Tag Archives: etymology

Watch: Advent Word 6

Words are my lifeblood, so I want to understand them deeply and fully–to know them and to own them. Thus, I frequently consult the Online Etymology Dictionary, a favorite site for enriching my store of words as I explore their … Continue reading

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An Accident on the Wheel of Fortune

My experience behind the wheel I am told that around 8:00 p.m. on October 28, 2022, I had a car accident. Empirical evidence certainly supports such a hypothesis. If the picture alone isn’t enough, I can report that I had … Continue reading

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Everything Not Forbidden Is Compulsory

When I first passed this sign yesterday morning on the way to class, I thought it was an instruction in etiquette: “Don’t sit here because this is a table, and sitting on tables is rude.” Silly me.

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Naming Evil

I write today in the bloody wake of the most recent in an increasingly frequent series of mass killings–this time, the deaths of 58 country music fans at the hands of a gunman poised 32 floors above the concert venue … Continue reading

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Finding Community: Prayer, Love, Work, and the Liturgy

I must be clear that this all happened a week ago, July 30, eighth Sunday after Pentecost on the liturgical calendar–or kalendar, if we’re being precious–Year A, Track 2. Everything would have different had it not been this specific Sunday … Continue reading

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Hope Is a Thing

Twenty years ago today, so the legend goes, the hopeless step-grandmother of a wild child saw a red sign on a gray door: “Enter Here in Peace.” Though the parlous state of her soul belied the mode of entry, she took … Continue reading

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A Napple, a Norange–and a Numpire

In the third grade, we guffawed about Little Johnny, who left out the P when reciting the alphabet because it was running down his leg. Those of us with more highbrow tastes in humor also found amusing his further adventures: … Continue reading

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