From death sprouts new life. I walk among trees that know the pain of dying. The wise elders that live in my local arboretum weather their share of storms...
The Examined Life
On September 11, 2001, I was a junior at Fordham University in the Bronx. If I close my eyes, the memories quickly flood back: My roommate banging on the...
Last spring I made a spontaneous decision to observe Ramadan, the Muslim season of fasting and spiritual renewal. I did so after watching a news report of a...
Do you ever notice what you don’t see? Hang with me—I know the question seems strange. Those of us gifted with the ability to see count on our eyes to alert us...
The account of Jesus’ birth in Luke’s gospel is a familiar story. It relates a miraculous conception announced by an angel; a young girl’s trusting assent to...
I believe in the communion of saints. These words take flesh in the early morning quiet of my apartment. I sink into the worn recliner and flip open my Bible...
A teaching evaluation once observed that I was “not afraid of silence” in the classroom. In reality, learning to be comfortable with silence was the hardest...
Memories are an important part of being human. When we come together for family meals, for example, we often tell stories of shared experiences, anecdotes of...
The desert fathers tell this story: Abba Lot came to Abba Joseph and said, “Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my...
Spiritually, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris has been an important prayer space in my life. Vespers in that space was a privileged moment in which I felt...
