By Michael Patrick O’Brien– A recent ordinary moment with my friends, Utah’s Trappist monks, now is an unexpected and extraordinary reminder of the essence of their unique monastic life. In…
Posts published in January 2022
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Sometimes we take existence for granted and become oblivious to the sheer wonder of being. That’s why I recently took a couple of remedial courses on…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– When I was a boy, my Trappist monk friends shared their homemade wheat bread with me. It was a precious moment of monastic hospitality, made even…
By Gary Topping– (Editor’s note: a previous version of this article appeared in the Intermountain Catholic. Part one of this story is available here.) Mary Bell and the McDougall family learned…
By Gary Topping– (Editor’s note: a previous version of this story appeared in the Intermountain Catholic.) When a young man announces his intention to enter the priesthood, we are filled…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Don’t let the whole Boy Monk persona thing fool you. I have a good old-fashioned nasty Irish temper including, on occasion, a very sharp tongue. Several…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Wisdom, of course, can come from many unusual places and from very unexpected sources. Yet, most people still are surprised when I point to a Catholic…