In this episode, the dogs talk about Mike's thesis (01:25), distributism (05:30), and the extent to which earthly resources can solve the world's problems. Connor gives a summary of Ratzinger's Eschatology (09:08, check out the glossary below). Rob shares a recent reflection about stewardship (20:55) and then they all discuss the hardships and grace of living within natural limits (26:55).

Quotes:

“Whenever someone wants to solve a problem by just spending more money, very rarely is that getting to the root of the thing.” (Rob, 03:35)

“The point of sacraments (God’s grace) is to bring about an earthly justice.” (Connor, 12:04)

“I want the Mass to be a vision of Heaven, of the deepest longings of my heart that have nothing to do with simple morals. I’m moral because I want to stay in communion with this beauty, goodness, truth that is the answer to every question of being human.” (Connor, 12:40)

“We cannot build the Kingdom of God through electing the right people or passing the right laws; it's just simply not a thing that’s for that. Politics is the necessary evil of living in a world of sin.” (Connor, 13:18)

“Any time we try to make Heaven on Earth it turns into a dystopia.” (Mike, 16:00)

“The kingdom of God is coming. You can choose to tend it, or not.” (Rob quoting Connor,19:57)

“Do you see yourself as a King or a steward?” (Rob, 21:19)

“Addiction is the infinite desire for God that I’ve just pegged on a material thing.” (Connor, 29:55 )

“Nothing is uglier than a steward who thinks he is a King.” (Rob, 37:08)

Media Mentions:

Megan Ulrich’s Lessons from Trying (and Failing) to Live on the Poverty Line 
Joseph Ratzinger’s Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life
Magnificat’s January 5th reflection from Pope Francis
Thomas Sowell’s A Conflict of Visions
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
Star Trek
Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
The Cable Guy (1996)- “Feed me the rock!”
Auld Lang Syne

Shout-Outs:

Build Back Better Bill
G.K. Chesterton
Amazon
St. Paul the Apostle
Lord Denethor, Steward of Gondor
Job, The Book of
Wendell Berry
St. Francis Table in Atlanta, GA
Chic-fil-A
Fr. Paul Porter
Herod the Great
St. John the Baptist
Pontius Pilate
St. John Paul II Newman Center
Grima Wormtongue
Gandalf
Professor Severus Snape
Aslan, The Great Lion

Glossary:

Distributism: “An economic theory formulated by Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton largely in response to the principles of Social Justice laid down by Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum Novarum. Its key tenet is that ownership of the means of production should be as widespread as possible rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few owners (Capitalism) or in the hands of state bureaucrats (Socialism).” (www.distributistreview.com)
Subsidiarity: “An organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. Political decisions should be taken at a local level if possible, rather than by a central authority.” (Wikipedia)
Eschatology: “A part of theology concerned with the final events of history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity. This concept is commonly referred to as "the end of the world" or "end times"." (Wikipedia)
Eschaton: The end of the world. 
Christological: A doctrine or theory based on Jesus or Jesus's teachings.
Autobosileia: the Kingdom of God in Person. (www.ewtn.com) 
Hypostatic union: a theological term used with reference to the Incarnation to express the revealed truth that in Christ one person subsists in two natures, the Divine and the human.  (www.catholic.com)

 

Bromides:

“How do you church while adulting?”
“Live and let live.”
“Are you church or not?”
“Have you churched today?”

 

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