Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 7 March 1274), was a Doctor of the Church, Philosopher, Theologian, Jurist, Dominican Friar, and Priest. Known as Doctor Angelicus "Angelic Doctor," and the Doctor Communis "Universal Doctor" his writings serve as a defense and proof of the validity of Christ's authority over all. The Summa contra Gentiles (also known as Liber de veritate catholicae fidei contra errores infidelium, "Book on the truth of the Catholic faith against the errors of the unbelievers"). The Summa contra Gentiles consists of four books. The structure of Saint Thomas's work is designed to proceed from general philosophical arguments for monotheism, to which Muslims and Jews are likely to consent even within their own respective religious traditions, before progressing to the discussion of specifically Christian doctrine.
Book I begins with general questions of truth and natural reason, and from chapter 10 investigates the concept of a monotheistic God. Chapters 10 to 13 are concerned with the existence of God, followed by a detailed investigation of God's properties (chapters 14 to 102). When demonstrating a Truth about God which can be known through reason, St. Thomas gives multiple arguments, each proving the same Truth in a different way.
Whether you are a history enthusiast, a student of religion, or simply curious about the impact of the Roman Catholic Church on the world, this playlist is designed to provide an informative and engaging journey through its captivating past. Subscribe to the Contemplating History channel for more educational content and immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of history.
15 June 2026
The Theological and Philosophical Errors of Transhumanism
From CFN
Brian McCall speaks with Father Francesco Girondano, a theologian and professor in Rome, about Transhumanism. As discussed in prior Weekly News Roundups, one of the aspects of the Great Reset of the Globalist Elites is to transform human nature through technological enhancements of the human body. In this interview Father Giordano explains how this movement of Transhumanism contradicts the Catholic teaching on creation and human nature. Father's classical education in Thomistic philosophy and theology clearly enables him to draw the important distinctions between true scientific progress and this evil rebellion against God.
How Much DNA Did They Share? How Closely Related Was Henry VIII to His Wives?
From History Calling
How closely related was Henry VIII to his six wives and the wives to each other? The Tudor family tree reveals some surprisingly close royal connections, but were they close enough to break biblical laws and 16th century Catholic church rules around marriage and might they explain Tudor fertility problems?
Henry VIII’s six marriages reshaped English history, but the drama didn’t begin or end with divorce and execution. Behind every royal wedding lay a dense network of bloodlines, noble families, and marriage rules that governed who could marry whom in Tudor England.
In this Tudor history documentary from History Calling, I map out the family tree of Henry VIII and his six wives, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr, to uncover how closely connected they really were. England’s ruling elite (and indeed Europe’s) formed a small and interrelated world, where repeated cousin marriages were common, politically useful and sometimes controversial, but were the Tudors so closely related that it would have caused problems for their children?
Using genealogy, church law, and historical sources, this video explores:
• How degrees of kinship were calculated in Tudor England
• What the Catholic Church’s marriage laws actually prohibited
• Why some royal marriages required papal dispensations
• Whether any of Henry VIII’s marriages pushed the limits of what was considered acceptable at the time and why
• What the Bible says about marrying your family members
Rather than applying modern assumptions, I examine these marriages as Tudor contemporaries would have understood them, through concerns about legitimacy, inheritance, alliances, and royal blood. When succession depended on ancestry, family connections weren’t just personal, they were political.
If you’re interested in Henry VIII, the six wives, Tudor genealogy, royal marriage, or historical family trees, this video offers a clear, visual deep dive into one of the most tangled dynasties in English history.
This Family has EIGHT priests … and More in the Seminary
From Aleteia
By Jenny Lark Snarski
A mother of two priest-sons shares her testimony and gratitude. “I truly believe that mothers of priests have a special connection with one another."
Just as the feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary are intimately related, so is the heart of a priest and that of his mother.
One Arkansas mother knows this firsthand, times two. Angie Elser and Dr. Joseph Elser, a pediatrician in Little Rock, raised six children. Angie told Aleteia that raising their children in the teachings of the Catholic faith was one of their parenting priorities.
Vocational exposure in Catholic schools
“From kindergarten through high school, each of them attended Catholic school,” she shared, “as we believed this would help shape their Catholic faith during their formative years.” Not only did Catholic schools help form their children in the faith, the schools also played a prominent role in her two priest-sons discovering their vocations.
The Elsers' oldest son, Father Stephen Elser, first discerned his priestly vocation in the second grade. Ordained June 2, 2018, he has served three parishes and a school for seven years in the northeast corner of the state.
Courtesy of Angie Elser
His younger brother, Christopher, was in third grade when Stephen joined the seminary. As Christopher shared for a student profile for St. Meinrad Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree, he recounted, “Watching my brother go through seminary was something that I began to picture myself doing.”
Devotion to the Eucharist and Sacred Heart of Jesus
Angie recalled that an important moment in Christopher’s discernment was becoming an altar server in fifth grade. She noted that his first time serving for Mass was May 30, 2011, was 15 years, to the day, before the day of his ordination to the priesthood.
“We discovered that a few days before the ordination and truly felt that was a sign of God’s providence!”
Courtesy of Angie Elser
She said the schoolteachers would frequently bring students to the adoration chapel. Making time for Eucharistic Adoration was another priority as a family, “a routine that played an integral part in the discernment of Fr. Christopher’s priestly vocation.”
Christopher emphasized that the Eucharist was what attracted him to the priesthood, saying, “The Eucharist has been and continues to be the heartbeat and compass of my life.”
His mother echoed the sentiment. “In this perpetual adoration chapel, Fr. Christopher developed a deep love for the Eucharist, as he often states that the Eucharist is the ‘heartbeat of his vocation.’ In addition to his deep devotion to the Eucharist, Christopher also has a profound love and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When our children were young, we enthroned our home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
A family of priests!
The image of the Sacred Heart the family used during this enthronement was one that was gifted to Angie’s grandmother by her son, Fr. Jim Schaefer, the great uncle of Fathers Stephen and Christopher. She explained that both Fr. Jim and another of Christopher’s uncles, Father Bill Elser, were present during Christopher’s childhood.
Both priest-uncles recently celebrated milestone anniversaries: for Father Jim Schaefer, a momentous 70th anniversary of ordination, and for Father Bill Elser, his 40th. “Witnessing their lives devoted to Christ as priests was influential for Christopher in strengthening his discernment, even from a young age,” his mother commented.
While Father Bill Elser was at his nephew’s ordination and First Mass, Father Jim Schaefer was unable to travel from where he lives in St. Louis, as he is recovering from a broken hip. Father Stephen was able to celebrate the 70th-anniversary Mass with him in his hospital room in March, though.
Courtesy of Angie Elser
Among the family members the Elser family calls “Father,” there are even more than the four mentioned so far. Fathers Christopher and Stephen come from a long and broad line of priestly vocations.
Here's the whole list:
On their mother’s side: a deceased great-great uncle Father Bill Schumann (Archdiocese of St. Louis); a great-uncle Father Jim Schaefer (Archdiocese of St. Louis); a first cousin, twice removed Father Bill Hodgson (Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri); a third cousin Father Ben Armentrout (Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph); and a seminarian first cousin for the Diocese of Little Rock, Andrew Schaefer.
On their father’s side: a deceased great-uncle Father Joseph Blitz (Diocese of Little Rock); and uncle Father Bill Elser (Diocese of Little Rock).
As Christopher told their diocesan paper, the Arkansas Catholic, not long before his May 30th ordination, “I’m excited to be a spiritual father, to be called Father Christopher and to really live by that name…”
Angie believes that her other four children have all been “very supportive” of their brothers’ vocations to the priesthood.
“It is quite countercultural for a man in today’s world to make the decision to dedicate his life to serving God and His people,” she said, “but my children constantly encourage one another to reach their goals, and ultimately, strive for holiness. Not only did they learn this importance within the home of our family, but they also were taught this in their home at Christ the King Church and School, as well as their Catholic high schools.”
Drawn closer as a family through God’s callings
Courtesy of Angie Elser
She admitted, “Along the way, our family has encountered many struggles, but these struggles have ultimately strengthened our love for one another and for our Lord as we were all drawn to place our trust in Jesus throughout both the highs and the lows of our lives."
“In the midst of these struggles we as a family were drawn closer to the perpetual Eucharistic Adoration chapel at our church," she said, explaining that it was a place and time that really fostered the vocation of Fr. Christopher as he learned that “the time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time that you will spend on earth,” a quote from St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta that he incorporated into his First Mass of Thanksgiving.
A shared bond as mothers of priests
She was deeply moved during her son’s first Mass of Thanksgiving on May 31 — the Feast of the Visitation of Mary — when Father Christopher presented her with the maniturgium (the cloth used to wipe the Sacred Chrism during his ordination) that she will be buried with as the mother of a priest.
“I truly believe that mothers of priests have a special connection with one another,” Angie shared.
Courtesy of Angie Elser
“As a mother, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of prayer for the vocations of each of my children. I often remind myself that it is God’s calling -- not mine. Priests are chosen by Christ -- not by a mother or father. As Pope Pius X once said, ‘A vocation comes from the heart of God but goes through the heart of the mother,’” she concluded.
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