How to start reading Aquinas without getting lost

Beginners often approach Aquinas through quotations clipped out of context. That usually produces admiration without understanding.

An ordered start is better:

1. Learn the basic map of Thomist metaphysics.
2. Read a short guide that names the crucial distinctions.
3. Open the primary text with a small number of questions in mind.
4. Keep notes in the form of objections, replies, and unresolved terms.

The point is not to delay the sources. The point is to approach them with enough order that the arguments can actually be followed.