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HeightsCast

Living Simplicity

Advent invites us to reflect on our Christian disposition, oriented towards peace, hope, joy, and love. St. Josemaría Escrivá was known to summarize that disposition by calling it, simply… “simple.” In The Way, he praises the apostles and St. Joseph for imitating Jesus himself in being simple. And then he exhorts us: “May you not lack simplicity.”

Heights faculty Joe Cardenas and Nate Gadiano join us this week to explore the Christian meaning of “simplicity,” beginning with the ways that God is simple: unified, sincere, essential, and wholly true. As we strive to reflect his example, how do we find that interior disposition of simplicity? And how can we help our boys find it too?

Chapters:

3:07 A Catholic sense of simplicity

10:13 Moving beyond “minimalism”

18:38 Simplicity in Scripture

20:43 Social simplicity

24:12 As opposed to duplicity

26:08 How spiritual direction simplifies you

30:36 A unity of purpose

32:39 Distinct from feelings-based “honesty”

39:02 Helping our boys as parents, mentors

41:41 A boy’s insecurity, overcome by trust

47:38 Secure in divine filiation

Links:

The Way, Furrow, and The Forge by St. Josemaría Escrivá

Also on the Forum:

The Virtues Playlist on The Heights Forum

About the Authors

Joe Cardenas

Head of Mentoring, The Heights School

Joe Cardenas is the Head of Mentoring at The Heights. Mr. Cardenas also teaches AP Art History, English Literature, and Freshman Theology.  Since coming to The Heights in 1994, he has organized cultural trips to Europe and service projects in South America. Mr. Cardenas completed his undergraduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a degree in American history; he received his M.A. in Private School Management from Columbia University in Manhattan. He taught at The Head-Royce School, an independent school in California, and at inner-city programs in Chicago and the Bronx before joining The Heights faculty.

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Nate Gadiano

Executive Director

Nate is the Executive Director of The Heights Forum. In addition to his work at the Forum, he has also taught Natural History in the Lower School and Writing Workshop in the Middle School; he currently leads a philosophy seminar for high school seniors.

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