Just listened and wanted to encourage you both. I am an Anglican who has been deeply affected by your work. I listen to it "religiously" and find the witness of two young men who take the work of the Church SO seriously to be very effective. Being a light in the world, which is what JD is talking about I think, doesn't have to look like Billy Graham. I would argue you are in the right place doing the right stuff.... be uplifted and God Bless you.
Thank you both for being open in this episode. I fall squarely in Ed's camp on the discernment being discussed, and after the tragic events of the last couple months I I feel even more inspired to contribute to the common good through my witness to my family, friends, and parish community, and at work. That certainly means proclaiming the truth in charity wherever I am, but I feel even less strongly about entering new spheres of the culture/public life after the events of the last couple months. Please be assured of my prayers for the continued success of your work here and in your families!
(And as I was listening I was thinking less of the Piraeus, and more of the strip club or (ancient Roman) Coliseum, as occasions of sin where I don't feel called to evangelize and I would strongly admonish a brother of sister in Christ to reconsider whether they feel called to enter them!)
I think (unless I am conflating JD’s thoughts with my own thoughts this week) that the whole discussion about politics here misses the point. I have been thinking about the underlying nihilism in our culture and how our nation and culture do not know Jesus, do not know the truth about the world, and are thus suffering and lashing out with that pain. I do think and am reflecting about my role in being a solution to that. Since I know Jesus and believe that He is the Truth that the suffering people in this country need (those who would see murder, violence, revenge, anger as the solution), I should be zealous about bringing Him to those in my purview, and even looking to expand that purview to bring Him to those places. That doesn’t mean getting more into politics or more active in Twitter and the fact that those things seem like our only options may be the problem. So I guess you’re both right, but I thought that the convo here got a bit lost
Evangelism to me means doing whatever God wants of me today right here where I am. And it means that for you, too. I had never heard of Charlie Kirk although I lived in a house with people who probably watched him. If they had political stuff on the tv I just kept going to my room.
At the end of the day the world is always going to be imperfect because we are fallen and suffer from concupiscence. Since politics is about trying to make the world a better place, it can't succeed unless every individual person is so full of Jesus that it is now not us but Christ within us. And the only way any of us can contribute to that improvement is to live Christ withinus at every moment. None of us can do this on our own, but only by God's power. Come, Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your well beloved spouse.
Come, Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, and console me. Tell me what I must do, inspire me with what I must say. Give me your orders. I promise to submit myself to You in all that you ask of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will and do Your will. Amen - -Cardinal Mercier
I appreciate your honest soul searching. It shows a true love of God and neighbor. But know this: You guys, in the manner you write and report, are helping us avoid Catholic “partisanship” and seek the truth. That balance models to us readers the intellectual habit of fair discourse. And that habit will spill over to how we think and speak on other matters, including politics. Be at peace. And as one of my favorite priests says, “stay in your lane”. We need you there!
This is exactly right. I've been pondering the discourse on Twitter the last few days about "should priests have preached about Charlie Kirk." My sympathies lie with the fact that a homily is not intended to be political. But many people, myself included, are not sure *how* to think about current events with a Catholic worldview. Furthermore the only formation that many people get is at the Sunday homily. Absent a proper culture of ongoing conversion and catechesis, people will be formed by those who are willing to talk about the things they're thinking about. This week, that is many online commentators. I worry about this.
But JD and Ed and all those who write for the Pillar, you all help enormously in how you approach questions with great seriousness. As someone who has a degree in humanities but is nonetheless (or perhaps therefore) very poorly educated you're helping me learn how to think, and I deeply appreciate it.
I want to affirm both of you. Y'all do great work. I do think you evangelize by being a part of your local Catholic community because when newcomers are present, they can see how Christians love one another. It's late, but I'm probably not phrasing this week. Obviously, your examination is your own, but that's my 2 cents.
Ed's story of what he overheard at the airport reminded me of this old Lewis Black bit:
"Behind me, I heard a young woman of 25 say, "If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college." Now, I'm gonna repeat that, because it bears repeating. "If it weren't for my horse..." as in, giddyup, giddyup, let's go — "I wouldn't have spent that year in college," which is a degree-granting institution. Don't think about that too long, or BLOOD will shoot out your NOSE!"
I have to disagree with JD regarding the Athletic. Since the NYT has purchased it, I think it definitely has become significantly more political. I think the main evidence is the number of articles that have comments turned off. Why would sports articles prohibit comments?
Thank you for this because you two are echoing many of my own thoughts over the past few days. I've been feeling a call to reread the letter to Diognetus, specifically chapter 5 (https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0101.htm). We are salt and light, in the world but not of the world. It will take a lot of prayer and discernment to figure out what that means for each of us.
I love you guys and I pray for you to be continue to be loving sons of the Church in your work for the Pillar and that you faithfully live your vocations as husbands and fathers. Because it's in living our vocations that we'll change the world. We might not see how that impacts others in this life, but it matters. Live a life of prayer and love those around you.
You know, I discovered JD and Ed through Twitter, before The Pillar even existed. I’m grateful I did. But Twitter is no longer the same as it was then, and indeed, I see it as a place abounding with near occasions of sin. Last year, I finally deactivated my account, but it wasn’t the easiest decision, in part because I enjoyed following your accounts. I decided that my soul was more important, though. The pornography, the rage, and now the violence that are all over the site—it wasn’t worth it.
JD, you talked about being a witness in an ugly space. Might it also be worth considering, that removing yourselves from Twitter would also be good for your followers? Then they, like me, might have less of a reason to wade in that cesspool? You could always keep the official Pillar Twitter account, but engage more on here, where at least so far there isn’t the porn and the violence and quite the same level of rage as there. And you might find more people hungry for your thoughtful and important work. Just wanted to share that.
Thank you both for this thoughtful conversation. I've always appreciated how you each bring a different perspective to the Pillar. You both love God and the Church (it's clear by the work you do and the way you approach it) and your differences are so needed to avoid becoming like the echo chamber of other voices/outlets/sources (even Catholic ones). JD, I'm inspired by your questioning what God is calling you to do. I am going to take that question to prayer. Ed, "conscious objector" is exactly how I feel about politics. I'm going to adopt that phrase. God bless and guide you both. I'm so grateful for you and the work you do.
I cannot help but think the real Benedict Option these days is less a physical withdrawal from the world than a withdrawal from the things of this culture (e.g., social media, political parties).
I totally agree with Ed. Guys, please do not start getting political!
1. I can name half a dozen religious news/opinion outlets which started "dabbling" in politics, and then within a few years they were political outlets with a religious veneer. You'll get WAY more clicks on a post about Trump then a post about Parolin. You will feel the lure to go more and more in that direction....
2. I already have plenty of sources (including podcasts and medium-size news websites) about politics. I don't need more.
3. Over and over, we have seen Catholic bishops who say "My flock listens to me when I preach about Christ, so if I tell them what to think about politics, they will listen to me about that." But it never works out that way. NOBODY in their diocese changes their vote when the bishop gets political. All that happens is that half the people in the diocese cheer and send the bishop a glowing letter for telling them what they already believed anyway, and the other half stop listening to the bishop altogether.
4. When someone is an expert in something -- like you guys are experts on the Church today -- it's tempting to believe that if you branch out into a new field, you'll be an expert there too. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is an expert in astronomy, so he figures he must be an authority on theology and philosophy too, even though he's never studied them. And it just makes him sound silly. The people I read about politics have spent their entire careers learning about it. Can you hope to compete?
Just listened and wanted to encourage you both. I am an Anglican who has been deeply affected by your work. I listen to it "religiously" and find the witness of two young men who take the work of the Church SO seriously to be very effective. Being a light in the world, which is what JD is talking about I think, doesn't have to look like Billy Graham. I would argue you are in the right place doing the right stuff.... be uplifted and God Bless you.
Thank you both for being open in this episode. I fall squarely in Ed's camp on the discernment being discussed, and after the tragic events of the last couple months I I feel even more inspired to contribute to the common good through my witness to my family, friends, and parish community, and at work. That certainly means proclaiming the truth in charity wherever I am, but I feel even less strongly about entering new spheres of the culture/public life after the events of the last couple months. Please be assured of my prayers for the continued success of your work here and in your families!
(And as I was listening I was thinking less of the Piraeus, and more of the strip club or (ancient Roman) Coliseum, as occasions of sin where I don't feel called to evangelize and I would strongly admonish a brother of sister in Christ to reconsider whether they feel called to enter them!)
I think (unless I am conflating JD’s thoughts with my own thoughts this week) that the whole discussion about politics here misses the point. I have been thinking about the underlying nihilism in our culture and how our nation and culture do not know Jesus, do not know the truth about the world, and are thus suffering and lashing out with that pain. I do think and am reflecting about my role in being a solution to that. Since I know Jesus and believe that He is the Truth that the suffering people in this country need (those who would see murder, violence, revenge, anger as the solution), I should be zealous about bringing Him to those in my purview, and even looking to expand that purview to bring Him to those places. That doesn’t mean getting more into politics or more active in Twitter and the fact that those things seem like our only options may be the problem. So I guess you’re both right, but I thought that the convo here got a bit lost
It probably did, you're right.
Evangelism to me means doing whatever God wants of me today right here where I am. And it means that for you, too. I had never heard of Charlie Kirk although I lived in a house with people who probably watched him. If they had political stuff on the tv I just kept going to my room.
At the end of the day the world is always going to be imperfect because we are fallen and suffer from concupiscence. Since politics is about trying to make the world a better place, it can't succeed unless every individual person is so full of Jesus that it is now not us but Christ within us. And the only way any of us can contribute to that improvement is to live Christ withinus at every moment. None of us can do this on our own, but only by God's power. Come, Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your well beloved spouse.
Come, Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, and console me. Tell me what I must do, inspire me with what I must say. Give me your orders. I promise to submit myself to You in all that you ask of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will and do Your will. Amen - -Cardinal Mercier
I appreciate your honest soul searching. It shows a true love of God and neighbor. But know this: You guys, in the manner you write and report, are helping us avoid Catholic “partisanship” and seek the truth. That balance models to us readers the intellectual habit of fair discourse. And that habit will spill over to how we think and speak on other matters, including politics. Be at peace. And as one of my favorite priests says, “stay in your lane”. We need you there!
This is exactly right. I've been pondering the discourse on Twitter the last few days about "should priests have preached about Charlie Kirk." My sympathies lie with the fact that a homily is not intended to be political. But many people, myself included, are not sure *how* to think about current events with a Catholic worldview. Furthermore the only formation that many people get is at the Sunday homily. Absent a proper culture of ongoing conversion and catechesis, people will be formed by those who are willing to talk about the things they're thinking about. This week, that is many online commentators. I worry about this.
But JD and Ed and all those who write for the Pillar, you all help enormously in how you approach questions with great seriousness. As someone who has a degree in humanities but is nonetheless (or perhaps therefore) very poorly educated you're helping me learn how to think, and I deeply appreciate it.
I want to affirm both of you. Y'all do great work. I do think you evangelize by being a part of your local Catholic community because when newcomers are present, they can see how Christians love one another. It's late, but I'm probably not phrasing this week. Obviously, your examination is your own, but that's my 2 cents.
Ed's story of what he overheard at the airport reminded me of this old Lewis Black bit:
"Behind me, I heard a young woman of 25 say, "If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college." Now, I'm gonna repeat that, because it bears repeating. "If it weren't for my horse..." as in, giddyup, giddyup, let's go — "I wouldn't have spent that year in college," which is a degree-granting institution. Don't think about that too long, or BLOOD will shoot out your NOSE!"
I have to disagree with JD regarding the Athletic. Since the NYT has purchased it, I think it definitely has become significantly more political. I think the main evidence is the number of articles that have comments turned off. Why would sports articles prohibit comments?
Thank you for this because you two are echoing many of my own thoughts over the past few days. I've been feeling a call to reread the letter to Diognetus, specifically chapter 5 (https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0101.htm). We are salt and light, in the world but not of the world. It will take a lot of prayer and discernment to figure out what that means for each of us.
I love you guys and I pray for you to be continue to be loving sons of the Church in your work for the Pillar and that you faithfully live your vocations as husbands and fathers. Because it's in living our vocations that we'll change the world. We might not see how that impacts others in this life, but it matters. Live a life of prayer and love those around you.
You know, I discovered JD and Ed through Twitter, before The Pillar even existed. I’m grateful I did. But Twitter is no longer the same as it was then, and indeed, I see it as a place abounding with near occasions of sin. Last year, I finally deactivated my account, but it wasn’t the easiest decision, in part because I enjoyed following your accounts. I decided that my soul was more important, though. The pornography, the rage, and now the violence that are all over the site—it wasn’t worth it.
JD, you talked about being a witness in an ugly space. Might it also be worth considering, that removing yourselves from Twitter would also be good for your followers? Then they, like me, might have less of a reason to wade in that cesspool? You could always keep the official Pillar Twitter account, but engage more on here, where at least so far there isn’t the porn and the violence and quite the same level of rage as there. And you might find more people hungry for your thoughtful and important work. Just wanted to share that.
Thank you both for this thoughtful conversation. I've always appreciated how you each bring a different perspective to the Pillar. You both love God and the Church (it's clear by the work you do and the way you approach it) and your differences are so needed to avoid becoming like the echo chamber of other voices/outlets/sources (even Catholic ones). JD, I'm inspired by your questioning what God is calling you to do. I am going to take that question to prayer. Ed, "conscious objector" is exactly how I feel about politics. I'm going to adopt that phrase. God bless and guide you both. I'm so grateful for you and the work you do.
Apologies - I meant to type "conscientious" not "conscious." It was early when I wrote that and clearly was barely conscious.
I cannot help but think the real Benedict Option these days is less a physical withdrawal from the world than a withdrawal from the things of this culture (e.g., social media, political parties).
"What's the other one where everyone just spends all of their time saying they want the woman who wrote Harry Potter dead?"
-Reddit
I totally agree with Ed. Guys, please do not start getting political!
1. I can name half a dozen religious news/opinion outlets which started "dabbling" in politics, and then within a few years they were political outlets with a religious veneer. You'll get WAY more clicks on a post about Trump then a post about Parolin. You will feel the lure to go more and more in that direction....
2. I already have plenty of sources (including podcasts and medium-size news websites) about politics. I don't need more.
3. Over and over, we have seen Catholic bishops who say "My flock listens to me when I preach about Christ, so if I tell them what to think about politics, they will listen to me about that." But it never works out that way. NOBODY in their diocese changes their vote when the bishop gets political. All that happens is that half the people in the diocese cheer and send the bishop a glowing letter for telling them what they already believed anyway, and the other half stop listening to the bishop altogether.
4. When someone is an expert in something -- like you guys are experts on the Church today -- it's tempting to believe that if you branch out into a new field, you'll be an expert there too. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is an expert in astronomy, so he figures he must be an authority on theology and philosophy too, even though he's never studied them. And it just makes him sound silly. The people I read about politics have spent their entire careers learning about it. Can you hope to compete?
So funny how JD mentioned The Athletic - The Pillar and The Athletic are the only two publications I subscribe to
My doctor has forbidden me to watch or listen to videos and podcasts, but I'm sure this was wonderful.