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Select a Month April 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010

April 2017

April 24, 2017

How do you throw a fasting and silence party?

The New Yorker has written a profile of Rod Dreher, author of The Benedict Option, and my...

July 2016

July 25, 2016

Starving Laypeople of Devotion in Church

I just wrapped up (and really enjoyed) Eamon Duffy's The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion...

February 2016

February 09, 2016

What Free Time Can Buy

Simcha Fisher has a great reflection on why she stopped homeschooling, and what she gained...

January 2016

January 20, 2016

My Recipes for Scruffy Hospitality

An Anglican priest in Knoxville, TN has a great exhortation to offer scruffy hospitality to...

January 19, 2016

Audio is up from my Building the Benedict Option talk in Boston

I had a wonderful time in Boston last week, talking about some of our Benedict...

October 2015

October 28, 2015

The People I Don’t Learn to Love

After reading my essay on "Both/And Philanthropy," one of my friends told me that there...

October 22, 2015

How To Offer Community Without Communion

I'm over at First Things today, talking about why people may want to drop barriers to...

October 20, 2015

Extending Family and Keeping an Honorary Aunt in your Basement

I love this essay by Mikkee Hall ("Why I moved 1,600 miles to live downstairs...

October 12, 2015

Beginning the Benedict Option Today

I got to hear Rod Dreher and Ken Myers (of the Mars Hill Audio Journal)...

September 2015

September 09, 2015

The Beguine Model for the Benedict Option

After reading Laura Swan's The Wisdom of the Beguines, I'm tempted to tell Rod...

September 01, 2015

Workplaces Make Terrible Monasteries

I'm a little late to the discussion of Amazon's treatment of its white collar workers...

June 2015

June 18, 2015

When People Offer Me Their Weaknesses As Strengths

I still haven't mentioned my favorite thing that happened during the discussion I hosted on...

June 17, 2015

Tackling the Small Benedict Option Problems First

A few weeks ago, I hosted a discussion of "the Benedict Option" (ways for Christians...

June 10, 2015

A Dominican Invitation to Witness [Saints Bookclub]

In 2015, I’m reading and blogging through Ronald Knox’s collection of sermons on Christian exemplars, Captive Flames: On...

May 2015

May 20, 2015

Accidental Stylites and the Benedict Option

This weekend, I'm hosting an in-person discussion of "the Benedict Option" -- ways for modern...

May 12, 2015

Desiring Abundance of Life, Not Just Absence of Sin

Ben Kuhn has a great post up on strategies for inviting (and retaining) new kinds of...

March 2015

March 02, 2015

The Word Gap Needs More Than Individual Effort

I'm posting at Fare Forward today, talking about the word gap, and why solutions should include...

February 2015

February 21, 2015

Effective Altruism and Caritas [Radio Readings]

You can listen to “Fights in Good Faith,” my weekly radio program, streaming today at 5pm ET and...

February 10, 2015

Offering hospitality to introverts, athletes, and other strange-to-me types

In the last week, I've run into two great pieces on how to offer hospitality,...

February 05, 2015

When it’s illegal to live with your friends…

There are two reasons why I recommended that friends who want to cultivate deeper relationships...

February 04, 2015

Love and Real Estate, All About Location, Location Location

The best living experience I've had was definitely in college. The density of people...

January 2015

January 14, 2015

Settling Into Our Sociable Third Places

I've been reading (and loving!) sociologist's Ray Oldenburg's The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars,...

November 2014

November 25, 2014

“Safety” is a Piss-Poor Pitch for Chastity

A recent First Things post aimed to arm its readers with a positive case for chastity, one...

November 18, 2014

“It is Not Good for Man to be Alone” – a review of Gay and Catholic

A few weeks ago, our Dominican-run Adult Sunday School tackled the topic of "Deadly Sins...

November 15, 2014

When Should “Effective Altruism Day” Occur?

Ozy recently asked a fun question -- how can people interested in effective altruism bring...

November 13, 2014

Give Us Bread, Roses, and Benedict Options

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry has posted a question on his blog for people who like "the Benedict...

November 06, 2014

Prelude to a (Platonic) Kiss

Eve Tushnet (whose book is now out, and you don't need to stand on ceremony...

September 2014

September 30, 2014

When’s the last time I spoke to a *real* adult?

This weekend, when I was hosting a debate on "R: Send Your Children to Public...

September 28, 2014

But Who Will I Take Care Of? [Desire of the Everlasting Hills]

Last week, I had the pleasure of seeing Desire of the Everlasting Hills at a screening...

September 25, 2014

What’s Wrong with the Cuddling App?

I've been trying to work out exactly how I feel about Cuddlr, the new app...