The Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal: 2013 Conference and Awards Presentation

Living Morally and Intelligently in the Light of Christ’s Eternal Glory

The Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal

Conference and Presentation of Awards

The Aquinas Center realizes the importance of St. Thomas Aquinas’s theology and philosophy for the deepening appropriation of Catholic speculative and moral theology. The Center reaches out to scholars and doctoral students around the world and bestows awards in recognition of their contributions to the study of Aquinas and Catholic intellectual and faith life.

The conference sessions will take place in the ballroom of the Bob Thomas Student Union.  All sessions are free and open to the public.

Friday, January 25^th, 5p.m.

The Veritas Medal Presentation and Lecture

The Veritas Medal honors an eminent Catholic thinker whose career reflects the Aquinas Center’s goal to foster the search for truth. Since the attainment of truth is a participation in the Wisdom of Christ, the Veritas Medal serves to recognize those who have instantiated, in their lives and work, the integration of faith and reason.

Lecture: “Premotion, Holiness, and Pope Benedict XIII (1724-30)” by Fr. Romanus Cessario, O.P.

Saturday, January 26^th, 10:30-12:30

The Charles Journet Prize Presentation and Lecture

The Journet Prize honors the scholarly monograph published in any language during the past calendar year that best exemplifies the task of drawing upon the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas to engage constructively in contemporary theology, philosophy, and/or biblical studies.

Lecture: “The Last Enemy to Be Destroyed: General Resurrection in St. Thomas Aquinas and the Christian Response to Death” by Fr. Bryan Kromholtz, O.P.

The St. Thomas Aquinas Dissertation Prize Presentation and Lecture

The Aquinas Dissertation Prize honors the dissertation defended in any language during the past calendar year that best exemplifies the task of drawing upon the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas to engage constructively in contemporary theology, philosophy, and/or biblical studies.

Lecture: “St. Thomas on Eucharistic accidents ‘sine subiecto’” by Dr. Jörgen Vijgen

Saturday, January 26^th, 2:00-3:30

Graduate Student Panel

“A Thomistic Appraisal of the Phoenix Abortion Case, with Special Consideration Given to the Self-Determinative Structure of Human Acts” by David Tamisiea

“St. Thomas’s Late Teaching on the Procession of the Holy Spirit” by Paul Shields

“True Devotion: Charles De Koninck’s Ego Sapientia and the doctrine of slavery to Mary” by Katherine Gardner

Pontifical Academy of St Thomas Aquinas Conference in Houston

The CFP is out for the First US conference of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas  18 - 19 October 2013 University of St. Thomas (Houston): Thomas Aquinas: Teacher of Humanity.  For more information, see this page: http://acpaweb.org/meetings/23/other.  It is co-sponsored by our own Center for Thomistic Studies and the JPII Forum.

Two New Articles on Fifteenth-Century Thomism in Cologne

It is interesting to me that the most recent issue of RTPM has two articles about Albertism and Thomism in fifteenth-century Cologne.  Silvia Negri has one called “The Traps of Realism: The Debate over Universals in the Fifteenth Century and the Thomists of Cologne.”  She focuses on the Thomists Henry of Gorkum (d. 1431) and Gerard de Monte (d. 1480).  Another article by Mario Melliado is “Scientia peripateticorum. Heymericus de Campo, the Book of Causes, and the Debate over Universals in the Fifteenth Century.”  Although the article is mostly about Hermericus’ anti-Thomistic polemics, there is a discussion of Gerard’s response. 

A Latin-English Printing of the Summa Theologiae is Now Available!

Great news from our friends at the Aquinas Institute:

The Aquinas Institute is proud to announce a completely new printing of the Summa theologiae,in parallel Latin-English columns, 8 hardcover volumes, sewn binding, and at an exceptionally good price.  You have to see the books to believe how handsome they are and how usefully laid out.  The Prima, Prima Secundae, Secunda Secundae, and Tertia are each split into two parts at a logical dividing point.  See our website:

http://www.theaquinasinstitute.org/

Those who order directly from our website get a 25% discount over those who order it at Amazon, as well as free UPS ground shipping — all for the sake of making this edition affordable and widespread.

Recently, Fr. Zuhlsdorf did a splendid review of our Pauline Commentaries set, which I would encourage the readers of Thomistica.net to check out if they haven’t already seen it:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/12/review-st-thomas-aquinas-commentaries-on-st-paul-in-latin-and-english-not-to-mention-the-summa-theologiae/

Merry Christmas!

Pange Lingua

Who established the Melody for this great hymn?

Aquinas and Ontotheology

I’m going to be doing a few posts at the Ave Maria University philosophy department blog on Kevin Hart’s interpretation of Aquinas as an ontotheologian. Hart teaches in the religious studies department at the University of Virginia. His comments on Aquinas come from his book The Trespass of the Sign: Deconstruction, Theology, and Philosophy (1989/2000). The posts are revisions of a section of my dissertation (Fordham, 2008). I thought my reflections might be interesting to some of our readers. I put up the first post a couple days ago.

"Aquinas amongst the analytics"

3:AM Magazine has a lengthy and wide-ranging interview with John Haldane titled “Aquinas amongst the analytics.”  Part 1. Part 2.

An Invitation from Fr. Oliva

Fr. A. Oliva, President of the Leonine Commission, requested that we pass on this information:

SOCIÉTÉ THOMISTE

CENTRE D’ÉTUDES DU SAULCHOIR

Journée thomiste

samedi 1 décembre 2012

Thomismes en débat au XXe siècle :

 France, Allemagne, Pologne, Angleterre

09 h 30 Accueil

10 h Camille DE BELLOY (Paris)

 De la présence dans la connaissance que l’âme a de soi : un conflit d’interprétation thomiste (A. Gardeil et M.-D. Roland-Gosselin)

 10 h 30 Vincent H OLZER (Paris)

Les métamorphoses du transcendantal dans le thomisme contemporain de langue allemande : apories et débats  

11 h 00 Discussion suivie d’une pause

11 h 45 I. PINARD (Secrétaire de rédaction de la RSPT)  

Revue des Sciences philosophiques etet de ses outilsthéologiques site de la du Présentation

12 h 00 G. B ERCEVILLE, M. BORGO, I. COSTA, R. IMBACH, M. MILLAIS, A. OLIVA

Présentation de quelques ouvrages de philosophie et de théologie médiévales I 

12 h 30 Pause repas

14 h 00 Roger P IOUIVET (Nancy)

Le thomisme, l’Ecole de Lvov-Varsovie et le Cercle de Cracovie

14 h 30 Cyrille MICHON (Nantes)

Le thomisme analytique

15 h 00 Discussion suivie d’une pause  

15 h 45 G. BERCEVILLE, M. BORGO, I. COSTA, R. IMBACH, M. MILLAIS, A. OLIVA

 Présentation de quelques ouvrages de philosophie et dethéologie médiévales II

Les séances auront lieu au Saulchoir, Salle « Dumont » du Centre ISTINA,

45, rue de la Glacière Paris XIIIe (Métro 6, station Glacière. Bus 21, arrêt Normann).

Entrée libre.

Nous vous prions de communiquer votre participation au repas (15 €) avant le 21 novembre,

en écrivant à : Adriano Oliva : aoliva@commissio-leonina.org

Major Sale on Leonine Edition of the Summa and the Contra Gentiles

Critical Reprints, whom we have posted about before, is having a Black Friday sale. They are offering 30% off their hardbound reprints of the Leonine edition of the Summa Theologiae and the Summa Contra Gentiles. This also includes their very popular reprint of the single volume edition of the Contra Gentiles. The sale is on today through Tuesday, Nov. 27.

Go here for more information on the sale.

By the way, I can say that I am very happy with my copy of vol. 14 of the Leonine edition (Prima Pars, qq. 1-49) that I have from them. Tom Osborne has also expressed his satisfaction with the single volume version of the Contra Gentiles from Critical Reprints.

If you don’t have your own copy of these volumes of the Leonine edition and you don’t like reading it off a computer screen, then you should check them out at Critical Reprints.

Who is in a Drama Requires a Shepherd

Very happy to be corrected in substance (chiefly) or in detail.

• Thesis: If “they” Really undergo dramatic development, if “they” constitute an event, if the “ever - greater” is truly predicable of them vis-a-vis each other, then “they are not God.” 
  • Who is in a drama unfolds
  • But what unfolds is in the horizon of potentiality.
  • But precisely that which is in the horizon of potentiality is ens commune. For “ens commune” identifies all actual finite being, and all that can unfold and develope is actual finite being.
  • That is, the proper mark of ens commune is that being can be added thereto – more without limit. That is what it is to be in the horizon of potentiality. It is being bounded by possible being, so to speak.
    • §  Consider time, a feature of material ens commune. Our “now” is bounded by a future.
    • §  Consider space, another feature of material ense commune. Our universe is “bounded” by possible expansion. Place and body go together; so, we cannot say there is place where there is no body. Thus, the outer ‘space’ of the universe ends where bodies in place end. Nonetheless, we can “imagine” place beyond the space bordering body. That is, we can imagine the universe expanding.
  • Similarly, if God is in potency, he is thus bounded by possibility, together with other entities. For everything bounded by possibility is in ens commune and what is in ens commune is beings among beings. So, the “they” of God’s Triune Nature would be beings among beings.
  • Further, nothing that is bounded by possibility can shepherd over all possibility. Therefore, God could not be our adequate shepherd.
  • Unless there is such a shepherd, then ‘fortuna’ rules. If ‘fortuna’ rules, we should rather be tragic in our existence than comedic. That is, we would have no one in whom to trust with certainty.
  • Again, if there is no such shepherd over ens commune, then if things are unfolding, being is coming from non-being. And if this is possible, by what principle would we trace a necessary dependence of other finite entities upon God-thus-understood?
  • Thus, by rendering God to be thus, we remove or minimize his interiority to the being of other finite entities.
  • And alas, we are on a journey to what?
  • Conclusion: Drama without End is Nihilism.

Ave Maria University; Open Position in Theology

AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY Department of Theology invites applications for an Assistant Professor of Systematic or Moral Theology, with a preference being given to the latter. The successful candidate will demonstrate both speculative engagement with the truth of the Catholic faith and a knowledge of the philosophical resources Systematic and/or Moral theologians d rew upon in relating the truth of faith to human reason. Ph.D. required at time of appointment. Adherence to the teachings of the Catholic Church and willingness to apply for the Mandatum are required. Applicants should send a curriculum vitae, a description of research plans and pedagogical approach that responds the principles proposed in Ex Corde Ecclesiae, representative publications, and three letters of reference as attachments to GraduateTheology@AveMaria.Edu or mail to Chairman of the Theology Search Committee, Ave Maria University, 5050 Ave Maria Blvd., Ave Maria FL 34142-9550. Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2012 and will continue until the position is filled. Position is subject to final administrative approval. Ave Maria University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.