The Thomistic Institute

Prof. Adam Eitel (Yale Divinity School) holds appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. His research and teaching bring topics in the history of Christian theology to bear on questions of fundamental moral concern. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his particular research interests span doctrinal and moral theology, especially in the works of Thomas Aquinas and his contemporaries. His first book, Thomas Aquinas and the Invention of the Preacher, examines the need for gifts of the Holy Spirit in light of the eliminable conditions of human folly; as this volume approaches the final stages of revision, he is also preparing a translation and critical introduction to Aquinas’s Contra impugnantes. His contributions to various journals include published and forthcoming essays in the Journal of Religious Ethics, Nova et Vetera, Studies in Christian Ethics, and The Thomist. Longer term aspirations include projects on the virtue of charity, the nature of sin, grace, eschatology, grief, and infant mortality.

Fr. Alan O’Sullivan, O.P. (Trinity College) is currently the chaplain of Trinity College, Dublin. He is a member of the Irish province of the Order of Preachers who studied at Blackfriars, Oxford.

Prof. Adam Eitel (Yale Divinity School) holds appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. His research and teaching bring topics in the history of Christian theology to bear on questions of fundamental moral concern. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his particular research interests span doctrinal and moral theology, especially in the works of Thomas Aquinas and his contemporaries. His first book, Thomas Aquinas and the Invention of the Preacher, examines the need for gifts of the Holy Spirit in light of the eliminable conditions of human folly; as this volume approaches the final stages of revision, he is also preparing a translation and critical introduction to Aquinas’s Contra impugnantes. His contributions to various journals include published and forthcoming essays in the Journal of Religious Ethics, Nova et Vetera, Studies in Christian Ethics, and The Thomist. Longer term aspirations include projects on the virtue of charity, the nature of sin, grace, eschatology, grief, and infant mortality.

Prof. Adam Eitel (Yale Divinity School) holds appointments in the Divinity School, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Humanities Program. His research and teaching bring topics in the history of Christian theology to bear on questions of fundamental moral concern. A specialist in medieval scholasticism, his particular research interests span doctrinal and moral theology, especially in the works of Thomas Aquinas and his contemporaries. His first book, Thomas Aquinas and the Invention of the Preacher, examines the need for gifts of the Holy Spirit in light of the eliminable conditions of human folly; as this volume approaches the final stages of revision, he is also preparing a translation and critical introduction to Aquinas’s Contra impugnantes. His contributions to various journals include published and forthcoming essays in the Journal of Religious Ethics, Nova et Vetera, Studies in Christian Ethics, and The Thomist. Longer term aspirations include projects on the virtue of charity, the nature of sin, grace, eschatology, grief, and infant mortality.

Fr. Robert Dodaro, O.S.A. (Patristic Institute) is the president of the Patristic Institute in Rome, where he is also a professor. In addition, he is professor of patristic theology in the Pontifical Lateran University. He is the author of Christ and the Just Society in the Thought of Augustine, and co-edited Augustine: Political Writings and also Augustine and his Critics. He also serves as the Co-editor-in-Chief of the Augustinus-Lexikon.

Fr. Conor McDonough, O.P. (Dominican House of Studies, Dublin) is a Dominican friar from Galway. He studied science and theology at the University of Cambridge and taught theology at secondary school before joining the Dominicans in 2009. He was ordained priest in 2016 and undertook further studies in theology at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), focussing on the writings of St Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. He is currently based in Dublin where he teaches theology to the students at the Dominican House of Studies in Dublin.

This lecture was given on September 24th, 2023, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the speaker: Prof. W. Scott Cleveland is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Catholic Studies at the University of Mary (Bismarck, ND). His research interests are in ethics, moral psychology, and philosophy of religion. He is especially interested in the study of the virtues and emotions, the relation between the two, and the role of each in the moral and intellectual life. His work has appeared in journals such as American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, Res Philosophica, Religious Studies, Oxford Bibliographies Online, and the Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. He co-edited with Adam Pelser Faith and Virtue Formation: Christian Philosophy in Aid of Becoming Good with Oxford University Press.

Looking to reignite your faith in the new year? C.S. Lewis and St. Thomas Aquinas can help you recover your faith! Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Prof. Michael Dauphinais about his latest Thomistic Institute lecture, "How C.S. Lewis and St. Thomas Aquinas Can Help Us Recover Our Christian Faith." Recover Your Faith with C.S. Lewis & St. Thomas w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Prof. Michael Dauphinais (Off-Campus Conversations) You can listen to the original lecture here: https://on.soundcloud.com/G7QJF About the speaker: Michael A. Dauphinais, Ph.D., hosts The Catholic Theology Show podcast to help a wide audience discover the richness of coming to know and love God as he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. Dr. Dauphinais serves as the Fr. Matthew Lamb Professor of Catholic Theology and the co-director of the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal at Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, Florida. He holds academic degrees from Duke University and the University of Notre Dame. Among his works are his co-authored Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of Thomas Aquinas and his newly co-authored book Wisdom from the Word: Biblical Answers to Ten Questions about Catholicism (published by Word on Fire Academic). He has authored and co-edited numerous scholarly articles and books in the areas of Thomas Aquinas, the Bible, and the renewal of Catholic theology. He enjoys speaking and teaching about C.S. Lewis, the Bible, and anything on Aquinas. A grateful revert to the Catholic Church, he has been married to his beloved wife Nancy for almost thirty years.

This lecture was given on September 28th, 2023, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the speaker: Sr. Anna Wray is a native of Connecticut and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia. Sister received her PhD in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, having written her dissertation on Aristotle’s account of the activity of contemplation. Sister is on faculty in CUA's School of Philosophy.

This lecture was given on October 20th, 2023, at The University of North Florida. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the speaker: Fr. Ambrose Little, O.P. is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph. He was born and raised in Connecticut and studied philosophy at The Catholic University of America. He joined the Order of Preachers in 2007, making his solemn vows in 2011 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2013. Fr. Little has a Ph.L. from the School of Philosophy of The Catholic University of America and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Virginia, where he completed a dissertation entitled Aristotelian Change and the Scala Naturae. He primarily works on topics of interest in Aristotelian-Thomism and natural philosophy. He has previously taught at Providence College and is now a member of the faculty of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.

This lecture was given on October 13th 2023, at St. Joseph's in Greenwich Village. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the speaker: Michael Root is Ordinary Professor of Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. His particular theological interests are ecumenical relations, eschatology/last things, and grace and justification. Root has been a member of various international ecumenical dialogues. He served on the drafting teams that produced the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

This lecture was given on October 27th, 2023, at St. Joseph's in Greenwich Village For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Bronwen McShea is an historian and author who lives in New York City and a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at the Augustine Institute in Denver. She earned her B.A. in History and Masters in Theological Studies at Harvard University and her Ph.D. in History at Yale University and has held research and teaching positions at Princeton University, the University of Nebraska Omaha, Columbia University, and the Institute of European History in Mainz, Germany. She is the author of three books: the forthcoming "Women of the Church: What Every Catholic Should Know" (Ignatius Press), "La Duchesse: The Life of Marie de Vignerot, Cardinal Richelieu's Forgotten Heiress Who Shaped the Fate of France" (Pegasus Books, 2023), and "Apostles of Empire: The Jesuits and New France" (Nebraska Press, 2019). She has also written for a range of both popular and scholarly journals over the years, including "First Things," "American Catholic Studies," and "The Josephinum Journal of Theology."

Stephen Meredith is a professor at the University of Chicago’s Departments of Pathology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Neurology. He is also an associate faculty member in the University of Chicago Divinity School. He has published more than 100 journal articles, focusing on the biophysics of protein structure. Much of his work has been the application of solution and solid-state NMR to the study of amyloid proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease. He has also published articles on literature and philosophy in diverse aspects of medical humanities and bioethics. His teaching includes courses to graduate students in biochemistry and biophysics, medical students, and undergraduates and graduate students in the humanities, including courses on James Joyce’s Ulysses, St. Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Dostoevsky (focusing on Brothers Karamazov), Thomas Mann and David Foster Wallace. He is currently working on a book examining disease and the theological problem of evil. Other current writing projects include a study of James Joyce and the problem of evil.

Thomas Hibbs is currently J. Newton Rayzor Sr. Professor of Philosophy at Baylor University, where he is also Dean Emeritus, having served for 16 years as Dean of the Honors College and as Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Culture. Hibbs received a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and has served as tutor at Thomas Aquinas College, Full Professor and Department Chair of Philosophy at Boston College, and President of the University of Dallas. Hibbs works in the areas of medieval philosophy, especially Thomas Aquinas, contemporary virtue ethics, and aesthetics. He has published more than thirty scholarly articles and seven books, as well as 100 reviews and discussion articles on film, theater, art, and higher education in a variety of venues.

Fr. Gregory currently serves as an adjunct professor of dogmatic theology at the Dominican House of Studies and an Assistant Director of the Thomistic Institute. He is a contributor on the Pints with Aquinas show and a co-host of the Catholic Classics podcast. Fr. Gregory is the author of Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly and co-author with Matt Fradd of Marian Consecration With Aquinas: A Nine Day Path for Growing Closer to the Mother of God.

Fr. Ambrose Little, O.P. is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph. He was born and raised in Connecticut and studied philosophy at The Catholic University of America. He joined the Order of Preachers in 2007, making his solemn vows in 2011 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2013. Fr. Little has a Ph.L. from the School of Philosophy of The Catholic University of America and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Virginia, where he completed a dissertation entitled Aristotelian Change and the Scala Naturae. He primarily works on topics of interest in Aristotelian-Thomism and natural philosophy. He has previously taught at Providence College and is now a member of the faculty of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.

Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P., is the Director of the Thomistic Institute and an Assistant Professor in systematic theology at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, a Ph.L. from the School of Philosophy of the Catholic University of America, and a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of Fribourg. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2001 and was ordained a priest in 2007. He practiced law for several years as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice before becoming a Dominican.

W. Matthews Grant is Professor and Chair in the Department of Philosophy at University of St. Thomas (MN), and Associate Editor of the American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly. His articles have focused on Aquinas and the Philosophy of God, particularly issues having to do with the divine nature and God’s relationship to human freedom. His new book Free Will and God’s Universal Causality: The Dual Sources Account, draws resources from Aquinas and the scholastic tradition to explain how libertarian creaturely freedom can be reconciled with robust accounts of God’s providence, grace, and predestination.

Jane Sloan Peters is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, NY. Her dissertation explored Thomas Aquinas's reception of Greek patristic and Byzantine biblical interpretation for his four-volume commentary on the Gospels, the Catena Aurea. Jane has written for First Things, the University of Notre Dame's Church Life Journal, Plough Quarterly, and America Magazine. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two sons.

Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Prof. Jane Sloan Peters about her latest Thomistic Institute lecture, "Beyond Words: What ChatGPT Can't Say." Beyond Words: What ChatGPT Can't Say w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Prof. Jane Sloan Peters (Off-Campus Conversations) You can listen to the original lecture here: https://soundcloud.com/thomisticinstitute About the speaker: Jane Sloan Peters is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, NY. Her dissertation explored Thomas Aquinas's reception of Greek patristic and Byzantine biblical interpretation for his four-volume commentary on the Gospels, the Catena Aurea. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two sons.This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63017 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

This lecture was given on September 21st, 2023, at Saint Vincent College. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Matthew Shea is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He specializes in moral philosophy and bioethics, with additional interests in philosophy of religion and epistemology. Prior to joining Franciscan, he did his undergraduate studies at Boston College, received a PhD in philosophy from Saint Louis University, completed a fellowship in clinical health care ethics at UCLA, and taught at the University of Scranton.

This lecture was given on October 23rd, 2023 at William and Mary. For more information on upcoming events, visit thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speaker: Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) is associate professor of patristics and ancient languages at the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies where he serves as the director of the doctoral program. He has authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford University Press, 2013) and The Power of Patristic Preaching: The Word in Our Flesh (Catholic University of America, 2023). His research appears in such journals as Augustinianum, Journal of the History of Ideas, and Vigiliae Christianae. Editor-in-chief of the academic journal The Thomist, Hofer is editor or co-editor of several volumes including The Oxford Handbook of Deification and The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons. He is presently at work on a book titled Peace in the Life and Teaching of Augustine of Hippo.

This lecture was given on November 15th, 2023 at Saint Louis University. For more information on upcoming events, visit thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speaker: Daniel De Haan is a Research Fellow in Natural Theology at the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion and the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. Before coming to Oxford he was a postdoctoral fellow working on the neuroscience strand of the Templeton World Charity Foundation’s Theology, Philosophy of Religion, and the Sciences project at the University of Cambridge. He has a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of Leuven and University of St Thomas in Texas. His research focuses on philosophical anthropology and the sciences, natural theology, and the thought of Thomas Aquinas.

Sister Anna Wray is a native of Connecticut and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia. Sister received her PhD in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, having written her dissertation on Aristotle’s account of the activity of contemplation. Sister is on faculty in CUA's School of Philosophy.

Candace Vogler is the David B. and Clara E. Stern Professor of Philosophy and Professor in the College at the University of Chicago, and Principal Investigator on "Virtue, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life," a project funded by the John Templeton Foundation. She has authored two books, John Stuart Mill's Deliberative Landscape: An Essay in Moral Psychology (Routledge, 2001) and Reasonably Vicious (Harvard University Press, 2002), and essays in ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy and literature, cinema, psychoanalysis, gender studies, sexuality studies, and other areas. Her research interests are in practical philosophy (particularly the strand of work in moral philosophy indebted to Elizabeth Anscombe), practical reason, Kant's ethics, Marx, and neo-Aristotelian naturalism.

Dr. Paul LaPenna is a neurologist in Greenville, SC and Associate Professor of Neurology at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Carolinas Campus. Dr. LaPenna completed his neurology residency at Indiana University School of Medicine in 2018. As a neurohospitalist, Dr. LaPenna’s skill set is focused on treatment of neurological emergencies and performing and interpreting electrophysiological studies of the brain and peripheral nervous system. As an Associate Professor of Neurology, Dr. LaPenna has won numerous teaching awards, including Clinical Medicine Professor of the neuroscience curriculum in 2019, 2020, and 2021. For the 2020-2021 academic year, Dr. LaPenna was awarded the Preceptor of the Year. For his care towards patients, he was elected to the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2016. Dr. LaPenna has an interest in the relationship between science and faith—in particular, the relationship between neuroscience and the soul, the overreaching claims of science, and the dignity of the human person, to name a few. Saint Thomas Aquinas has been a major influence in Dr. LaPenna’s intellectual and faith journey.

The Philosophical And Scientific Images Of Humanity I Professor James Madden by The Thomistic Institute

Matthew Dugandzic joined the theology faculty at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in 2019 after completing a Ph.D. in moral theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. His dissertation, "A Thomistic Account of the Habituation of the Passions," explored the ways in which people can develop virtuous affective inclinations. Dr. Dugandzic's scholarship focuses on medieval thought, especially Thomas Aquinas' anthropology, psychology, and ethics. His work on Christ's passions recently appeared in the European Journal for the Study of Thomas Aquinas and his other writings on the passions and on bioethics have appeared in New Blackfriars and National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly. His current research focuses on the sources that Aquinas used in developing his understanding of virtue and on recovering ancient and medieval wisdom regarding economics in order to apply this wisdom to contemporary financial problems (like student loan debt). Dr. Dugandzic has taught courses in fundamental moral theology, bioethics, theological anthropology, and Catholic social teaching. In addition to his work in the academy, Dr. Dugandzic has also brought his theological expertise to the aid of the Church, having taught theology to RCIA groups, catechists, and candidates for the permanent diaconate. In addition to his doctorate, Dr. Dugandzic holds a BSc in biology from Concordia University in Montréal, Québec and an MA in religious studies from St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York. He and his wife, Audra, live in Baltimore, MD. In his spare time, he likes to play hockey, which he enjoys almost as much as reading theology.

Professor W. Scott Cleveland is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Catholic Studies at the University of Mary (Bismarck, ND). His research interests are in ethics, moral psychology, and philosophy of religion. He is especially interested in the study of the virtues and emotions, the relation between the two, and the role of each in the moral and intellectual life. His work has appeared in journals such as American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, Res Philosophica, Religious Studies, Oxford Bibliographies Online, and the Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. He co-edited with Adam Pelser Faith and Virtue Formation: Christian Philosophy in Aid of Becoming Good with Oxford University Press.

Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Fr. Uwe Michael Lang about his latest Thomistic Institute lecture, "Veneration of the Eucharist." Veneration of the Eucharist w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Fr. Uwe Michael Lang (Off-Campus Conversations) You can listen to the original lecture here: https://soundcloud.com/thomisticinstitute/ About the speaker: Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, a native of Nuremberg, Germany, is a priest of the Oratory of St Philip Neri in London. He holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Oxford, and teaches Church History at Mater Ecclesiae College, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and Allen Hall Seminary, London. He is an associate staff member at the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham, and on the Visiting Faculty of the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein, IL. He is a Corresponding Member of the Neuer Schülerkreis Joseph Ratzinger / Papst Benedikt XVI, a Member of the Council of the Henry Bradshaw Society, a Board Member of the Society for Catholic Liturgy, and the Editor of Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal.

Michael Root is Ordinary Professor of Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. Root is a native of Norfolk, Virginia and studied at Dartmouth College (B.A.) and Yale University (Ph.D. in theology). He was received into the Catholic Church in August, 2010. His particular theological interests are ecumenical relations, eschatology/last things, and grace and justification. Root has been a member of the US and international LutheranCatholic dialogues, the US LutheranUnited Methodist dialogue, the AnglicanLutheran International Working Group, and the AnglicanLutheran International Commission. He served on the drafting teams that produced the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

Erik Dempsey is the Assistant Director of the University of Texas at Austin's Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas. He is interested in understanding human virtue and the proper place of politics in a flourishing human life. He specializes in the ethical and political teaching of the Bible and Aristotle; theoretical foundations of modern politics; and the question of relativism.

This lecture was given on April 15, 2023, at the West Coast Intellectual Retreat on Divinization. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Dr. Daria Spezzano (Providence College) is Associate Professor of Theology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. She holds a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master’s in Liturgical Studies from the Liturgical Institute. Her book, The Glory of God's Grace: Deification according to St. Thomas Aquinas, was published by Sapientia Press in 2015. She has published 10 scholarly articles in Nova et Vetera, Cistercian Studies and the Journal of Moral Theology, and chapters in several edited volumes, including Aquinas on Initiation and Mystagogy (Peeters, 2019), Reading Job with St. Thomas Aquinas (CUA Press, 2020), Thomas Aquinas, Biblical Theologian (Emmaus Academic, 2021), and Thomas Aquinas and the Crisis of Christology (Sapientia Press, 2021). Among other projects, she is currently coediting a volume, Christ, the Wisdom of God in the Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.

This lecture was given on April 15th, 2023 at the West Coast Intellectual Retreat on Divinization. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

This lecture was given on April 15th, 2023, at the West Coast Intellectual Retreat on Divinization. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: r. Andrew Hofer, O.P., grew up as the youngest of ten children on a farm in Kansas, and studied history, philosophy, and classics at Benedictine College. He then went to St Andrews, Scotland for a Master of Letters in medieval history. He entered the Order of Preachers as a son of the Province of St. Joseph, and was ordained a priest in 2002. After finishing his S.T.L. and serving as an associate pastor for a brief time, he was sent to Kenya as a missionary for two years. He taught at the Tangaza College of The Catholic University of Eastern Africa and other institutions in Nairobi. He returned to the U.S. and completed the Ph.D. in theology at the University of Notre Dame, with the primary area of history of Christianity (specializing in patristic theology with additional studies in medieval theology) and the secondary area of systematic theology. His research appears in such journals as Vigiliae Christianae, Augustinianum, International Journal of Systematic Theology, New Blackfriars, Nova et Vetera, Pro Ecclesia, The Thomist, Communio, and Angelicum and in books published by Catholic University America Press and Ignatius Press. He is the author of Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford Early Christian Studies), Oxford University Press, 2013, and the editor of Divinization: Becoming Icons of Christ through the Liturgy, Hillenbrand Books, 2015.

This lecture was given on April 14, 2023, at St. Albert's Priory in Oakland California. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Dr. Daria Spezzano (Providence College) is Associate Professor of Theology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. She holds a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master’s in Liturgical Studies from the Liturgical Institute. Her book, The Glory of God's Grace: Deification according to St. Thomas Aquinas, was published by Sapientia Press in 2015. She has published 10 scholarly articles in Nova et Vetera, Cistercian Studies and the Journal of Moral Theology, and chapters in several edited volumes, including Aquinas on Initiation and Mystagogy (Peeters, 2019), Reading Job with St. Thomas Aquinas (CUA Press, 2020), Thomas Aquinas, Biblical Theologian (Emmaus Academic, 2021), and Thomas Aquinas and the Crisis of Christology (Sapientia Press, 2021). Among other projects, she is currently coediting a volume, Christ, the Wisdom of God in the Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.

This lecture was given on September 7, 2023, at Texas A&M For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Angela Knobel is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Dallas. She received her doctorate in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 2004. From 2004 to 2020, she taught philosophy at her alma mater, the Catholic University of America. Her work focuses primarily on Aquinas’ theory of infused virtue, virtue ethics and applied ethics. Her book Aquinas and the Infused Moral Virtues was published by the University of Notre Dame Press in 2021.

Patrick Callahan is director of the Newman Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as well as Assistant Professor of English & Humanities at St. Gregory the Great Seminary. While his doctoral work focused on ancient Greek commentaries to the lyric poet Pindar, his recent work focuses on early Jesuit Latin texts.

Father Thomas Petri, O.P. is the President of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies, where he also serves as an assistant professor of moral theology and pastoral studies. Ordained a priest in 2009, he holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from The Catholic University of America.

Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Prof. Mats Wahlberg about his latest Thomistic Institute lecture, "How Is Revealed Knowledge Justified? Aquinas on Faith and Reason." Aquinas on Faith and Reason w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. & Prof. Mats Wahlberg (Off-Campus Conversations) You can listen to the original lecture here: https://soundcloud.com/thomisticinstitute/ About the speaker: Mats Wahlberg is associate professor of systematic theology at Umeå University, Sweden. He has written two books: Reshaping Natural Theology (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) and Revelation as Testimony (Eerdmans, 2014), as well as many scholarly articles. His research about the problem of evil has received funding from the John Templeton Foundation. In 2021, he was the visiting Aquinas Chair at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome.This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63017 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Michael A. Dauphinais, Ph.D., hosts The Catholic Theology Show podcast to help a wide audience discover the richness of coming to know and love God as he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. Dr. Dauphinais serves as the Fr. Matthew Lamb Professor of Catholic Theology and the co-director of the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal at Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, Florida. He holds academic degrees from Duke University and the University of Notre Dame. Among his works are his co-authored Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of Thomas Aquinas and his newly co-authored book Wisdom from the Word: Biblical Answers to Ten Questions about Catholicism (published by Word on Fire Academic). He has authored and co-edited numerous scholarly articles and books in the areas of Thomas Aquinas, the Bible, and the renewal of Catholic theology. He enjoys speaking and teaching about C.S. Lewis, the Bible, and anything on Aquinas. A grateful revert to the Catholic Church, he has been married to his beloved wife Nancy for almost thirty years.

This lecture was given on September 14, 2023, at Yale University For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Zena Hitz is a Tutor at St. John's College where she teaches across the liberal arts. She is interested in defending intellectual activity for its own sake, as against its use for economic or political goals. Her forthcoming book, Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life, is rooted in essays that have appeared in First Things, Modern Age, and The Washington Post. Her scholarly work has focused on the political thought of Plato and Aristotle, especially the question of how law cultivates or fails to cultivate human excellence. She received an MPhil in Classics from Cambridge and studied Social Thought and Philosophy at the University of Chicago before finishing her PhD in Philosophy at Princeton.

This lecture was given on September 11, 2023, at the University of Maryland For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Michael Gorman is a professor of philosophy at The Catholic University of America. He has doctorates in philosophy and theology. He has authored over thirty-five academic papers and a book entitled Aquinas on the Metaphysics of the Hypostatic Union (Cambridge University Press, 2017). His main interests are metaphysics, human nature, and ethics. He is working on a textbook in metaphysics and on a short book on human nature and human dignity.

This lecture was given on September 11, 2023, at the University of Florida For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Originally from a farm in Kansas, Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., is a priest in the Dominican Province of St. Joseph who teaches on the pontifical faculty of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC where he is editor-in-chief of The Thomist. He has authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford University Press, 2013) and The Power of Patristic Preaching: The Word in Our Flesh (The Catholic University of America Press, 2023). He is editor or co-editor of several volumes, including The Oxford Handbook of Deification, The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons, Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers, Thomas Aquinas and the Crisis of Christology, and Thomas Aquinas as Spiritual Teacher.

Dr. Paul LaPenna is a neurologist in Greenville, SC and Associate Professor of Neurology at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Carolinas Campus. Dr. LaPenna completed his neurology residency at Indiana University School of Medicine in 2018. As a neurohospitalist, Dr. LaPenna’s skill set is focused on treatment of neurological emergencies and performing and interpreting electrophysiological studies of the brain and peripheral nervous system. As an Associate Professor of Neurology, Dr. LaPenna has won numerous teaching awards, including Clinical Medicine Professor of the neuroscience curriculum in 2019, 2020, and 2021. For the 2020-2021 academic year, Dr. LaPenna was awarded the Preceptor of the Year. For his care towards patients, he was elected to the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2016. Dr. LaPenna has an interest in the relationship between science and faith—in particular, the relationship between neuroscience and the soul, the overreaching claims of science, and the dignity of the human person, to name a few. Saint Thomas Aquinas has been a major influence in Dr. LaPenna’s intellectual and faith journey.

This lecture was given on September 7, 2023, at Tulsa For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Francis J. Beckwith is Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies at Baylor University, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Graduate Program in Philosophy, Affiliate Professor of Political Science, and Resident Scholar in Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR). With his appointment in Baylor’s Department of Philosophy, he also teaches courses in medical humanities, political science, and religion. From July 2003 through January 2007, he served as the Associate Director of Baylor’s J. M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies. He is also member of the Board of Scholars of the James Wilson Institute in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Fordham University (Ph.D. and M.A. in philosophy), he also holds the Master of Juridical Studies (M.J.S.) degree from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where he won a CALI Award for Academic Excellence in Reproductive Control Seminar. His books include Never Doubt Thomas: The Catholic Aquinas as Evangelical and Protestant (Baylor University Press, 2019); Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2015 ), winner of the American Academy of Religion’s 2016 Book Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in the category of Constructive-Reflective Studies; (w/ R. P. George, S. McWilliams) A Second Look at First Things: A Case for Conservative Politics (St. Augustine Press, 2013); Politics for Christians: Statecraft as Soulcraft (InterVarsity Press, 2010); Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic (Brazos Press, 2009); Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (Cambridge University Press, 2007); (w/ W. L. Craig, J. P. Moreland) To Every One An Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview (InterVarsity Press, 2004); Law, Darwinism, & Public Education: The Establishment Clause and the Challenge of Intelligent Design (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003); (w/ C. Mosser & P. Owen) The New Mormon Challenge: Responding to the Latest Defenses of a Fast-Growing Movement (HarperCollins/Zondervan, 2002), finalist for the 2003 Gold Medallion Award in theology and doctrine; Do the Right Thing: Readings in Applied Ethics and Social Philosophy, 2/e (Wadsworth, 2002); (w/ G. P. Koukl) Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air (Baker, 1998); (w/ L. P. Pojman) The Abortion Controversy 25 Years After Roe v. Wade: A Reader, 2/e (Wadsworth, 1998); (w/ T. Jones) Affirmative Action: Social Justice or Reverse Discrimination? (Prometheus, 1997); and Politically Correct Death: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights (Baker, 1993), winner of the 1994 Cornerstone Magazine ethics book of the year award.

This lecture was given on August 29, 2023, at Mississippi State For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Bruce D. Marshall is Lehman Professor of Christian Doctrine at Southern Methodist University. His teaching specialties are Medieval and Reformation theology and systematic theology. His research interests include Doctrine of the Trinity, Christology, philosophical issues in theology, sacramental theology, and Judaism and Christian theology. He is the author of Trinity and Truth (Cambridge University Press, 2000).

This lecture was given on October 27, 2023, at the Thomistic Institute in DC, on Capitol Hill For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P., is the Director of the Thomistic Institute and an Assistant Professor in systematic theology at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, a Ph.L. from the School of Philosophy of the Catholic University of America, and a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of Fribourg. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2001 and was ordained a priest in 2007. He practiced law for several years as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice before becoming a Dominican.

W. Matthews Grant is Professor and Chair in the Department of Philosophy at University of St. Thomas (MN), and Associate Editor of the American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly. His articles have focused on Aquinas and the Philosophy of God, particularly issues having to do with the divine nature and God’s relationship to human freedom. His new book Free Will and God’s Universal Causality: The Dual Sources Account, draws resources from Aquinas and the scholastic tradition to explain how libertarian creaturely freedom can be reconciled with robust accounts of God’s providence, grace, and predestination.

Originally from a farm in Kansas, Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., is a priest in the Dominican Province of St. Joseph who teaches on the pontifical faculty of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC where he is editor-in-chief of The Thomist. He has authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus and The Power of Patristic Preaching: The Word in Our Flesh. He is editor or co-editor of several volumes, including The Oxford Handbook of Deification, The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons, Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers, Thomas Aquinas and the Crisis of Christology, and Thomas Aquinas as Spiritual Teacher.