Three Dogs North

In this episode, the dogs discuss their homilies from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary time, reflecting on Jesus' words, "repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God" (3:40). Michael Metz shares an update from Fort Knox (3:50) and Connor summarizes his guest homily at Rob's parish (8:30).

Quotes:

"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." (Connor quoting St. Augustine, 11:00).

"When I try to give my heart to the Lord... the way that I use my money properly flows after that because it’s not the main focus of what I’m worried about.” (Michael Metz, 17:30)

“Jesus is just awesome.” (Michael Metz, 18:50)

“Your soul belongs to God; that’s what you offer him.” (Rob, 22:00)

“Everything I have and am is from Him, to be enjoyed, and then given.” (Connor, 24:00)

“I'm ultimately not in charge, and the most important thing I have to give anyone is me.” (Connor, 26:00)

Media Mentions:

• Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
• The Confessions of Saint Augustine
• C.S. Lewis' The Weight of Glory
• Thomas Merton's Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander ("shining like the sun")
• James 2:17

References:

• Emilie Poletti
• Fort Knox
• Jerusalem

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs discuss the necessity of patience in their own spiritual lives and in forming the people they've been given to shepherd (11:00). They reminisce on their wildly successful podcast career (0:35), Michael Metz gives so many compliments (5:30, 33:05), and Connor picks a fight with a teenager (47:00).

Quotes:

"Patience is a universal fatherly virtue." (Connor, 11:10)

"Violence is trying to speed up time." (Connor quoting Deacon Keating, 15:00)

“Patience implies a story that unfolds.” (Michael Metz, 22:15)

“Our salvation is not something we do but we let be done to us.” (Connor quoting Bishop Bartosic, 29:00)

“It’s God’s job to sanctify you.” (Michael Metz, 39:43)

Media Mentions:

• The Chosen (2017- present)
• Brad Pitt & Adam Sandler
• Cain and Abel
• Christian Mythic Narrative with Monsignor Shea
• Msgr. Shea 2026 Commencement Speech
• Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited
• Dr. Becky Kennedy's Good Inside
• Aesop's Fables
• St. Paul
• Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow
• The Extended Edition of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)

References:

• Marco Polo
• Clubhouse
• Fort Knox
• Mundelein Seminary
• Deacon James Keating
• The Catholic University of America
• Bishop Mark Bartosic
• St. Paul
• The Camino de Santiago
• Fr. Gus Belauskas
• Dr. Scott Hahn

Shout-Outs:

• Blake Riffel
• Fr. Kevin Ripley
• Fr. Noah Huddleston
• Fr. Scott Harter
• Monica Mackie
• Jennifer Patel
• Pat Metz

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs mourn the loss of two episodes (0:02). Rob (7:40) and Michael Metz (11:15) offer Connor some suggestions for his upcoming trip to Rome. They spend the rest of the episode discussing salvation history and the power of finding our own story imbedded within it (18:00).

* Sorry for the background noise this time, check out our GoFundMe so Fr. Mike can upgrade his recording gear. Every bit helps.

Quotes:
“Sacred art must be particular enough to be recognizable, but universal enough to bear the mystery.” (Connor quoting Dr. Denis McNamara, 16:30)

"We are narrative creatures because we are made in the image of the Logos.” (Connor, 17:40)

“God is infinite, but he makes himself receivable; He accommodates our finite categories.” (Connor, 19:15)

“People don’t lose their faith because of a lack of evidence, but because of a lack of imagination.” (Connor quoting Fr. Daniel Siwek, 19:30)

"You can have everything you need, but if there's no story to it then what’s the point?” (Connor, 21:35)

“Imagination is full of potency.” (Michael Metz, 34:50)

Media Mentions:

• Borat (2006)
• Bishop Robert Barron's Catholicism (2011)
• The Chosen (2017- present)
• The Passion of the Christ (2004)
• The Gospels
• Monsignor Shea's Christian Mythic Narrative
• John Henry Newman's An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent
• Rocky (1976)
• Michael D. O'Brien's Theophilos
• Acts of the Apostles

References:

• St. Peter's Basilica
• Rome, Italy
• Assisi, Italy
• Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
• Catacombs of Saint Callixtus
• FOCUS
• Jim Caviezel
• Cardinal Francis George
• NBA
• Sea of Galilee

Shout-Outs:

• Drew Hines
• Ryan Saltness
• Fr. Ben Holdren
• Fr. Patrick J. Boyle
• Matt and Eileen McDonough
• Isaac and Mary Margaret Nawa
• Fr. Callistus Iyorember
• Tim Anastos
• Anycia Flynn, Little Sister Agape

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs discuss the current state of collegiate sports (5:40). Michael Metz pretends to read books at the airport (23:00), Connor begins another lecture series (23:55), and Rob offers 3DN consulting services to fix college football (29:10).

Quotes:

“I do feel the centrifugal force of the world of artifacts, where we live totally in a man-made world that gets more and more removed from the God-made reality.” (Connor, 20:20)

“God uses the folly of the cross to shame the wisdom of the world.” (Connor, 26:30)

“Am I part of the problem? Absolutely.” (Michael Metz, 30:43)

Media Mentions:

• No Laying Up Podcast
• Wendell Berry's Eternal Story
• Josef Pieper's Leisure, the Basis of Culture

References:

• 2026 U.S. Open Golf Championship
• Scottie Scheffler
• Tiger Woods
• YouTube
• Dabo Swinney
• Clemson Tigers
• Lane Kiffin
• LSU Tigers
• Croagh Patrick
• St. Patrick
• Chicago Bears
• George Halas
• Red Grange
• Illinois Fighting Illini
• Big Ten Conference
• SEC
• Wendell Berry
• New York University
• Piggly Wiggly
• Rushville, IL
• Georgia Bulldogs

Shout-Outs:

• Daniel Munie
• Fr. Patrick Gorman
• John "Juice Box" Johnson

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs discuss summer movies (1:00), putting the highest goods first (14:00), and how God uses His incarnational reality to draw us into deeper communion (29:40). Additionally, Michael Metz discovers the hermeneutic circle in real time (30:40).

Quotes:

“How important it is for me to not try and take the greatest goods and use them as a manipulation to get the things that I want.” (Michael Metz, 14:00)

"Treat the good as a good not because it’s beneficial, but just because they are good in and of themselves.” (Michael Metz, 14:55)

"You can fail to enjoy even the secondary goods when you don’t put the highest good first.” (Connor, 22:10)

"Nothing really can ever be lost; the giver of every good gift has promised, 'I am with you always even until the end of the age.'” (Connor, 23:10)

“No doubt, it is a great grace to receive the sacraments. When God does not permit it, it is good too! Everything is grace!” (Connor quoting St. Therese, 25:50)

"In the caverns of a baptized soul, there is this love. You don't stop being a person, you don't stop being a person who wants all the things people want, but you’re able to freely give them up.” (Connor, 35:50)

"We also need to be open to receiving the good things that God wants to give us.” (Michael Metz, 37:10)

Media Mentions:

• The Odyssey (2026)
• The Rivals of Amziah King (2025)
• John Wick series
• The Beekeeper (2024)
• The Italian Job (2003)
• Snatch (2000)
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)
• Toy Story 5 (2026)
• Wishbone (TV series- 1995)
• 1 Kings 18 (Elijah and the prophets of Baal)
• C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed
• Sermon on the Mount

References:

• Matt Damon
• Kurt Russell
• Jason Statham
• Charlize Theron
• Mark Wahlberg
• Guy Ritchie
• Netflix
• Anne Hathaway
• Christopher Nolan
• Troy
• Bishop Barron
• Mother Teresa
• St. Therese of Lisieux
• Dr. Scott Hahn
• Missionaries of Charity (in St. Louis)
• Hermeneutic circle: See- Judge- Act
• Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger)
• Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange

Shout-Outs:

• Kevin

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs center their conversation around a quote from Edith Stein (5:50) about hidden souls and their impact on salvation history. Connor shares his experience in Ireland so far (11:55), Rob reflects on the immense gift of the human soul (23:20), and Michael Metz ties it all back into Mary's fiat (26:10).

Quotes:

"The greatest figures of prophecy and sanctity step forth out of the darkest night. . . . Certainly the decisive turning points in world history are substantially co-determined by souls whom no history book ever mentions. And we will only find out about those souls to whom we owe the decisive turning points in our personal lives on the day when all that is hidden is revealed." (Rob quoting Edith Stein, 5:50)

“The formative stream of salvation history actually comes from the little ones and the hidden souls.” (Rob, 7:20)

“My heart is open to receive what God wants to show me about my story.” (Connor, 14:20)

“None of us are actually isolated self-made beings.” (Connor, 15:00)

“The church really is my family.” (Connor, 20:20)

“Not only does God respect it (our hiddenness), that's how he moves through us.” (Michael Metz, 27:50)

“The fulfillment of revelation is that God desires to win us over; and he’s happy to do it.” (Connor, 29:00)

Media Mentions:

• Pope Francis' Rejoice and be Glad
• John 1:14
• Gospel of Luke
• Arthur Brooks' The Meaning of Your Life

References:

• Ireland
• France
• Romania
• Hungary
• Bulgaria
• Brodozer
• Jacksonville
• Chicago
• John Paul II Healing Center
• Fort Bragg
• Edith Stein
• Feasts of Saints Peter and Paul
• Franciscan Friary in Killarney
• St. Patrick
• St. Joseph
• The Apparition at Knock
• Naperville, IL
• Bishop Robert Barron
• Mundelein Seminary
• Libertyville, IL
• Alaska
• The Annunciation
• The Babylonian Exile
• 2026 NBA Draft
• Keaton Wagler
• World Cup
• Boston
• Scotland

Shout-Outs:

• Sam
• Luke and Megan Sander

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs discuss different experiences of time (8:15). Rob shares his recent trip to Nebraska for FOCUS training (3:18), Connor gives a brief lecture on metaphysics (14:50), and Michael Metz thinks the Sacred Heart of Jesus is "really cool" (35:10).

Quotes:
“There’s a particular grace of old friendships that’s deep magic of the human experience." (Rob, 12:45)

“Heaven is entering into eternity.” (Connor, 14:40)

“We are perfectly open vessels to God’s infinite love and being as he pours himself out into us.” (Connor, 18:50)

“God really is always working.” (Michael Metz, 27:16)

“We have access to eternity as the image of God, but we are also radically conditioned by our bodies, which change and grow and die.” (Connor, 33:00)

“Things pass away, but nothing is really lost.” (Connor, 33:20)

“The infinite love of God pours itself into a human heart and yet it contains the totality of God’s love.” (Michael Metz, 36:00)

“It gives me peace to live in the reality that things that are not fully reconcilced in my life are okay, because God is there.” (Michael Metz, 40:18)

Shout-Outs:

• Drew and Emily Hines
• Fr. Ben Holdren
• Mitch and Sarah Minarick
• Anne Marie Brummer
• Walter

Media Mentions:

• Ezekiel
• Paul J. Griffiths' Decreation: The Last Things of All Creatures
• Sheldon Vanauken's A Severe Mercy
• St. Augustine's Confessions
• C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity
• The Matrix (1999)
• Tig Notaro ("Can you believe it?")

References:

• St. Cecilia of Rome
• Fr. Gus Belauskas
• Bishop Robert Barron
• Fr. Bob Schoenstene
• Lincoln, Nebraska
• FOCUS
• Southern Illinois University
• Fort Bragg
• Champaign, Illinois
• metronomic time vs. systolic time
• chronos vs. kairos
• St. Thomas Aquinas (God is pure act; ipsum esse subsistens)
• World War II
• Hans Urs von Balthasar
• John Mulaney
• The Sacred Heart of Jesus
• Serenity Prayer

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi (2:20) by sharing their love for the Eucharist (11:50), the privilege of being a priest (12:55), and the joy of sharing the deposit of faith with God's people (20:35).

Quotes:

“All I need to do is show up and Jesus is going to be there (about the Mass).” (Michael Metz, 3:30)

“When all else fails, the Eucharist is our home.” (Connor, 6:40)

"That’s the deposit of faith- all we have to do is not inhibit the flow of God’s grace. There’s an unbelievable richness to it and yet it’s so simple.” (Michael Metz, 20:30)

“Jesus gives people hope and life.” (Michael Metz, 21:00)

“Hold onto the Eucharist, hold onto Jesus.” (Michael Metz, 21:40)

“The paschal mystery will unfold in ways you could never expect.” (Rob quoting another priest, 32:47)

“Abiding conversion comes from being with Jesus (in Eucharistic adoration).” (Rob, 34:55)

"Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I love you!" (Connor quoting St. Augustine's Confessions, 35:55)

“Jesus truly is the axis around which all of reality spins.” (Michael Metz, 40:30)

“There is nothing in the human experience that is outside of the reality of God’s love for us.” (Michael Metz, 41:40)

Shout-outs:
Bobby and Katie Fredericksen (from The Catholic Couple)

Media Mentions:

• Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
• Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis' Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word (Volume IV)
• John 10:10
• The Simpsons "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star" (season 16 episode 21)

References:

• The Feast of Corpus Christi
• Archbishop J. Peter Sartain
• Cardinal Francis George
• Seattle, WA
• National Eucharistic Preachers
• National Eucharistic Revival
• Abner
• Boaz
• Missionaries of Charity
• Yemen
• Fr. Jim Rafferty
• Pope Leo XIII exorcism prayer
• Justin Martyr
• St. Boniface (English born "Apostle to the Germans")
• St. Charles Lwanga (Uganda)
• Apollo (Greek god)
• St. Katherine of Sienna
• Melchizedek
• Abraham
• Moses
• St. John Paul II Newman Center at UIC
• Blue Island, IL
• St. Jerome
• FOCUS
• LifeTeen
• Blessed Chiara Badano
• Rome
• Haiti

Glossary:

• autobasileia: the kingdom in person

Fact check:

• Did JPII proclaim more saints than all predecessors?

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs talk about the importance of fruitful relationships in the context of space travel (8:55), post-apocalyptic horror movies (31:40), and everyday life (35:40).

Quotes:

“My priesthood, to be meaningful, must have a horizon beyond my life.” (Connor, 28:25)

"We're supposed to exist for other people." (Michael Metz, 38:00)

“In our human existence, we will always be in that tension, to truly totally forget ourselves. And yet, that is God; he is perfect, he does not need anything, he enjoys himself, but he also utterly shares himself at no cost.” (Connor, 40:05)

"We are made for relationship." (Connor, 41:00)

“The drive for communion results in you needing to make a sacrifice.” (Connor, 41:20)

Media Mentions:

• Passengers (2016)
• Interstellar (2014)
• Megan Ulrich's Hell, Bring the Kids Too
• Megan Ulrich's Return Unto Me
• Thomas Jefferson's The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth
• A Quiet Place (2018)
• The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012)

References:

• Eucharistic Preachers
• Kalamazoo, Michigan
• Michael Scott
• Men's Warehouse
• Chris Pratt
• Netflix
• Jennifer Lawrence
• META
• Adam and Eve
• Noah's Ark
• Emily Blunt
• FOCUS
• John Krasinski
• Rome, GA
• Jordan B. Peterson (on self-consciousness and anxiety)
• St. Joseph

Shout-Outs:

• Fr. Thomas Byrne

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs talk about being attentive to the "right things" (9:10). Michael Metz offers a tutorial on the art of pranking (23:45), and Connor shares how naming what is true helps him find peace in frustrating circumstances (35:30).

Quotes:

"You gotta know when to win." (Rob quoting Doug Johnson, 3:55)

"I'm at that stage in my life where I keep myself out of unnecessary arguments, so, even if you tell me 1+1=5, you're absolutely correct, enjoy." (Connor quoting Keanu Reeves, 4:45)

"What do I attend to and why?" (Michael Metz, 11:00)

“His (Justin's) high philosophy was answered by the simplicity of the humanity of Christ.” (Michael Metz, 26:35)

“We need to live in the truth; our consciences demand it.” (Connor, 27:10)

“There’s something in us that wants to live the lie that we can be something else.” (Connor, 27:55)

“The will of God is the current circumstances you find yourself in; living holiness is accepting that.” (Connor summarizing Ciszeck, 28:05)

“It is good that I am here and God is here sustaining me and strengthening me to do his will, whatever it may be.” (Connor, 29:20)

"I really enjoy golf course confrontation." (Rob quoting Michael Metz, 37:30)

Media Mentions:

• Three Dogs North S11 E76- Soft boys
• Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote
• WarGames (1983)- "The only winning move is not to play."
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
• The Matrix (1999)
• Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises
• Arthur C. Brooks' From Strength to Strength
• Fr. Walter Ciszek's He Leadeth Me

References:

• META
• Facebook
• Akedo
• ChatGPT
• YouTube
• Matthew Broderick
• Neo
• The Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF)
• Trinity Sunday 2026
• Memphis
• Justin Martyr (Justin the Philosopher)
• Junius Rusticus
• The Battle of the Bulge
• Chicago
• Wordpress
• Jiu-Jitsu
• Bruce Lee

Shout-Outs:

• Walter
• Doug Johnson

Glossary:

• Murder- group of crows
• Aboriginal Vicar of Christ- voice of God speaking directly inside us
• Impassible- incapable of suffering pain
• Immutable- unchanging
• Pantsing- pull down someone's pants (prank)
• Tabletopping- when someone is tripped backward by a person crouching behind them (prank)

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs discuss Pope Leo's encyclical (1:00) and the inherent sacredness of the human face and voice (7:05). Michael Metz recounts his ongoing battle with META (13:55), Connor reflects on how Jesus' humanity was formed through his relationship with his mother (19:28), and Rob gives a brief lesson on soteriology (30:00).

Quotes:

“It’s inherently relational (our face and voice), they express us most authentically but they are also invisible to us except in relationship to someone else looking at us and listening to us.” (Connor, 7:55)

"We are all born into the world looking for someone looking for us." (Connor quoting Curt Thompson, 18:15).

“Jesus’ humanity was formed by Mary not just biologically but psychologically.” (Connor, 19:30)

"To be human is relational.” (Connor, 20:05)

Media Mentions:

• Ezekiel 36:26 "I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh"
• Pope Leo XIV's Magnifica Humanitas
• Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum
• John Paul II Gift and Mystery
• C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength
• Mumford & Sons' The Cave
• Joseph Ratzinger's Jesus of Nazareth
• The Chosen
• Armageddon (1998)
• Men in Black (1997)
• C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring ("Not all who wander are lost.")

References:

• The Postal Service
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Ben Gifford
• Jimmy Tamborello
• Netflix
• Facebook
• META
• Dante Alighieri
• Tronick's Still Face Experiment
• Mary
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Glossary:

• Soteriology: "What is not assumed cannot be saved"
• Palagianism

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs discuss the power of good stories (15:40) and how they can help us make sense of our own lives (36:00). Mike reflects on what can be both consoling and frustrating about belonging to large institutions (18:30).

Quotes:
"Culture is what is celebrated, tolerated, and presumed." (Connor quoting Dr. Henry Cloud, 28:00)

"It's way easier to destroy things than build them." (Connor, 32:30)

"The power of narrative helps me see how deeply meaningful this life is." (Rob, 36:10)

Media Mentions:

• Shadow Force (2025)
• Avengers
• Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop
• J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

References:

• Toulouse, France
• Chicago, IL
• 2012 SEC Championship Game
• T.J. Yeldon
• Trent Richardson
• Derrick Henry
• Alec Ogletree
• Georgia Bulldogs
• Alabama Crimson Tide
• The Big Ten
• White Claw
• Bishop Robert Barron
• Bishop Louis William Valnetine DuBourg (1766- 1833)
• Louisiana Purchase
• Bishop John Carroll (1735- 1815)
• Boston, MA
• Philadelphia, PA
• New York, NY
• Bardstown, Kentucky
• Napoleon
• St. Louis, MO
• Sir Ernest Shackleton
• St. John Neumann (1811- 1860)
• St. Dominic
• St. Francis
• Tom Cruise
• The Dominican Order
• Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
• St. John Paul II Newman Center
• Michelle Duppong
• FOCUS
• Blessed Chiara Badano
• NASA
• The Apollo Program

Shout-Outs:

• Pat Metz
• Rebecca Berry
• Ben
• Brother Francisco
• Emilie Ann Poletti
• Kevin Metz

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs record their final in-person cast from Maryville (00:08). The guys reflect with gratitude on the trip (3:50) and discuss how joyful it is when different parts of your life intersect (8:10). They also share their experience visiting some of Rob's parishioners (31:40) and discuss "the power of comedic melancholy" (47:30). The episode concludes with their highs, lows, and God moments from the overall trip (48:40).

Emilie Ann Poletti passed away on May 23, 2026. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for those who mourn her passing.

Quotes:

"It grows gratitude in me when people from difference chapters of my life can meet each other.” (Rob, 4:30)

“You get this unique part of a person when you are around people that know them from a different lense.” (Rob, 5:05)

“They’re part of your life, so we want to know them.” (Rob quoting Emily Hennish, 7:10)

"It’s kind of a way to build up the kingdom of God and see the embers get together and create fire, it’s really beautiful.” (Michael Metz, 8:35)

“If you have this lady praying for you, you’ve got your butt dipped in butter.” (Connor quoting other priests, 10:40)

"I should find friendship upon the way, secret and unlooked for." (Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring, 15:50)

“Christ can call us to the hard good over the easy lie." (Michael Metz, 18:00)

“As Christians, it’s so important for us to pursue joy.” (Michael Metz, 19:10)

“The crosses that come in life are also unlooked for.” (Connor, 22:40)

“Heaven is just wherever Jesus is.” (Connor quoting Rob, 22:50)

“I can just be a gift. I don’t have to do anything to make that happen.” (Connor, 31:50)

"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off." (Eustice from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 36:30)

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” (Viktor E. Frankl, 38:00)

“Life is so full and so rich.” (Rob, 1:00:10)

Media Mentions:

• J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
• 3DN S11 E70 (live)- Fire! and Friendship
• St. John of the Cross' Dark Night of the Soul
• C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia
• Thomas Nagel's The View from Nowhere
• Walker Percy's "Loss of the Creature"
• Matthew 18:20
• 3DN S11 E73- Cultivating an openness to epiphany

References:

• FOCUS
• Lincoln, Nebraska
• Walter
• Bishop Mark Bartosic
• Sea of Galilee
• The Holy Family
• St. Joseph the Worker
• 82nd Airborne Division
• WWII
• Blessed Chiara Badano
• The Oh Hellos
• Chicago
• IPF
• Jiminy Cricket
• Tinker Bell
• Brave
• William Shakespeare (April 23, 1564- April 23, 1616)
• Adolf Hitler
• Columbine (April 20, 1999)
• Maryville, IL
• Cardinals baseball
• Illinois Fighting Illini
• Keaton Wagler

Shout-Outs:

• Matthew and Maggie Truty
• Drew and Emily Hennish
• Mary Margaret Metz
• Charlie
• Emilie
• Joe

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs continue their in-person visit in Maryville, Illinois (00:13). They discuss how the trip is going so far (2:30) and swap stories from trips to Alaska (9:50), Lyon (24:30), Paris (29:40), and elsewhere. Michael Metz frames the discussion around the difference between approaching travel with authentic receptivity versus consumerist self-indulgence (13:10), setting the stage for reflections on leisure (14:50) and the nature of authentic self-care (21:15).

Quotes:

“Who I am is a gift; to God, and to myself, and to other people.” (Connor, 17:18)

“Every baptized person is bringing the light of Christ wherever they go.” (Connor, 20:20)

"My take on reality is so tiny and yet I have access to the totality in God.” (Connor, 28:00)

“... It’s not through transcending our humanity that we then feel full; it’s through recognizing our limitedness and embracing it. Where is the glory? It’s in the simple encounter.” (Connor, 29:00)

Media Mentions:

• Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
• 3DN S3 E1 "The one where the sound is better."
• 3DN S3 E3 "The one with Fr. Barron (part 1 of 2)"
• 3DN S3 E4 "The one with Fr. Barron (part 2 of 2)"
• 3DN The Ocho 25 "Something else (with Bp. Barron)"
• Bishop Barron's What Christians Believe: Understanding the Nicene Creed
• Carnivores
• Mario Kart 64
• New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe
• "I hit bombs!"
• Josef Pieper's Leisure: The Basis of Culture
• John 17:24 "Father, they are your gift to me."
• Father Willard F. Jabusch's "Whatsoever You Do"
• Parks and Recreation ("Treat yo self")

References:

• Maryville, IL
• Bishop Robert Barron
• Nintendo Switch
• FOCUS
• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE)
• Todd Peterson
• LSU baseball
• Phil Mickelson
• Post hoc ergo propter hoc
• Alaska
• Mount Saint Elias
• St. Patrick
• Ireland
• Lourdes, France
• Our Lady of Lourdes, Virgin Mary
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux
• The Camino de Santiago
• The Holy Family
• Haiti
• Lyon, France
• Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Church
• Bobby's Frozen Custard
• Notre- Dame Cathedral
• Babel
• Banks of the Seine
• Analogy of Being (Thomas Aquinas)

Shout-Outs:

• Joseph Deckert
• Walter
• Scott (and the whole crew)
• Sister Agape

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs discuss why their time in seminary was both uniquely formative (4:00) and deeply universal (10:28). Connor highlights the importance of lifelong formation (16:00) and the dogs reflect on how that has played out in different parishes (24:50). They close the cast by pondering the eschatological tension of God's "already and not yet" kingdom (43:40)... and loud SunChips bags (49:45).

Quotes:

"It was what it should be." (Rob on seminary, 6:00)

“I think our experience of life is abnormal compared to most of human history. The seminary is artificial... but there is something kinda more normal about it too.” (Connor, 15:10)

“I’m not in control, ultimately. Everything I build could be destroyed in a night and that's okay because Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Connor, 32:30)

"Catholicism stands on it’s own and it feeds hungry people.” (Michael Metz, 35:40)

"Wait... did Barron kill new athiesm?" (Connor, 37:00)

"Stanley Rother didn't go to Guatemala to do things. He went to Guatemala and things happened around him." (Connor, 39:50)

"The whole point of celibacy is that you are forgoing created beauty for the source of beauty.” (Connor quoting Deacon James Keating, 40:00)

Media Mentions:

• Saint Augustine's Confessions
• Catholic Stuff You Should Know's What is a Parish?
• Act 3:6
• Michael Metz on creatine

References:

• Baked Lays
• Fr. Isaac Coulter
• Fr. Michael Brungardt
• Fr. Michael Steffes
• Michigan State Spartans
• Michigan Wolverines ("Go Blue!")
• Carmelite Monastery
• Des Plaines, IL
• All Saints Catholic Cemetery
• Bishop Robert Barron
• St. John's Catholic Newman Center
• University of Illinois (UIUC)
• Fr. Larry Hennessy
• Fr. Daniel Siwek
• The Institute for Priestly Formation
• FOCUS
• Renew My Church
• Chicago, IL
• Fr. Thomas Byrne
• St. Francis Xavier of Our Lady of Mercy Parish
• Fr. Thomas Byrne
• Win. Build. Send.
• COVID
• Jeff Bezos
• Mark Zuckerberg
• Burger King
• FOCUS parish
• New Atheism
• Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
• Vatican II
• Deacon James Keating
• Blessed Stanley Rother
• Guatemala
• Oklahoma
• The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
• Fr. Victor Mosele
• Sierra Leone
• St. John Paul II Newman Center
• Spiral Nebula
• Sun Chips
• creatine
• ChatGPT
• Russia
• Crimea
• Thor
• Megamind

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs discuss Walter's upcoming 101st birthday (3:44). Inspired by Walter's wisdom on perseverance, the conversation shifts to celibacy (7:30) and the "problem of evil" as it confront individuals (29:10). In the midst of it all, Michael Metz reenacts a self-titled "genius" homily (19:00) which is admittedly beautiful.

Quotes:
"The self-possession to be able to see goods that you can't have, to be moved by the beauty of things you cannot possess.” (Connor, 10:40)

"You cannot have everything you want." (Connor, 12:40)

“If the grass is always greaner on the other side, it’s time to water your lawn." (Connor quoting Hennessy, 14:24)

"We get to see the examples of the disciples (in the Acts of the Apostles). They are people living in the reality of the full promises of God in the midst of a fallen world; that's the church, that's what the church looks like." (Michael Metz, 21:20)

"When you see a guy (Walter) who goes through suffering like that, it's a form of worship." (Michael Metz 24:30)

"Suffering is not victorious, Jesus is victorious." (Michael Metz, 24:45)

"You know how it is, Mose." (Connor 27:35)

"Angels can’t suffer. The highest drama in being is in the human heart because we are so vulnerable and yet called to image God in our freedom.” (Connor, 29:55)

Media Mentions:

• Fulton Sheen's Life of Christ
• John 6
• Acts of the Apostles
• J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion
• Benedict XVI/ Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ("God writes straight on crooked lines")
• Joshua 24:15
• Not Dead Yet podcast
• Ross Douthat's "How Ben Sasse Is Living Now That He Is Dying"
• John 14:13
• Psalm 23

References:

• Jumpmaster
• Fort Benning
• 82nd Airborne Division
• D-Day (Normandy)
• Fr. Patrick J. Boyle
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux
• Aaron (Moses' brother)
• Ben Sasse (former United States Senator)
• Nebraska
• University of Florida
• New York Times

Shout-Outs:

• Walter
• Fr. John Kartje
• Fr. Larry Hennessy

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs answer the following questions (live):

• Question #1: Do you have a karaoke song that you like to sing? (Emily, 12:28)
• Question #2: What is the most memorable seminary story? (Nate, 14:00)
• Question #3: How many years were you together? (28:10)
• Question #4: How did you decide to become priests? (John, 29:00)
• Question #5: With the richness of the Catholic faith and so many things to learn, where do you even start? (Jill, 49:00)
• Question #6: What is the hardest part of being a priest? (58:35)

Quotes:

”All that we wanted to maintain is that we would spend time in friendship together.” (Michael Metz, 9:10)

“We’re not good enough at life to give solid advice.” (Rob, 11:25)

“The Holy Spirit had brought us together.” (Connor, 16:00)

“The environment that we were formed in began to shape you.” (Michael Metz on Mundelein’s campus, 21:40)

“Jesus called and asked me to be his priest.” (Michael Metz, 29:30)

“The more I lived out the Catholic faith the happier I was.” (Rob, 32:20)

“In trusting Jesus is how we become who we’re supposed to be.” (Rob, 34:25)

“You are trying to love me way more than I am trying to love you.” (Connor on God, 47:00)

“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” (Rob trying to quote Rocky, 50:45)

“You have to be in love with the Christ of the Gospels.” (Connor, 52:00)

“Catholicism is all relational, it’s all from Christ and toward Christ.” (Michael Metz, 56:20)

“Living with a relentless integrity and never letting that go.” (Michael Metz on the hardest part of the priesthood, 58:40)

“Our lives are hidden with Christ in God.” (Connor quoting St. Paul, 1:00:30)

“I believe God’s love is so real, I’m going to stake my whole life on it.” (Michael Metz, 1:03:20)

Media Mentions:

• 3DN S7 Episode 10 (LIVE at SEEK2019)
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Don’t Stop Believin’
• Wagon Wheel
• Rocky movie franchise
• Luke 4:14- 30, John 8:59, John 10:31- 39 (“His hour had not yet arrived”)
• John 20:11-18 (Mary seeing Jesus in the garden after the Resurrection)
• Psalm 63
• Colossians 3:3 (“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”)

References:

• SEEK 2019
• Newman Center at UIC
• FOCUS
• Archdiocese of Atlanta
• Bishop Robert Barron
• Fort Bragg
• Pope St. John Paul II Chapel
• Mundelein Seminary
• St. Mary’s Lake
• Holy Land
• canonical retreat
• The Mount of Beatitudes
• Sea of Galilee
• Jameson Irish Whiskey
• John Paul II
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Lincoln, Nebraska
• 30- Day Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
• Bethany
• Jerusalem
• Aristotle
• John Henry Newman

Shout- outs:

• Willie Jansen
• Bryan Roberts

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs regroup after an 18 month hiatus (3:10). They talk about Connor’s keynote address at Rob’s parish (4:30) and the crucified Christ as the ultimate idol smasher (9:55). Connor reminisces about riding into Luquillo on a horse (13:30) and Mike shares his favorite part of the Palm Sunday liturgy (21:30). They all contemplate how unsettling Holy Week can be and the humility of the priesthood (23:00).

Quotes:

“Do you wanna control the future?” (Connor, 7:40)

“Creating a Eucharistic culture- it will bear fruit- but if you aim at the fruit you will make it something weird.” (Connor, 8:00)

“When you start reaching and grasping for joy is when you can’t find it.” (Connor quoting C.S. Lewis, 8:18)

“A lot of what we do is thinly veiled control of the future.” (Mike, 8:40)

“Idols always promise control and a better future and no more suffering.” (Connor, 10:20)

“I love that Palm Sunday is one of the days you get to say ass during the liturgy.” (Mike, 21:39)

“The sacraments are visible signs of the invisible reality. We cannot make invisible things visible by our strategies and teaching methods.” (Connor, 27:00)

“In a world that’s full of death, you have to shout.” (Mike quoting Flannery O’Connor, 27:40)

“My job is not to be a teacher; my job is to be a priest, to offer sacrifice and worship.” (Mike, 28:40)

“I am not God and yet he lives in me in a way that the people need to accept in order that he may do his work.” (Connor, 30:30)

Media Mentions:

• Matthew 16:22
• Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

References:

• SEEK
• Fort Bragg
• Mundelein Seminary
• SIUE
• UIC
• C.S. Lewis
• Bishop Robert Barron
• San Juan, Peurto Rico
• Dominican Republic
• Cuba
• Haiti
• Juan Ponce de Leon
• Luquillo, Peurto Rico
• Hanoi, Vietnam
• Paris, France
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Cancun, Mexico
• Bebop
• Rocksteady
• J.R.R. Tolkien
• Flannery O’Connor
• Missionaries of Charity

Shout- Outs:

• The bash bros. (Paul and Anthony)

Glossary:

• kerygma
• moral therapeutic deism
• intersticial
• paso fino
• Orcinus orca (derived from Orcus, Roman god of the underworld)
• clericalism

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs talk about their recent meet-up at Rob’s parish (01:00). The dogs gush over Rob (9:00), Mike cries at a wedding (2:20), and Connor shares a childhood story about his dad (5:50). They discuss the best video games from when they were kids (11:50), which leads to a discussion of dopamine culture (23:45). Connor closes out with parenting insights from Dr. Becky (38:30) and how to “sit in the tension” of being human with Jesus (41:00).

Quotes:

“High fives all around for friendship.” (Rob, 4:20)

“Rob’s a really good priest.” (Mike, 9:00)

“I wish I could cry.” (Connor, 10:15)

“I would be ready and willing to accept from God a life of suffering.” (Connor, 28:00)

“Being grown-up is being willing to be interrupted and be put-upon.” (Connor, 30:45)

“Here is a man that words cannot describe. Death could not defeat him nor toil dismay him. He did not fear death, nor did he refuse to live.” (Breviary, 36:45)

“Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” (Psalm 24, 38:00)

“Sitting in the tension of the longing is one of the most frustrating things about being a person.” (Connor, 40:40)

“The only way to Heaven is, we have to die.” (Connor, 41:41)

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21, 42:00)

Media Mentions:

• Napoleon Dynamite
• Super Mario Bros.
• NHL ’94 (Sega Genesis)
• NHL 94 REWIND (Xbox One)
• Super Nintendo
• Blades of Steel (NES)
• Madden NFL
• NBA Jam (1993)
• Guitar Hero
• Halo
• GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64)
• Zelda
• Tony Hawk Pro Skater
• Fortnite
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• Dr. Becky Kennedy’s Good Inside

References:

• Blockbuster
• NHL
• Facebook
• Link
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux
• St. Martin de Tours

Shout-Outs:

• Hess Family
• Drew and Emily Hines
• Matthew and Maggie Truty
• Fr. Tim Anastos
• Fr. Nick Blaha
• Ethan Danstrom
• Kevin Metz
• The bash brothers

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com

In this episode, the dogs welcome Mike back to the states (01:05), Rob visits an older priest with a friend (13:40), and Connor shares his summer reading (16:55). They all talk about coming to terms with aging (28:05) and the inspirational people they love who have aged with grace (32:50).

Quotes:

“I try to integrate and circulate each day.” (Connor, 1:47)

“It’s an aspirational thing, to be able to look back at life and realize, ‘God is the author of that story.”’ (Rob, 16:35)

“It’s something really beautiful because he’s allowing himself to be pierced by reality.” (Connor, 20:55)

“John Paull II, the way that he entered into eternal life, it was a real example of how to die well… He kept coming out and being a father and loving on people until the day he died. That’s how you do that.” (Mike, 25:10)

“I am both the one choosing, but I’m also being chosen… God’s choice of me is the one truth that can always be relied on.” (Connor, 31:10)

“Life has continued to get richer… There’s a hope in me that will continue.” (Rob, 37:55)

Media Mentions:

• Dietrich von Hildebrand’s The Heart
• John Mark Falkenhain’s How We Love
• Herman Melville’s Moby Dick

References:

• BFC (Battlefield Circulation)
• West Point
• Walter Reed
• Peyton Manning
• Fort Bragg (Fort Liberty)
• Memphis
• Sisters of Life
• Arizona
• West Point Parachute Team
• Springfield, IL
• Fr. John Kartje
• Plato’s theory of the soul
• St. Peter’s Basilica
• energized affectivity and tender affectivity
• Douglas MacArthur
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Mundelein Seminary
• Hudson River
• Pope John Paul II
• Korean War
• Vietnam War
• Ultimate frisbee
• Captain Ahab
• North Carolina
• Yadkin Road
• 82nd Airborne Division

Shout- Outs:

• Teresa Metz
• Sister Bethany Madonna
• Fr. James D. O’Shea
• Fr. Marty Smith
• Fr. Gus Belauskas
• Fr. Raymond Webb
• Fr. Larry Hennessy
• Fr. Matt

Follow us on instagram @threedogsnorth

Contact us at threedogsnorth@gmail.com