The Thomistic Institute

Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Dr. James Madden about his latest Thomistic Institute, "Does Neuroscience Disprove Free Will?" Does Neuroscience Disprove Free Will? w/ Dr. James Madden and Fr. Gregory Pine (Off-Campus Conversations) You can listen to the original lecture here: https://soundcloud.com/thomisticinstitute/does-neuroscience-disprove-free-will-prof-james-madden For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Prof. James Madden is Professor of Philosophy at Benedictine College. He lives in Atchison, Kansas with his wife (Jennifer) and their six children; William, Martha, J. Patrick, Brendan, Jack, and Cormac. He is originally from Wisconsin, where he received a B.A. from St. Norbert College, and did his graduate work at Kent State (MA, 1998) and Purdue (Ph.D., 2002). He was awarded the Benedictine College Distinguished Educator of the Year Award

Prof. Marshall's handout can be found here: tinyurl.com/ye2yupz7 This talk was given on January 14, 2023, at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., as part of the intellectual retreat entitled, "The Mystery of the Liturgy." For more information, please visit thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Prof. Bruce Marshall is the Lehman Professor of Christian Doctrine at Southern Methodist University. He holds a masters from Yale Divinity School and a doctorate from Yale University. His teaching interests include 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.

Fr. Smith's handout can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/4zwb74vr This talk was given on January 13, 2023, at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., as part of "The Mystery of the Liturgy." For more information, please visit thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Fr. Innocent Smith, O.P. was born in California and raised in Indiana. He discerned a vocation to the Dominicans while studying music and philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, and joined the St. Joseph Province of the Order of Preachers in 2008. After the novitiate in Cincinnati and philosophy and theology studies at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., Fr. Innocent was ordained to the priesthood in 2015 by Archbishop Charles Brown. Fr. Innocent’s teaching and research interests include homiletics, liturgy, sacramental theology, ecclesiology, and sacred music. His S.T.L. thesis, “In Collecta Dicitur: The Oration as a Theological Authority for Thomas Aquinas,” explored the importance of t

This talk was given on January 12, 2023, at John Hopkins University. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Catherine Ruth Pakaluk is an Associate Professor of Social Research and Economic Thought and the head of the Social Research academic area at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America. She is the author of several influential articles and was the 2015 recipient of the Acton Institute’s Novak Award, a prize given for “significant contributions to the study of the relationship between religion and economic liberty.” Dr. Pakaluk is the Founder and Director of the new American Fertility Project based at Catholic University, and is the author of a forthcoming book on liberty and Catholic social thought. Pakaluk earned her doctorate in economics in 2010 at Harvard University under the 2016 Nobel-laureate Oliver Hart, and is a widely-admired writer and sought-after speaker on matters of culture, gender, soci

This lecture was given on October 20, 2022, at the University of North Texas. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: 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.

This lecture was given on December 13, 2022 at Immaculate Conception Church, Washington, D.C. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Fr. Jordan Schmidt was born in Fargo, ND, and attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN for his undergraduate studies. After entering the Order of Preachers, he came to Washington DC to study theology, graduating from the PFIC in 2009 with an STB/MDiv in theology, and from CUA in 2012 with an STL in biblical theology. Upon his ordination to the priesthood, he was appointed associate pastor of St Mary’s parish in New Haven, CT where he served until 2013. Fr. Jordan next returned to the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC to pursue doctoral studies at CUA. Since earning his PhD in biblical studies in 2018, he has been teaching various courses in Sacred Scripture at the PFIC.

Prof. Baglow's slides can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/5fmmww36 This lecture was given on November 29, 2022, at North Carolina State University. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Christopher T. Baglow is the director of the Science and Religion Initiative in the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, where he also serves as Professor of the Practice in the theology department. He is the author of the textbook Faith, Science, & Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge (2nd ed., Midwest Theological Forum, 2019) and his work has been featured by the Word on Fire Institute and in That Man is You, Crux, Notre Dame Magazine and Church Life Journal. He is a consultant for the USCCB Committee on Catechesis and Evangelization, and his thirty-two year career in Catholic education has spanned high school, undergraduate, graduate, and seminary teaching. Baglow earned a bachelor’s degree from Franciscan U

Prof. Grant's handout can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/6p6nzf7e This lecture was given at the University of South Carolina on November 10, 2022. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: 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.

This lecture was given on November 15, 2022, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Dr. Paige 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).

This talk was given on November 12th, 2022, at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Prof. George Corbett (University of St. Andrews) is Professor of Theology, and Director of Research at the School of Divinity. He has two principal areas of research and teaching: Theology and the Arts (with a focus on the theologian-poet Dante Alighieri) and Historical and Systematic Theology (with a focus on Aquinas’s theology and its influence, and on Catholic theology).

Join Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. of Aquinas 101, Godsplaining, and Pints with Aquinas for an off-campus conversation with Sr. Elinor Gardner about her latest Thomistic Institute, "So Death doth touch the Resurrection’: Death and Human Nature." Can Philosophy Prepare Us for Death? w/ Sr. Elinor Gardner, O.P. and Fr. Gregory Pine (Off-Campus Conversations) You can listen to the original lecture here: https://soundcloud.com/thomisticinstitute/so-death-doth-touch-the-resurrection-death-and-human-nature-sr-elinor-gardner-op/s-6yzNWufbIfe For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Sister Elinor Gardner is a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. Before arriving at University of Dallas, she taught at Aquinas College in Nashville, TN and at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Her doctoral work (Boston College) was on the ethics of Thomas Aquinas ("St Thomas Aquinas on the Death Penalty").

This lecture was given on November 17, 2022, at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Sister Elinor Gardner is a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. Before arriving at University of Dallas, she taught at Aquinas College in Nashville, TN and at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Her doctoral work (Boston College) was on the ethics of Thomas Aquinas ("St Thomas Aquinas on the Death Penalty").

This lecture was given on November 12, 2022, at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., as part of the intellectual retreat entitled, "Aquinas & Dante." For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Fr. Albert Trudel, O.P. (Dominican House of Studies) specializes in the intersection between theology and literature in the Middle Ages, and has lately commented on Dante's Purgatorio and the Middle English Pearl for various Thomistic Institute projects. He completed his Master's degree in English Literature at the University of Toronto, his doctoral work in English Literature at the University of Oxford, and he received a postdoctoral License in Mediaeval Studies at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto. He is an Assistant Professor of Latin and Pastoral Studies at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He is also the Rome Director for the Thomistic Institute's semester abr

This lecture was given on November 11, 2022, at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., as part of the intellectual retreat entitled, "Aquinas and Dante." For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Fr. Albert Trudel, O.P., specializes in the intersection between theology and literature in the Middle Ages, and has lately commented on Dante's Purgatorio and the Middle English Pearl for various Thomistic Institute projects. He completed his Master's degree in English Literature at the University of Toronto, his doctoral work in English Literature at the University of Oxford, and he received a postdoctoral License in Mediaeval Studies at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto. He is an Assistant Professor of Latin and Pastoral Studies at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He is also the Rome Director for the Thomistic Institute's semester abroad program.

This lecture was given on November 11, 2022, at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Prof. George Corbett (University of St. Andrews) is Professor of Theology, and Director of Research at the School of Divinity. He has two principal areas of research and teaching: Theology and the Arts (with a focus on the theologian-poet Dante Alighieri) and Historical and Systematic Theology (with a focus on Aquinas’s theology and its influence, and on Catholic theology).

This lecture was given on November 17, 2022, at Trinity College Dublin. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Lewis Ayres is Professor of Catholic and Historical Theology at Durham University in the United Kingdom. He specializes in the study of early Christian theology, especially the history of Trinitarian theology and early Christian exegesis. He is also deeply interested in the relationship between the shape of early Christian modes of discourse and reflection and the manner in which renewals of Catholic theology during the last hundred years have attempted to engage forms of modern historical consciousness and sought to negotiate the shape of appropriate scriptural interpretation in modernity, even as they remain faithful to the practices of classical Catholic discourse and contemplation. His publications include Augustine and the Trinity (2010) and Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Trinitarian Theology (2004). He is co

This lecture was given on November 10th, 2022, at the University of Rochester. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Prof. James Madden is Professor of Philosophy at Benedictine College. He lives in Atchison, Kansas with his wife (Jennifer) and their six children; William, Martha, J. Patrick, Brendan, Jack, and Cormac. He is originally from Wisconsin, where he received a B.A. from St. Norbert College, and did his graduate work at Kent State (MA, 1998) and Purdue (Ph.D., 2002). He was awarded the Benedictine College Distinguished Educator of the Year Award in 2006. In addition to usual general education courses in philosophy (Logic, Principles of Nature, Ethics, and Philosophical Psychology), Dr. Madden typically teaches courses in modern philosophy, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion.

This lecture was given on November 9, 2022, at Hillsdale College. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Sr. Jane Dominic Laurel is a member of the St. Cecilia Congregation of Dominican Sisters of Nashville, Tennessee and currently serves as Associate Professor of Theology at Aquinas College in Nashville, TN. She received her Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. She has been active in her religious community's teaching apostolate for over fifteen years and has assisted with the theological formation of the newest members of her religious congregation. In addition to contributing articles to a number of journals and magazines, including the Vatican newspaper (L'Osservatore Romano), The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, The Linacre Quarterly, and the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, Sister has served as editor-in-chief of her Congregation's book, Praying a

This lecture was given on November 9, 2022, at Regent University. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Dr. Trabbic is associate professor of philosophy at Ave Maria University, where he has taught since 2006. He earned his PhD in philosophy from Fordham University in 2008. His areas of interest include Aquinas, continental philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and political philosophy. He has published his work in various academic journals, including Religious Studies, The Heythrop Journal, and New Blackfriars.

Fr. Ku's handout can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/2p88mf28 This lecture was given on November 9, 2022, at Trinity University. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: Fr. John Baptist Ku, O.P., was born in Manhattan (1965) and grew up in Fairfax, Virginia. After graduating from the University of Virginia, he worked at AT&T for five years before entering the Dominican Order in 1992. After serving for three years in St. Pius Parish in Providence, R.I., he completed his doctoral studies at the University of Fribourg in 2009. He now teaches at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., where he has also served as book review editor of The Thomist (the faculty’s journal), chaplain to commuter students, and chaplain to the Immaculate Conception Chapter of Third Order Dominicans, and assistant student master. He served as student master and subprior at St. Dominic Priory from 2015-2018, and is currently the subprior.