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The Thomistic Institute
The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square. The thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Universal Doctor of the Church, is our touchstone. The Thomistic Institute Podcast features the lectures and talks from our conferences, campus chapters events, intellectual retreats, livestream events, and much more. Founded in 2009, the Thomistic Institute is part of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. Website: https://podcast.thomisticinstitute.org/
1751 sermons
All sermons
- A Philosophical Theology of the Body? Eros in Plato and John Paul II
Jan 11, 2024 • 51 min
This lecture was given on November 3rd, 2023, at Youngstown State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the speaker: Joshua Hochschild is Professor of Philosophy and Director of Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Mount St. Mary’s University, where he also served six years as the inaugural Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. His primary research is in medieval logic, metaphysics, and ethics, with broad interest in liberal education and the continuing relevance of the Catholic intellectual tradition. He is the author of The Semantics of Analogy: Rereading Cajetan’s De Nominum Analogia (2010), translator of Claude Panaccio’s Mental Language: From Plato to William of Ockham (2017), and co-author of A Mind at Peace: Reclaiming an Ordered Soul in the Age of Distraction (2017). His writing has appeared in First Things, Commonweal, Modern Age and the Wall Street Journal. For 2020-21 he served as President of the American Catholic Philosophical Association.
- Aquinas on Friendship with God
Jan 9, 2024 • 35 min
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.
- Aquinas on Friendship
Jan 8, 2024 • 40 min
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.
- The Good Life: Tips from Aquinas | Father Alan O'Sullivan, O.P.
Jan 5, 2024 • 1h 5m
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.
- The Gift of Fear
Jan 4, 2024 • 49 min
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.
- Humility & Pride
Jan 3, 2024 • 45 min
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.
- Father Robert Dodaro, O.S.A.
Jan 2, 2024 • 40 min
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.
- Dumb Ox to Angelic Doctor: The Life and Works of St. Thomas Aquinas | Father Conor McDonough, O.P.
Jan 1, 2024 • 54 min
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.
- Leaving Loneliness, Building Friendship, and Fostering Human Flourishing
Dec 29, 2023 • 45 min
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.
- Recover Your Faith with C.S. Lewis & St. Thomas w/ Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. &
Dec 28, 2023 • 45 min
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.
- Balderdash: What It Is, Why We Tolerate It, and How We Can Reduce It | Sister Anna Wray, O.P.
Dec 28, 2023 • 45 min
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.
- Is Faith Irrational? A Lecture on Faith and Reason | Father Ambrose Little, O.P.
Dec 27, 2023 • 41 min
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.
- Purgatory: Good News for Most of Us (duplicate?)
Dec 26, 2023 • 1h 3m
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.
- Forgotten Lay Patronesses Of The Church
Dec 25, 2023 • 1h 7m
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."
- Human Nature and Biotechnology
Dec 22, 2023 • 1h 9m
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.
- Resilience and Happiness According to Dante and Aquinas | Thomas Hibbs
Dec 21, 2023 • 33 min
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.
- Justice, the Common Good, and Friendship | Father Gregory Pine
Dec 20, 2023 • 40 min
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.
- How Can Aristotle Benefit Science Today? | Father Ambrose Little
Dec 19, 2023 • 34 min
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.
- Faith, Mysticism, and the 'Dark Night Of The Soul' | Father Dominic Legge
Dec 18, 2023 • 54 min
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.
- Do You Believe In Miracles? (And Can You Do So Reasonably?) | W. Matthews Grant
Dec 18, 2023 • 49 min
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.