John D. O'Brien
John D. O'Brien writes from Toronto. He is a member of the Society of Jesus, and in fall 2012 will be teaching at Corpus Christi College in Vancouver. He blogs at "Veritas Liberabit."
Bio last updated April 30th, 2018.
Articles by John D. O'Brien
The Boundless Hope Option
By John D. O'Brien
April 7, 2017
John D. O’Brien, S.J. reviews Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option citing its value in igniting conversation, observing also the ways in which Christians might at once be different from and love the world at the very same time.
I dedicated my life to directing an independent Catholic school with many of the same goals Dreher proposes: to promote the good, the true and the beautiful, to preserve the innocence of the young while preparing them for the realities of the world, the transmission of the Catholic intellectual tradition, and to create community that was strong in faith but not isolated from the wider culture Dreher has been writing for years about the need for Christians to engage The Benedict Option, a withdrawal from fighting the culture wars to focus on living in small, intentional faith communities What is it about contemporary life in America that causes Dreher to sound the keening bell for America as a Christian society? Above all, it’s the 2015 redefinition of marriage in the United States, and its subsequent cultural enforcement by big business Dreher insists his option is not about withdrawal from the world, but about creating parallel structures, communal, economic and academic True, there are many risks on this side of the call: the tendency to “activism”, a hyper-engagement in external activities to the neglect of the interior life, or a tendency to complaisance, of pleasing others just to get along, keep the peace, or gain whatever the world has on offer
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The Resurrection of William Kurelek
John D. O'Brien
May 1, 2012
John D. O'Brien explains renewed interest in the tormented Prairie artist's painting, life and faith.
Jean Kurelek later gave my father her late husband's accordion, and the instrument has served as a symbol of Kurelek's life and friendship Kurelek purchased a small farm across the river from Madonna House in 1973 as a place where he could bring his family from time to time and escape from the city ...