The Thomistic Institute

Prof. Maria Fedoryka explains love as more than a feeling, showing how it begins with recognizing another person’s goodness, leads to self-gift and communion, and ultimately reveals why love is the source of meaning in human life.

This lecture was given on March 16th, 2026, at University of Georgia.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Maria Fedoryka is associate professor of philosophy and Chair of the department at Ave Maria University in Naples, FL. For the last several years she has studied, taught and lectured widely on questions related to the nature and dignity of the human person, especially the philosophy of love, and the place of love in the lives of persons, examining issues spanning from the centrality of love in the being of God, to its role at the center of creation, to its meaning for marriage, family, and sexuality.

Keywords: Charity, Emotion, Human Person, Love, Meaning, Personalism, Self-Gift, The Trinity, Value

Fr. Andrew Hofer explains why Christian forgiveness is not the same as excusing harm, and shows how forgiving others is a deliberate act of mercy that frees us, heals our hearts, and reflects God’s own forgiveness.

This lecture was given on March 7th, 2026, at University of Pittsburgh.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) is professor of patristics and ancient languages at the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies where he serves as the director of the doctoral program. He authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford University Press, 2013) and The Power of Patristic Preaching: The Word in Our Flesh (Catholic University of America, 2023). He co-authored A Living Sacrifice: Guidance for Men Discerning Religious Life (Vianney Vocations, 2019). Editor-in-chief of the academic journal The Thomist, Hofer is editor or co-editor of several volumes including The Oxford Handbook of Deification, The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons, and Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers. He enjoys speaking with students about their theological and spiritual questions.

Keywords: Charity, Christian Life, Forgiveness, Mercy, Prayer, Reconciliation, Resentment, Spiritual Works Of Mercy, The Cross

Prof. Lewis Ayres examines St. John Henry Newman’s critique of the university and argues that higher education often succeeds at training skills while failing to form the Christian imagination toward truth, wisdom, and God.

This lecture was given on April 13th, 2026, at University of Aberdeen.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Lewis was born in the UK, and studied Classics at St Andrews in Scotland, and Theology at Oxford. He has taught in the UK, in Ireland and in the US. He is currently Professor of Catholic and Historical Theology at Durham University in the UK, and McDonald Agape Chair in Early Christian Theology at the Angelicum University in Rome. He is interested in two main areas of Catholic thought: early Christian thought (on Christ, on the Trinity and on Biblical Interpretation), and modern Catholic thought (especially the idea of development in doctrine, the idea of Tradition, The second Vatican Council, Biblical Interpretation). He and his wife (Medi Ann Volpe) co-edited the Oxford Handbook of Catholic Theology.

Keywords: Christian Formation, Creation, Hidden Curriculum, Imagination, Liberal Education, John Henry Newman, Theology, The University, Wisdom

Prof. Ross McCullough explores why evil and suffering exist, surveys the main Christian answers—especially free will and greater goods—and shows how suffering can be united to Christ rather than treated as meaningless.

This lecture was given on November 17th, 2025, at University of Oregon.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Ross McCullough is an assistant professor of theology at George Fox University and faculty fellow in the George Fox University Honors Program. He has academic publications on the doctrine of hell, the Eucharist, the hermeneutics of Scripture, and liberation theology. Dr. McCullough's first book, Freedom and Sin: Evil in a World Created by God reconciles traditional Christian commitments to, on the one hand, God causing all that is and, on the other, God in no way being responsible for sin. Dr. McCullough lives with his wife and four children in Newberg, Oregon.

Keywords: Christian Hope, Cross, Evil, Free Will, Greater Goods, Problem Of Evil, Suffering, Theodicy, Union With Christ

Fr. Andrew Hofer explains gratitude as a theological virtue rooted in God’s gifts, showing how thanksgiving begins in the heart, becomes visible in words and worship, and ultimately orders us toward God.

This lecture was given on November 11th, 2025, at University of Colorado Boulder.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) is professor of patristics and ancient languages at the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies where he serves as the director of the doctoral program. He authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford University Press, 2013) and The Power of Patristic Preaching: The Word in Our Flesh (Catholic University of America, 2023). He co-authored A Living Sacrifice: Guidance for Men Discerning Religious Life (Vianney Vocations, 2019). Editor-in-chief of the academic journal The Thomist, Hofer is editor or co-editor of several volumes including The Oxford Handbook of Deification, The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons, and Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers. He enjoys speaking with students about their theological and spiritual questions.

Keywords: Aquinas, Deo Gratias, Eucharist, Gift, Gratitude, Grace, Liturgy, Thanksgiving, Theology