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December 2023

December 17, 2023

Light is Born of Darkness

During Advent season, John the Baptist gets a lot of play. This makes sense, since...

November 2023

November 28, 2023

Making Christmas Wild Again

Just when you thought you had heard and read it all . . . "If...

October 2023

October 15, 2023

Why Do We Think that Everything Happens for a Reason?

The last text of the Spring 2021 semester--the last Covid-19 affected semester on my campus--in...

October 03, 2023

Why October is the Best Month

Today is the third day of October, and that's a very good thing. I took...

September 2023

September 28, 2023

What Would Dorothea Do?

I saw a bumper sticker once that said “So many books, so little time.” I...

September 19, 2023

Abortion and Faith Discussions: Part Two

Except for those who deliberately and religiously stay disconnected from current events and those who...

September 11, 2023

Thoughts on the anniversary of 9/11

Everyone beyond a certain age can remember clearly what they were doing twenty-two years ago...

July 2023

July 29, 2023

Jesus Would Have Driven Socrates Crazy

When we first moved to Rhode Island in the middle 1990s for my new teaching...

July 11, 2023

Complete Sentences in One Word

All of us live in a world filled with words. For academics, words are the...

July 05, 2023

Is There Life Before Death?

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

July 03, 2023

Sitting in Safety Without Fear–an Independence Day Reflection

Every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree, and there shall...

May 2023

May 21, 2023

Thoughts on Discernment and a Blessing for the Graduates

Today is graduation day at Providence College, where I just finished my thirtieth year on...

April 2023

April 23, 2023

Jesus, Cleopas, and Bob have a Conversation about Hope

“Now abide faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.” These words...

April 11, 2023

A Very Reluctant Rose

A few days ago on campus I detected a familiar, seasonal odor wafting on the...

March 2023

March 26, 2023

To Truly Live, We Have to Die

In a podcast I was listening to while walking Bovina a few days ago, a...

March 09, 2023

Whose Life Is it Anyway?

Albert Camus' classic extended essay "The Myth of Sisyphus" begins as follows: There is but...

February 2023

February 24, 2023

Why Did Jesus Turn Water Into Wine?

This is the third day of Lent. Are you one of those people who give...

February 19, 2023

Longing to be Whole: A Reflection for Transfiguration Sunday

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

January 2023

January 24, 2023

We are to be God in the World

This coming Sunday's gospel reading is the Beatitudes from Matthew, the opening lines from the...

January 12, 2023

What Compost Piles Teach Us About Faith

Over the past year or so I have read several books by Peter Enns, a...

January 10, 2023

Are You the One?

During both the Advent and the Epiphany liturgical seasons, John the Baptist gets a lot...

January 03, 2023

Blessing The Crap Out Of Each Other

There are eight to ten movies that Jeanne and I watch religiously during the Christmas...

January 01, 2023

Hope in Unexpected Form—A New Year’s Day Reflection

Every New Year’s Day for the past decade—the amount of time I have been writing...

December 2022

December 29, 2022

Is it the end of us? An end-of-the-year reflection

He who loves his life will lose it. John 12:25 I subscribe to two magazines, The...

December 23, 2022

Have Yourself a Rashomon Christmas

A few years ago, I was asked to take on a temporary administrative position for...

December 13, 2022

The Incarnation or the Resurrection?

A few years ago, a Facebook friend posted a poll on her site. The question...

December 07, 2022

Why Should We Be Hopeful?

Herodotus is considered to be the first true historian in the contemporary sense of the...

December 06, 2022

“With Mutual Respect”–An Exercise in Eloquent Listening

On the last Wednesday of September, an event took place on my college campus that...

December 01, 2022

An Advent Wish: Peace Be to You

Advent began last Sunday. For many reasons, Advent is my favorite season of the liturgical...

November 2022

November 27, 2022

Happy Advent–Stay Awake!

Happy New Year! Today is the First Sunday of Advent, the first day of the...

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