happy Can Day! ..... sorry, happy MAY Day 🙄

Camp Mystic says it will not reopen this summer: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/u...

For Dolly Parton, songwriting is a kind of spiritual practice — “That’s my time with God,” she has said — an entrance into a flow state where time and possibility expand infinitely. Her hits include country, pop crossovers, bluegrass revivals and more. nyti.ms/4tSm7Kk

[new york post voice] NOPE-MOBILE

"Mr. Epstein asked for a design replacing the Arabic word for God with his initials in English." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/w...

"Mr. Trump’s latest rhetoric, particularly on matters of faith as the war continues, has, according to polls and religious leaders, threatened to splinter a powerful coalition of religious voters who returned him to the White House." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/u...

New from me: President Trump will contribute to a weeklong reading of the entire Bible next week. He recorded his contribution from the Oval Office, a passage from the book of II Chronicles. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/u...

Most of the people lamenting the collapse of American journalism conveniently forget to mention the industry’s systematic marginalization and suppression of pro-Martian voices. It’s impossible to imagine an editor signing off on any of these stories today.

"The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is oft not enough to rebuild." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/w...

A new poll finds a sharp rise in the share of men under 30 who say that religion is “very important” to them. New from me and Ruth Igielnik: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/u...

This is why I go to Dairy Queen, the only fast food chain that supports determinism

a powerful reminder of the grotesqueness of man's sinful nature, thank u sonic

I spent some time this week talking with astronauts, theologians and others about the ancient human practice of contemplating the heavens. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/u...

Bible sales in the US are booming, and I looked at one corner of that market: premium Bibles made from high-quality materials and meant to last. One publisher calls them an example of the “a push away from instant, artificial, blue-light culture." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/05/u...

These two books contain the sum total of all human knowledge

This is the first I'm hearing of this... incredible.

The old world is dying. The new world struggles to be born. Things are pretty busy at the world hospital

Have 364 days to continue workshopping this one

Great picture of us: www.nasa.gov/image-articl...

"'How much more American we can get?' said Noor Mobeen, the director of Iman Academy’s main campus. ... 'The only thing we have to change is our faith, and then there is no point in having it.'" www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/u...

"You need to take responsibility, to offer the vision, the mission, the focus, the direction for your own family. ... You’re not a guy who is playing video games all day.” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/u...

Vice President JD Vance has a new book that will explore his religious faith and his conversion to Catholicism as an adult. “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith” will be out June 16.

"The festivities of Mid-Lent flourished precisely in communities where life during Lent was the most austere." Loved this: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/28/w...

"The first year after the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the United States, many Catholic churches across America are welcoming their highest numbers of new Catholics in recent years." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/u...

When the weather on your vacation is so bad it's national news. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/w...

“The bright side of the planet moves toward darkness And the cities are falling asleep, each in its hour. And for me, now as then, it is too much. There is too much world.” - Czeslaw Milosz

“Some might say at least they’re being honest about the fact that it’s just sheer brute force. But it’s also very dangerous. You’re asking people to die for the ambitions of a president and a moral calculus that’s no greater than might makes right.” www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/u...

"An honest accounting requires acknowledging that reactionaries are not the only ones who have followed Jesus into the public square." www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...

this man should be at the helm of a 19th century steamboat on the Mississippi, not a tourist yacht on the Danube

gambling monk, germany, 15th century

Touching short conversation between a church organist and his childhood organ teacher. storycorps.org/stories/play...

Anglicans in Africa are meeting in Nigeria to elect a rival leader to Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally, whose position on same-sex marriage inspired a coalition of churches in Africa and Asia to announce a split back in October. From @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/conser...

Costco Connection magazine just published a full article about why and how to stop your car

I was at a Gen Z-oriented event last night where the host unironically told a story about "the 1900s" :)

This @defector.com story is a good (non-political) example of why it’s not enough to have a bunch of individual reporters with newsletters running around. You need some kind of institution with the resources (and principles) to publish despite legal threats. defector.com/a-complimentar…

"Now the girls are stone cold, not emotional." Fascinating, complicated story about the declining birthrate: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/u...

My favorite was a passage in "Death in Venice" annotated "Gay?"

Since July 4, I've been struck by the closeness of Camp Mystic's alumnae, who helped me understand the power of summer camp in Texas. Now, in the midst of so much grief, painful fractures are opening up as some families decide to send their daughters back to camp. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/u...

I clicked through to find out if there was really a new television character named Alice Munro. Apparently it's "Monroe" but still, huh

New from me: Nine families of girls who died at Camp Mystic just filed suit against the Texas Department of State Health Services, accusing the agency of approving the camp's emergency plan even though it included no provisions for evacuation. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/u...

Theology of human dignity taking on new implications every day.

Leo cautions priests against using AI to write homilies. “'To give a true homily is to share faith,' and AI 'will never be able to share faith.'" www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

These are lovely! www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/l...

I imagine it was extremely disturbing

Riveting, empathetic, uncomfortable, bonkers -- that is, everything I want from magazine journalism. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

UPDATE: Just spoke with the head of CSPL. They have *still* not heard from ICE/DHS about granting clergy access to the Broadview ICE facility. A federal court order issued last week required ICE/DHS to work with CSPL to grant clergy access to the site on Ash Wednesday. Today is Ash Wednesday.

important perspective from this 1969 sports headline

Robert Duvall, oh, I loved him. My tops are "The Apostle," "Tender Mercies," and "Lonesome Dove," and I'm not just saying that because I'm a religion writer in Texas. (Or maybe that's WHY I'm a religion writer in Texas? Much to ponder.)

"We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...

“I am not a news source anymore. ... God called me out of that season.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...