Dennis Billy, C.Ss.R. is a Foundation Fellow and Karl Rahner Professor of Catholic Theology. Professor Emeritus of the Alphonsian Academy of Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University, he currently serves as Professor and holder of The Robert F. Leavitt Distinguished Service Chair at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland. From 2008-2016, he was scholar-in-residence, professor, and holder of the John Cardinal Krol Chair of Moral Theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Fr. Billy is an American Redemptorist of the Baltimore Province. He comes from Staten Island, New York, and was educated there through high school in local Catholic schools. He holds an A.B. in English from Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire) and studied for the priesthood in the Redemptorist seminary system. After his priestly training, he went on to earn a Th.D. in Church History from Harvard University, a M.A. in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto, an M.M.R.Sc. in Moral Theology from the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven in Belgium, an S.T.D. in Spirituality from The Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum, Rome), and a D.Min. in Spiritual Direction from the Graduate Theological Foundation. In 2016, he delivered the Lord Robert Runcie Convocation Lecture at the Graduate Theological Foundation and was inducted as a Fellow in appreciation of his scholarly contributions as Karl Rahner Professor of Catholic Theology.  He also serves on the staff at Notre Dame Retreat House in Canandaigua, NY.  Father Billy has authored more than 40 books and published over 400 articles in a variety of scholarly and popular journals.  He is also very active in retreat work and in the ministry of spiritual direction.

• Aelred of Rievaulx’s Spiritual Friendship: The Classic Text and Commentary
• Alphonsus de Liguori, Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament and to Most Holy Mary: The Classic Text Translated with a Spiritual Commentary.
• As There as the Sky
• The Beauty of the Eucharist: Voices from the Church Fathers
• Blessings of the Rosary
• C.S. Lewis on the Fullness of Life: Longing for Deep Heaven
• The Cloud of Unknowing
• Conscience and Prayer: The Spirit of Catholic Moral Theology.
• Contemplative Ethics:  An Introduction
• Continuing the Search for Religious Freedom:  Fifty Years after Vatican II’s Dignitatis Humanae
• Encounter the Cross:  Meditations on the Seven Last Words of Jesus
• Eucharist: Exploring the Diamond of Our Faith
• Evangelical Kernels: A Theological Spirituality of the Religious Life
• Even Today: Theology and the Inner Child
• Experiencing God: Fostering a Contemplative Life
• Faithful in Christ: The Ministry and Life of the Catholic Priest
• Finding Our Way to God: Spiritual Direction and the Moral Life
• Follow Him:  And Reclaim the World
• Going Beyond the Wound: A Spirituality for Men
• Gospel Joy: Pope Francis and the New Evangelization
• The Imitation of Christ: Spiritual Commentary and Reader’s Guide
• Into the Heart of Faith: Ten Steps on the Journey
• Into Your Hands: A Meditation on Jesus’ Seven Last Words
• Jacob’s Wood
• Jean-Pierre de Caussaude’s Abandonment to Divine Providence: The Classic Text with a Spiritual Commentary
• Jesus, the New Adam: Humanity’s Steadfast Hope
• Jesus and the Last Things:  Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell
• The Lexicon of Redemptorist Spirituality
• Living in the Gap: Religious Life and the Call to Communion
• Mary in 3-D:  Icon of Discipleship, Doctrine, and Devotion
• The Meaning of the Eucharist: Voices from the Twentieth Century
• Meeting Jesus on the Road to Emmaus: An Invitation to Friendship, Eucharist and Christian Community
• The Mystery of the Eucharist: Voices from the Saints and Mystics
• Mystery to Mystery: Meditations on the Rosary
• The “Our Father:” A Prayer’s Power to Touch Hearts
• Plentiful Redemption: An Introduction to Alphonsian Spirituality
• Returning Home: A Spirituality of the Christian Journey
• Simple, Heartfelt Words: Preaching in the Alphonsian Tradition
• Soliloquy Prayer: Unfolding Our Hearts to God
• Some Philosophical Issues in Moral Matters: The Collected Ethical Writings of Joseph Owens (Edited with Terence Kennedy)
• Spirituality and Morality: Integrating Prayer and Action
• Tending the Mustard Seed: Living the Faith in Today’s World
• Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle: Classic Text and Commentary
• There Is a Season: Living the Liturgical Year
• Under the Starry Night: A Wayfarer’s Guide through an Uncertain World
• The Way of a Pilgrim: Complete Text and Reader’s Guide
• The Way of Mystery: The Eucharist and Moral Living
• With Open Heart: Spiritual Direction in the Alphonsian Tradition

• Roman Catholic (Priest)

• Theology; Spirituality
• Spiritual Direction
• Ecclesiastical History

• Catholic Moral Theology
• Christian Spirituality
• Spiritual Direction

Areas of Service

• Thesis Supervision
• Project Consultant
• Online Courses

Languages

• Latin
• French
• Italian

Faculty Contact