work, even your own child? Aquinas says yes and no, and he explains why.
Every person has two things in them. There is what God has given them — their gifts, and there is what they have made of themselves — their faults. A clear picture of both of these is the basis of true humility.
Which means the drunk on the street may have gifts you can’t see. He may be humbler than you. And God may be closer to him than to you.
If you’ve ever thanked God that you’re not like someone else, you need to hear this.
Read Along Here:
Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 161. Article 3. Whether one ought, by humility, to subject oneself to all men? (https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3161.htm#article3)
Quiz Answers:
1. Yes and no. Yes, you put yourself below everyone, but only in one way. No, you don’t have to say your gifts are smaller than they are, or that you’re the worst sinner alive, because humility never asks you to lie.
2. You put your own faults and sins below the good that God has given the other person.
3. This is a personal question with no set answer.
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25 Oct 2026
Summa Made Simple Ep 56: The Humble Brag Is Pride
“I’m humbled to announce…”
You have read that line a hundred times. You have never once believed it.
Most of us have only seen two kinds of humility. The first kind is the public fall: the celebrity sent to jail, the leader cancelled online. The second kind is the fake kind, where a man lists his new car, his promotion and his award, and then calls himself humbled. One is a punishment. The other is a boast. Neither of them is a virtue.
In this episode we open the section on humility and pride. We start with why humility belongs under modesty, the group of virtues that govern our ordinary desires rather than our strongest ones. Then we take on three hard objections: that humility is just humiliation, that it is often a vice in disguise, and that it fights against the drive to do great things.
Aquinas answers each one. Humility is not something done to you. It is a choice you make inside, based on an honest look at your own faults. And the same man who needs humility to keep him from reaching too high also needs magnanimity to keep him from not trying at all.
If you have ever mistaken putting yourself down for being humble, this episode is for you.
Read Along Here:
Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 161. Article 1. Whether humility is a virtue? (https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3161.htm#article1)
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit realmsandroads.substack.com/subscribe (https://realmsandroads.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
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