Students are invited to submit an essay for our 2025 essay contest.
I’ve heated with wood for a winter, and I am pleased to do so, but it’s backbreaking labor to warm this way for a lifetime
On Being Indifferent
The politics of Jesus are “brutally modest.” “Jesus’ life seems to have been mostly one of local, familial labor and relations, carried out in the compass of a small town or village . . .
Three Trees Once Grew
Although my vision, and my neck, and my sense of balance, and certainly my sense of hope, were all impaired, I could still prune. And as I pruned, I reflected on the three trees that once grew near my childhood home ...
The Ghost Cricket Orchestra
If we are willing to listen, we might be able to learn what we are listening for. Not just a deeper connection to our humanity, or a meditative appreciation of existence, as lovely and important as those things may be.
Crime and Redemption
Those who had previously greeted me with smiles and handshakes find ways to hint through word and deed that I am no longer one of them ...
Lovely, Dark, and Deep
The one observation on which all the Brothers focused with most interest, though, was what I might describe as the words beyond words. These poems are not just about a stone in the road and snow falling on a dark evening ...
Pollution and Sin: An Earth Month Reflection
As I picked up litter, I had ample time to reflect upon the stunning parallels between human pollution and sin.
Taking a Turn Taking it on the Chin
But the attacks on higher education are also part of a broader trend, which devalues work itself, especially work motivated by love
What’s in a Name?
We all have the power to name ourselves—collectively, not individually
Garden With Children
I am happy that the boys enjoy the garden too. But who knows how it will be in five years?
Can Good Deeds Become Like Murmurations?
The lessons of murmuration are clear. There is power and safety in community
A Phone that Does not Ring
Jess never missed calling me today, even when I was half a world away. This marks the eleventh year that my phone will not ring.
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From the Archives
Laudato Si’ and the Feverish Summer
For many, this summer was long, hot, and awful — at least politically; no one particularly recalls the weather. Why so rotten? Laudato si',...
Puritans and The Pope: The Conflicted Christian History of American Ecological Ethics
The responses from American Christians to Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ have fallen into two predictable categories: Economic conservatives push back against Francis’ critique...
The Cardinal and the Capitalist
A cleric with the ear of Pope Francis recently sent Catholic defenders of free markets into a tizzy. At a press conference, Cardinal Oscar...