Patheos

BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Patheos

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

freelancechristianity

sabbatical

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...

March 2025

March 25, 2025

Lazarus and the Call to Die Before You Die

Die Before You Die Yesterday afternoon I participated in a "Post-Sabbatical Presentation" event on campus...

December 2024

December 08, 2024

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

I was saddened to hear a couple of days ago that Fr. Wilfred Thiesen died...

July 2024

July 09, 2024

Where to Find Me

The end of my revision of my book A Year of Faith and Philosophy is in...

May 2024

May 26, 2024

The Trinity Walks into a Bar . . .

Next to Lent, the part of the liturgical calendar that I have always found least...

December 2023

December 10, 2023

An Outline of “Nice Work If You Can Get It”

I am currently starting the process of finding a literary agent for the teaching memoir...

October 2023

October 24, 2023

My Relationship with the Word of God

My two sabbatical book projects have, without my explicitly planning it, turned out to be...

August 2023

August 31, 2023

Creating a Sabbath Culture (why everyone should have sabbaticals)

Fall semester classes started last Monday. And I'm on sabbatical, not returning to the classroom...

August 27, 2023

The Great Homesickness We Could Never Shake Off

The first draft of my first sabbatical book project is completed, minus the introduction and...

August 10, 2023

If No One Reads Me, Have I Wasted My Time?

Women are not wrong at all when they reject the rules of life that have...

July 2023

July 05, 2023

Is There Life Before Death?

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

June 2023

June 04, 2023

Good Times with the Trinity

It’s Trinity Sunday. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to explain that very strange...

May 2023

May 31, 2023

A Blessing for my Final Sabbatical

The last three weeks, although a bit windy, have been beautiful bike riding weather here...

May 23, 2023

Where I have Been and Where I am Going

Providence College’s commencement exercises were two days ago. As I walked out of the Amica...

May 12, 2023

I am Not Your Friend. I am Your Professor.

The semester ended a week ago and I just turned my final grades in,. I...

November 2022

November 19, 2022

Living Life Forwards and Understanding it Backwards

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. Soren Kierkegaard One...

September 2022

September 15, 2022

This Book Changed My Life: Kathleen Norris’ “The Cloister Walk”

I asked my Facebook friends at the beginning of the summer to list three or...

June 2022

June 11, 2022

The Spiritual Life of Crows

My childhood was filled with unusual characters, all products of my father’s fertile imagination. A...

May 2022

May 26, 2022

Swallowing the Mystery

In her wonderful memoir Take This Bread, Sara Miles tells us of a conversation she had...

April 2022

April 12, 2022

Jewish Holy Man Kills Innocent Fig Tree In a Fit of Temper

A bit over a decade ago, I spent spent the early months of the year...

April 02, 2022

Martha or Mary? Type A or Type not-A?

The stereotype of the Type A personality has become an entrenched part of cultural lore....

December 2021

December 21, 2021

When Your Favorite Thing Breaks

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

October 2021

October 07, 2021

A Faith Filled with Hard Sayings and Inconvenient Truths

Dear Dr. Morgan: I’m writing to let you know that I won’t be in class...

May 2021

May 29, 2021

The Trinity and Adult Beverages: A Reflection on Trinity Sunday

Next to Lent, the part of the liturgical calendar that I have always found least...

May 18, 2021

Twelve Years Ago, My Life Changed–here’s why

Exactly twelve years ago today, I headed home from a four-month sabbatical as a Resident...

January 2021

January 10, 2021

When Selective Amnesia is a Good Thing

Tolerance, acceptance, and embracing difference--even in the face of established tradition and clear procedures--has been...

December 2020

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,...

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...

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...

June 2020

June 07, 2020

Celebrating Life in Difficult Times: Some Thoughts on Trinity Sunday

It’s Trinity Sunday. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to explain that very strange...

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

Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube