2026 Bernadette O’Connor Lecture featuring Timothy O’Malley, PhD

The annual Bernadette O'Connor Lecture was held on September 21. The featured guest speaker was Timothy O'Malley, PhD from the University of Notre Dame who presented the topic of "Go Touch Some Grass: Renewing the Contemplative Spirit in a Digitally Saturated Age." O'Malley serves as associate director for research at the McGrath Institute for Church Life and the academic director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy.

"I want to go touch some grass after spending six hours at O'Hare Airport!" said O'Malley, beginning his presentation. He immediately asked the audience to imagine the most entertaining thing ever and how we can get lost in our devices unable to look away. Modern technology creates a "spectacle" that captures human attention.

His lecture explored the anthropological impact of digital life and proposes a return to contemplative awareness as a remedy for technological alienation.

Digital immersion leads to several concerns such as the erosion of the distinction between what is true and what is real in an age of generative AI and disinformation. He referenced Pope Leo XIV's recent encyclical notes titled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, that AI and digital platforms can blur the boundaries between truth and falsehood and appeals for people to build for the "common good" and to "remain human."

Drawing on sociologist Hartmut Rosa, he defined the modern age as one characterized by constant speed, advancement and the need for technological acceleration. However, modern life is driven by a desire for total control and manageability, exemplified by the convenience of Amazon. Almost anything we want can be delivered to our door. Unlike digital control, true human existence relies on resonance, which is the ability of the world to speak back to us through unpredictable and unmanageable experiences. O'Malley described resonance as a gift that cannot be controlled or scheduled. We must seize it and not exert control over things but resonate with them.

Josef Pieper, author of "Happiness and Contemplation", a book O'Malley continues to teach his students, proposes that happiness isn't achieving some sort of end, but a form of contemplation. Constant digital stimuli threaten receptivity, making it difficult to find meaning or perform deep thinking or prayer. O'Malley admitted his own addiction to his phone being called out by his daughter to stop looking at his phone. "I notice if I'm immersed in a digital life for too long, that actually affects my ability to pray, to think, to ponder and that makes me less free."

Associate Provost Kevin Vichcales, PhD, stated, "I thought Dr. Patrick O'Malley's lecture raised several interesting points about modern society. He argued that contemporary society is characterized by speed, distraction and digital overstimulation. This has led to a loss of our contemplative spirit and sense of community. He calls for a "contemplative revolution" and offers the Catholic liturgy, especially the Eucharist, as a means to cultivate contemplative habits, form Christian identity, and transform both individuals and society. Catholic worship is not merely a religious practice; it is a formative educational experience that shapes how people learn, live, relate to others and contribute to the common good."

O'Malley's call to his contemplative vision was proposed by four points for higher education institutions like UIW to address this digital age: the value of inefficiency, liberal arts, professional vocations and justice.

Higher education should embrace a certain level of inefficiency and slow processes to allow for meaningful insight rather than purely vocational or requirement-driven education. Liberal arts should use reading as a mirror for the truth rather than just a tool for moral instruction. Professional vocations from woodworking to ophthalmology can be an occasion for contemplative wonder and resonance with the world. True justice is rooted in a change of vision that sees others not as objects but as neighbors with inherent dignity.

He concluded by encouraging attendees not just to touch grass in the real sense but to live in reality, to perceive the stunning beauty of the world, the city and to give thanks for that gift.

The Bernadette O'Connor lecture series serves to facilitate dialogue between Catholic faith and human culture and is supported by the UIW College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS).

Read more about Timothy O'Malley, PhD.