Culture
When Ideas Matter
When Ideas Matter: Speeches for an Ethical Republic is a collection of essays published by Michael D. Higgins, who has served as President of Ireland since November 2011. Higgins covers a broad spectrum of topics ranging from the Irish Diaspora and the Famine, to Culture, Economics, and an especially poignant...
The Millennial Crisis
The young Soldiers I first counseled as an Army Chaplain are in their 40’s by now. In the early 2000’s, our discussions revolved around topics with a distinctive future trajectory. Things like marriage or divorce, children, whether to stay in the Army or return to civilian life. Undoubtedly, the future...
The Nun and the Boy
She referred to him as a mystic; some of his teachers thought he was day-dreaming. She told him he was a good writer; his rhetoric instructor nearly failed him. She noted the details of the boy’s photographs that I had missed; as she, too, was from another world. Mystics see...
Conversations With Leaders: Anderson Sainci
If you recall, Anderson Sainci, C’10 & MAC ’12, published a guest post on this blog titled An Approach To Servant Leadership. An ode to his Mother, who taught him lessons of love and leadership.I was excited to invite him back for a podcast interview that turned into a wonderful...
Raw Beauty
It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and apparently the British saw nothing beautiful about Cruit Island or Kincasslagh, Ireland. We thank God for that. The land of which I am writing is largely bog, littered with boulders that are surrounded by heather, sand,...
Getting Invited To Dinner
"God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list?" “Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. Don’t hurt your friend, don’t blame your neighbor; despise the despicable. Keep your word, even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a...
Strengthening Reckless Minds
Mark Lilla’s The Reckless Mind: Intellectuals in Politics is a cautionary study for all of us. Rather than an indictment of intellectuals in politics, he is more broadly examining how some of the most well-recognized philosophers of the 20th century—the smartest people on earth—so egregiously misjudged the ideological ramifications of...
The Ambiguity of Heroes
Rev. Professor Peter Gomes (1942-2011) was an American Baptist minister who, from 1974 to the time of his death, served as Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pursey Minister in The Memorial Church, Harvard University. The following post is an excerpt from his sermon, The Ambiguity of Heroes, which was...
A Prescriptive Post-Mortem for Iowa
Published 12/30/2018 in the Telegraph Herald “A well-informed electorate is a prerequisite for Democracy” - Thomas Jefferson We have a vested interest in the health of our state. We work, educate our children, and participate in community life. We pay taxes to support public schools, infrastructure, public safety, and medical care...
An American Armistice
On Sunday, November 11, 2018 I had the distinct honor of praying the benediction at the Centennial Armistice Ceremony at the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery and Memorial in France. Our family prepared by watching the classic film Sergeant York, which depicts the events that took place at the Meuse-Argonne. About an hour...
