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Posts published in September 2019

Day and Merton: Saints in Utah?

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– My first Boy Monk blog post, two years ago this week, recalled the September 2015 speech by Pope Francis to Congress. The Pope described how American…

The subtle graces of September sunflowers

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– September, perhaps the Rodney Dangerfield of months, has not always enjoyed the full measure of my respect.  Yes, there is an abundance of peach pie and…

The Catholic Church should celebrate, not ban, Harry Potter

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– A recent news headline reported that a priest at a Catholic elementary in Nashville, Tennessee has banned J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books from the school library. This ban…

My Irish Grandfather confronts the Captain of Death

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– In the late 1800s, tuberculosis killed 1 of every 7 people on earth. This terrible bacterial plague—called the Captain of Death—claimed four of my own family…

The old monk in the foothills

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– The old Trappist monastery in Huntsville, Utah was my second home, a source of lasting friendship, and a font of spiritual refreshment. I knew the place…