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Well, I'll be damned! You are two different people (allegedly)!

Here are some thing I enjoyed about this episode:

1. Make good soil. I agree with local first, homegrown Christianity in a Mother Theresa "If you want to change the world, go home and love your family" kind of way.

2. "There's no such thing as a Catholic Hamburger." I immediately started thinking of dialogue for a skit based on "Good Burger" but called "Catholic Burger."

3. Traditions. I think Hambone and I are kindred spirits in that I also like digging (pun intended) to the roots of traditions. Why do we do the things we do? Most times, I end up edified and with a sense of awe and confidence in Holy Mother Church and giants of Catholicism that came up with these treasures for us to find later.

4. The problem of abundance. I have ruminated on this topic quite a bit. What you said about food and information flooding our lives is spot on. Fasting is more necessary now than ever. I'm saying this more to myself than anything.

5. There's plenty illiterate people in heaven. Again, I have also thought about this so much. Especially since I "learned" my way back to the Church. But knowledge is not sanctity.

Great job, you two!

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author

Really happy you liked this episode and got some tings out of it! You hit on some of the best notes for sure. There's a lot to chew on here--maybe in a future episode we can pick one and dive into it a little deeper.

What would you most like to hear about next? One of these things, something else??

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I think expanding on the idea of making good soil would be my pick. I've had conversations with the men in my men's group where we're uber focused in leading our families, small community and parish because that's our circle of influence. How many times do you hear people say "think bigger" but we're never really encouraged to "think smaller" which, sometimes, could be a good thing.

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Thanks for this thought-provoking podcast! I appreciated so much the discussion about relinquishing control, acts of mercy, prayer, and local investment. It always gives me a little chill of the fear of the LORD, as God will ultimately be the judge of what we consider in our power or not. My prayer for myself and others is that as we receive the seeds of Truth into the soil of our hearts, the fruit will be Love--Love as defined by the self-giving, sacrificial, offering of everything Christ had for the very people who murdered him (us, me!)

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I’m still listening, but just wanted to chime in midway.

It was Pope Clement VIII who baptised coffee (thank you, my erstwhile-quizzer-nerd brain).

And this general return to simplicity is defintiely something I’m seeing here too in India, regardless of religion. I have a close friend of mine who pretty much quit his high-powered job, bought a tract of forest land and plans to farm and live off the produce with his family. I think more and more people are sick of this whole pay-bills-and-die approach to life, and expect a more meaningful relationship with nature and this planet.

The latter I can relate with A LOT.

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author

In china theres a phenomenon called “lying flat” which is like weaponizing this kind of simplicity. But it definitely shows that simplifying and de-industrializing our selves (not our society) is both good for us and an international phenomenon.

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Oh, interesting, let me look it up.

I’m also seriously considering this as a lifestyle, later in life. Just give me a mountain cabin that’s away from people as much as possible, ha.

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Disgruntled Catholics considered that, its called “the benedict option”, but i simultaneously believe we can do so much more by remaining in the world. This is a “benedict option” of the mind, a mental secession from the world. Then: who can disturb you? Good people do the most good as part of society, not separate from it. So how can we stay in the world but not let ourselves be absorbed by it? Enter: peasant life/dirt christianity.

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Ah, that makes sense. Sorta be-the-change-you-want-to-see approach, and that escape isn’t a solution.

Interesting. Definitely something to consider.

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Also, islay is pronouced eye-lah, heh.

You did get Ardbeg pretty right, though :P

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Jul 21, 2023·edited Jul 21, 2023Liked by Hambone

So glad I finally made time to listen to this! You gents discuss ideas that have been coming together in my own mind for the past few years and this discussion has excellently simple and practical implications for us Christians.

I also love the inversion you all seem to bring to the term peasant. Until recently I would generally think of the term as another form of lowly or poor but in a more negative connotation. Yet instead, to be a peasant is more of how to be lowly and poor in the material for the sake of Christ only to sow good soil to be closer to him.

It seems that it's a good time to start being a peasant.

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