Season 12

Aug. 21, 2025

Getting to Know Tolkien and Lewis and Why It's Worth Your Time I Prof…

Prof. Lee Oser explores the intertwined lives, faith journeys, and literary legacies of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the Inklings, highlighting their countercultural Christian imagination against modernist trends. This lec...

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Aug. 20, 2025

Reading Sacred Scripture with St. Thomas Aquinas I Fr. Isaac Morales,…

Fr. Isaac Morales and Prof. Michael Root explore how Thomas Aquinas’ biblical commentaries on Matthew and 1 Corinthians illuminate the beatific vision, resurrection, and the role of Scripture in shaping Christian life through...

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Aug. 19, 2025

J.R.R. Tolkien's Detached Aesthetics I Dr. Rebekah Lamb

Dr. Rebekah Lamb explores J.R.R. Tolkien’s “detached aesthetics,” revealing how his Christian understanding of spiritual detachment shapes his writing, especially in "The Lord of the Rings," as a means of cultivating hope, wo...

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Aug. 18, 2025

C.S. Lewis on the Ethics of Technology I Prof. Thomas Ward

Prof. Thomas Ward explores C. S. Lewis’s "The Abolition of Man", analyzing how technology’s conquest of nature risks diminishing humanity unless anchored by objective moral values. This lecture was given on April 8th, 2025, a...

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Aug. 15, 2025

Christ vs. Mary? Mary in Catholicism I Prof. Christopher Malloy

Prof. Christopher Malloy defends the Catholic understanding of Mary’s role in salvation history, refuting common objections and demonstrating how her divine maternity, perpetual virginity, and immaculate grace magnify rather ...

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Aug. 14, 2025

Will Heaven Be Incredibly Boring? I Prof. Christopher Mooney

Prof. Christopher Mooney's lecture confronts the philosophical objection that heaven would be unbearably boring due to its infinite duration, arguing instead that Christian eternity is fulfilled in the beatific vision of God, which offers infinite and undiminished joy.

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Aug. 13, 2025

The Mystery of Predestination: A Catholic Approach I Prof. Bruce Mars…

Prof. Bruce Marshall presents a deep Catholic theological exploration of predestination, examining its biblical foundations, historical development, doctrinal boundaries, and the enduring tension between God’s sovereign will,...

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Aug. 12, 2025

Brothers Karamazov: Manicheanism, Christian Existentialism and other …

Prof. Thomas Pfau offers an in-depth theological and philosophical analysis of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, focusing on Ivan and Alyosha’s contrasting worldviews, the “Rebellion” and “Grand Inquisitor” chapters, and t...

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Aug. 11, 2025

Happiness Understood Psychologically and Theologically I Prof. Christ…

Prof. Christopher Kaczor explores the relationship between positive psychology and Catholic theology, uncovering how empirical psychological findings on happiness align with and deepen spiritual practices like gratitude, service, and forgiveness.

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Aug. 8, 2025

Aquinas and Luther on Justification I Dr. Nathaniel Peters

Dr. Nathaniel Peters explores and compares the theological views of Martin Luther and Thomas Aquinas on justification, focusing on grace, faith, merit, and the fundamental differences shaping Catholic and Lutheran perspectives.

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Aug. 7, 2025

Thomas Aquinas on Charity I Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, O.P.

Fr. Cajetan Cuddy provides an in-depth exploration of charity as the highest theological virtue in the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas, laying foundational principles for understanding just war, peace, and the ordered structure of the Christian moral life.

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Aug. 6, 2025

Martin Luther and Thomas Aquinas Against the Pelagians I Dr. Erik Dem…

Dr. Erik Dempsey explores the positions of Martin Luther and Thomas Aquinas against Pelagianism, highlighting their shared rejection of justification by human effort and their nuanced theological differences on grace, merit, and free will.

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Aug. 4, 2025

What Makes Laws Just? An Introduction to the Natural Law Tradition I …

Fr. Dominic Legge delves into the philosophical and moral considerations that determine whether laws are truly just, highlighting the ongoing relevance of these questions in contemporary society.

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Aug. 1, 2025

Can We Be Happy Without God? I Prof. Matthew Shea

Prof. Matthew Shea examines the classic philosophical question “Can we be happy without God?” by analyzing historical and contemporary perspectives on happiness, ultimately contrasting the limitations of atheistic views with the theistic argument for true human fulfillment in God.

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July 31, 2025

How to be a Little Less Awful: The Cultivation of Virtue I Prof. Timo…

Prof. Timothy J. Pawl examines the nature, divisions, and cultivation of virtue, harmonizing Christian moral wisdom with contemporary psychological research and offering eight practical steps to growing in virtue.

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July 30, 2025

From Apathy to Agape: Christian Encounters with Stoic Philosophy I Pr…

Prof. Thomas Ward explores the resurgence of Stoicism in modern culture and critically contrasts it with Christian philosophy, especially through the lens of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy, advocating for divine providence and the Christian virtues of hope and charity in place of Stoic apa…

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July 29, 2025

The Cardinal Virtues and Living Life Well I Prof. Raymond Hain

Prof. Raymond Hain examines the four cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance—tracing their philosophical and theological roots while exploring their essential role in living a morally excellent and flourishing human life.

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July 28, 2025

St. Augustine on Love for Confused Lovers I Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P.

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., delves into St. Augustine's understanding of love for "confused lovers," drawing from the Confessions to explore the transformative power of God's grace and the ordering of human loves toward divine union.

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July 25, 2025

Catholic Teaching on Birth Control: Beyond Common Misunderstandings I…

Prof. Gina Noia explores the Catholic Church's nuanced teachings on birth control, responsible parenthood, and the moral distinctions between natural family planning, direct contraception, and sterilization, rooted in theological and philosophical reasoning.

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July 24, 2025

The Ethics of Abortion: Women's Rights, Human Life, and the Question …

Prof. Christopher Kaczor critically examines the ethics of abortion by exploring whether the unborn are alive and human, whether killing is justified, and whether bodily autonomy overrides other moral considerations.

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July 23, 2025

Thomistic Perspectives on True Artificial Intelligence I Prof. Jordan…

Prof. Jordan Wales offers a theological critique of artificial intelligence, examining the limitations of computational and behaviorist definitions of intelligence and emphasizing the need for intentionality, interior experience, and a Christian understanding rooted in Augustine.

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July 22, 2025

The Christian Imagination I Prof. Raymond Hain

Prof. Raymond Hain explores the Catholic imagination through the literary works of Flannery O'Connor and J.R.R. Tolkien, revealing how Catholic literature intertwines hope, redemption, and the complexities of faith in the face of suffering and beauty.

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July 21, 2025

Are Science and Faith Compatible? I Prof. Karin Öberg

Harvard astronomer Prof. Karin Öberg examines the compatibility of science and faith, addressing perceived conflicts through philosophical, doctrinal, psychological, and historical lenses while emphasizing Catholic intellectual tradition and the role of reason.

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July 18, 2025

Woman as Companion and as Mother | Sr. Elinor Gardner, O.P.

Sr. Elinor Gardner explores the vocation of women as companion and mother, drawing on Edith Stein’s philosophy to highlight the natural ethos of femininity as a gift received from God, characterized by a unique capacity for nurturing and companionship that shapes both family and professional life.

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