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February 2018

February 20, 2018

Beauty for Ashes, or Why Lent is a Bad Idea

One sunny morning in September 1983, when I was struggling in my late twenties with...

February 04, 2018

Keeping Hope Alive

The theme of a philosophy conference that I attended a couple of years ago was...

January 2018

January 14, 2018

Piercing the Silence

Every religion which does not confirm that God is hidden is not true. Blaise Pascal...

January 12, 2018

What Are You Reading?

Over the holiday season my house always welcomes at least a half dozen new books...

December 2017

December 24, 2017

Grace and Peace

Grace means suddenly you’re in a different universe from the one where you were stuck,...

December 14, 2017

The Great Homesickness

I was the world’s most pathetic camper. One of the (alleged) rewards for 12-15 weeks of...

November 2017

November 14, 2017

This Book May Change Your Life

A candle flame looks beautiful in the light of morning . . . It seems...

October 2017

October 05, 2017

Reboot and Retool

We seek retreats for ourselves in country places, on beaches and mountains . . ....

August 2017

August 17, 2017

Two Reasons to be Hopeful (even with Donald Trump as President)

There are reasons to be hopeful--even on those days that Nazis, white supremacists, racists, and...

July 2017

July 27, 2017

When It’s Over

'When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder/If I have made of my life something...

July 25, 2017

Step to the Right: Practicing Right Brain Faith in a Left Brain World

After a major stroke, neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor lost function in her left brain. But...

June 2017

June 14, 2017

Repairing the World

Jews and Christians agree on many things. One of the most important things they agree...

June 12, 2017

Carbonated Holiness

Anne Lamott defines laughter as Carbonated Holiness. These days, we could use a lot more...

June 02, 2017

Radical Forgiveness

From the book of Acts, a story of a person who experienced radical forgiveness, then...

May 2017

May 13, 2017

Everybody Must Get Stoned

One of the readings from this Sunday's lectionary is the story of the stoning of...

April 2017

April 11, 2017

Flowering Trees

At the beginning of the first Holy Week, Jesus killed a fig tree for no...

February 2017

February 03, 2017

Turning Around

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

December 2016

December 30, 2016

What’s Next?

As a Christmas present to each other, Jeanne and I purchased our first HD television...

December 26, 2016

Clouds of Glory

The great but incredibly difficult German philosopher Immanuel Kant, in a rare moment of clarity,...

December 21, 2016

How Can This Be?

I have a colleague and friend with whom I share a lot in common. Eric...

December 16, 2016

I Will Bring You Home

Baptist preacher's kids get to do some very odd things. I memorized large portions of...

December 05, 2016

That Hopey Changey Thing

Although I was raised in the most non-liturgical version of Christianity imaginable, I love liturgy....

September 2016

September 08, 2016

Embracing the Barbarian Invasion

Every year the world is invaded by millions of tiny barbarians. We call them “children.” ...

September 06, 2016

Good Morning, Psalms

Last Thursday, in just our second class of the semester, I had the opportunity to...

August 2016

August 17, 2016

The Universe in a Coffee Cup

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

July 2016

July 20, 2016

A Gnawing Suspicion

A mystic is anyone who has the gnawing suspicion that the apparent discord, brokenness, contradictions,...

April 2016

April 23, 2016

An Introspective Day

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

March 2016

March 11, 2016

Back in the Saddle Again

We in southern New England have been spared a tough winter. Shit can still happen,...

February 2016

February 17, 2016

Stranger in a Strange Land

I am not Catholic. I have been firmly ensconced in Catholic higher education for close...

October 2015

October 07, 2015

Confessions of an Ocean-Hater

As I'm reviewing various posts for a current large writing project, I came across a...

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