The Thomistic Institute

Erik Dempsey, Assistant Director of the University of Texas at Austin's Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas, explores the concept of modernity and its impact on humanity. They discuss the issue of lukewarmness in modern society, the influence of Nietzsche and Weber on relativism, the Catholic response to modernity, the crisis of the modern human being, and the importance of reading old books. They also discuss the relationship between emotions and thoughts in education.

This lecture was given on April 15, 2023, at the West Coast Intellectual Retreat on Divinization. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Dr. Daria Spezzano (Providence College) is Associate Professor of Theology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. She holds a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master’s in Liturgical Studies from the Liturgical Institute. Her book, The Glory of God's Grace: Deification according to St. Thomas Aquinas, was published by Sapientia Press in 2015. She has published 10 scholarly articles in Nova et Vetera, Cistercian Studies and the Journal of Moral Theology, and chapters in several edited volumes, including Aquinas on Initiation and Mystagogy (Peeters, 2019), Reading Job with St. Thomas Aquinas (CUA Press, 2020), Thomas Aquinas, Biblical Theologian (Emmaus Academic, 2021), and Thomas Aquinas and the Crisis of Christology (Sapientia Press, 2021). Among other projects, she is currently coediting a volume, Christ, the Wisdom of God in the Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Explore the importance of showing love and mercy to others, the concept of deification in relation to divine mercy, and the power and goodness of forgiveness. Discover the inspiring story of Saint Josephine Bakhita and the challenge of fraternally correcting someone. Delve into the coexistence of justice and mercy in God, the radicality of divine love, and the role of God's mercy in sanctification.

This lecture was given on April 15th, 2023, at the West Coast Intellectual Retreat on Divinization. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: r. Andrew Hofer, O.P., grew up as the youngest of ten children on a farm in Kansas, and studied history, philosophy, and classics at Benedictine College. He then went to St Andrews, Scotland for a Master of Letters in medieval history. He entered the Order of Preachers as a son of the Province of St. Joseph, and was ordained a priest in 2002. After finishing his S.T.L. and serving as an associate pastor for a brief time, he was sent to Kenya as a missionary for two years. He taught at the Tangaza College of The Catholic University of Eastern Africa and other institutions in Nairobi. He returned to the U.S. and completed the Ph.D. in theology at the University of Notre Dame, with the primary area of history of Christianity (specializing in patristic theology with additional studies in medieval theology) and the secondary area of systematic theology. His research appears in such journals as Vigiliae Christianae, Augustinianum, International Journal of Systematic Theology, New Blackfriars, Nova et Vetera, Pro Ecclesia, The Thomist, Communio, and Angelicum and in books published by Catholic University America Press and Ignatius Press. He is the author of Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford Early Christian Studies), Oxford University Press, 2013, and the editor of Divinization: Becoming Icons of Christ through the Liturgy, Hillenbrand Books, 2015.

Prof. Daria Spezzano discusses deification in Christianity, exploring topics such as the historical background, Thomas Aquinas' understanding, and the transformative role of the Holy Spirit. They also touch on the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the gift of wisdom, participation in good deeds, and the role of grace in preparing for baptism.

Professor Angela Knobel, a specialist in Aquinas' theory of infused virtue, discusses the possibility of goodness without belief in God. Topics include different Christian views on non-believers' virtues, Aquinas' perspective on actions motivated by love for God, the concept of goodness and badness, and the role of grace in pursuing reason and divine life.

Patrick Callahan, director of the Newman Institute and Assistant Professor of English, discusses making art that leads to God. They explore Thomas Aquinas' principles of beauty and the human person, the causes of a man-made object, the concept of beauty and its relation to God, the sublime in art, and the importance of finding beauty and the sublime in art and life.

Father Thomas Petri, O.P., President of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies, discusses the Catholic understanding of Purgatory, consequences of sin, the transformative nature of satisfaction, and the concept of purgatory as a place of rebuilding and enhancing holiness.

Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. and Prof. Mats Wahlberg discuss Aquinas' perspective on faith as rational knowledge, addressing objections to faith claims, justifying divine revelation, and standards for accepting claims to divine revelation. They explore the concept of noetic access and the importance of cautious openness to God's revelation. They also discuss the relationship between faith, habituation, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the acceptance of testimony.

In this podcast, Professor Michael Dauphinais discusses how C.S. Lewis and Aquinas can help us recover our Christian faith. He explores topics such as the historical shift towards Christianity, the concept of causality, the significance of doctrines and maps in the Christian faith, and the unconventional defeat of evil. He also emphasizes the power of individual influence and small actions in shaping the destiny of the universe.