Today’s Psalm invited us to go to the mountain of the Lord–which reminded me of a hill-climbing event that I wrote about when on retreat not that long ago . . . PREPARATION “Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord,” asked Psalm 24 at Vigils this morning. Psalm 24 is a “Psalm of Ascent,” one of a group of songs scattered throughout the Psalms that scholars tell us were sung by pilgrims as they ascended the hill to Solomon’s... 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
There are several contemporary writers on spiritual issues and matters of faith whose work I admire so greatly I that purchase their latest books as soon as they are published—I have my Amazon account set up to send me such “heads up” announcements. These are authors whose books never fail to both deepen and broaden my own perspectives and attitudes about faith and what is greater than me. The list includes Anne Lamott, Joan Chittister, Annie Dillard, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Lauren... Read more
The beautiful Ruane Center for the Humanities on our campus opened in the Fall of 2013, a home, among other things, for the large interdisciplinary, team-taught course required of all freshmen and sophomores regardless of their major. The four-semester, sixteen-credit course is the Development of Western Civilization program, usually called DWC or just “Civ” by the students and faculty. I was director of this program from 2011-15, at any given time in charge of 75-80 faculty and 1800+ students as I... Read more
Not long ago, I found myself involved behind the scenes in a squabble between the chair of my department and another department colleague. Their disagreement was about the proper interpretation of the Faculty Handbook on an issue related to my colleague’s upcoming promotion case. Both asked me, as a former department chair, to offer my opinion. I felt that my colleague’s interpretation, based on a charitable “spirit of the law” reading of the relevant portion of the handbook, made more... Read more
If you think you understand it, it is not God. Soren Kierkegaard In Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel Gilead, Reverand John Ames (one of my top five favorite characters in all of fiction) frequently expresses doubt concerning his faith, something unexpected in a Congregational minister, at least in some circles. In the middle of the novel, Ames spends a few pages considering doubt and uncertainty in one’s faith within the context of challenges from non-believers to “prove” that God... Read more
Twenty-five years ago last month, I interviewed at Providence College for a tenure-track position in the philosophy department. The sky was crystal clear, but it was bitterly cold; the snowbanks were piled high. When I returned home to Memphis from the interview, I told Jeanne that I hoped I would get the job. “It seems like it would be a good fit,” I said. I was right. I’ve been remembering parts of that intense day of interviewing over the past... Read more
I love the cycle of the liturgical year, the anticipation of Advent, the joy of Christmas and Easter, the surprise of Epiphany, the daily grind of Pentecost and Ordinary Time. And then there’s Lent. It’s always been my least favorite of the liturgical seasons for a number of reasons, but this year I’m dedicated to thinking about and living it differently. My thoughts on these matters were published yesterday in Bearings Online, a publication of the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville, Minnesota.... Read more
What we call doubt is often simply dullness of mind and spirit, not the absence of faith at all, but faith latent in the lives we are not quite living, God dormant in the world to which we are not quite giving our best selves. Christopher Wiman One of my birthday presents earlier this week from Jeanne was a new super-duper Keurig coffee machine that, among other amazing abilities, can make cappuccinos and lattes. Before last summer, I don’t believe... Read more
Last year, for the first time since 1945, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fell on the same day. I think they 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 one Saturday morning. It’s 5:30 in the morning (on Saturday, mind you), my eyelids are resisting the inevitable and Jeanne asks me, “What is... Read more
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