Using analogies from music (Johnny Cash, bluegrass music, Bach) and art (Jackson Pollock, Rembrandt), Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P. spoke to a packed house for the 3rd annual Colloquium on the Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas on the topic “Can Beauty Save the World? Aquinas on Art and the Liturgy.”

About Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P.

Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P. is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology on the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2003. His research and teaching have focused particularly on topics related to Thomistic metaphysics and Christology as well as Roman Catholic-Reformed ecumenical dialogue.

He is the author of Wisdom in the Face of Modernity: A Study in Thomistic Natural Theology (Sapientia Press, 2009), The Incarnate Lord: A Thomistic Study in Christology (The Catholic University of America Press, 2015), and Exodus (Brazos Press, 2016). He has edited several books, and is co-editor of the theological journal Nova et Vetera (English edition). In 2011 he was appointed an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. Fr. White is currently a participating scholar in the project Virtue, Happiness, & the Meaning of Life sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation.

Jason Gale, Director of the Catechist Formation Program, interviews Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P. prior to his visit to Aquinas College to lecture on “Can Beauty Save the World? Aquinas on Art and the Liturgy.”

Fr. Vivian Boland, O.P., Vicar General of the Dominican Order, spoke to the Aquinas College chapter of ASCD, a student organization in the School of Education, on the topic, “Healing Work of Teaching: Thomas Aquinas and Education.”

Christopher Check, President of Catholic Answers, visited the campus of Aquinas College to lecture on the Battle of Lepanto and to discuss and recipe the famous G.K. Chesterton poem "Lepanto." The lecture was sponsored by the Aquinas Center for Faith and Culture, headed by literary critic and biographer Joseph Pearce.

About the Battle of Lepanto

On October 7, 1571, the most important sea battle in history was fought near the mouth of what is today called the Gulf of Patras, then the Gulf of Lepanto. On one side were the war galleys of the Holy League and on the other, those of the Ottoman Turks, rowed by tens of thousands of Christian galley slaves. Although the battle decided the future of Europe, few Europeans, and even fewer European Americans, know the story, much less how close Western Europe came to suffering an Islamic conquest.

Three Hundred and Forty years later, On October 7, 1911, English poet and theologian G.K. Chesterton honored the battle with what is perhaps the greatest ballad of the 20th century. He wrote this extraordinary poem while the postman impatiently waited for the copy. It was instantly popular and remained so for years. The ballad is no less inspiring today and is more timely than ever, as the West faces the growing threat of Islam.

In this episode of our new program, "Faith and Culture at Aquinas College," Joseph Pearce interviews Christopher Check about his work at Catholic Answers and discusses the upcoming presentation on the Battle of Lepanto which be held here at Aquinas College on February 21, 2017 beginning at 6:30pm. The interview culminates with Check reciting a passage from G.K. Chesterton's rousing poem "Lepanto." Visit aquinascollege.edu for details.

The School of Arts & Sciences presents a special lecture by Dr. David Corey, Associate Professor of Political Science at Baylor University, on the topic “What is Politics? Some Perennial Possibilities and Limits” on Friday, December 2. The School invited Dr. Corey to speak in anticipation of the formation of a Political Studies major at Aquinas.

On October 18, 2016, the Center for Faith and Culture welcomed English Catholic journalist, writer and broadcaster Joanna Bogle to speak on the topic “People of Place: a Look at Catholics and Culture,” a look at Catholicism and London—history, traditions, place-names.

Don’t cast your ballot this November without listening to this important discussion on the social doctrine of the Catholic Church in relation to public policy.

Dr. Richard Bulzacchelli, Associate Professor of Theology; Dr. Ben Smith, Associate Professor of Philosophy; and Dr. Bill Smart, Associate Provost and Professor of Biology, explore the impact of Catholic social teaching on public policy—and on the conscience of Christian voters—just in time for the 2016 General Election in November.

The 2016 St. Thomas Aquinas Forum, hosted by the Office of Catechetics at Aquinas College, focused on the theme of "Virtue in Our Current Culture: Living the Nobility of Strength and Goodness." The speakers included talks by Father Jacques Philippe, Dr. Kevin Vost, Dr. Aaron Urbanczyk, Sister Mary Madeline Todd, O.P., Deacon Brad Watkins, Father Cassian Derbes, O.P., and musical entertainment by Kara Klein.

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

The 2016 St. Thomas Aquinas Forum, hosted by the Office of Catechetics at Aquinas College, focused on the theme of "Virtue in Our Current Culture: Living the Nobility of Strength and Goodness." The speakers included talks by Father Jacques Philippe, Dr. Kevin Vost, Dr. Aaron Urbanczyk, Sister Mary Madeline Todd, O.P., Deacon Brad Watkins, Father Cassian Derbes, O.P., and musical entertainment by Kara Klein.

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”