Nathaniel Peters, Director of the Morningside Institute, and Jane Sloan Peters, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, explore the divine dimensions of parenthood. They discuss the balance of joy and chaos in parenting, using personal anecdotes to illustrate the transformative nature of motherhood and fatherhood. The conversation highlights a faith-based understanding of procreation as a sacred gift, contrasting it with secular views. They delve into the responsibilities of parents, emphasizing their roles as spiritual nurturers, and reflect on the deeper values of Christian family life.
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insights INSIGHT
Fatherhood Mirrors Divine Generation
Fatherhood is about generation, mirroring God's own paternity in the Trinity.
This begetting symbolizes sharing in God's fatherhood by creating new, distinct life.
insights INSIGHT
Parents as Visible Signs of God’s Love
Parenthood reveals God's love visibly within family life as a sign of divine love.
Parents act as a bridge, showing God's love and fostering family unity and worship.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Cherish Messy Parenting Wins
Embrace "messy wins" in family life; perfection is impossible but progress matters.
Small victories in parenting build foundations of love despite daily chaos.
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Augustine's De Doctrina Christiana is a foundational text on Christian doctrine, offering insights into the interpretation of Scripture and the nature of Christian teaching.
Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy
Published in 1878, 'Anna Karenina' is a novel by Leo Tolstoy that delves into the complexities of Russian society in the late 19th century. The story centers around the extramarital affair between Anna Karenina, a married socialite, and Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky, which scandalizes the social circles of Saint Petersburg. The novel also follows the parallel story of Konstantin Levin, a wealthy landowner, and his struggles with marriage, faith, and managing his estate. Tolstoy explores a wide range of themes including love, loyalty, betrayal, hypocrisy, and the differences between rural and urban life. The novel is known for its detailed character development and its profound commentary on the human condition[2][4][5].
Summa Contra Gentiles
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St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Contra Gentiles is a comprehensive work aiming to refute errors of non-Christians using reason and revelation. It systematically addresses philosophical and theological issues, demonstrating the compatibility of faith and reason. The work is divided into four parts, covering God, creation, the human person, and Christ. It's a cornerstone of Thomistic thought, influencing generations of theologians and philosophers. Its impact on Christian apologetics and intellectual history is undeniable. The Summa Contra Gentiles remains a significant resource for understanding Aquinas's approach to philosophical and theological inquiry.
Dr. Nathaniel Peters and Prof. Jane Sloan Peters explore the vocation of parenthood, highlighting the distinct yet complementary roles of fatherhood and motherhood as a participation in God’s creative and priestly work, grounded in Catholic theology and enriched by personal experience.
This lecture was given on Jan 24th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.
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.
Jane Sloan Peters is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, NY. Her dissertation explored Thomas Aquinas's reception of Greek patristic and Byzantine biblical interpretation for his four-volume commentary on the Gospels, the Catena Aurea. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two sons.
Keywords: Catholic Theology, Complementarity, Familiaris Consortio, Fatherhood, Motherhood, Parenthood, Priesthood of the Laity, Saint John Paul II
The Thomistic Institute 
