2020 was exactly what I expected it to be. Actually, it definitely was not. Probably like you, I talked a lot about what was happening throughout this year as it was happening (or un-happening as was the case quite frequently), and I even wrote about things from this year time and again, in both formal and informal ways.

But now as this most unusual year draws to a close, I am surprised by the unexpected in a different, less dramatic way than all the other ways I have been surprised this year. You see, I was quickly jotting down the things I need to finish up before the end of the calendar year, I was surprised at the breadth of things I get/have to work on in these last weeks (“breadth” in terms of both content and format). I never really thought of 2020 as a “lost year” or “lost time,” but now as I glimpse these remaining projects I see even more the fruit that has been ripening amid all the instability and uncertainty of these past 1,000 months of this calendar year.

So here’s the list of the seven projects I am completing before the end of 2020:

“The Way: Going Forward in Christ.” This is a four-part series where together with teams of parishioner-leaders from parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, I look at how to renew our parishes in the mission of evangelization. We are working on developing pastoral priorities, rebuilding community through personal bonds, reclaiming the mission for passing on the faith, and developing habits of prayer day-to-day that flow from and return to our communion in the Eucharist. We just completed the fourth of four live webinars (Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, Dec. 14) and now I am polishing up the recordings of our Zoom sessions and crafting follow-up resources for the participants.

“All Creation Gives Praise.” Thanks to my colleague Chris Baglow who directs the Science and Religion Initiative in the McGrath Institute, we secured funding to produce a final version of the magnificent planetarium presentation that astronomer Phil Sakimoto and I have been working on for about 15 years. Tomorrow we are recording the final audio tracks and then the genius team of Phil and the director of the Notre Dame planetarium (Keith Davis) will get to work programming all the “stellar!” visuals and back-end stuff to go with the presentation, making it possible to show this presentation in any digital planetarium in the world (we already had 100,000+ people view a shorter version as part of a Vatican exhibit a couple years ago). John Nagy wrote a great article about this project for Notre Dame magazine, so check that out if you haven’t seen it already.

“Praying with the Saints.” I really love this project. As part of the new Sullivan Family Saints Initiative (which I direct in the McGrath Institute), we are producing a 12-week series to lead people into praying the way the saints themselves prayed. This is a very practical project, aimed at the day-to-day life of faith. We selected four saints, and we will stay with each saint for three weeks. During those three weeks, we are inviting/challenging/empowering people to spend at least 15 minutes a day praying in the manner of one particular saint at a time. We start each week with a short video presentation on that saint and their prayer, so that people can learn how to pray in this way and deepen their understanding of both the saint and his/her spirituality. Right now, I am editing the videos for the series and putting everything together for everyone who will join us (and you should join us!). The saints and corresponding presenters include:

Praying into Joy with St. Francis of Assisi (Sr. Ann Astell)
Praying the Rosary with St. Bernadette (Katie Cavadini)
Praying the Psalms with St. Augustine (John Cavadini)
Praying into Silence with St. Teresa of Avila (your truly)

This series is totally free and you should definitely signup! It begins the first week of January, 2021.

“Church Life Today.” Our institute’s radio show and podcast, which I host, is approaching its 100th episode. This has been a great journey and I love creating this show. In the coming week I’ll record the final episode of the year, where I interview Professor Joshua Mitchell on his book, American Awakening. That book is eye-opening, as its title suggests!

Turn to the Lord (Liturgical Press, April 2021). I finished writing this book earlier this year and I now have the final-final-final page proof edits to complete before the end of December. In this book, I propose a new way of preparing people for the Sacrament of Confirmation (including through RCIA), which begins with boldly investing in parents, sponsors, mentors, and teachers. The proposal calls for the creation of “Catholic Formation Groups” where Catholics (new and more experienced) are formed together. This isn’t just an idea––we have actually been doing this at our parish, including for my own children as they prepare for Confirmation (I will write a corresponding book for preparing children for First Communion in 2021). I recently recorded three videos briefly explaining Turn to the Lord… check them out on this page.

Into the Heart of the Father: Learn from and give yourself through Christ in prayer (Word Among Us, April 2021). I finished this manuscript in late October of this year, so that now before the end of December I need to complete the penultimate round of editing. Writing this book made a profound impact on me because I grew in my appreciation of how all Christian prayer takes place within the person of Christ. This is a scriptural and meditative book, which moves along the lines of the Incarnation (descending and ascending) and seeks to open up for us both how Christ teaches us to pray and how Christ hears our prayer.

Discernment: Theology & Practice. I am offering this course in the first-ever “Wintersession” at Notre Dame. 80+ undergraduates (and two blessed TAs!) will join me over the span of three-weeks to study the discipline and art of Christian discernment. This course is biblical and spiritual, traditional and contemporary, scholarly and practical… all at the same time. Before the end of 2020, I will have this course all ready-to-go so we can begin the very first week of January. I really love this course and I am looking forward to working with all these students.

At least in terms of my work and my projects, this is how I will be closing out 2020. I hope that 2021 will contain fewer surprises in the world than this past year, but I hope that my work will never become dull. It certainly isn’t right now!