The Thomistic Institute

Latest Episodes:

Theology True Science of God or Poetical Musing – Prof. Christopher Malloy Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

Prof. Christopher Malloy argues that theology, properly understood as a classical science, involves intellectual habits of certain knowledge through causes grounded in faith, integrating poetry and philosophy to guide believers toward truth and beatific union with God.

This lecture was given on September 25th, 2025, at University of Pittsburgh.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Christopher J. Malloy is married to Flory with whom he has seven children. He earned his B.A. in Theology (second major in Philosophy) from the University of Notre Dame in 1992. He earned his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology (minor in Philosophy) from The Catholic University of America in 2001. Since then he has taught at The University of Dallas, where he currently serves as Professor and Chair of Theology. He has published three books: Engrafted into Christ: A Critique of the Joint Declaration [on Justification], Aquinas on Beatific Charity and the Problem of Love, and False Mercy: Recent Heresies Distorting Catholic Truth. He has published numerous blind peer-reviewed articles for journals such as The Thomist, Nova et Vetera, Freiburger Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Theologie, Josephinum, Angelicum, etc. He loves academia, especially publishing and teaching systematic theology, but he has always been fired up to give popular presentations highlighting the intelligibility and beauty of the Catholic faith, since that was the reason he got into Theology in the first place.

Keywords: Classical Science, Divine Illumination, Faith And Reason, Intellectual Habits, Mystical Theology, Poetry In Theology, Proper And Improper Statements, Sacred Doctrine, Theological Epistemology, Truth And Beatific Union

How to Know God? Philosophical Wisdom and Divine Revelation – Prof. Michael Dauphinais Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

Prof. Michael Dauphinais explores how Thomas Aquinas integrates philosophical wisdom and divine revelation, showing that genuine knowledge of God arises from both reason and the transformative experience of Christ’s incarnation and the Holy Spirit.

This lecture was given on June 28th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Michael A. Dauphinais, Ph.D., 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 has co-authored with Matthew Levering Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of Thomas Aquinas; Holy People, Holy Land: A Theological Introduction to the Bible; and The Wisdom of the Word: Biblical Answers to Ten Questions about Catholicism. He specializes in C.S. Lewis, the Bible, and St. Thomas Aquinas. He speaks frequently in both academic and popular settings, and particularly enjoys visiting Thomistic Institute student chapters. Dr. Dauphinais 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.

Keywords: Christian Wisdom, Divine Revelation, Faith And Reason, Fulton Sheen, Idolatry, Incarnation, Sacred Doctrine, Spiritual Union, Theological Study

Nicene Trinity, Chalcedonian Christology: Understanding Christ through Councils and Conflicts – Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. Nov 04, 2025

Show notes

Fr. Gregory Pine explains Nicene Trinitarian theology and Chalcedonian Christology through key councils and controversies, showing how Christ’s incarnation and union with humanity unveil the path to salvation and divine participation.

This lecture was given on September 11th, 2025, at University of Dallas.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., is an instructor of dogmatic and moral theology at the Dominican House of Studies and the Assistant Director of the Thomistic Institute. He holds a doctorate from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). He is the author of Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly and Your Eucharistic Identity: A Sacramental Guide to the Fullness of Life, and is co-author of Credo: An RCIA Program and Marian Consecration with Aquinas. His writing also appears in Aleteia, Magnificat, and Ascension’s Catholic Classics series. In addition to the TI podcast, he regularly contributes to the podcasts Godsplaining and Pints with Aquinas, and Catholic Classics.

Keywords: Chalcedonian Christology, Council Of Chalcedon, Divine Participation, Ecumenical Councils, Exemplar Cause, Homoousios, Hypostatic Union, Incarnational Solidarity, Nicene Theology, Soteriology

Thomas Aquinas on Intellectual Memory – Fr. Philip-Neri Reese, O.P. Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

Fr. Philip-Neri Reese examines Thomas Aquinas’s theory of intellectual memory, tracing how Aquinas navigates conflicting authorities and ultimately defends the preservation of intelligible species in the possible intellect.

This lecture was given on June 17th, 2025, at Schloss St. Emmeram.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Fr. Philip-Neri Reese, O.P. is a Dominican Friar of the Province of St. Joseph and a professor of philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (the Angelicum), where he also serves as the assistant director of the Angelicum Thomistic Institute. Though his scholarly research mainly focuses on metaphysics (especially the scholastic metaphysics of St. Thomas and his later interpreters), he has also published on ethics, economics, Christology, and philosophical anthropology.

Keywords: Aristotelian Anthropology, Avicennian Epistemology, Habitual Knowledge, Imago Dei, Intellectual Memory, Intelligible Species, Memory, Possible Intellect, Verbal Dispute, Voluntary Cognition

Augustine's Account of Trinitarian Image and Thomas Aquinas – Fr. Reginald Lynch, O.P. Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

Fr. Reginald Lynch’s lecture explores Augustine’s account of the Trinitarian image and its reception by Aquinas, illuminating how the development of grace, human anthropology, and sacramental life shape the Christian journey toward likeness with God.

This lecture was given on June 17th, 2025, at Schloss St. Emmeram.

Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcast

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Fr. Reginald Lynch is a Dominican priest of the Province of St. Joseph and a faculty member at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC (USA). His research focuses on a range of issues in the History of Christianity area, especially medieval and early modern theology. His most recent work has focused on Aquinas’ reception history in the early-modern West. He has recently completed the book, Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae and Eucharistic Sacrifice in the Early Modern Period (Oxford University Press, 2023), which focuses on Dominican and Jesuit receptions of Aquinas in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. He is also the author of The Cleansing of the Heart: The Sacraments as Instrumental Causes in the Thomistic Tradition (Catholic University of America Press, 2017).

Keywords: Aristotelian Categories, De Trinitate, Divine Likeness, Essence And Powers, Habitual Grace, Human Anthropology, Liturgical Virtue, Sacramental Character, Sanctification, Threefold Image

In the Beginning Was the Word: Augustine, Aristotle, and Aquinas – Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

Fr. Dominic Legge’s lecture traces the theological development of the concept of the Word through Augustine, Aristotle, and Aquinas, illuminating the evolution of Trinitarian analogy and the nature of human understanding in medieval philosophy.

This lecture was given on June 16th, 2025, at Schloss St. Emmeram.

Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcast

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Fr. Dominic Legge is the President of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and Associate Professor in Systematic Theology at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He is an Ordinary Member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, and 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 in Switzerland. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2001, after having practiced constitutional law for several years as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. He has also taught at The Catholic University of America Law School and at Providence College. He is the author of The Trinitarian Christology of St. Thomas Aquinas (Oxford University Press, 2017).

Keywords: Albert The Great, Aristotelian Abstraction, Bonaventure, Illumination, Intellectual Procession, Inner Word, Marius Victorinus, Medieval Trinitarian Debates, Philosophical Cognition, Plotinus

Memory, Intellect, and Will: The 13th Century Reception of Augustine – Dr. Albert von Thurn und Taxis Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Albert von Thurn und Taxis explores the 13th-century reception of Augustine’s account of memory, intellect, and will, analyzing how medieval philosophers navigated the tension between Augustinian and Aristotelian models of the rational soul.

This lecture was given on June 15th, 2025, at Schloss St. Emmeram.

Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcast

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Albert von Thurn und Taxis is the twelfth Prince of Thurn und Taxis and the current head of the Princely House. Born in Regensburg in 1983, his academic career reflects a diverse range of studies across economics, theology, and philosophy.

Prince Albert completed his early education in Regensburg and at the German School in Rome. He went on to study economics and theology at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with a Master of Arts in 2008. He further honed his financial expertise by training as a chartered financial analyst in Zurich from 2008 to 2010. He later returned to Rome to pursue philosophy, earning a doctorate in 2022 from the Pontificia Universitas Studiorum a Sancto Thoma Aquinate in Urbe (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas). His research interests touch on morality and agency, evident in his publication, "John Stuart Mill and the Criterion of Morality: The Good, the Self and the Other" (2011), and his Licentiate Thesis, "Triumph of the Will? Rationality and Freedom in Aquinas' Theory of Agency" (2014).

He is also a member of several other noble and religious orders, including the Royal Order of Saint George for the Defence of the Immaculate Conception (2005) and an honorary knight of the Sovereign Order of Malta (2010).

Keywords:

Albert The Great, Aristotelian Anthropology, Augustinian Triad, Faculty Psychology, Human Rationality, Imago Dei, Medieval Controversies, Memory Intellect And Will, Philosophical Anthropology, Trinitarian Psychology

Catholic Culture with Tolkien – Prof. Patrick Callahan Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

Prof. Patrick Callahan explores the living tradition of Catholic culture, using Tolkien’s life and imagination to demonstrate how the Mass, community, and cultivation of virtue form a unified Christian identity resilient amidst modern challenges.

This lecture was given on January 18th, 2024, at University of Washington.

Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcast

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Prof. Patrick Callahan is director of the Newman Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture as well as Assistant Professor of English and Humanities at St. Gregory the Great Seminary. There he directs and teaches in a Great Books Catholic program for students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and other regional colleges. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Dallas and his graduate work at Fordham University in Classics. He lives in Lincoln, NE with his wife and 5 children.

Keywords: Catholic Culture, Community Tradition, Cultural Standardization, Evelyn Waugh, Incarnational Liturgy, Intellectual Virtue, Justice And Temperance, Letters Of Tolkien, Mustard Seed Metaphor, Sacramental Imagination

Flannery O'Connor and the Perils of Governing By Tenderness – Dr. Jerome Foss Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Jerome Foss uses Flannery O’Connor’s stories to warn against the pitfalls of governing by abstract tenderness, advocating for a vision rooted in faith, realism, and the transformative power of suffering.

This lecture was given on February 12th, 2025, at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Jerome C. Foss is Professor of Politics, Endowed Director of the Center for Catholic Thought and Culture, and Director of the SVC Core Curriculum at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Foss earned his BA from the University of Dallas and his MA and PhD from Baylor University. His research focuses on Catholic political thought, American political thought, and literature and political philosophy. His most recent book, Flannery O'Connor and the Perils of Governing by Tenderness, brings these interests together. He has also published on the history of political philosophy, the U.S. Constitution, Constitutional Law, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln. He is currently working on a scholarly book on the first ten amendments to the Constitution (commonly known as the Bill of Rights) and a book for a more general Catholic audience on the Declaration of Independence. Foss enjoys teaching a variety of courses, including courses on the Constitutional Convention and Shakespeare as a political thinker. As Director of the CCTC, Foss helps administer the college's Benedictine Leadership Studies Program, has developed and led the colleges summer program in Rome, founded and edits an academic journal entitled Conversatio, and organizes conferences, seminars, and other events.

Keywords: Abstract Tenderness, Alexis De Tocqueville, Christian Vision, Evil And Suffering, Flannery O’Connor, Moral Clarity, Nihilism, Real Presence, Storytelling Vocation, Theological Realism

Newman and Tolkien: The Humility of (Hi)story – Prof. Giuseppe Pezzini Oct 22, 2025

Show notes

Prof. Giuseppe Pezzini explores the biographical and spiritual connections between Newman and Tolkien, revealing how their shared organic vision of historical development and renewal challenges modern tensions between nostalgia, progress, and Christian identity.

This lecture was given on March 27th, 2025, at University of Edinburgh.

Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podcast

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Giuseppe Pezzini is Associate Professor in Latin at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, which he joined in 2021, after five beautiful years of teaching in St Andrews (2016–2021), and research fellowships at Magdalen College Oxford (2013–2015) and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (2016). He worked as an assistant editor for the Oxford Dictionary of Medieval Latin, and has published especially on Latin language and literature, philosophy of language, and the theory of fiction, ancient and modern. He is the Tolkien Editor for the Journal of Inklings Studies, one the founders of the Oxford Tolkien Network, and the author of many publications on Tolkien, including a forthcoming monograph on Tolkien’s literary theory (Cambridge University Press). He is also a member of the Young Academy of Europe, an Associate Member at the Institute of Theology, Imagination and the Arts at the University of St Andrews, and has published and curated exhibitions on John Henry Newman (2011, 2014) and Oscar Wilde (2015).

Keywords: Birmingham Oratory, Decline And Renewal, Historical Change, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Henry Newman, Organic Vision Of History, Sacred Memory, Seed And Tree Symbolism, Spiritual Influence, Vatican II

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected