I don't know about you, but I've begun to dread election years. I used to love them. My parents watched the conventions of both major political parties and every presidential debate and they invited my brothers and me to join them in the living room to take it all in. Mom and Dad were clear … Continue reading Prepare for this Political Year: Read Arthur Brooks’ Love Your Enemies
Starry skies call those who long for silence: leave the party, the mall, the jingle bell rock, the smart phone, the laptop and the trivial TV. Step outside. Look up. Robert Frost's 1943 poem “Choose Something Like a Star" speaks to our position beneath the glittering skyscape. Alone beneath the stars the poet addresses "the … Continue reading Choose Something Like a Star: A Christmas Contemplation Inspired by Robert Frost
A gangly pre-teen, I was "too old" for Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood when the soft-spoken man in the red sweater and tennis shoes captured the hearts of American children, but still I watched him. Public television was a new thing back then and besides, there was only one TV in the house. Agitated and worn from … Continue reading Love Your Neighbor as Yourself: How America’s Fascination with Mr. Rogers Can Help Heal our Culture’s Vitriolic Division
I don't want sentimental piety at Advent; I crave a seeker's authenticity and a contemplative's conviction. I welcome Sally Read's voice at any time of year, and Advent isn't the occasion that produced Annunciation: A Call to Faith in A Broken World. It's just that Annunciation is the best book of its kind I encountered … Continue reading Live the Questions this Advent with Sally Read’s Annunciation: A Call to Faith in a Broken World
Some say it started with a hashtag. It took off in the Twitterverse and inspired songs by punk rockers Amen and pop phenomenon Demi Lovato. The punchy one-liner even found its way into a successful ad series for the ever-delectable Reese's peanut butter cup, in which a snarky male voiceover extols Reese's with in-your-face bravado, … Continue reading Not-Sorry’s Not Worth It, but Sorry-Plus Is a Beautiful Move
I used to teach the art of argument to college freshmen. We read classic texts on the great questions of the centuries and debated our views in passionate discussion laced with laughter and an occasional angry flare. Students then constructed written arguments clarifying their thought and defending their positions. Essay by essay, they honed their … Continue reading Arguing Religion and the Search Engine of the Soul
As summer came to a close this year I found myself reviewing its moments with gratitude for small wonders. There was the little backyard garden my husband coaxed to abundance and the lichens and shimmering insects that caught my eye on mountain hikes. I recalled with affection the pride I felt watching my colleagues who … Continue reading Small People and Places Shine in Wendell Berry Film Look & See, Now on Netflix
"Put not your trust in princes," the psalmist advised long ago. People didn't choose their leaders back then, so they were, on a material level, absolutely beholden to a king's whims for good or ill. The psalmist reminds them of the human tendency to view the world from a material point of view only, forgetting … Continue reading Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan’s Beatitudes for a Political Leader
"Outwardly I think I am employed to what is of no or little use," Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote in his journal just months before his death. "I was continuing this train of thought this evening when I began to enter on that course of loathing and hopelessness which I have so often felt before..." I … Continue reading Loathing and Hopelessness, Juice and Joy: Gerard Manley Hopkins’ Secret Sorrow
The tension in many a good story centers on a hero's struggle, as opposition mounts, to remember his identity or to recall her mission. Succumbing to Sirens and Circes is perilous and treasure greater than victory awaits the unwavering. In Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, for instance, Meg Murry's mission is to rescue her … Continue reading The Tao or the Wow: How Ancient Texts Rehumanize the Heart
