The Thomistic Institute at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C., and the Catholic and Dominican Institute of Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY, present a workshop on the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas:

Aquinas and the Mind/Body Problem

June 21 - 24, 2012
Mt. St. Mary College, Newburgh, NY

How might Aquinas’ philosophy of the human person speak to dilemmas in contemporary philosophy of mind? What is Aquinas’ hylomorphic conception of the human being as body and soul? How does his study of the diverse faculties of the human person (intellect, free will, emotions, physiological living processes) provide an illuminating account of human life? This conference will explore Aquinas’s understanding of the person, asking the question of the perennial relevance of his contribution.

The first day of the conference is devoted especially to graduate students, either in philosophy, or adjacent disciplines. The second and third days of the event will combine presentations by philosophers with times of discussion and debate.

Featured speakers for the workshop include:

Most Rev. Charles Morerod, O.P.
Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva & Fribourg, Switzerland

Prof. Candace Vogler
University of Chicago

Prof. Thomas Hibbs
Baylor University

Prof. John O’Callaghan
Notre Dame University

Prof. Alfred Freddoso
Notre Dame University

Prof. Michael Gorman
The Catholic University of America

Rev. James Brent, O.P.
The Catholic University of America

Registration

Space for this workshop is limited. Register online at www.msmc.edu/cdi or fill out the form attached to the workshop brochure:  2012 Aquinas Workshop Brochure.  Please send registration fees by check or money order made payable to Mount Saint Mary College no later than June 1, 2012. For more information call 845-569-3467.  A copy of the workshop flyer may also be downloaded here:  2012 Aquinas Workshop Brochure.

Sponsors

The Thomistic Institute

The Thomistic Institute of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, promotes research into the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and the subsequent Thomistic tradition. The research of the Institute is both historic and systematic, deeply rooted in the classical Catholic tradition while engaging contemporary discourse and thought. The Institute also recognizes the importance of the philosophical heritage of the Common Doctor of the Church as a wellspring that can enrich the study of theology. An educational project of the Order of Preachers, the Thomistic Institute is situated within the Pontical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.  The Institute is currently directed by Rev. Thomas Joseph White, O.P., D.Phil, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology.

The Catholic & Dominican Institute of Mount Saint Mary College

The Catholic & Dominican Institute of Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY, promotes the College’s Dominican heritage; advances the Dominican charism of study and service; provides a forum for discussion of contemporary ethical issues; and enhances Catholic and Jewish dialogue. Guided by the college’s vision and mission statement, the Institute welcomes persons of varied faiths and acknowledges dierent religious traditions as essential to the college’s intellectual and spiritual life. The Institute is directed by Charles Zola, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Philosophy.

Each year on February 7, Dominican friars throughout the world pray in a special way for the deceased fathers and mothers of Dominicans. Today’s Gospel reading, for Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, is apposite for the occasion, recalling the precept “Honor your father and your mother.” The collect assigned in the Dominican Proprium for the Mass takes up this theme: “Deus, qui nos patrem et matrem honoráre præcepísti, miserére cleménter paréntibus nostris eorúmque peccáta dimítte, nosque eos in ætérnæ claritátis gáudio fac vidére.” (God, who commanded us to honor our father and mother, clemently have mercy on our parents, forgive their sins, and let us see them in the joy of eternal light.) Please join us in praying for our deceased mothers and fathers, particularly those who have died in the past year.

Image: Bl. Jane of Aza, mother of St. Dominic and Bl. Mames; St. Dominic’s Priory Church, Newcastle, England (photograph: Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.)

March 30-April 1, 2012 at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC.

A Vocation Weekend is a no-strings-attached chance to spend time learning about the life of Dominican Friars in the Province of St. Joseph. Come pray with us, talk with our student brothers, meet our older brethren, and most of all listen for the voice of Jesus who continually calls men to become preachers for the salvation of souls. (It is also possible to visit the Dominican House of Studies informally; contact the Vocation Director).

For more information, check out the Facebook page for the Province of St. Joseph and Fr. Benedict’s blog for men discerning a vocation.

Also of interest to those discerning is this recent essay by Archbishop J. Augustine DiNoia, OP:  ”Why are there so many Dominican vocations?”

Each week, a Dominican member of the Provincial Preaching Advisory board prepares this Preacher’s Sketchbook in anticipation of the upcoming Sunday Mass.  The idea of the Preacher’s Sketchbook is to take quotations from the authority of the Church–the Pope, the Fathers of the Church, documents of the Councils, the saints–that can help spark ideas for the Sunday homily.   Just as an artist’s sketchbook preserves ideas for later elaboration, so we hope the Preacher’s Sketchbook will provide some ideas for homiletical elaboration.

Sketchbook

Pope Benedict XVI:

“Leprosy constituted a kind of religious and civil death, and its healing a kind of resurrection. It is possible to see leprosy as a symbol of sin, which is the true impurity of heart that can distance us from God. It is not in fact the physical disease of leprosy that separates us from God as the ancient norms supposed but sin, spiritual and moral evil…. The sins that we commit distance us from God and, if we do not humbly confess them, trusting in divine mercy, they will finally bring about the death of the soul…. In his Passion Jesus will become as a leper, made impure by our sins, separated from God: he will do all this out of love, to obtain for us reconciliation, forgiveness, and salvation.”

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Speaking with and about God

In March, the Dominican church of St. Vincent Ferrer will present its annual lecture in honor of St. Thomas Aquinas, OP:

Beyond Dogma:  St. Thomas & Postconciliar Modernism

The events will begin with a public lecture by Rev. Guy Mansini, OSB, on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 7:00pm in the Church.  Fr. Mansini is a monk, pastor, and theologian known for scholarship that is  equally innovative and traditional.  He is an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at St. Meinrad.  He has also served as the pastor of a number of different parishes in Indiana.

On the following evening, Thursday, March 7, 2012 at 6:30pm, the Dominican Friars will celebrate a Missa Cantata according to the forma extraordinaria of the Dominican Rite at the high altar of St. Vincent Ferrer church.  Celebrating the Mass will be Fr. Austin Dominic Litke, OP.  The preacher for the Mass will be Fr. James Dominic Brent, OP.  Fr. James is currently a professor of philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.  The Music for the Mass will be Dominican chant sung by a schola of Dominican friars.

St. Vincent Ferrer Church is located in New York City on Lexington Avenue, between 65th and 66th streets.

You may obtain a copy of the event flyer by clicking here:  Prayer & Theology Flyer

For more information, see the webpage or the blog page of St. Vincent Ferrer church or call (212) 744-2080.

On January 26, 2012, the Thomistic Institute at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception was pleased to welcome Dr. Russell Hittinger, the William K. Warren Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa, to offer a lecture entitled, “Can You Be the Imago Dei on Your Own?” The lecture hall was packed to the point of overflowing when the lecture began, and the talk did not disappoint.

Dr. Hittinger argued that an adequate solution to this question – which has been the subject of some debate between certain schools in contemporary Catholic theology – demands a deep appreciation of the Thomistic distinction between substance and accident. Moreover, the solution demands the rehabilitation of the latter as a true perfection. In short, the human being is substantially the image of God on his or her own, but this image is perfected in the (accidental) social relationships that are part of what it means to be fully human. In this way, Dr. Hittinger offered a compelling summary of recent magisterial and papal teaching in the light of the Church’s philosophical and theological tradition.

An engaging period of Q&A followed the lecture.

Fr. Gabriel Gillen, O.P. hosts another edition of Word to Life with Fr. Bruno M. Shah, O.P. for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. They are joined by Chris Godfrey a former NFL guard for the New York Giants who started in Super Bowl XXI. Chris Godfrey founded the organization Life Athletes, a pro-life and pro abstinence before marriage organization for athletes. Chris Godfrey visits schools in New York City promoting Christianity, pro-life issues, and sexual abstinence before marriage.

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As with St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Catherine of Siena, and Bl. Catherine Racconigi, the Lord espoused Himself through a mystical marriage to St. Catherine de Ricci (1522-1590, feast – Feb. 4).  This marriage had two profound effects on Catherine’s life: it gave her a share in Christ’s love and also a participation in His Passion.

From the time of her entrance into the Convent of Saint Vincent at Prato (Italy), St. Catherine had a deep love for the Lord, and she experienced mystical visions of Him.  He had such intimate conversations with her that she was often completely distracted from all else.  In fact the other sisters were ready to expel her from the convent because of her lack of attentiveness.  Eventually this intimate love culminated with the gift of a mystical espousal on Easter Sunday in 1542, where our Lord stated,

Receive, daughter, this ring as a pledge and token that thou are and ever shall be Mine.

This came soon after she began having regular ecstasies where she would relive moments of the Passion from noon on Thursday until Friday afternoon.  After the first of these visions, the Blessed Virgin appeared to her and revealed “The Canticle of the Passion” (see below) as a devotion to Christ’s sufferings.  She soon began to experience these sufferings in a most particular way when the Lord gave her first the stigmata, later a crown of thorns, and finally a sharing in the weight of His Cross which appeared as a wound across her right side where the Cross mystically rested.  Through all of this, the Lord sought to share His Passion with His beloved spouse so that she could cooperate in the salvation of sinners.

May we, who are infinitely loved by Christ, likewise unite our suffering to His Cross in order to participate in the redemption of men.

O lovable bride of Christ, blessed Catherine, your body bears the imprint of the bridegroom’s stigmata, and your soul is richly endowed with his charismatic gifts, protect us who honor you, and obtain for us the favors we ask.  Make us constantly mindful of the wounds of our crucified Lord, and through the merits of his death, may we, like you, obtain the reward.

Canticle of the Passion

The Canticle of the Passion has two parts based on the Scriptures and a line from the Te Deum. The first section is a compilation of the words of Christ on the Cross leading up to His death.  The second section is man’s response to the Passion.  The Canticle is traditionally chanted by Dominican cloistered nuns and many of the Friars around the world on Fridays in Lent.  Below are both a video from the Irish Province chanting the Canticle and also a translation of the text.

My friends and loved ones * draw near to me and stand aloof
I am shut up and I cannot come forth * mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction
and my sweat became like drops of blood * falling down on the ground
For dogs have compassed me * the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me
I gave my back to the smiters * and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair
I hid not my face from shame * and from those who spit on me
I am feeble and sore broken * I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart
The soldiers platted a crown of thorns * and put it on my head
They pierced my hands and my feet * I may tell all my bones
They gave me poison to eat * and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink
All they that see me laugh me to scorn * they shoot out the lip, they shake the head
They look and stare upon me * they part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture
into your hands I command my spirit * redeem me, Lord, God of truth.
Remember your servant, O Lord. * when you come into your kingdom
Jesus cried with a loud voice * yielded up the ghost

The Mercy of the Lord * I will sing for ever
Surely he hath borne our griefs * and carried our sorrows
He was wounded for our transgressions * he was bruised for our iniquities
All we like sheep gave gone astray * we have turned every one to his own way
And the Lord hath laid on him * the iniquities of us all
Awake, why do you sleep, O Lord? * arise, and do not cast us off for ever
Awake, why do you sleep, O Lord? * arise, and do not cast us off for ever
Behold, God is my Savior * I will trust, and not be afraid
We ask you, come to help your servants * whom you have redeemed by your perilous blood.

V. Have mercy on us, O benign Jesus.
R. Who in Thy clemency didst suffer for us.

Look down, we beseech Thee, O Lord, on this Thy family for which Our Lord Jesus Christ did not hesitate to be delivered into the hands of the wicked, and suffer the torments of the Cross.

Each week, a Dominican member of the Provincial Preaching Advisory board prepares this Preacher’s Sketchbook in anticipation of the upcoming Sunday Mass.  The idea of the Preacher’s Sketchbook is to take quotations from the authority of the Church–the Pope, the Fathers of the Church, documents of the Councils, the saints–that can help spark ideas for the Sunday homily.   Just as an artist’s sketchbook preserves ideas for later elaboration, so we hope the Preacher’s Sketchbook will provide some ideas for homiletical elaboration.

Sketchbook

St. Gregory the Great, from Moralia

In a very suitable image, the time of flesh is compared with a cloth web. As the web advances thread by thread, so this mortal life passes day by day. In proportion as the web increases, so it advances to its completion. While the time in our hands passes, the time before us is shortened. Of the whole length of our lives, the days to come are proportionally fewer than those days that have gone by.

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On Monday, February 6th, Fr. Austin Litke, O.P. will give a Theology on Tap lecture in Alexandria, VA entitled “Ancient Heresies and Their Modern Forms.”  In his talk Fr. Austin will examine various errors prominent in society today alongside ancient counterparts. The goal of the lecture is to show how certain issues, while new in the minds of many people today, have already been discussed and handled in some form by the Church.

Fr. Austin’s talk will begin at 7:30 pm and will be held at Pat Troy’s Ireland’s Own in Old Town Alexandria:

Pat Troy’s Ireland’s Own
111 North Pitt Street – at intersection with King Street
Alexandria, VA  22302

Fr. Austin was recently ordained to the priesthood in May 2011. He is currently working on his last year of studies at the Dominic House of Studies in Washington D.C.