Christendom professor Dr. Andrew Whitmore recently joined the Christendom Conversations podcast to speak on St. Thomas Aquinas and virtue. The new episode, which launched today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more, is the first in a new season of episodes, with Executive Vice President Mark Rohlena and college faculty members discussing insights on the faith and how to live a Catholic life.
The new episode with Whitmore comes on the heels of Whitmore’s acclaimed book, Saintly Habits: Aquinas’ 7 Simple Strategies You Can Use to Grow in Virtue, with the longform interview touching upon many of the themes featured in the book. In particular, Whitmore spoke extensively on the differences between what modern society often sees as virtues, especially “tolerance,” and what Aquinas outlined instead.
“Our culture holds up tolerance as virtue, which is really selling ourselves short,” says Whitmore. “We all want to be perfect, I think, to some extent, because we want to be happy. It’s one of our deepest desires. But who thinks they’ve actually attained it? I think if we’re really honest with ourselves, do we find that we’re happy, just all throughout the day? But the point being is: we’re all searching for that happiness. We’re all searching for what will bring us that contentment, but we’re looking for it in all the wrong places. We have an infinite desire. Only God can fulfill that. Like Augustine says, ‘Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, Oh Lord.’ Only God’s infinite, so anything else is not going to fill that desire. It’s going to make us unhappy.”
The new episode with Whitmore is the first of four new episodes coming this fall from Christendom Conversations. Episodes featuring Dr. Conor Sweeney, Dr. Chris Lane, and Dr. Kurt Poterack will be released in the coming months. The Christendom Conversations podcast launched last year with three episodes, including a conversation with College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell on the founding of Christendom College.
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