Innovate~Educate~Collaborate

Category: fratelli Tutti

  • Green Junction: The minimalist lifestyle by Julie Peller Ph.D.

    The minimalist lifestyle is described as a simplistic way of living using materials that are necessary or serve a purpose. Those who choose a minimalist lifestyle, often called minimalists, are people who seek happiness and peace in living, not in materials. Minimalism is the conscious decision to live with fewer possessions with more time to…

  • Green Junction: “It is our collective and individual responsibility: By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    Younger generations tend to express greater concern about the state of the earth. Their futures are challenged by the rising human population that generates greenhouse gases, pollution, and extorts natural resources, among other stressors. Societal messaging continues to promote materialism, which distresses nature. Unprecedented weather events are among the earth’s messages. Young people who recognize…

  • Merton: a ‘mystical experience.’

    In 1966, Merton wrote about a ‘mystical experience’ in a Louisville, Ky., shopping district, commonly known as the 4th & Walnut experience. Merton famously wrote: “I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even…

  • For Merton, what is the Kingdom of God?

    For Thomas Merton, the Fourth & Walnut experience was about “seeing” the ‘Kingdom of God.’ The realization that the ‘kingdom of God is all about “seeing.” The See-Judge-Act methodology allows us to see the goodness in humans naturally. Kingdom = Consciousness, the understanding of the greater good, think, eudaimonia. The Kingdom of God is not…

  • There’s no better time for a movement to stand up. By Julie Peller, Ph.D.

    “Morality, at its core, is about putting ourselves in others’ shoes and treating their interests as we do our own.” Oxford University Professor of Philosophy William MacAskill is the author of “What We Owe the Future.” In this writing, he imagines “living the life of every human being who has ever existed — in order…

  • Rest In Peace Frederick Buechner — Pastor Michael Moore’s Blog

    A great book to read. This is a book of wisdom! This is a book Thomas Merton would have been encouraging others to read. Photo from Amazon.com Frederick Buechner (July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an early inspiration and mentor to me in the early 80’s and continued to touch my heart through…

  • Green Junction: Plastic materials manufactured since 1950 is over 9 billion tons: By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    According to the World Economic Forum, the production of plastic is expected to double over the next 20 years. Half of the plastics in our world now have been made over the past two decades. The accumulated amount of plastic materials manufactured since 1950 is over 9 billion tons, which some researchers describe as over…

  • Are we becoming uneducated?

    “An educated person is one who through the travail of his own life has assimilated the ideas that make him representative of his culture, that make him a bearer of its traditions and enable him to contribute to its improvement.“~Mortimer J Adler KEY: contribute to its improvement. An educated person is a curious person; when…

  • We need to become civilized

    As Catholics, for that matter all Christians, we must realize abortion is not the cause but a symptom of much greater ills in our society and culture. If we want to reduce or even end abortion, we start with understanding the teachings of Jesus, the early followers in the first two centuries, (pre-empire church) we…

  • Green Junction: How exactly can carbon dioxide be removed from the air?By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    A recent statement by the United States Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, suggests that one of the many ways to address climate change is through the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. “..removing legacy carbon pollution from the air through direct air capture and safely storing it is an essential weapon in our fight…