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May 2026

May 14, 2026

AI and Transcendence

Two weeks ago, I set the stage for my next several posts by engaging with...

April 2026

April 26, 2026

The Mulch of the Spirit

A few days ago as I walked onto campus I was struck by a distinctive...

April 05, 2026

Now My Eyes Have Seen You: An Easter Reflection

Easter Sunday--the most triumphant day on the Christian liturgical calendar. According to New Testament scholar...

March 2026

March 29, 2026

A Palm Sunday Reflection: Blessed is He Who Comes

Today is Palm Sunday, one of the most dramatic days on the liturgical calendar. But...

February 2026

February 15, 2026

The World Can Shine Like Transfiguration

Today is Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent....

February 01, 2026

The Beatitudes: A Call to Change the World

It is a scene so familiar in our imaginations that it has become iconic. On...

December 2025

December 23, 2025

Love Comes Down

Since Christmas falls on Thursday this year, I'm sending this week's middle-of-the-week post a couple...

December 07, 2025

Are You the One Who Is to Come?

Fifteen years ago, on the Second Sunday of Advent, I was asked to give the...

October 2025

October 19, 2025

“Hello, God!”

You can either think of the creeds of the great traditions . . . as...

July 2025

July 20, 2025

Anna’s Promise and the Power of Love

In spite of my love of and occasional success with flowers and plants, I have...

June 2025

June 22, 2025

As the Deer Longs for Streams of Water

Today's lectionary readings contain two of my favorites, both from the Jewish scriptures. The story...

June 19, 2025

There Is No One But Us

As I continue to work through my next book project that has been on the...

June 12, 2025

Is God a Helicopter Parent?

When you've been together with someone for thirty-seven years, being creative for that person's birthday...

June 09, 2025

A Force of Nature’s Birthday Is Today!

Today is Jeanne's birthday. It's an important one as she begins a new decade. Last...

June 06, 2025

Planted By the Streams of Water

Pastor Dan, the interim pastoral caretaker of the Lutheran church that Jeanne attends (and I...

May 2025

May 18, 2025

Great Advice for Graduates: God’s Will, and Flipping a Coin

Dear Graduates... Today is graduation day at Providence College, where I just finished my thirty-first...

March 2025

March 18, 2025

Goodness in the Midst of Evil

Regular readers of this blog know that Jeanne and I are incurable readers of mystery...

February 2025

February 28, 2025

Longing to be Whole: A Transfiguration Sunday Reflection

This coming Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning...

February 23, 2025

What Happens When We Pray?

In her spiritual memoir Still, Lauren Winner begins a brief chapter on prayer by noting...

February 11, 2025

Seeing the Soul: Love, Beauty, and the Mystery of Connection

Beautiful Souls Because I'm a romantic at heart, I'll be posting two Valentine's Day-themed posts...

January 2025

January 31, 2025

The Beatitudes: A Radical Call to Change Everything

Blessed Are . . . The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple...

January 24, 2025

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

This coming Sunday is Epiphany 3; the appointed readings include two of my favorite passages...

January 22, 2025

Julian of Norwich’s Parable of the Lord and the Servant

Several weeks ago, I posted that because of a number of seemingly random coincidences, I...

January 07, 2025

My Word for 2025

Anne Lamott tells the story of an older woman who, along with other active geriatric...

December 2024

December 24, 2024

Christus Natus Est: Merry Christmas

Christmas movies are a big deal at my house. Jeanne goes for the classics, such...

December 03, 2024

Beauty for Ashes

On a beautiful, crystal clear June afternoon in 2002 I sat in an alpine meadow...

December 01, 2024

A Brief Introduction to Advent

Today is both the first Sunday of Advent and the first Sunday of the new...

October 2024

October 15, 2024

Living an Autumn Life

Autumn is my favorite season, and October is my favorite month. This is not surprising...

October 08, 2024

A Christian Nightmare

What would happen if we actually took the things we claim to believe seriously enough...

September 2024

September 24, 2024

How to Make God Interesting

It is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for a [non-Christian] to hear a Christian, supposedly...

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