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February 2026

February 18, 2026

An Ash Wednesday and Lenten Tale

Today is Ash Wednesday, which for a hardcore Protestant such as I presents several issues....

December 2025

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...

September 2025

September 14, 2025

Remembering a Good and Faithful Servant

Father Kilian McDonnell OSB died last week at the age of 103. His funeral this...

March 2025

March 11, 2025

What Does “Conversion” Mean?

Conversion is an odd phenomenon. I've often observed that those who convert, who ''tum around"...

December 2024

December 08, 2024

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

I was saddened to hear a couple of days ago that Fr. Wilfred Thiesen died...

August 2024

August 06, 2024

Get Up and Eat

In one of the possible readings from the Jewish scriptures for this coming Sunday, we...

July 2024

July 09, 2024

Where to Find Me

The end of my revision of my book A Year of Faith and Philosophy is in...

February 2024

February 15, 2024

A Terrible Beauty

The sea pronounces something, over and over, in a hoarse whisper. I cannot quite make...

August 2023

August 27, 2023

The Great Homesickness We Could Never Shake Off

The first draft of my first sabbatical book project is completed, minus the introduction and...

July 2023

July 05, 2023

Is There Life Before Death?

A few years ago I had the opportunity to hear one of my heroes give...

June 2023

June 22, 2023

How to Drink Coffee Like a Stoic

If you are fond of a cup, say “I am fond of a cup!” For...

June 11, 2023

Have an Introspective Day

In our three years in Milwaukee, our first years together as a married couple trying...

February 2023

February 22, 2023

A Tale of Ash Wednesday and Lent

One Wednesday last winter, the student in front of me in line at the little...

February 02, 2023

Being and Discovering a Sacred Space

In his biography of Leonardo da Vinci, Walter Isaacson tells us that one of the...

September 2022

September 18, 2022

How Many of Your Gods are Dead?

One of my greatest joys as a philosophy professor is that I get to be...

September 15, 2022

This Book Changed My Life: Kathleen Norris’ “The Cloister Walk”

I asked my Facebook friends at the beginning of the summer to list three or...

August 2022

August 14, 2022

“Whatever” is No Way to Live

Although I occasionally find myself immersed in things medieval with a bunch of freshmen in...

August 07, 2022

This Book Changed My Life: Marilynne Robinson’s “Gilead”

I asked my Facebook friends a while ago to list three or four books that...

June 2022

June 16, 2022

What They Don’t Tell Us About Wisdom–Part One

In much wisdom there is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. Ecclesiastes...

May 2022

May 28, 2022

Passing the Baton: An Ascension Sunday Reflection

A disturbingly common mishap in recent Summer Olympic games has been the failure of U.S....

May 26, 2022

Swallowing the Mystery

In her wonderful memoir Take This Bread, Sara Miles tells us of a conversation she had...

May 17, 2022

An Evolving Faith: It’s About Survival, not Progress

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes...

April 2022

April 12, 2022

Jewish Holy Man Kills Innocent Fig Tree In a Fit of Temper

A bit over a decade ago, I spent spent the early months of the year...

March 2022

March 23, 2022

Have Yourself an Introspective Day

In our three years in Milwaukee, our first years together as a married couple trying...

January 2022

January 01, 2022

Resolution for 2022: Dream More, and Don’t Waste Time

Happy New Year! It is thirteen years since I arrived on a sub-zero January day—President...

December 2021

December 21, 2021

When Your Favorite Thing Breaks

If you are fond of a cup, say “I am fond of a cup!” For...

September 2021

September 07, 2021

When Life Gets Messy

We all know that when life hands you a lemon that you should make lemonade....

August 2021

August 08, 2021

Charles Darwin and the Creator of the Universe Walk Into a Bar . . .

I'm currently reading Shankar Vendantam's Useful Delusions; one of his continuing points throughout the book is...

May 2021

May 18, 2021

Twelve Years Ago, My Life Changed–here’s why

Exactly twelve years ago today, I headed home from a four-month sabbatical as a Resident...

May 13, 2021

Jesus, Ascension Day, and the Olympics

It is a reminder of the world we have been living in for more than...

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