

The Thomistic Institute
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.
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 15, 2023 • 1h 13min
Modern Science and the Catholic Faith | Prof. Chris Baglow
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 University of Steubenville, a master’s degree from the University of Dallas, and a doctorate from Duquesne University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Catholic Scientists.

12 snips
Feb 14, 2023 • 1h 8min
Predestination and Human Freedom: A Catholic Approach | Prof. W. Matthews Grant
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.

Feb 13, 2023 • 1h 2min
Why the Roman Catholic Church? | Prof. Paige Hochschild
Professor Paige Hochschild discusses the necessity of the Roman Catholic Church, emphasizing its divine origin, the importance of community and unity, and how it serves as a dwelling place for God's majesty through prayer, liturgy, and sacraments.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).

Feb 10, 2023 • 1h 6min
The Myth of Dante's Thomism? Reading Aquinas and Dante with the Dominicans | Prof. George Corbett
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).

Feb 9, 2023 • 45min
Can Philosophy Prepare You for Death? w/ Sr. Elinor Gardner, O.P.
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").

Feb 8, 2023 • 56min
'So Death doth touch the Resurrection': Death and Human Nature | Sr. Elinor Gardner, O.P.
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").

8 snips
Feb 8, 2023 • 44min
From Vices to Virtues to Gifts: Aquinas and Dante on Sanctification | Fr. Albert Trudel, O.P.
Fr. Albert Trudel, O.P., an expert in medieval theology and literature, dives into the profound themes of sanctification through the lenses of Thomas Aquinas and Dante. He explains Dante's transformative journey in Purgatorio, illustrating the symbolic transition from vices to virtues with Virgil's guidance. The discussion highlights the profound connection between intellect and will in pursuing truth, alongside the essence of redemption and divine union, making a compelling case for the ontological journey toward sanctity.

Feb 7, 2023 • 1h 11min
Passionate Intellects: Aquinas, Dante, and the Love of Wisdom | Prof. George Corbett
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).

Feb 7, 2023 • 1h 10min
The Spiritual Geography of the Afterlife: Aquinas and Dante | Fr. Albert Trudel, O.P.
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.

Feb 3, 2023 • 1h 23min
Does Tradition Live? Do Doctrines 'Develop'? | Prof. Lewis Ayres
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-editor of the Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature (2004) and of the Oxford Handbook of Catholic Theology (forthcoming). Professor Ayres has co-edited the Blackwell Challenges in Contemporary Theology series (since 1997), the Ashgate Studies in Philosophy and Theology in Late Antiquity series (since 2007), and has just co-founded with Fortress Press the Renewal: Conversations in Catholic Theology series. He serves on the editorial boards of Modern Theology, the Journal of Early Christian Studies, and Augustinian Studies. He has also served on the board of the North American Patristics Society.


