The Thomistic Institute After Death Comes Life...to the Soul in the Grace of Jesus Christ – Fr. Gabriel O'Donnell, O.P.
May 1, 2026
Fr. Gabriel O’Donnell, O.P., Dominican priest, professor, and spiritual director with decades of teaching and canonical work. He explores virtue as the right ordering of intellect and will. He talks about infused virtues from baptism, the role of conscience, hope and fortitude as a spiritual adventure, purity of heart versus passions, and how belief in being loved by God grounds moral life.
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Virtue As Right Ordering Of Intellect And Will
- Virtue is right ordering of the person by reason and the intellect directing the will.
- Fr. Gabriel explains Thomas views virtue as an interior act from the intellect-will dialectic that shapes choices and outward actions.
Saints Keep Their Core Personality
- Saints keep their personalities; holiness does not erase character quirks.
- Fr. Gabriel uses Mother Teresa and the remark 'If you're a chatty Cathy, you're going to be a chatty Cathy saint' to illustrate persistent individuality.
Baptism Infuses Virtues That Enable Excellence
- Baptism infuses virtues (faith, hope, charity and the cardinal virtues) that empower the soul to act excellently under grace.
- Fr. Gabriel stresses infused virtues are not mere habits but interior capacities given at baptism for supernatural flourishing.
