In this episode, the dogs talk about college football coaching shake-ups (00:33), the start of Advent (05:40), and the altar server pizza party at Mike’s parish (07:10). Mike asks the other dogs how they find a balance between desire and expectation (16:10). Rob describes the mystics and their posture of holy indifference as a way to heal from human expectations (21:22) and Connor pinpoints freedom as the main difference between desire and expectations (21:46). Mike very vulnerably acknowledges his own unmet expectations of priesthood and the healing transformation that came from giving those expectations back to the Lord (32:29). They finish up with some classic ribbing on “faith journeys” and “seasons” (39:55).
Quotes
- “Do I know You well enough now Lord and trust You, that I can take this desire seriously, but have a holy indifference to the expectation that may come with it?” (Rob, 21:22)
- “The difference between desire and expectation is freedom; you allow the other to be free.” (Connor, 21:48)
- ”God does not have expectations of me. He wants something for me, not something from me.” (Connor, 23:42)
- “It’s a limitation on desire when we get wrapped up in expectations.” (Mike, 25:00)
- “Existing in hope is tense, to be constantly fighting against expectations and allowing desire to flourish, even though you know the more you desire, the less this world is going to be able to satisfy those desires and the more you have to point your heart to God, that often looks like the cross. It’s seriously painful.” (Connor, 31:12)
- “I wanna turn to the reality of this vocation, so instead of focusing on the limitedness of this desire, I can let that go. You realize you’re holding onto something that was too small and that the Lord wants something more for you.” (Mike, 33:15)
- “To be able to articulate our expectations and then give them to the Lord is a way of giving our humanity to Christ, which then allows Him to transform it into His Divine desire.” (Mike, 34:54)
- “If you can find that distinction, between expectation and desire, that is where humanity lives.” (Rob, 37:12)
- “God gives me whatever I want because whatever God gives me, that’s what I want.” (Connor summarizing Scott Hahn who was quoting St. Therese of Lisieux, 38:52)
- “Grace is not cheap.” (Mike invoking Rob who was verbatim quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 39:55)
Media Mentions
- Notre Dame vs Illinois (11/29 men’s basketball)
- Pacific Rim (2013)
- Jordan B. Peterson’s The 4 Horsemen of Meaning
- St. John of the Cross’ Dark Night of the Soul
Shout-outs
- Notre Dame Football
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Brian Kelly
- Lincoln Riley
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles
- Louisiana State University
- Pete Carroll
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Rams
- Chargers
- Philip Rivers (preceding day 3 keynote at SLS20)
- Cor Coffee
- FOCUS
- Theresa (Mike’s sister)
- Jordan B. Peterson
- Bishop Robert Barron
- St. John of the Cross
- Fr. John Kartje
- Fr. Timothy Gallagher
- Fr. Walter Ciszek
- Scott Hahn
- St. Therese of Lisieux
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Follow the dogs on Instagram @threedogsnorth
Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com