In just eight days, the good citizens of my new home state will gather to participate in a hugely significant political event: the Iowa Caucuses. Regardless of what you may think of the deeply flawed US electoral system or the motley crop of presidential candidates we will be choosing from, you surely can imagine my excitement as I look forward to this event. After participating in three presidential elections where my vote basically counted for naught (I was officially a... Read more
It started with a picnic in a park. I got involved in a brief discussion with a few acquaintances about the well-known vice of internet trolling. What surprised me most was hearing about some sort of anti-sexism campaign that had reportedly geo-located certain people making offensive Facebook comments, then purchased billboard ads quoting those people directly in the areas where they lived. This was reported favorably and, I thought, somewhat condescendingly as a form of shaming that works in those “homogeneous” small-town... Read more
A homily for the second Sunday. A beautiful triplet of readings. I really like the reading from Paul, but I could not really see how to work it in with the other two. Writing this was partly influenced by a private detail: last week was the 30th anniversary of the day I proposed. What a long strange trip it has been. As always, thoughts and comments are welcome: help me learn the art of the homily! On this Sunday the... Read more
The title of this post says it all: should we ever refuse to baptize someone? In particular, if parents present a child for baptism, are there ever grounds for refusing this request? My initial response is no: we should never refuse such a request. But, as I was preparing my homily for this week, I was trying to make sense of why Jesus was baptized, and this led naturally to reflecting on what our own baptisms means. In my reading,... Read more
A homily for the opening of Ordinary time. I got sidetracked this week thinking about the meaning of baptism as incorporation into the Church, and what this means pastorally: is there ever a time when pastors should refuse to baptize children? Pope Francis has rejected a narrow, exclusionary attitude towards the sacrament, but does this leave open the door to ever refusing it? And can it be done in a way that does not make it a proxy for the... Read more
I sometimes imagine a Q & A session in which I get to ask Richard Dawkins why Philosophy Departments do not dedicate any time and resources to debates over the existence of Santa Claus. In response to critics, like fellow atheist Michael Ruse, that he knows nothing of philosophy or theology, Dawkins blithely responds that one does not need to have studied Leprechaunology to confidently assert that Leprechauns don’t exist. We are told over and over again that belief in... Read more
If anything is widely agreed on in current U.S. politics, it is that Washington is dysfunctional. But a lack of reflection on what’s been feeding the dysfunction may be giving us the kind of purported solutions that really only exacerbate the problem. As near as I can tell, as I tried to puzzle it out in the comment thread of David’s recent post, the kind of election-year circus we’re getting seems to have something to do with a cultural climate shaped by... Read more
Another week, another attempt at a homily. Thanks to all for the feedback on my homily for the Feast of the Holy Family. This week I got started earlier–in fact, as soon as I posted the last one, I went to check out the readings for today. Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, the revelation of Jesus in the Incarnation to the world. In many parts of the world, particularly in Italy, Spain and throughout Latin America, this feast... Read more
I am late again. I decided to not hold myself responsible for sermons for feast days—keeping up with Sunday is proving to be enough of a challenge. But “skipping” Christmas did not get me any closer to preparing for this feast. The choice of readings–two first readings, two second readings (with a choice of a short and long form for one of them) and two psalms–didn’t make it any easier. The final form of the sermon has a somewhat awkward... Read more
“We have all known the long loneliness, and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” – Dorothy Day “The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” – Mother Teresa The Christmas holidays are a difficult time for many. It does not seem that it should be this way. This is the season of great... Read more
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