I acknowledge that I’ve been radio silent for a while. Much has happened in the last year, including my ordination to the priesthood in April, 2025. I hope to post an update soon, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share two papers I wrote for classes I took last semester that are relevant to the subject of this blog. Both papers deal with the relationship between asceticism and acts of mercy, or almsgiving, and seem timely in our current social climate. These papers form the foundation for my thesis, which I hope to complete next semester. While these are largely academic treatments of these subjects, I find the topics to be deeply pastorally relevant and they will likely inform much of my future ministry. I’m making these papers available to read here: