I sat down this morning to write the Pew, but the words ‘We are at war’ rendered my notes on sacrifice seem suddenly small. The internal journey of Lent must now share space with the external reality of a world on fire. My life has been a long witness to conflict. Though I missed the…
The Sacred Encounter
The season of Lent was traditionally defined by the “three pillars”: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Yet, while we often embrace the rigors of fasting and the interior introspection of prayer, the third pillar—almsgiving—is frequently treated as a routine obligation rather than transformative. We tend to continue the community service we have always performed, maintaining our…
Lenten Balance
The Lenten season is traditionally defined by its somber colors and disciplined practices: sacrifice, study, prayer, meditation, and service. It is a time of “spiritual spring cleaning,” where we sweep away the distractions that clutter our relationship with God. However, this focus on austerity often leads to a common misconception—that Lent is a season meant…
Another Day
The world is a tapestry of unyielding injustices, and looking upon it often feels like standing before a vast, churning ocean with nothing but a thimble in one’s hand. In the face of such scale, the human heart seeks a hiding place. We find that refuge in the geography of time—specifically, in a land called…
Friendship
As I tossed and turned in my sleep last night, my mind drifted through a long gallery of the friends I’ve known throughout my life. There were boyhood friends from the streets of Memphis; high school companions in Little Rock; the brothers-in-arms from college and law school in Fayetteville; and the colleagues who became kin…