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December 2020

December 08, 2020

It Isn’t True Just Because You Believe It. There Is No Immaculate Perception

I have taught philosophy in Catholic higher education for thirty years as a non-Catholic. Although...

December 05, 2020

Are You the One Who Is to Come?

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

November 2020

November 28, 2020

The Message of Advent: Stay Awake!

I have the privilege of giving the sermon for the First Sunday of Advent, at...

November 12, 2020

Dancing with the Stars

I love the stars. Not as in “Dancing with . . .” or in Hollywood...

November 10, 2020

Hope: The Thing with Feathers

During his first speech as the new President-elect last Saturday evening, Joe Biden quoted lines...

November 08, 2020

Fixers and Healers

My doctor says that I am his most boring patient, because there is never anything...

October 2020

October 25, 2020

“If people are just going to keep doing that, I wish I’d never been born.”

We’ve all done this, we bang and bang on the door of hope, and don’t...

September 2020

September 15, 2020

The Fat, Relentless Ego . . . and what to do about it

This past weekend, Jeanne and I, along with our two sons and our daughter-in-law, travelled...

September 10, 2020

Silence: The Best Answer to Prayer

I, as many people of faith, have often wondered why the divine is so apparently...

August 2020

August 27, 2020

Speaking the Truth in a Culture of Lies

Just short of a year ago, I spent a Saturday morning listening to a lecture...

July 2020

July 30, 2020

When a Child of the Universe Dies

One of the few bright spots during the past months of COVID-19 seclusion and insanity...

July 23, 2020

I’ll See It When I Believe It

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

July 03, 2020

“There Shall be None to Make Him Afraid”–An Independence Day Reflection

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

June 2020

June 28, 2020

Death is Not Optional

I’ve been thinking a lot about end of life issues lately. Really. They seem to...

June 18, 2020

Donald Trump’s Ponzi Scheme

If you are looking for a new novel to read, may I recommend Emily St....

June 01, 2020

Riots in the Streets: It’s a Classic Teaching Moment, and I’ve Got Nothing

On Facebook a couple of days ago, I posted this: It's times like these that...

May 2020

May 30, 2020

A Pentecost Reflection: Sometimes Fast Food Isn’t Good Enough

Pentecost celebrates one of the high points in the Christian liturgical calendar, the coming of...

May 20, 2020

What if God isn’t Perfect?

One of the central units in my General Ethics class is titled “Does ethics have...

May 18, 2020

We Are On Our Own

In preparation for my next book project, a teaching memoir tentatively titled Nice Work If You...

May 17, 2020

A Message to the Graduating Seniors: Survival is Insufficient

Under normal circumstances, my college’s Commencement exercises would be taking place this morning, with thousands...

May 14, 2020

Jesus and Karl Marx Have a Beer (and find that they have a lot in common)

I viewed Martin Doblmeier's documentary about Dorothy Day, "Revolution of the Heart," a few days...

May 12, 2020

This is the Way the Semester Ends

During the early weeks of the semester in our “Apocalypse” seminar, my teaching colleague from...

May 08, 2020

How to Speak About Gun Violence

The final unit in my General Ethics class that ended last week was Gun Violence....

May 04, 2020

Emerging from the Tomb

My newest online publication at "Bearings Online," link below, reflects on the appropriateness of coronavirus...

May 02, 2020

Sheep in the Streets: A Reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday

As horrific and tragic as most Covid-19 stories are, every once in a while these...

April 2020

April 26, 2020

Facing Coronavirus “What Ifs?”

The final week of the strangest academic semester of my life begins tomorrow. As I...

April 23, 2020

Jesus, Cleopas, and George Have a Conversation About Hope

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

April 16, 2020

Faith in a Time of Doubt and Uncertainty

The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty Anne Lamott We are currently living...

April 11, 2020

New Life is for Real: A Childhood Easter Tale

Several years ago, just in time for the Christmas holiday season, a new book by Sarah...

April 05, 2020

Palm Sunday and the Teaching Life

With Palm Sunday begins what will be the strangest Holy Week of my lifetime. The...

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