This lecture was given on March 14th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speakers: Fr. Gabriel O’Donnell, O.P., entered...
Dr. Carl Vennerstrom argues that the capital vices are best understood as a path of disordered desires that Christ exposes and heals, with pride standing at the root and humility as the chief remedy. This lecture was given on...
Fr. Gabriel O’Donnell argues that the Christian life is not mainly about rule-following or behavior modification, but about becoming a whole, Godward person through self-knowledge, acceptance, and relationship with Christ. Th...
Dr. Carl Vennerstrom argues that Christ’s temptation in the desert is a perfect temptation: it reveals every major kind of temptation, shows the devil’s weakness, and becomes a means of salvation rather than merely an obstacl...
Dr. Kevin Kambo argues that AI should be understood less as genuine intelligence and more as a highly sophisticated form of simulated intelligence, like a mirror that reflects patterns without understanding them. This lecture...
Christopher Mooney argues that John Henry Newman’s teaching on conscience means conscience is not mere personal preference or social conditioning, but the practical application of divine moral law to particular actions. This ...
Prof. Paul Gondreau argues that disability, though a real physical wound of human nature, can also be a profound gift because it deepens participation in Christ’s suffering and points toward healing in the resurrection. This ...
Dr. Peter Koritansky argues that Thomas Aquinas grounds punishment in natural law and retributive justice, where punishment is justified not merely to deter or rehabilitate, but to express the moral order and the common good....
Prof. Nina Sophie Heereman argues that the Church is not a human invention but a divinely founded reality rooted deeply in Scripture, where Israel’s story, the Eucharist, and Pentecost all reveal Christ’s intention to gather ...
Fr. Gregory Pine argues that good conversation is a real moral and spiritual practice: it matters, takes time, and should be used to draw near to others through listening well, welcoming contributions, and sharing life rather...
Dr. Rebekah Lamb argues that St. John Henry Newman’s idea of the saint is deeply relational: saints are friends knit together in the communion of saints, and holiness is lived through prayer, hidden service, and ordinary fide...
Dr. Wes Siscoe argues that true happiness and the good life are not found in pleasure, wealth, fame, or even bodily health, but in a fully ordered human flourishing that culminates in union with God. This lecture was given on...
Prof. Steven Jensen presents several arguments in favor of the conclusion that the life of a fetus has intrinsic human dignity on account of what a human being is and not merely as an effect of psychological or cognitive capa...
Dr. John-Paul Heil argues that Christians should “elect Christ as king” by judging political institutions according to whether they actually lead people toward holiness, the common good, and heaven. This lecture was given on ...
Dr. Lydia Dugdale argues that the “lost art of dying” can be recovered by reviving older practices of mortality awareness, community, reconciliation, and hope rather than accepting medicalized dying as normal. This lecture wa...
Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau presents the Catholic disagreement over honoring Truman as a serious moral dispute rooted in differing judgments about just war, innocent life, and the necessity of the atomic bomb. This lecture was given...
Prof. Michael Krom argues that just war principles still govern contemporary warfare, especially drone warfare and autonomous weapons, and that moral judgment cannot be replaced by technology or legal convenience. This lectur...
Prof. Michael Krom argues that just war theory remains morally necessary today because war must be judged by justice, right intention, and the common good rather than by realpolitik, legal minimalism, or national self-interes...
Prof. Thomas Ward argues that Stoicism offers valuable detachment and moral discipline, but Boethius and Christianity deepen it by reordering the human person toward friendship, hope, and beatitude in God. This lecture was gi...
This lecture was given on February 12th, 2026, at Vanderbilt University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speakers: Dr. Lydia Dugdale is the Silberberg Pr...
This lecture was given on March 5th, 2026, at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speakers: Dr. Heereman was born and r...
This lecture was given on March 12th, 2026, at University of Edinburgh. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events . About the Speakers: Rik Van Nieuwenhove is Professor of Med...
Prof. Christopher Frey argues that Stoicism offers real insights about freedom and detachment from externals, but its ideal of self-sufficient serenity risks flattening human emotion, moral life, and the need for grace. This ...
Sr. Anna Wray argues that sorrow can either deform the soul as acedia or save it when rightly faced, and she offers a Thomistic account of how sorrow, friendship with God, and spiritual remedies shape the Christian life. This...