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Personal Reflection

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Select a Month 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 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 February 2008

June 2018

June 06, 2018

Cutting Away the Noise

Fifteen years ago, there was no end to the noise. It took a cutting to...

June 04, 2018

Writing the Land and Its Story: An Interview with Paul Kingsnorth, Part 1

“It’s the End of the World as We Know It...and He Feels Fine”—that’s how the...

May 2018

May 31, 2018

Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 3, Exercises

I recognized the Orthodox monks’ prostrations I’d learned in the monastery in the “burpees” the...

May 30, 2018

The Odyssey as Liturgy

I happened to be in the midst of re-reading Homer’s Odyssey when the current issue...

May 29, 2018

Mother’s House

Mother’s house is not a house. Mother’s house is not a cave. Mother’s house is...

May 28, 2018

I Am Not a Mother: I’m a Human Being

“You’re not a good mom!” My ten-year-old daughter shouted as she stomped up to her...

May 23, 2018

Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 2, Prostration

Earlier this year during Lent, I visited a Russian Orthodox monastery on an evergreen island...

May 22, 2018

Recently Soft Hearts and Thin Skin

I found myself engaged in another maddening conversation with my four-year old daughter. We were...

May 17, 2018

Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 1, Cloister

The gentlemen I’ve been visiting in my local jail for the past decade live a...

May 16, 2018

The Life-Changing Magic of Picking Nits

I was at work last Thursday when I received the call from the school that...

May 15, 2018

Notes on Heresy

I haven’t any major gripes with the Roman Catholic Church. On the whole, I feel...

May 14, 2018

Lynching, Racial Terror, and Black Liberation Theology

The Reverend Dr. James H. Cone, known as the originator of black liberation theology, died...

May 10, 2018

In the Presence of My Enemies

I eat a pretzel in the presence of my enemies. (They have assembled in Charlottesville.)...

May 09, 2018

Replace STEM with STAR

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math—hyped now as the crucial core of an...

May 08, 2018

Halted by Haiku

The last thing the world needs is another post about “living in the moment,” but...

May 07, 2018

In a Religion of Love

In the religion of love to pray is to pass, by a shining word, into...

May 03, 2018

The Narratives We Need: Part 2

Recently I sang Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem with the Seattle Symphony. In his adaptation of...

May 02, 2018

The Narratives We Need: Part 1

“Tell me a story,” my son has started to say after reading his bedtime books....

May 01, 2018

Sowing the Seeds of Love

My daughter asked me to bring some food to the swim meet when I came....

April 2018

April 26, 2018

Do I Have Anything Left to Say?

When the email came in from my editor, I wasn’t sure how to answer. What...

April 25, 2018

God’s Calling and American Idol: Part 2

If you’re a contestant on American Idol, you may have the holy desires to uplift...

April 23, 2018

A Sky of Parchment Made

Leaving work the other evening—a cold, blustery twilight that belied the spring it’s supposed to...

April 19, 2018

My Mother, My Daughter, Myself

My daughter Anna Maria was born on Orthodox Easter Sunday—Pascha—in 2009. That year, the date...

April 17, 2018

The Skirt of God

Dear Saint Francis, I imagined I saw you today out of the upstairs window. Your...

April 16, 2018

Getting Lost on Good Friday

My Good Friday plans got hijacked by 11:00 a.m. I’d forgotten the big “marshmallow drop”...

April 10, 2018

Singing Silence in A Far Country Near

“Without the traffic, silence / itself would sound red birdsong…” As I’m reading these lines...

April 05, 2018

Poetry at the Goodwill

When I was a soccer-obsessed fifteen-year-old, I had no use for poetry. I endured my...

April 04, 2018

Villanelles on Planes

I took several short flights this month, the kind in which going through security takes...

April 03, 2018

How Can I Speak of Haiti?

There’s nothing to say about Haiti. Even to begin, to start, to try, is to...

April 02, 2018

Blade Runner 2049: Master Copy

For a long time I’ve said that the 1982 film Blade Runner is my favorite...