Have you ever considered the divine plan for your emotions? We might think God’s plan would be for us to get rid of our emotions or ignore them, but the wisdom of the Christian tradition says otherwise. So, too, does the Son of God, who took on our human emotions when he took on our flesh. The key to the divine plan for our emotions lies in integration and alignment, working to direct all parts of ourselves toward the good God intends for us.

 But how do we do that? My guest today has spent a considerable amount of time thinking such things, practicing such things, even teaching and preaching on such things. He is Abbot Austin Murphy, a Benedictine monk of St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, Illinois, who holds a Ph.D. in theology from Notre Dame. His new book, Emotional Holiness: Discovering the Divine Plan for Your Human Emotions, offers guidance on how to reckon with and direct our emotions, into concord rather than discord with our mind and our will. It is a practical book that is filled with insight.

Follow-up Resources:

• Emotional Holiness: Discovering the Divine Plan for Your Human Emotions, by Abbot Austin Murphy, OSB.
• “Monastic Life and Human Ecology, with Abbot Austin Murphy, OSB,” podcast episode via Church Life Today

Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.