How To Be Happy: Saint Thomas’ Secret to a Good Life

What brings us real and lasting happiness?

Although just about every marketing firm, self-help guru, and man on the street has an answer, very few, if any, understand true happiness. It doesn’t come from power, pleasure, popularity, or possessions. So what is happiness and how do we find it?

In How to Be Happy, author Matt Fradd relies on the help of St. Thomas Aquinas to show what will—and what won’t—bring us happiness in this life.

By making the thought of Aquinas utterly accessible for today, How to Be Happy is an invaluable guide to a good life.

 

Matt Fradd is the creator and host of the Pints With Aquinas podcast. He is the author and coauthor of several books including, Does God Exist? A Socratic Dialogue on the Five Ways of Thomas Aquinas. Matt earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in philosophy from Holy Apostles College & Seminary which also awarded him an honorary doctorate. He lives in Steubenville, Ohio, with his wife Cameron and their four kids.

 

“In a couple of my books, I tried to show that St. Thomas Aquinas is both easy to understand and practical; in this book, Matt Fradd makes him really easy to understand and really practical.”

Peter Kreeft, Author of Summa of the Summa, A Shorter Summa, and Practical Theology

 

“This book brims with good sense and persuasive reasoning. Every chapter is an instruction manual for how to live well. Yet, what sets this marvelous book apart is its reminder—through Fradd’s stories about his own life—that happiness, in the fullness that we seek, is elusive in this broken world and, besides, we too often find ourselves in a mess. In such circumstances, is the hope of happiness gone? On the contrary, Fradd invites us to throw ourselves upon the greatness of the mercy of God and to discover happiness precisely in the immensity of divine grace. Here we encounter the life of virtue at its source.”

Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

 

“Even many Catholics probably imagine that the ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas could only be of interest or understandable to theologians, philosophers, and other intellectuals. Nothing could be further from the truth, as Matt Fradd shows. This engaging book conveys the wisdom of the Angelic Doctor in a way that is accessible, practical, and witty.”

Edward Feser, Professor of Philosophy, Pasadena City College

 

“St. Thomas Aquinas is known for his towering intellect, but his incredibly down-to-earth wisdom about how to find happiness is accessible to all. In this short book, Matt Fradd presents the Angelic Doctor’s roadmap to joy, which includes relaxing baths, growth in virtue, how to master our emotions, and more!”

Jason Evert, Founder of Chastity Project

“The pursuit of happiness didn’t get underway with Thomas Jefferson or the pop psychology publishing industry of the twentieth century or the intriguing findings of the neurosciences in the twenty-first. The question of what makes human beings happy depends upon knowing what human beings are for. In pursuit of these questions, Fradd heeds the guidance of many wise, and I presume, happy minds—chief of which is Thomas Aquinas, who was called the Angelic Doctor for good reason. Find out why. Your happiness depends on it.”

Al Kresta, President and CEO of Ave Maria Radio and Host of “Kresta in the Afternoon”

 

“People, in general, no longer see the path of faith and virtue as the path to happiness. People are also more miserable than ever. Matt Fradd brings the wisdom of Aquinas to life like no one else. And in a world losing its way in the quest for fulfillment, we need that wisdom now, more than ever. This is a must read, and a must share.”

Chris Stefanick, President of Real Life Catholic and Author of Living Joy

 

“Matt Fradd continues to do the Church and the world an immense service by distilling the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and showcasing his contemporary relevance for the questions besetting modern man—e.g., questions regarding God, happiness, and overcoming the pull of sadness. The reader encounters here not only the Angelic Doctor, but also benefits tremendously from the wit and insight of Matt Fradd, who has become one of the most important Catholic voices today. I highly recommend this book!”

Andrew Swafford, Associate Professor, Benedictine College and author and host of Hebrews: The New and Eternal Covenant