The Thomistic Institute

This talk was offered on October 4th, 2018 at Harvard University.For more information on the Thomistic Institute's upcoming events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/Speaker Bio: Sr. Mary Madeline Todd is a Dominican Sister of Saint Cecilia Congregation, serving as Assistant Professor of Theology at Aquinas College in Nashville. She studied theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and earned her doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. She writes and speaks on spiritual and moral theology, especially on the dignity of the human person in Christ.

This talk was given at Yale University on October 15th, 2018.For more information on upcoming events, visit our website: www.thomisticinstitute.orgSpeaker bio:Michael Gorman is professor of philosophy at The Catholic University of America, and has doctorates in philosophy and theology. He has authored over thirty 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.

The handout for this lecture is available here: tinyurl.com/yc56e2g6A lecture given during "Desire and the Good Life: Reflections on the Aristotelian Tradition," a conference cosponsored by the Thomistic Institute, the Morningside Institute, and the Philosophy Department of Columbia University at Columbia University in New York City. October 12-13, 2018.For more information on other Thomistic Institute events, check out our website: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

The handout for this lecture is available here: tinyurl.com/y7b4m4rzA lecture given during "Desire and the Good Life: Reflections on the Aristotelian Tradition," a conference cosponsored by the Thomistic Institute, the Morningside Institute, and the Philosophy Department of Columbia University at Columbia University in New York City. October 12-13, 2018.For more information on other Thomistic Institute events, check out our website: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

A lecture given during "Desire and the Good Life: Reflections on the Aristotelian Tradition," a conference cosponsored by the Thomistic Institute, the Morningside Institute, and the Philosophy Department of Columbia University at Columbia University in New York City. October 12-13, 2018.For more information on other Thomistic Institute events, check out our website: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

This lecture was offered on October 9th, 2018 at the University of Oklahoma.“If I ever become a saint—I will surely be one of ‘darkness.’ I will continually be absent from Heaven — to light the light of those in darkness on earth.” With these words, Mother Teresa—now Saint Teresa of Calcutta—summed up the decades long trial of faith that marked her inner life from the early years of the Missionaries of Charity until her death in 1997. A similar trial was endured by her namesake, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, and it bore fruit in a similar resolve. What can we learn about faith, doubt, perseverance, and holiness from the “dark night” experience of the two Teresas?Speaker BioCarol Zaleski is the Professor of World Religions at Smith College in Northampton Massachusetts, where she has been teaching philosophy of religion, world religions, religion and literature, and Catholic thought since 1989. She is the author of Otherworld Journeys: Accounts of NearDeath Experience in Medieval and Modern Times (Oxford University Press) and The Life of the World to Come: NearDeath Experience and Christian Hope (Oxford University Press); and she is coauthor with Philip Zaleski of Prayer: A History (Houghton Mifflin), The Book of Heaven (Oxford University Press), and The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).

This lecture was delivered on October 5, 2018. It was part of an intellectual retreat entitled "Philosophical Realism and the Existence of God."

This lecture was delivered on October 5, 2018. It was part of an intellectual retreat entitled "Philosophical Realism and the Existence of God."

This lecture was delivered on October 5, 2018. It was part of an intellectual retreat entitled "Philosophical Realism and the Existence of God."

This lecture was delivered on October 6, 2018. It was part of an intellectual retreat entitled "Philosophical Realism and the Existence of God."

This lecture was delivered on October 6, 2018 as part of an intellectual retreat entitled "Philosophical Realism and the Existence of God."Drawing from Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas maintained that the least knowledge of the highest things brings the greatest joy. What exactly are the highest things? God and the things of God. To contemplate and savor the truth of the highest reality-this delights our minds, this is the bold challenge undertaken by would-be scholar-saints.Yet today, a clear thinker is hard to find. The space to have rational discussions and the common ground on which to have them are shrinking. Many people experience difficulty in contemplating and speaking about the highest things-even the least bit.And so before one can propose freely contemplating the ultimate reality, time must be spent on realism. This retreat is designed to clear the way for rational discourse, to tease out and purify some popular worldviews. What are the underlying presuppositions that stunt our conversations? How does one begin to speak of God and the things of God? How does one contemplate the highest things and find joy?

This lecture was delivered on October 6, 2018 as part of an intellectual retreat entitled "Philosophical Realism and the Existence of God."

This lecture was delivered on October 5, 2018. It was part of an intellectual retreat entitled "Philosophical Realism and the Existence of God."

This Panel Discussion was presented at Harvard Law School at the conclusion of a 2-day Conference on "Christianity and the Common Good." Speakers included Prof. Gerard Wegemer (University of Dallas), Prof. J. Budziszewski (University of Texas, Austin), Prof. Gladden Pappin (University of Dallas) Prof. Sarah Byers (Boston College) Fr. Dominic Legge, OP (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and the Thomistic Institute), Prof. Jacqueline Rivers (Harvard University) and Prof. Adrian Vermeule (Harvard Law School) with the Keynote offered by Justice Neil Gorsuch (United States Supreme Court)For more information about upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit:thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

This lecture was presented at Harvard Law School as part of a 2-day Conference on "Christianity and the Common Good." Speakers included Prof. Gerard Wegemer (University of Dallas), Prof. J. Budziszewski (University of Texas, Austin), Prof. Gladden Pappin (University of Dallas) Prof. Sarah Byers (Boston College) Fr. Dominic Legge, OP (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and the Thomistic Institute), Prof. Jacqueline Rivers (Harvard University) and Prof. Adrian Vermeule (Harvard Law School) with the Keynote offered by Justice Neil Gorsuch (United States Supreme Court)Dr. Byers's powerpoint that accompanies this lecture can be found at: thomisticinstitute.org/byers-presentationFor more information about upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit:thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

This lecture was presented at Harvard Law School as part of a 2-day Conference on "Christianity and the Common Good." Speakers included Prof. Gerard Wegemer (University of Dallas), Prof. J. Budziszewski (University of Texas, Austin), Prof. Gladden Pappin (University of Dallas) Prof. Sarah Byers (Boston College) Fr. Dominic Legge, OP (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and the Thomistic Institute), Prof. Jacqueline Rivers (Harvard University) and Prof. Adrian Vermeule (Harvard Law School) with the Keynote offered by Justice Neil Gorsuch (United States Supreme Court)For more information about upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit:thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

This lecture was given as a part of our conference at Harvard Law School, "Christianity and the Common Good," October 19th-20th, 2018.For more information on other upcoming events, visit our website: thomisticinstitute.org.

This lecture was delivered at Harvard Law School on October 20, 2018. It was part of a conferenced entitled "Christianity and the Common Good."

This talk was offered on October 2nd, 2018 at George Mason University by Dr. Michael Root (CUA)Speaker Bio:Michael Root is a native of Norfolk, Virginia. He studied at Dartmouth College (BA, summa cum laude) and Yale University (PhD. in theology). He has taught at Davidson College, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. For ten years, he was Research Professor at the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France.Ecumenical dialogues have been at the center of Root’s service. He was on the drafting team for the Catholic-Lutheran Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, and served on the Catholic-Lutheran dialogue both nationally and internationally, the international Lutheran-Anglican dialogue, and the US Lutheran-Methodist dialogue. He was a staff consultant to the 1993 World Conference on Faith and Order (Spain) and the 1998 Lambeth Conference (England). He has been the executive director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology.Root is the author (With Gabriel Fackre) of Affirmations and Admonitions (1998) and editor of Justification by Faith (with Karl Lehmann and William Rusch, 1997), Baptism and the Unity of the Church (with Risto Saarinen, 1998), and, with James Buckley, Sharper than a Two-Edged Sword: Preaching, Teaching and Living the Bible (2008), The Morally Divided Body: Ethical Disagreement and the Divided Church (2012), and Christian Theology and Islam (2013). In addition, he is the author of many scholarly articles and an associate editor of the journal Pro Ecclesia.

This talk was offered at Yale on Oct. 1st, 2018 and was present by Professor Paige Hochschild. Dr. Hochschild is a professor of historical and systematic theology at Mount St. Mary's University (MD), specializing in Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and the early Church. She also teaches philosophy courses at the Seminary at Mount St. Mary's. She has written a book on the place of memory in Augustine's theological anthropology, and publishes on the Church, education, tradition, 20th c. theological debates within the Church (Scripture, history; marriage).For more information about upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

Fr. Dominic Legge discusses the relationship between faith and reason, challenging common misconceptions such as skepticism, fideism, and rationalism, and presents a Catholic perspective on faith as a reasonable and supernatural act, drawing on the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas.This lecture was given on Oct. 10th, 2018, for the Leonine Forum at the CIC in Washington, D.C.For more information on other upcoming events, visit our website: thomisticinstitute.org/events

Supersessionism - The belief that the New Testament Covenant supersedes the Mosaic covenant of the Hebrew Bible, and that the Christian Church has displaced Israel as God's chosen people.In this dialogue held on April 25th, 2017 at Providence College, Rabbi David Novak (University of Toronto) and Fr. Thomas Joseph White OP( The Angelicum)engage in a thoughtful, and robust conversation about their respective traditions and theological convictions. Rabbi Novak and Fr. White, both respected scholars, provide an excellent example of what respectful and responsible ecumenical dialogue can look like in the modern wold.

This talk was given by Fr. Dominic Legge when he addressed St. Peter's parish on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on Oct. 16, 2018.For more information on our other upcoming events, visit our website: thomisticinstitute.org/events

This talk was given on Oct. 2nd, 2018 to the Napa Institute Conference.Visit our website for more information on upcoming events: thomisticinstitute.org/events

There is an abundance of literature discussing the validity of St. Thomas Aquinas' arguments for God's existence. Using a different approach, this lecture takes these arguments as a springboard for interrogating the atheist position(s): What are the problems in asserting the world to be uncaused, or in denying the existence of a necessary being?This lecture was delivered by Fr. Conor McDonough, O.P. (Dominican House of Studies, Dublin) to the University College Dublin chapter of the Thomistic Institute on September 18, 2018.

This lecture was offered at Williams College on September 19th, 2018 by Professor Gloria Frost.About the speaker:Gloria Frost is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Her areas of research are medieval philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and the history of science. She is an assistant editor for the American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly and on the executive councils for the American Catholic Philosophical Association and the Society for Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy. She is married to Jake Frost, author of "Catholic Dad" and the "Happy Jar," and they have four children.

This Panel Discussion concluded our conference which was held on Sept. 22nd, 2018 at Yale. The four previous talks brought together academics from diverse disciplines to discuss the meaning and evolution of the Christian idea of freedom. Lecturers considered the theme from the perspective of Augustine, Origen, Ambrose, Dante, Thomas Aquinas, Nicolas of Cusa, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Servais Pinckaers, and John Paul II.To find out about more upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

This lecture was given for our conference on "Christianity and Freedom." It was held on Sept. 22nd, 2018 at Yale and brought together academics from diverse disciplines to discuss the meaning and evolution of the Christian idea of freedom. Lecturers considered the theme from the perspective of Augustine, Origen, Ambrose, Dante, Thomas Aquinas, Nicolas of Cusa, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Servais Pinckaers, and John Paul II.To find out about more upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

This lecture was given for our conference on "Christianity and Freedom." It was held on Sept. 22nd, 2018 at Yale and brought together academics from diverse disciplines to discuss the meaning and evolution of the Christian idea of freedom. Lecturers considered the theme from the perspective of Augustine, Origen, Ambrose, Dante, Thomas Aquinas, Nicolas of Cusa, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Servais Pinckaers, and John Paul II.To find out about more upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

This lecture was the first one given for our conference on "Christianity and Freedom." It was held on Sept. 22nd, 2018 at Yale and brought together academics from diverse disciplines to discuss the meaning and evolution of the Christian idea of freedom. Lecturers considered the theme from the perspective of Augustine, Origen, Ambrose, Dante, Thomas Aquinas, Nicolas of Cusa, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Servais Pinckaers, and John Paul II.To find out about more upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

This lecture was the first one given for our conference on "Christianity and Freedom." It was held on Sept. 22nd, 2018 at Yale and brought together academics from diverse disciplines to discuss the meaning and evolution of the Christian idea of freedom. Lecturers considered the theme from the perspective of Augustine, Origen, Ambrose, Dante, Thomas Aquinas, Nicolas of Cusa, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Servais Pinckaers, and John Paul II.To find out about more upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel, The Brothers Karamazov, explores the question of God’s existence against the backdrop of suffering and betrayal within a troubled family. The genius of Dostoevsky is to have grasped that there can be no love for human beings without a love for God — and conversely, there can be no belief in God without a deep and profound love for mankind. In this lecture, Professor Healy presents a brief overview of the structure and characters of the novel, focusing on the themes of solidarity and forgiveness.This lecture is the first of a three-part series titled "Tales That Tell: Moral Devastation and Original Sin in Literature," co-sponsored by the Catholic Information Center and the Thomistic Institute. It was delivered on September 19, 2018 to the DC Young Adults chapter of the Thomistic Institute.To learn about upcoming Thomistic Institute events visit thomisticinstitute.org/events/

In this lecture, Francis Beckwith discusses the question, "is belief in God rational?"This lecture was delivered by Francis Beckwith (Baylor University) on September 19, 2018 to the Thomistic Institute's University of Arizona chapter.To learn about upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit thomisticinstitute.org/events/

A lecture given during "Friendly Rivals: Franciscan and Dominican Intellectual Traditions" a Thomistic Circles conference at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Sept. 28-29, 2018.For more upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events-1/

The full title of this lecture is: "Aquinas and Olivi on Job: A Franciscan-Dominican Dispute on Suffering, perfection, and Exegesis"This lecture was given on Sept. 28, 2018 to begin the Thomistic Circles conference "Friendly Rivals: Franciscan and Dominican Intellectual Traditions" in Washington, DC.Hand out available here: tinyurl.com/y8n8orkf

A lecture given during "Friendly Rivals: Franciscan and Dominican Intellectual Traditions" a Thomistic Circles conference at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Sept. 28-29, 2018.The hand out for this lecture is available here: tinyurl.com/ybo2qjxb

This lecture was given on Sept. 28, 2018 to begin the Thomistic Circles conference "Friendly Rivals: Franciscan and Dominican Intellectual Traditions" in Washington, DC.Handout available here: static1.squarespace.com/static/580e5b…Univocity.pdf

This talk was offered on Sept. 28,2018 to begin the Thomistic Circle "Friendly Rivals: Franciscan and Dominican Intellectual Traditions. "To learn more about upcoming Thomistic Institute events, visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events

This lecture was delivered by V. Bradley Lewis(Catholic University of America) to the UC Berkeley chapter of the Thomistic Institute on September 18th, 2018.V. Bradley Lewis is associate professor in the School of Philosophy in the Catholic University of America. He specializes in political and legal philosophy, especially that of the classical Greeks and in the Thomistic tradition, and is currently working on a book on the idea of the common good. In addition to these things he has served as a consultant on ethics to the federal government, testified before a congressional subcommittee about immigration, and currently serves as associate editor of the American Journal of Jurisprudence.To learn about upcoming Thomistic Institute events visit thomisticinstitute.org/events/

This lecture was delivered by Chad Pecknold (Catholic University of America) to the MIT chapter of the Thomistic Institute on September 18, 2018.To learn about upcoming Thomistic Institute events visit thomisticinstitute.org/events/

Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., completed his Bachelor’s Degree (B.S.E.) in Bioengineering, summa cum laude, at the University of Pennsylvania, and then earned his Ph.D. in Biology from M.I.T. in the laboratory of Professor Leonard Guarente, where he was a fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). He was ordained a priest in the Order of Preachers in May of 2004. He completed his Pontifical License in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) in Moral Theology, summa cum laude, at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, in 2005, and a Pontifical Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.), magna cum laude, at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, in 2015.Fr. Austriaco currently serves as Professor of Biology and of Theology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. His NIH-funded laboratory at Providence College is investigating the genetics of programmed cell death using the yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans, as model organisms. Papers describing his research have been published in PLoS ONE, FEMS Yeast Research, Microbial Cell, Cell, the Journal of Cell Biology, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, among others. In philosophy and theology, his essays have been published in the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Theological Studies, Nova et Vetera, The Thomist, Science and Theology, and the Linacre Quarterly. His first book, Biomedicine and Beatitude: An Introduction to Catholic Bioethics, was published by the Catholic University of America Press in 2011. It was recognized as a 2012 Choice outstanding academic title by the Association of College and Research Libraries.

This lecture was offered as part of our "Wisdom of Aquinas" series held at NYU on September 22, 2018. The link to the handout can be found here: docs.google.com/document/d/12a3xy…/edit?usp=sharingFor upcoming Thomistic Insitute events visit: thomisticinstitute.org/events

This lecture was offered as part of our "Wisdom of Aquinas" series held at NYU on September 22, 2018. The link to the handout can be found here: drive.google.com/file/d/0ByaUbskx…view?usp=sharing

In this lecture, Professor Christopher Kaczor (Loyola Marymount University) draws on insights from Aristotle, Aquinas, and contemporary psychology to understand how to make good friendships and avoid bad ones.This lecture was given to the Baylor University chapter of the Thomistic Institute on September 6, 2018.View upcoming Thomistic Institute events at: thomisticinstitute.org/events.

What is happiness, and what is the best and happiest life a human being can live? Or even more directly and personally, what kind of life ought I to be living or ought I to be aiming for? In this lecture, Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and the Thomistic Institute) draws on wisdom from St. Thomas Aquinas and the classical tradition to answer these fundamental and perennial questions.This lecture was given to the Cornell University chapter of the Thomistic Institute on September 10, 2018.For further reading on this topic, consider downloading or ordering the booklet referenced in this talk, "On Happiness: Selections from Summa Theologiae by Thomas Aquinas" at www.ttf.org/product/happiness-thomas-aquinas. This reading was compiled by the Trinity Forum and features an original introduction by Fr. Dominic Legge.View upcoming Thomistic Institute events at: thomisticinstitute.org/events.

This lecture by Dr. Kevin Doak with a response by Fr. Joseph Koterski SJ was given on September 15th, 2018 during a day long conference on "Jesus of Nazareth and the Church's Tradition: The Enduring Legacy of Benedict XVI" held at Georgetown University.

This lecture by Fr. Dominic Legge with a response by Dr. Rebekah Eklund was given on September 15th, 2018 during a day long conference on "Jesus of Nazareth and the Church's Tradition: The Enduring Legacy of Benedict XVI" held at Georgetown University.

"No greater wonder could be accomplished than that God should become man." So writes St. Thomas Aquinas in his commentary on the Gospel of John. This statement follows a lifetime spent pondering the question of why God became man. If Aquinas fully acknowledges that the Incarnation marks an article of faith, that is, a doctrine that is accepted as true only by an act of faith, he was nonetheless convinced that the mystery of the Incarnation is not only in accord with human reason, it is deeply attractive to the human spirit. To consider the Incarnation a mystery that evokes great "wonder" is to recognize a deep beauty and coherence that is part and parcel of God's having become man.In today's age, which tends to regard articles of faith as irrational and the Incarnation, in particular, as a myth, Thomas Aquinas has a valuable perspective that merits our close consideration.This lecture was given by Paul Gondreau (Providence College) on September 11, 2018 to the University of Oklahoma chapter of the Thomistic Institute.For more upcoming TI events, visit our website: thomisticinstitute.org/events

This talk, "Deus adorans, Homo adorans: Joseph Ratzinger's Liturgical Christology & Anthropology" was offered on September 15th, 2018 during a day long conference on "Jesus of Nazareth and the Church's Tradition: The Enduring Legacy of Benedict XVI" held at Georgetown University.

The re-emergence of Israel as a nation-state caught the world by surprise. That Israel matters geo-politically cannot be doubted, but does it matter theologically? Is there a place for Israel, as there is for Jews, in Christian eschatology? In this lecture, Douglas Farrow (McGill University) gives a theological perspective on these questions.This lecture was given to the DC Young Adults chapter of the Thomistic Institute on September 5, 2018.