Baptism
Not long ago a classmate of mine introduced the Greek Orthodox celebration of Theophany in a doctoral seminar we shared. He presented it as an equivalent to the Feast of … Continue reading
Believing Thomas: First Reactions to Pope Francis
I find myself among many others who have been pleasantly surprised by the first few days of Francis’s papal ministry. From the first moments of his balcony introduction, when he … Continue reading
Misrecognizing Resignation: Thoughts on Paul Elie’s NYTimes Op-ed
“Resignation: that’s what American Catholics are feeling about our faith. We are resigned to the fact that so much in the Roman Catholic Church is broken and won’t be fixed … Continue reading
Conversion (or, Re-turn to Me)
“Even if we are hardened, there are means by which we can recover, correct ourselves, and become again what we should have been but never were.” I’m always returning to … Continue reading
Faith Healing
A couple years ago Roger Haight S.J., one of Catholicism’s leading theologians, visited the Paulist Catholic Center here in Boston to offer a three-day lecture series. At the beginning of … Continue reading
The Curse of Catholicism
Yesterday afternoon I broke from my homework to read the latest NYTimes op-ed on Catholicism, “The Curse of Catholicism” by Frank Bruni. Prompted by Gary Wills’ forthcoming book, Why Priests? … Continue reading
I’ve been running
I’ve been running. Had you asked me about running six months ago, I would have sighed, frowned, and said something like, “Yeah, I go for a jog occasionally…” (Grumble, grumble, … Continue reading
A Try
I was recently listening to a Radiolab podcast that featured writer Elizabeth Gilbert (yes, that one). She spoke about inspiration, and how she has remained creative and productive as a writer. Earlier in her … Continue reading
Maundy Thursday
Mother, Washing Dishes by Susan Meyers She rarely made us do it— we’d clear the table instead—so my sister and I teased that some day we’d train our children right … Continue reading
Lying Awake
Recently, I read a beautiful little novel called, “Lying Awake” by Mark Salzman. The novel chronicles the story of Sr. John of the Cross, a Carmelite nun in a community … Continue reading
