I have an essay to write for my introduction to history class in Cegep. I was given an exert from Summa Theologica by Thomas Aquinas, section 5. It addresses the reasons for why "the dispensing of Christ's body belongs to the priests". I chose a focus question revolving around how the importance of priests, in turn the Catholic church, was elevated during the High Middle Ages. An "exercise" that the teacher is making mandatory, before we can write the paper, is to come up with a source to "help us write the paper".
One of these must be an article, so I spent the last three hours searching all over the web, including different sources that I have access to from the school. I could not find anything that seemed useful. I am in desperate need of some help, so I ask if anyone has any articles that might be of use. I would much appreciate it.
I'm new to reddit in general, I hope I'm not breaking any laws and I appreciate any help.
All the best
Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica is a fascinating document because it tells us so much of the structure of Catholic belief systems in a time when Catholic orthodoxy was undergoing concretization while facing significant challenges both scholastically (in the universities of Paris, etc) and publicly (in the form of heresies and alternative unlicensed forms of preaching).
As /u/telkanuru indicates, the canons of the Fourth Lateran Council is the place to start: the papacy of Innocent III which convened this council, although a generation before the birth of Aquinas, sets the tone for the preoccupations of the papacy in the 13th century which in turn establishes the basis of Aquinas' Summa.
For example, for the 15 years before Lateran 4 we see massive challenges to traditional priesthood being confronted by Innocent III (for example, here you can check Peter Waldo and the Waldensians) with the creation of wholly new orders of travelling poor preachers (mendicants) we know now as Dominicans and Franciscans; the creation of these orders was not without complicating side effect questions of who could then give rites and sacraments. This question of who could give rites and sacraments, and which sacraments were actually Catholic, were well and truly defined by the Papal councils of this period, but not without objection and controversy. Aquinas was still dealing with this question 50 years later because the Donatist heresies of apostolic preaching groups like the Waldensians were still around.
When we look at Catholicism in this period, we have to realize that 'Catholic' was then a just-invented term as part of the project of defining orthodoxy. As much as we like to believe in the permanence of a consistent 2000 year old institution, in fact up to the 13th century the local practices of priests and communities could display high variability; even the notion of there being a fixed number of sacraments (which we now take for granted) was defined by the councils in this same century. The role of the priest, the basis of authority of priests, who was a priest was a significant question in this period.
Innocent III's project of defining orthodoxy, containing and reforming heterodoxy and prosecuting heresy were carried through subsequent popes of the 13th century (and beyond). These projects and preoccupations found themselves, within formal Catholic theology, 'resolved' by Aquinas. This is why he still stands as important.
Hm. It occurs to me that I've written your thesis statement; you should now be able to narrow it down and find the research to fill this in based on ideas and terminology above. :)
I would check out articles that concern the canons of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, specifically canon #21.
Good luck!