Articles 356
Of a Woodstove
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…
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…
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…
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…
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
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.
The Race to the Bottom: A Review of Ross Benes’s ‘1999’
It never fails—whenever Benes defends low culture, he does so in the exact terms that he ought to be using to criticize it
Crisis Response and the Remembering of Nightlife Hample
A peaceful crisis response paves the way for restoration and wholeness.
On Lear, Lent, and Christian Tragedy
The man of faith knows that even the deepest darkness may be irradiated
In Between on the Camino de Santiago
Whether the remains of St. James lie there or not, most of our band will likely return again to travel a new way to Santiago.
Sweet Tea and Sacraments: Flannery O’Connor, the American South, and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition
O’Connor’s fiction does not offer sentimental portraits of faith—it tests faith.
From Postliberalism to Preliberalism: A Review of The Church Against the State
Next time we’re drinking bourbon together, I look forward to telling him that he’s got all the right impulses and is coming to the wrong conclusions.
Sowing Winter Wheal: Preparing Seed and Soil for the New Era
As my hibernal title indicates, my sense is that this trajectory will be difficult.
Marvin Olasky on the Press, Presidents, and Pivots
The longtime editor-in-chief of World magazine discusses the Zenger Prize, his new gig at Christianity Today, the temptations of conservative politics (compassionate or otherwise), and his memoir Pivot Points. …
The Hidden Sorrow of Easter
Christ’s resurrection offers assurance in the face of inevitable, implacable death. But it doesn’t come easily
An Inside Job
It’s time to give the kids a better life script, to give them something more to aspire to than slumping over a screen for the rest of their lives.
In Praise of Old Fencerows
Within five years you could have a tiny piece of managed nature, in which more birds sing than you would have thought possible