The Thomistic Institute

Latest Episodes:

Honorable Festivity: An Oxymoron? | Prof. Michael Foley Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

Professor Michael Foley examines the idea of honorable festivity, demonstrating how human culture elevates the basic act of eating into a dramatic, artistic experience. He then explores how Catholic tradition further transforms this cultural practice, particularly through the Eucharist and traditional feast days. Finally, he addresses modern complications to honorable festivity, including the decline of family dinners, socio-economic segregation, and the moralization of food choices, offering potential solutions to these challenges.

This lecture was given on March 8th, 2024, at Our Lady of Corpus Christi Retreat Center.

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

About the Speaker:

Michael Foley is a Catholic theologian, a Professor of Patristics at Baylor University, and the author of over 400 articles and seventeen books, including the Politically Incorrect Guide to Christianity, Drinking with the Saints, and Dining with the Saints. He can speak on a wide variety of topics touching upon Catholicism, culture, and liturgy.

Praying the Psalms in Friendship with God | Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P. Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

Fr. Andrew Hofer discusses the significance of the Psalms in fostering a friendship with God, highlighting teachings from St. Athanasius and St. Thomas Aquinas on how the Psalms serve as a mirror to our souls and a means to experience divine friendship through prayer and contemplation.

This lecture was given on November 4th, 2023, at The Dominican House of Studies.

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

About the Speaker:

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) is 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 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). He co-authored A Living Sacrifice: Guidance for Men Discerning Religious Life (Vianney Vocations, 2019). Editor-in-chief of the academic journal The Thomist, Hofer is editor or co-editor of several volumes including The Oxford Handbook of Deification, The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons, and Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers. He enjoys speaking with students about their theological and spiritual questions.

Aquinas, the 'Great Theory of Beauty', and Music | Prof. Michael Dickson Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

Professor Michael Dickson examines the relationship between beauty and music, tracing the development of aesthetic theories from ancient Greek philosophers to modern thinkers. He critiques modernist approaches that dismiss beauty in art and architecture and advocates for a return to the "great theory of beauty" which emphasizes proportion, clarity, and integrity.

This lecture was given on February 20th, 2024, at University of South Carolina.

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

About the Speaker:

Professor Michael Dickson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina. His research interests are in the philosophy of music, philosophy of psychiatry, and medieval philosophy. He has also worked in the philosophy of physics, especially quantum theory. He is the author of Quantum Chance and Nonlocality (1998).

Justified by Grace, But What is Grace and What Does it Do? | Prof. Michael Root Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

Professor Michael Root delves into the theological debate surrounding justification by grace, a pivotal issue during the Protestant Reformation, emphasizing the differing interpretations between Protestant reformers like Martin Luther and Catholic theologians. After examining the historical perspectives and highlighting the differences he also discusses efforts to reconcile these views such as the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification signed by Lutherans and Catholics.

This lecture was given on February 3rd, 2024, at The Dominican House of Studies.

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

About the Speaker:

Michael Root is Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. Earlier in life, he was a Lutheran, teaching at various Lutheran seminaries and serving ten years as a Research Professor at the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France. He was received into the Catholic Church in 2010. His particular theological interests lie in grace and justification, eschatology (death, heaven, hell, etc.), and Protestant-Catholic relations.

The Effects of Grace, Justification & Sanctification | Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. Nov 21, 2024

Show notes

This lecture was given on December 16th, 2023, at The Dominican House of Studies.

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

About the Speaker:

Fr. Dominic Legge is the Director of the Thomistic Institute 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).

Luther and Aquinas on Grace and Justification | Dr. Nathaniel Peters Nov 20, 2024

Show notes

This lecture was given on March 13th, 2024, at New York University.

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

About the Speaker:

Nathaniel Peters is the Director of the Morningside Institute. He received his B.A. from Swarthmore College in linguistics, with a focus on French and Latin, his M.T.S. from the University of Notre Dame, and his Ph.D. in theology from Boston College. He has published articles and reviews on many topics in historical theology and ethics and serves as a contributing editor at Public Discourse.

Types of Grace | Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. Nov 19, 2024

Show notes

This lecture was given on December 16th, 2023, at The Dominican House of Studies.

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

About the Speaker:

Why We Need Grace | Thomas Joseph White, O.P. Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

This lecture was given on December 15th, 2023, at The Dominican House of Studies.

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

About the Speaker:

Fr. Thomas Joseph White is the Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) in Rome. Originally a native of southeastern Georgia in the US, Fr. White studied at Brown University, where he converted to Catholicism. He did his doctoral studies in theology at Oxford University, and is the author of various books and articles including Wisdom in the Face of Modernity: A Study in Thomistic Natural Theology (Sapientia Press, 2011), The Incarnate Lord, A Thomistic Study in Christology (The Catholic University of America Press, 2015) Exodus (Brazos Press, 2016), The Light of Christ: An Introduction to Catholicism (Catholic University Press, 2017), and The Trinity: On the Nature and Mystery of the One God (Catholic University Press, 2022). He is co-editor of the journal Nova et Vetera, a Distinguished Scholar of the McDonald Agape Foundation, and a member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Augustine's Significance for Theorists on War, Justice, and Peace | Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P. Nov 15, 2024

Show notes

This lecture was given on June 10th, 2024, at the Catholic University of America.

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

About the Speaker:

Disease and the Problem of Evil | Prof. Stephen Meredith Nov 14, 2024

Show notes

This lecture was given on September 15th, 2024, at The Dominican House of Studies.

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

About the Speaker:

Stephen Meredith (University of Chicago) is a professor 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. 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.

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