Big Brother

Last updated on: October 16, 2015 at 7:30 am By Vance Morgan

In the 1946 classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Angel Second Class Clarence Oddbody is assigned as George Bailey’s guardian angel. It’s a challenging assignment; George has been driven to the brink of suicide by a series of unfortunate choices and circumstances. More than George’s life rides on Clarence’s success since Clarence, who has been a wingless angel for over a century, is guaranteed by his managing angel Joseph that if Clarence turns George around, he will finally earn his... Read more

Reading the Fine Print

Last updated on: October 14, 2015 at 7:30 am By Vance Morgan

As predictable as the change of seasons is the point in any given semester when students will approach me for the first time and ask for out of class help. Usually it’s after the first exam or paper has been returned. Students with dreams of an “A” dancing in their heads tend to make an appointment when their first major piece of graded work has a “C” or “D” on the top of it. I’m a user-friendly professor and am... Read more

All Creatures Great and Small

Last updated on: October 10, 2015 at 4:00 pm By Vance Morgan

Tomorrow is “Blessing of the Animals” Sunday. Two years ago I had the privilege of giving the sermon for Saint Francis Sunday which is the occasion for blessing of the animals. Here’s what I said: On weekday mornings I try to start the day by reading the Psalms appointed for the morning in the daily lectionary. A couple of days ago on Friday morning as I squinted through bleary, sleep-filled eyes, I was greeted by Psalm 19, my favorite Psalm ever:... Read more

Confessions of an Ocean-Hater

Last updated on: October 7, 2015 at 7:30 am By Vance Morgan

As I’m reviewing various posts for a current large writing project, I came across a reflection on beauty from a couple of years ago that I had forgotten about. It all starts with cognitive dissonance–I live in the Ocean State and I don’t like the ocean. The sea pronounces something, over and over, in a hoarse whisper. I cannot quite make it out. Annie Dillard I live in the Ocean State. I really don’t like the ocean. Yet another opportunity... Read more

A Jesuit Frame of Mind

Last updated on: October 2, 2015 at 7:30 am By Vance Morgan

The recently concluded visit of Pope Francis to the United States has put me in a Jesuit frame of mind. The Jesuits are the first Catholics I ever spent extended time with, and they ruined me for the rest of them. I have spent the past twenty-seven years of my life, first as a student then as a professor, in Catholic higher education—and it all started with the Jesuits. So how did an Episcopalian with deep roots in hard-core conservative... Read more

It’s the Message, Stupid!

Last updated on: September 28, 2015 at 7:30 am By Vance Morgan

As he shepherded Bill Clinton’s successful run for the Presidency in the early 90s, James Carville famously used to keep the candidate and all campaign spokespersons on task by reminding them frequently that “It’s the economy, stupid!” Don’t let yourselves get sidetracked by shiny objects along the way—keep focused and on message. If we keep reminding people about the state the economy is in and what a Clinton presidency will do about it, we’ll win. And they did. In politics,... Read more

An Aria as Lovely as a Tree

Last updated on: September 25, 2015 at 7:30 am By Vance Morgan

As Jeanne headed into Dunkin’ Donuts to purchase her customary large decaf French Vanilla with eight creams and three Equals (and pity the fool who doesn’t get it right), I stayed in the car surfing the FM dial—my coffee intake for the morning had already exceeded its quota. I landed on New York’s NPR classical station just in time to hear “Ombra mai fu,” the opening aria from Georg Friedrich Handel’s 1738 opera Serse. Parked in an ugly Double-D parking lot... Read more

Her Children Rise Up

Last updated on: September 23, 2015 at 7:15 am By Vance Morgan

I learned something interesting about giraffes from one of my colleagues the other day. He was lecturing on Roman art and architecture; when discussing the Coliseum, he mentioned that Roman audiences loved to watch novelty battles—between a woman and a dwarf, or a dog and a porcupine for instance. The voracious Roman appetite for more and more exotic beasts and contests produced a variety of combatants from all corners of the empire, including elephants, apes, the great cats, and rhinoceroses.... Read more

Is the Pope Catholic?

Last updated on: September 21, 2015 at 7:30 am By Vance Morgan

He wants to be a modern pope. All he needs is dreadlocks and a dog with a bandana and he could be on Occupy Wall Street. Gary Gutfield, Fox News Remember back in the old days when a spokesperson for some medical product on television would say “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV”? I have a similar sort of authority when it comes to things Catholic. I am not Catholic (I don’t think I even met... Read more

Date Afternoon

Last updated on: September 18, 2015 at 7:30 am By Vance Morgan

Marriage experts (if there are such things) often suggest that all married couples, even those who have been married for so long that they can’t remember when they weren’t married, should regularly schedule times just for themselves, times when they deliberately leave their children, animals, jobs, worries, home and everything else behind for some “us” time. This is often called “date night,” which is an attractive title only for those who remember their dating years fondly—I’m not one of them.... Read more

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