Part II of a series.  Below are links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

Fr. Z's Blog

The Cardinal Newman Guide to Colleges

The first of two episodes 

Sure Merton got kind of iffy towards the end, but his good books are still well worth reading.

Articles cited in the podcast:

"Merton's Parable of the Trappists and Icarians" by Iacobus M

“More on Merton” by Carl Olsen

“Can You Trust Thomas Merton?” by Anthony E. Clark

Thomas Merton is a name that can provoke a reaction from all manner of Catholics . . . all manner of reactions as well. This article, an update of a post I first published six years ago at the time of Merton's hundredth birthday, is about an illuminating story in one of his early (i.e., orthodox) books.  I'll publish a follow-up post about Merton himself next week.

The second of two podcasts exploring how, as a Christian, to navigate the currents of religion, culture, and politics.

Religion, culture, and politics are not of equal importance - how is a Christian to sort it out? (1st of 2 segments)

"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Mark 12:17)  Deciding how to balance what we really owe to Caesar with what we owe to God is a perennial issue for a believing Christian.  In the age of Covid and related governmental tomfoolery that question has become, let us say, even more acute.

The introductory post to my blog Spes In Domino.  Twitter, Google, Facebook, etc. aren't God . . . but Somebody is . . . 

The point is that the Church doesn't exist as a community for the sake of the community itself, it exists to bring us into communion with the Trinitarian God. Even fundamentally good and essential communities such as the family can't do that.

In this podcast I discuss how the amazing memories of Australia's oldest inhabitants inform our defense of the authenticity of the Gospels.