The Summa Theologica is the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas and is undoubtedly one of the great works in the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works in Western literature. The Summa was intended as a manual for novice theologians and represented a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of the time. It presents detailed reasoning in all areas of Christian theology.
The Summa follows a cycle: the existence of God, God's creation, Man; Man's Purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God and presents five arguments for the existence of God, know as the Quinquae viae.
While the Summa represents the basic text for Holy Spirit College's graduate degrees in Theology it is available in many versions from a 45 volume annotated collection in Latin and English (which has been donated to the college), to a comprehensive English translation in 5 volumes (circa $150) to various paperback distillations priced from $10 to $30 including a volume simply called "The Summa of the Summa".
Many of my friends mention reading voluminous classical works but as a Catholic, you will find few works more worthy of the time commitment than the Summa. Start small, read a distillation and you will quickly want to own the 5 volume collection. Who knows, you may even be inspired to enroll in a graduate level Theology course!
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