This week, there is an unintentional theme among all of my videos: look to others to improve on their mistakes. I’m only seeing this common thread now, but it seems to be a good message.

Not all prayer is good

Prayer is our way to connect with God. It should be encouraged always. But just because prayer is necessary, doesn’t mean that it’s always fruitful. It takes practice. In this Upon Friar Review, we look at four examples of prayer that’s… a little off. (Because of technical difficulties, this was intended for last Friday, but was released Monday. I’ve included it once again here as a summary of the week.)

The Franciscans have messed up

Look at the Franciscans today and compare them to how St. Francis lived. It’s quite a contrast. Many have concluded that we’ve betrayed the foundation of the Order… and I don’t completely disagree. History needs context, and evaluation needs nuance. Ultimately, we’re all in need of reform.

An Atheist’s misguided rant

What do you do when a comedian does a bit entitled “religion is bulls***”? If you’re Fr. Patrick and I, you watch it, take it all in, and try to make the best of it.

The Jesuits Copied the Franciscans…

And made a more efficient Order. This is my take on the foundation of the Jesuits. Look to the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and you will find the Franciscan charism running through his veins. He was clearly influenced by our life and work, and we applaud him for what he did with it.

No Podcast this week

Unfortunately, life got the best of me last week! With an out-of-town wedding and extra things to cover, I had to push back the recording of our episode of Everyday Liminality. It wouldn’t have fit into the unintentional theme of the week anyway! New episode set to release Tuesday!

The Rich, Young Man

This weekend, the Gospel at mass is about the Rich Young Man who asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Because he has many possessions, he goes away sad, a cautionary tale for us all. While many will contend that it is about an inappropriate attachment to money, I think that it is much more than that: it’s about discipleship. In my book Let Go: Seven Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship, I use this passage as a jumping off point to ask the reader, If you were to put yourself in the rich young man’s position, what would Jesus say you need to let go of? In other words, what is preventing you from following Jesus unreservedly? If you’d like to explore this question further, you can purchase copies of my book here.

Hope everyone has a great week! Peace and good,

Fr. Casey