Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian

Marsue

Select a Category abortion Advent AI Angels Artificial intelligence atheism attention baptism Baptists beauty belief Benedictines Bible bicycling Big Bird books Bovina Camaldoli hermitage Canada Catholicism cats certainty change Christianity Christmas Collegeville Covid-19 creativity Development of Western Civilization dogs doubt Easter Enneagram Epiphany Episcopal ethics Eucharist evil extroverts Facebook faith family fear flowers forgiveness freedom friends God goodness grace happiness heaven hell history Holy Spirit Holy Week hope human nature humility humor idolatry incarnation introverts irreverence Islam Jeanne Jesus Joe Biden joy Judaism justice Kamala Harris knowledge Lent listen literature liturgy love Marsue Memorial Day miracles movies music mystery mythology NPR Old Testament optimism paradox peace Penguins philosophy piano podcast politics power prayer Protestantism Providence College Religion Rhode Island sabbatical sacrament science seeing silence Simone Weil Socrates soul sports St. John's College stories suffering tattoo teaching technology television theology thinking time tolerance transcendence travel trees trust truth Uncategorized Vermont wisdom wonder writing

Select a Month May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012

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...

July 2025

July 20, 2025

Anna’s Promise and the Power of Love

In spite of my love of and occasional success with flowers and plants, I have...

March 2024

March 24, 2024

Kicking Off Holy Week: “I’ll be Jesus”

The Palm Sunday celebration in a liturgical Christian church can be both confusing and jarring....

December 2023

December 05, 2023

Bagpipes, Cats, and Saint Andrew

Last Thursday was Saint Andrew's Day; I was reminded beause my Scottish friend Craig posted...

August 2023

August 22, 2023

The Big Sister I Always Wanted: Remembering Marsue three years later

It doesn't seem possible that it has been exactly three years since Marsue Harris, one...

June 2023

June 06, 2023

Ordinary Lives in Ordinary Time

So here we are in Ordinary Time, the longest liturgical season that will stretch until...

May 2023

May 25, 2023

Why Being a Stoner is a Plus in the LIfe of Faith

One of my two sabbatical book projects is tentatively titled The Freelance Christian's Guide to the...

April 2023

April 11, 2023

A Very Reluctant Rose

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

April 09, 2022

I’ll Be Jesus: A Palm Sunday Reflection

What is bothering me incessantly is the question of what Christianity really is, or indeed...

December 2021

December 02, 2021

Saint Andrew, Bagpipes, and Cats

November 30 was Saint Andrew's Day. Even though I am two days late, I offer...

October 2020

October 04, 2020

It’s Blessing of the Animals Sunday . . . but who is really getting the blessing?

Today is Blessing of the Animals Sunday, which this year is bittersweet for me. My...

August 2020

August 21, 2020

The Big Sister I Always Wanted: Remembering Marsue

Every once in a while, our lives are blessed with a person who uniquely and...

November 2019

November 06, 2019

Saint Andrew, Bagpipes, and Cats

I had a lovely lunch last week with one of my best and most valued...

October 2019

October 05, 2019

Spiritual Lessons Learned from an Obese Cat: A reflection for “Blessing of the Animals” Sunday

I was reminded yesterday that exactly eight years ago, one of my favorite pictures of...

August 2019

August 20, 2019

Will All Things Be Well?

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall...

June 2019

June 08, 2019

The Message of Pentecost: God Is Not Angry At Us

Jeanne and I watched a documentary not long ago called “Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets...

May 2019

May 09, 2019

I’ll Remember You

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

April 2019

April 05, 2019

From Living Stones to Spiritual Houses

The Bible is filled with rocks. The patriarchs pile rocks up every time they want...

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...

December 2017

December 26, 2017

When God Doesn’t Meet Our Expectations

What would you call a friend who is as unpredictable as the weather, who shows...

July 2017

July 07, 2017

An Exploding Heart

Last fall I had the opportunity to give the sermon on stewardship Sunday at my...

June 2017

June 03, 2017

The Confusion of Babel and the Clarity of Pentecost

The voices of spirituality, religion, secularism, materialism, power, and greed often are speaking languages so...

April 2017

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 09, 2017

To Die For

What is bothering me incessantly is the question of what Christianity really is, or indeed...

July 2016

July 17, 2016

Home for Each Other

Twenty-eight years ago today my father said a few words over a beautiful redhead and me....

June 2016

June 24, 2016

A Reluctant Rose

In spite of my love of and occasional success with flowers and plants, I have...

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 26, 2016

Inquiring Minds

Not long ago I had the chance to read a novel by Ian McEwan that...

October 2015

October 10, 2015

All Creatures Great and Small

Tomorrow is "Blessing of the Animals" Sunday. Two years ago I had the privilege of giving...

March 2015

March 23, 2015

Strange and Beautiful

Forgive me for name dropping, but I went to dinner with a New York Times...

Related posts from Freelance Christianity

Progressive Christian

The Lonely Pawn: On Faith, Doubt, and Meaning

Freelance Christianity

Progressive Christian

AI and Agency

Freelance Christianity

Progressive Christian

AI and Love: When a Chatbot Becomes a...

Freelance Christianity

Progressive Christian

AI and Transcendence

Freelance Christianity

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos