Looking Towards the End of the Year with Hope
Week in Review
Lots happened this week. Saturday, we had the Duc in Altum Retreat, which is always a lot of fun. Check out the highlight video. This year, we focused on the virtue of hope and you can see my retreat talk here. Monday, we had our annual Advisory Board meeting. It was great meeting the new board members and sitting together around a table to look at innovative ways to bring the Gospel to the students at Duke University, within the Catholic Center and beyond.
In the news:
The government shutdown is finally over. Is it a coincidence that it came on the heels of a little note I put on Substack? Almost certainly. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB], elected their new officials. The incoming President, Archbishop Paul Coakley from Oklahoma City, stands out for his commitment to orthodox teaching. He wrote a fantastic pastoral letter On the Unity of Body and Soul in 2023 that is a great read. I was able to meet him a few years ago and I thanked him for his leadership within the Catholic Church in America. Little did I know, that we would be the next President of the USCCB.
What I have been reading: I read an article about psychology, specifically about parts therapy, also known as Internal Family Systems or IFS, The Therapy that Can Break You. Obviously, the cases discussed there are terrifying, but I wonder if it can be attributed wholly to the psychological method or if the model of the person is more important. When the therapist has a mistaken view of the human person, any method can turn dangerous. I have known people to benefit from IFS. Hopefully, the psychological community can continue to study its effects and also work at promoting healthy models of human behavior.
Best Podcast of the Week: Simon Sinek became famous in the Ted Talk world and beyond through his revolutionary concept encapsulated in his book Start with Why. The book is worthwhile, but if you watch his YouTube video, it is probably enough to get the concept. In his podcast “A Bit of Optimism,” he explores leadership and work culture. In “The Smartest Way to Be Stupid,” he interviews Matthew Broussard who left a life of math to pursue comedy.
My thoughts on the Sunday Gospel: As we approach the end of the year, the liturgy turns towards the end times. I share some reflections in “Heavy Crosses, Heavenly Home.”
Video: Heaven is Home