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.

Hoops, Hope, and Holiness, with Fr. Pete McCormick, C.S.C.

Everybody at Notre Dame knows Fr. Pete. He’s the director of campus ministry, who’s responsible for leading a team that cares for the spiritual needs of our student body. He lives in a Notre Dame residence hall, where about 250 young men share life – and pranks – together. He’s the chaplain of the Notre Dame men’s basketball team, where he helps guide student-athletes through the privilege and challenges of balancing very busy lives. He’s even the sometimes-DJ for campus events, including live on College Game Day when the show visited campus a couple years ago. But at the heart of it all, he is a Holy Cross priest, dedicated to his prayer and ministry, and to his religious community in the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Fr. Pete and I have been close friends for over 20 years. He joins me today to talk about ministry to our students, chaplaincy to the basketball team, his own vocation, and being fully alive.

Follow-up Resources:

• Story about “Fr. Pete” in the Notre Dame Magazine.
• Learn more about Campus Ministry at Notre Dame.

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.

Fr. Nate Wills has been the chaplain for the Notre Dame football team since 2018. He’s been along for exhilarating triumphs and devastating losses. He’s seen and felt the energy of packed stadiums and the nervous focus of the pregame rituals. He’s watched young men try and fail, then recover and succeed. But through it all, maybe the most important thing of all is simply this: he’s been there. He’s been present. And because of that, he’s witnessed the presence of God in unexpected and otherwise unseen places, and he’s helped other people to take note, too.

After collecting stories of these rich and humbling experiences, Fr. Nate has crafted these stories into short, illuminating reflections for the rest of us. His new book, Pray Like A Champion Today, opens up for us stories of the Notre Dame football program as seen in relation to the Gospel, with a call to prayer. Fr. Nate joins me today to talk about culture, character, and the presence of Christ as seen from the sidelines and beyond.

Follow-up Resources:

• Pray Like a Champion Today, by Fr. Nate Wills, C.S.C.
• Follow ”Pray Like a Champion Today” on Instagram
• Check out the hugely popular “Saturdays with the Saints” lecture series, where a public lecture on a saint is offered (in-person, plus available online) every Notre Dame home football Saturday.

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.