Who is your shepherd? Whose sheep are you? We’re all sheep, following some shepherd with docility or butting against the goad. Either way, we’re all sheep who must decide in whose flock we wish to be counted. Sheep become like … Continue reading
self-knowledge
Amazing Grace and Graced Memories
Editor’s note: This is the sixth post in our newest series, reflecting on the Hillbilly Thomists’ recent, self-titled album. The series will run each Tuesday and Thursday throughout the Easter season. Read the whole series here. This post concerns the … Continue reading
Humility as Desire
As one plods through the modern city of Bologna, crossing the Piazza del Nettuno into the Piazza Maggiore, one is greeted by an unsightly, unfinished façade of the Basilica di San Petronio. The basilica as it stands is one of … Continue reading
Priorities
Before I entered the Order, I had a chocolate labrador retriever, whose full name was “Abbot the Dog.” Though a generally well-behaved dog, Abbot once gnawed to pieces my iPhone 3G. (Don’t laugh at its obsolescence—at the time it was … Continue reading
Measuring My Maturity
Maturity is a difficult word to define. It’s also a difficult state to reach definitively, saying to ourselves, “Finally, I’ve arrived!” How do we know when we’re considered mature? Do we reach it by a certain age? Proverbs says so … Continue reading
The Boundaries of Authenticity
Your boss just gave you a “coaching.” You don’t agree with him, but you sheepishly nod your head and then play your part. Then you talk to a customer; you say several polite things so as to stay in character. … Continue reading
“Let the past die!”
(Spoilers!) A number of characters from the most recent installment of Star Wars struck me as exemplifying a real source of struggle for many people today: a desire to break from the past. Kylo Ren voices this leitmotif of the … Continue reading
Check Yourself
“Yo, priest! You best check yo’self!” A priest who taught me the faith when I was a boy used to tell this story. Once, when he was leading a group of high school students on a pilgrimage to the March … Continue reading
Lord, that I may see (more than myself)
After listening to a talk about the dangers of narcissism in the spiritual life, a brother turned to me and said, “I’m pretty sure that whole talk was about me.” I assured him that the talk was definitely about me. … Continue reading