Beloved, I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” Michelangelo is famously said to have described his work this way after sculpting David from a single, flawed block of marble that others had rejected. He did not think of himself as creating David so much as revealing him by […]

Beloved, It is finally happening. Whenever Fr. Roger, Beau, and I are on the road, I always turn the radio to Escape. It’s a station that plays so-called elevator music—or, as some might call it, old people music—all day long. No vocals, no head-banging, no booming bass; just soothing music filling the space. One day, […]

Beloved, You often don’t know the impact your life has on others until much later. If you have spent some time scrolling on social media recently, chances are you might have come across video memes of Indonesia’s longtail boat drag races. Each boat was led by an acrobatic dancing boy wearing sunglasses, who cheered on […]

Beloved, Approximately two minutes—that is how long the Kentucky Derby lasts. Two minutes. For what is called The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports, it is over almost as quickly as it begins. Two minutes can hold a lot. While we are thinking about time, let me invite you to shift perspective for a moment. […]

Beloved,  Is this all there is?  Perhaps it has been a while since you last felt a sense of spiritual affirmation. What once brought deep joy has begun to fade, and you find yourself wondering what has changed. Maybe something has shaken your conviction. Or perhaps you have lost someone dear and are now learning […]

Beloved, We often say we are human beings having spiritual experiences. But are we? The Jesuit priest and theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin suggested something deeper: that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Our true nature, he believed, is eternal — temporarily inhabiting this earthly life. Lately, I have been reflecting on this […]

Beloved, “Do you see an empty spot next to mine?” (Pause) “You can take that spot, if you want.” It was the most touching way anyone has ever proposed to me. Six years before I started serving at St. Paul’s, I took a long drive to Henderson, Kentucky, with then-seminarian Fr. Roger. It took about […]

Wherever we are, this is how we love God and God’s People Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and […]

Beloved, Let us not look back with nostalgia, nor ahead with fear, but around with awareness. I learned this blessing years ago from Fr. Ralph Carskeddon, an old friend and mentor, when he was serving as interim dean of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, where I worshipped weekly before going off to seminary. I can […]

November, 2025 Beloved,  November is a month full of holy disorientation. As the air cools and the trees shed their leaves, the church too approaches the end of its liturgical year – a season when endings and beginnings overlap. I invite you to take a couple of deep breaths and pause for a moment to […]