The End of an Era and the Continuation of a Legacy

2009 Aquinas Lecture Fr. Leo J. Elders, SVD Professor of Philosophy at Rolduc Seminary, The Netherlands

“The Ripest Fruit:” Aquinas as Commentator on the Letters of St. Paul

t is particularly fitting that, during the period which the Ihas proclaimed The Year of St. Paul, the annual Aquinas Lecture at the University of St. Thomas should focus on as a Pauline commentator. It is only recently that Thomists have become interested in Aquinas’s biblical commentaries and have begun to discover the unsuspected treasures of these numerous texts. Thomas’s lectures on the Letters of Paul have been called “the ripest fruit and the most perfect example of medieval scholastic exegesis.”

odern scriptural exegesis is marked by its philological and historical Morientation. The medieval theologians, by contrast, examined in the first place and above all the doctrine contained in the text and its relevance for the moral life. This makes the study of the commentaries of St. Thomas a spiritual excursion through Sacred Scripture. We listen in silence and open our mind as part of the history of salvation unfolds before our eyes.

Un iversity of St. Thomas Educating Leaders of Faith and Character AMERICAN MARITAIN ASSOCIATION

“ST. THOMAS & THE PROBLEM OF EVIL”

Renaissance Greenway Plaza Hotel, Houston, TX. October 22 – 24, 2009

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22nd All Events at the Renaissance Hotel

7 – 9 pm – Conference Registration

6 pm – Opening Mass – Sam Rayburn Room • Main Celebrant: Rev. Chris Cullen, S.J.

6:45 pm – Welcome & Presidential Address – Century I Room • John G. Trapani, Jr., Walsh University “The Teeth-Marks of Nothingness: Habit & the Innermost Hiding Place of Evil”

7:30 – 9:30 pm – Concurrent Sessions #1:

Session T-1.1 – Politics and the Problem of Evil – Sam Rayburn Room Chair: Gavin Colvert, Assumption College • Jose Enrique Puente, Instituto De Cuba Political Evil and Providence • Jose Maria J. Yulo, Academy of Art University The Fall of the Greatest Good: Political Evil from Augustine to Machiavelli • Benjamin Smith, Aquinas College Politics, Happiness, and Friendship: Thomas Aquinas on the Common Good

Session T-1.2 – Ethical & Theologico/Political Problems – Camellia Room Chair: John G. Trapani, Jr., Walsh University • Herbert Hartmann, Southern Catholic College Jerusalem and Athens Revisited • Nikolaj Zunic, St. ’s University The Measure of Morality • Richard Rolwing, Independent Scholar The Problem of Good

Session T-1.3 – Classical Treatments & Modern Twists – Camellia Room Chair: James Hanink, Loyola Marymount University • Nicholas Case, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York Exploring the Intersection of Aristotelian Causality and Thomas’ Definition of God • Maria Picone, Rice University Three Paradoxes of Plotinus: Evil’s Origin, Effects, and Characteristics • Sergey Trostyanskiy, Union Theological Seminary of Alexandria and Frege: Scriptural Interpretations & Contemporary Semantics

9:30 pm – Reception: Sponsored by Walsh University – Greenway Foyer

Joint BA/MA Degree in Philosophy

The BA/MA Program in the Philosophy Department and Center for Thomistic Studies allows qualified UST philosophy majors (or double majors) to earn a BA and an MA in philosophy in 5 years instead of the standard 6.5. Students receive the BA after completing all requirements for a UST undergraduate degree and the MA after completing all remaining requirements of the BA/MA Program. • Philosophy is a growing major. “Nationwide, there are more colleges offering undergraduate philosophy programs today than a decade ago (817, up from 765), according to the College Board”(NY Times, April 6, 2008). Fordham (FCLC), City University of New York and Rutgers had twice as many philosophy majors in 2008 than in 2002 and at Texas A&M, Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, philosophy majors have doubled since the 1990s. A 2002 Chronicle (Oct 31, v. 11, 5) article reported the number of philosophy majors as “the highest in 20 years”. • Admission to philosophy Ph.D. programs is extremely competitive and students significantly improve their academic profile with an M.A. degree: writing samples, GRE scores and letters of recommendation are all likely to improve. These same advantages accrue to students seeking admission to law school or to Ph.D. programs in related disciplines.

ADMISSIONS • Students apply in the Junior year • Requirements: − 18 hrs of Philosophy − 3.5 GPA in Philosophy and 3.3 overall − CLASS 1331- 1332 (Latin) or the equivalent − Two letters of recommendation from Philosophy faculty − GREs are not required Students are eligible for regular UST financial aid, and the Cullen Undergraduate Scholarships in Philosophy.

THE PROGRAM 30 hr. of graduate philosophy: including (1) PHIL 5314 Aquinas on Human Nature (2) PHIL 5338 Thomistic Ethics (3) PHIL 5304 Thomistic Metaphysics (4) PHIL 5359 Introduction to Philosophical Latin (5) PHIL 5334 M.A. Comprehensive Exam Course or PHIL 5300 M.A. Thesis. and 15 hrs. of electives.

1st year: students take 12 hrs. of graduate philosophy courses, including PHIL 5359 Philosophical Latin, and at least one of the following: PHIL 5314 Aquinas on Human Nature PHIL 5338 Thomistic Ethics PHIL 5304 Thomistic Metaphysics

These are dual-credit courses, i.e., they count towards both the BA and the MA.

2nd year: students take 18 hrs. of graduate philosophy courses including either PHIL 5334 M.A. Comprehensive Exam Course or PHIL 5300 M.A. Thesis. 2010 AQUINAS LECTURE Center for Thomistic Studies presents The Church’s “Common Doctor:” Thomas Aquinas and the Contemporary Catholic University by The Most Rev. J. Michael Miller, CSB Archbishop of Vancouver, BC

Thursday, January 28 On the seven hundredth anniversary of the death of Thomas Aquinas (1974), Pope Paul VI called him “the light of the Church and of the whole world”. The Second Vatican 7:30 p.m. Council’s Declaration on Christian Education (1965), singles him out as the exemplar for harmonizing faith and reason in the pursuit of truth. Yet since the Council, there has been a Jones Hall, 3910 Yoakum consistent refrain of “Should Old Aquinas Be Forgot”, questioning the relevance of Thomas’ philosophy to the Free and open to the public contemporary church. Some have even argued that , “imposed” by Leo XIII in Aeterni Patris (1879) , was Parking available in Moran Parking Center: “abrogated” by John Paul II in Veritatis splendor (1993). Is Graustark and West Alabama Thomas Aquinas still the “common doctor” of the Church? Should his philosophy and theology still have a special place in the curricula of Catholic universities and seminaries? For more information, call 713-525-3591 This lecture will seek an answer to these questions in the encouragement that is found in recent papal documents, including those of Benedict XVI, for the study of St. Thomas Aquinas in seminaries and universities and will discuss the importance of such study at this critical juncture in the history of Catholic universities in North America and worldwide. Archbishop Miller holds a B.A. (1969) from The University of Toronto and an M.A. (1970) from the University of Wisconsin, both in Latin American Studies. He received an S.T.L. (1976) and an S.T.D. (1979) at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Archbishop Miller served as the President of the University of St. Thomas (1997- 2004) and Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education (2003-2008) He has been Archbishop of Vancouver since 2009. Archbishop Miller is the author of 7 books and over 150 articles and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Thomistic Studies.

Educating Leaders of Faith and Character Aquinas Lecture and Reception, 2010 Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB The Church’s “Common Doctor”: Thomas Aquinas and the Contemporary Catholic University Aquinas Lecture Reception, 2011 Dr. Peter Kreeft Thomistic : A Marriage Made in Heaven, Hell, or Harvard

2012 Aquinas Lecture

Dr. Matthew Levering Professor of Religious Studies University of Dayton

Romans 1:20 and Our Natural Knowledge of God

Thursday, January 26 Can we know God’s existence and attributes by reflection upon the good things that we see around us? If we can know God in 7:30 p.m. this way, why do we also need to know him through his self- revelation in Jesus Christ? Put another way, is the God of the Jones Hall Greek philosophers the same God whom we encounter in Jesus, and if the God that we know in these two ways is indeed 3910 Yoakum the same, can we make do with one way alone? It may seem that believers in the incarnate Son of God have little stake in Free and open to the public also holding that we can know God through natural reason, especially now that relatively few philosophers think that philosophical labors can attain to knowledge of the living God. For more information, call 713-525-3591 Dr. Levering will argue that Christians should hold that God’s existence, along with certain other attributes, can be demonstrated by natural reason on the basis of material things.

Matthew Levering received his Ph.D. in Theology from Boston College (2000) and taught at Ave Maria University before moving to the University of Dayton. He was the Myser Fellow at the Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame (2006-2007) and has served as Chair of the Board of the Academy of since 2007 and with Hans Boersma, co-directs the Center for Catholic-Evangelical Dialogue. Dr. Levering has published in numerous journals including The Thomist, Nova et Vetera, American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, and First Things. The author, editor, translator or co-editor of over 19 books, his most current book, is forthcoming from Oxford Press. Educating Leaders of Faith and Character Aquinas Lecture Reception, 2012 Dr. Matthew Levering Romans 1:20 and Our Natural Knowledge of God