I’ve lived almost two-thirds of a century now, so I have passed many of the birthdays that supposedly mark a passage and/or cause the birthday person distress. 18, 21, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60 . . . you know what I’m talking about. It has never been a big deal for me—as Jeanne always says, “It’s just a number.” But I’m 65 today . . . and that particular number has caught my attention. “65!!” I’ve been thinking over the... Read more
I read a fascinating article in The Atlantic not long ago that explores the various ways in which virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri have begun to occupy more and more important spaces in our lives. Alexa has lived in our house for the last eighteen months or so. I was worried at first, because home is the one place where my conversation tends to be unfiltered. I talk to our dachshund Winnie as if she is a person (actually,... Read more
In one of my seminars a week or so ago, my students and I considered the following passage from a text assigned for the day. [He] had seen nothing of the world and had acquired neither knowledge nor understanding of it . . . [He] preferred to have people of the same origins as himself in his immediate entourage; no doubt he felt most at ease among them . . . His illusions and wish-dreams were a direct outgrowth of... Read more
One of my teaching colleagues and mentors used to love to tell the story of what happened one day after he and a colleague teamed up for a particularly impassioned lecture in the interdisciplinary course they were team-teaching. I no longer remember what he said the text or topic of the class was, but after class a usually silent back-row-sitting student came up from and said “Wow! You guys really take this stuff seriously!” Which raises the question: What would... Read more
The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to yourself. Michel de Montaigne I freely confess that Lent is my least favorite liturgical season. I have struggled not so much with the season, but rather with what Lent seems to represent for many people. It often is little more than a forty-day exercise in playing at getting serious about one’s faith. One can easily pray more, study more, try to be a better person, and generally try... Read more
One of the pleasant surprises of the new semester, now four weeks old, is that the discussions in all of my classes have arguably been the best in recent memory. Students not only are ready to discuss on all sorts of topics, they also are showing a willingness to be honest and “go deep” about themselves in ways I have seldom experienced. On some days, my classes are essentially teaching themselves with little direction from me. All I can say... Read more
Shortly before the 2013 conclave that would elect him as Pope Francis I, then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio urged his fellow cardinals to remember that Christians should live by the light of the moon rather than of the sun. Followers of Christ should reflect the source of light rather than acting as if they are the source. With regard to the hierarchy of the religious structure he would soon be elected to lead, he said that the Church exists to reflect Christ—as... Read more
Once many years ago, a couple I was close friends with was having marital problems. For the first (and only) time in my life, I found myself frequently playing the role of telephone confessor and therapist for each of them—I’m quite sure that neither was aware that I was doing this with the other. The phone calls became so frequent that one evening as I talked to the male in the relationship, the woman beeped in on call waiting. Toward the... Read more
The earth is round. Two plus two equals four. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 election for President and Vice President of the United States. The election was not stolen, rigged, or fixed. These are facts. They are demonstrable and irrefutable. These are the opening lines in Smartmatic’s 2.7 billion dollar lawsuit, filed earlier this month, against Fox News, several of Fox’s television personalities, and two of former President Trump’s lawyers. In a culture that has moved inexorably... Read more
Three years ago, for the first time since 1945, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fell on the same day. This year, Valentine’s Day falls on the last Sunday before Lent begins on Wednesday. Perhaps someone is trying to tell us that Valentine’s Day and Lent belong together. My lovely wife Jeanne and I have had occasional conversations over the years about Lent that have, gradually, caused me to think differently about my least favorite liturgical season. It all started early... Read more
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