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.”

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 School of Arts and Sciences at Aquinas College presents a lecture on “Girl with a Gadget: Literacy in the Age of Distraction” by Dr. Arthur W. Hunt, III, Professor of Communications at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Human civilization is experiencing a seismic shift in how we communicate, driven largely by the internet and the ubiquitous presence of mobile technology.

In his lecture, the accomplished communication and media scholar Dr. Arthur Hunt explores the impact of our new “gadget-driven” communication habits. This new communication saturated environment has profound impacts upon education, human psychology, culture, and the disposition of the human soul.

About Dr. Art Hunt

Dr. Hunt’s work has appeared in Touchstone, Salvo, Modern Age, The Christian Research Journal, Explorations in Media Ecology, and other publications. He is the author of two books: The Vanishing Word (Crossway, 2003) and Surviving Technopolis (Pickwick, 2013). He is on the editorial board of Second Nature, an online journal about technology, sociology, and Christian ethics. Hunt also portrays Davy Crockett for schools and civic organizations. He teaches Public Speaking, Honors Public Speaking, and Honors Media Ecology.

The Center for Faith and Culture presented this talk and poetry reading by author, philosopher, and theologian Michael Novak on the topic of “Darkness and Radiance in 20th Century Catholic Poetry.” Although known primarily as a political theorist, Mr. Novak has published two novels and one book of verse. Joseph Pearce, Director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Aquinas College, had this to say about his 2011 book of poetry, All Nature Is a Sacramental Fire:

"It’s not often that we can be privy to a public person’s private thoughts and feelings. This privilege is granted anyone who peruses this intensely personal collection of Michael Novak’s verse. There is the political poetry, of course, much of which is delightful, not least “The Ballad of Richard John”, a rambunctious tribute to the late Father Neuhaus in the form of a pastiche of Chesterton’s “Lepanto”, but readers will also be drawn to some of the verse inspired by Novak’s lifelong love affairs with his late wife and with the Church. At its best, the verse in this volume will move the reader to tears of laughter, joy and sorrow. They are the tears of life."

About Michael Novak

The recipient of the 1994 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, Michael Novak’s career has spanned five decades.

His 1982 book The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism became heavily influential in the fall of eastern European communism after having been secretly translated and published behind the Iron Curtain.

Mr. Novak has also served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights under Ronald Reagan and as resident scholar in the conservative think tank The American Enterprise Institute.

Somewhat less known are Michael Novak’s work in the literary arts. While at Harvard, he published his first novel, the semi-autobiographical The Tiber Was Silver, about a young seminarian studying in Rome on the eve of Vatican II. His 1970 novel Naked I Leave, follows a similar autobiographical form. Novak published a book of verse, All Nature Is a Sacramental Fire: Moments of Beauty, Sorrow, and Joy, in 2011.

In the spring of 1921, the Great English writer, G. K. Chesterton, visited Nashville as part of a speaking tour of the United States. Almost a century later, Chesterton returned to Nashville!

Chuck Chalberg’s celebrated one-man show as G. K. Chesterton has featured regularly on EWTN.

About Chuck Chalberg

Chuck Chalberg, whose performances as G. K. Chesterton have delighted TV audiences on EWTN for many years, has an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in American history. He teaches American history at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, MN. In addition to Chesterton, he performs as Teddy Roosevelt, Patrick Henry, George Orwell, H.L. Mencken, and baseball’s Branchy Rickey. He has written several books and has also written for Touchstone, Chronicles, the New Oxford Review, Gilbert, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, and National Review. He is married and is the father of five, and grandfather of two.

The School of Arts and Sciences at Aquinas College hosted a special evening lecture by University of Dallas history professor Dr. Thomas Jodziewicz on the topic “Catholic and American?”

Dr. Jodziewicz explored the harmony and conflict between being a Catholic and an American through historical figures such as Dorothy Day and Orestes Brownson, among others.

About Dr. Jodziewicz

Thomas W. Jodziewicz received his academic degrees in history from Providence College (AB), Tufts University (MA), and the College of William and Mary (PhD). He has served as the Department of History’s chairman (1991–2009) and as president of the Texas Catholic History Society (2004–2008, 2012–2014). He initiated the Fides et Ratio faculty conversation on the Catholic intellectual tradition (2006– to the present).

Kevin O'Brien portrays J.R.R. Tolkien, delivering the author's famed "On Fairy Stories" essay.

Kevin O’Brien is the founder and artistic director of the Theater of the Word Incorporated, a Catholic theater company which tours the country evangelizing through drama. Kevin hosts the television series The Theater of the Word on EWTN and can also be seen on episodes of EWTN’s The Apostle of Common Sense, The Quest for Shakespeare, and The Journey Home. He is also a writer and frequent contributor to The Saint Austin Review and Gilbert Magazine. Kevin is the founder and general editor of the Christian Shakespeare website, christianshakespeare.com.

Tony Ryan, Director of Sales and Marketing at Ignatius Press, accepts the Aquinas Award for Fiction on behalf of Lucy Beckett for her novel "The Leaves Are Falling." He talks about Ignatius Press and the novel, and reads a letter from Lucy Beckett.

Joseph Pearce, Director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Aquinas College, delivers his "Unlocking the Lord of the Rings" talk at the Tolkien and Lewis Celebration.

Joseph Pearce, a native of England, is Writer-in-Residence and Director of the Aquinas Center for Faith and Culture at Aquinas College. He is editor of The Saint Austin Review, series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions, executive director of Catholic Courses, and an internationally acclaimed author of many books, which include bestsellers such as The Quest for Shakespeare, Tolkien: Man and Myth, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church, Literary Converts, Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton, Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile, and Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc.