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December 2017

December 31, 2017

He Has Put Down the Mighty . . .

Last Thursday was the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the liturgical day that commemorates King...

November 2017

November 02, 2017

A Lonely Pawn

Have you never felt like one of those pawns forgotten in a corner of the...

October 2017

October 17, 2017

Will the Truth Set You Free?

The truth will not set you free, but it will definitely mess your life up. A...

October 10, 2017

Knowing the Unknowable

Every fall I spend a week with over one hundred freshman exploring the familiar but...

October 08, 2017

Learning to be Content

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

September 2017

September 06, 2017

We Are Not Alone

In last Sunday's gospel reading, Jesus tells us that those who wish to follow him...

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...

May 2017

May 26, 2017

How to know the will of God

God has given us everything we need to address the problems in front of us....

May 05, 2017

Joy in a Minor Key

Richard Powers write that there’s joy in a minor key, a deep pleasure to be...

April 2017

April 16, 2017

We Had Hoped

The Apostle Paul wrote that "now abide faith, hope, and love . . ." Easter...

April 15, 2017

Mortals Die, and are Laid Low

On Holy Saturday, it is good to remember our mortality. "Mortals die, and are laid...

April 14, 2017

Actually, He Died

"Total disaster." "Not good." "Sad." We're becoming used to these phrases. But they reach a...

March 2017

March 22, 2017

Come In, and Come In

Once many years ago, a couple I was close friends with was having marital problems....

February 2017

February 20, 2017

Who Would Jesus Bomb?

It's President's Day, which for all college professors means--as do all Monday holidays in the...

January 2017

January 06, 2017

Religionless Christianity

Now that the New Year is upon us, I'm anxiously awaiting word that my latest...

January 04, 2017

The Sun and the Other Stars

On the west side of the stone entryway to the beautiful humanities center on my...

December 2016

December 19, 2016

Bring It On

In a recent interview with Krista Tippett on NPR’s On Being, Jesuit author and spiritual...

December 07, 2016

Being a Fanatic

Both the men's and women's basketball teams are off to great starts, just as the...

December 05, 2016

That Hopey Changey Thing

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

November 2016

November 11, 2016

As Good As We Make Them

The gospel reading for last Sunday was the Beatitudes from Matthew's gospel. It seems appropriate...

May 2016

May 25, 2016

Ordinary Lives

There is no greatness where there is no goodness, simplicity, or truth Leo Tolstoy Although...

February 2016

February 24, 2016

Academics in No-Man’s Land

Last week my academic department had an important and contentious meeting, the latest skirmish in...

February 03, 2016

The Wisdom of Violet

All this thinking is highly overrated. Violet, Dowager Countess of Downton Abbey As "Downton Abbey"...

February 03, 2016

The Wisdom of Mister Carson

  As those who love Masterpiece Theater and great television know, "Downton Abbey" is in...

February 01, 2016

Hope in Exile

As is the case with any profession, the life of an academic includes some great...

January 2016

January 13, 2016

Fake It ‘Til You Make It

I spend a lot of time thinking and writing about God. That’s a strange thing...

December 2015

December 12, 2015

Our Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough

On the day after the San Bernardino massacre, just the latest in what seems to...

December 07, 2015

Righteous Peace, Godly Glory

Over the past several weeks I have been working through the second draft of my...

November 2015

November 30, 2015

Too Soon

Just before Thanksgiving a year ago a wonderful colleague and friend from my college died...

April 2015

April 20, 2015

The Vision Thing

In 1987, as Vice President George H. W. Bush prepared to step out of Ronald...

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