When I attended the Ph.D. program in Systematic Theology at Duquesne University, I had a marvelous professor named Dr. Marilyn Schaub. She taught Hebrew Bible and Palestinian Archeology and became my advisor and mentor. She retired when I was in my second year of the program but was kind enough to stay in touch. For …
A few days ago, during a very intense and tension filled work week, I went to visit a friend and colleague in his office to ask him a few questions about a project on which we are both working. As I left my office, I wondered if I should put on the sweater I had …
Our breath is connected to our life. This is a simple and obvious statement and yet within this simple statement there is much to explore. Genesis tells us that when God created the first human, he formed him out of the earth and then blew into him the breath of life and the human became …
During mass on Good Friday, we sing a simple refrain quietly, meditatively repeating its few lines as we venerate the cross of Jesus Christ. Originally written by Jacques Berthier for the Taizé community near Cluny, Burgundy, both the tune and words are simple, Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus remember me …
We live in a culture that is uncomfortable and perhaps even hostile toward spaciousness. This crisis is apparent everywhere you look. It seems that no matter where you are there is an ever-present stream of pictures and sound. You find television screens in restaurants, waiting rooms in doctor’s offices, on airplanes, and on all sorts …
After John the Baptist is beheaded, Jesus withdraws to a deserted place by himself but is followed by a great crowd. The people in the crowd were not even wearing masks! When Jesus sees the many people that have followed him, he leaves his desired solitude behind and attends to the needs of the crowd, …
Karl Rahner, one of the most significant theologians of the twentieth century, wrote a collection of prayers called Encounters with Silence. In a chapter called, “God of My Prayer,” Rahner asks God some hard questions. He asks God how he can continue to pray when all he experiences is God’s silence. He proposes some possible …
When I was in my thirties and my children were in grade school, I attended Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. My commute to the seminary was one and half hours and because my children were young, I worked to fit a full-time schedule of classes into two days. This meant that after packing back packs and lunches …
One day, a few years ago in July, my sixteen-month-old granddaughter Eliza and I came upon a bush in the corner of our neighbor’s yard. The bush was flowering and when you drew near, you could see that it was moving and alive with buzzing bumble bees flying in and out of the flowers on …
The theme for the week of prayer for Christian unity in 2020 was unusual kindness. I was thinking about this theme as I was commuting from my home in Ligonier to my office in Latrobe when I came to an overpass with the words “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood,” molded into the cement. …