I wrote this back in 2019 for JST, my alma mater, but I thought I’d bring it back for those looking to enter into the solemnity of the day. As you can likely tell, it is based off of today’s readings:

I’ll apply an important lesson from my preaching class to this reflection: Your sermon should always provide good news to your listeners.

However, today’s Gospel reading is dark: betrayal, denial, interrogation, intrigue, blame, torture, hubris and the execution of Jesus… good news is not obvious. But, we can see the dimmest of stars on the darkest of nights. After reading the texts several times, I finally saw it, and when we read the crucifixion narratives in the other Gospels, this phrase appears only in John’s account, “The slave’s name was Malchus.”

The latest issue of American Catholic Studies contains a wonderful review of Crossroads. Huge thanks to theologian Dr. Rev. Aaron Wessman, vicar general and director of formation for the Glenmary Home Missioners, for his close read and thoughtful comments.

Happy Feast of the Epiphany! There has been a lot of good news to announce lately and I’m afraid that I am two months late in letting you know that a book based on the first wave of the National Study of Catholic Priests housed at The Catholic Project at the Catholic University of America has been released!

My thanks go out to Dr. Ben Clements of the University of Leicester in the UK for his positive review of Crossroads in the Journal of Contemporary Religion. His review elevated findings from each of the chapters and captured well the insights that the book offers not only to local parishes and dioceses, but also national and international implications. I also appreciated the ways he endorses the urgency and high-stakes nature that we as authors believe our findings point to. Our Church–from the local to the global–is truly at a crossroads. In concluding, Clements writes:

Overall, this is a rich and informative analysis of the sociological structures and wider situation of Catholics in American society, accessibly written and thoughtful in its consideration of the findings and their relevance for internal debates in the Catholic Church. Readers will find much to learn about change and continuity in Catholics’ religious belonging, behaviour, and believing and how these connect to issues of gender, sexuality and equality, and core political debates.

My co-authors and I hope you find this book equally valuable!

Dr. Carol Ann MacGregor of St. Jerome’s University has provided a positive review of Cultural Catholics in the latest issue of American Catholic Studies. In her review, MacGregor highlights some of the book’s key contributions and notes its usefulness for multiple audiences. To offer a pull quote:

“[T]his in depth treatment of cultural Catholics will be of interest to both scholars and those engaged with ministry and leadership of Catholic organizations…. Overall, this book does a compelling job of emphasizing the heterogeneity among American Catholics in ways that are both rigorous and accessible.”

Thank you, Carol Ann, for helping bring this book to interested readers!

So excited to announce that another great book is underway! My good friend and esteemed colleague, Dr. Tia N. Pratt (Villanova University), and I will be co-editing a collection that will explore Catholics’ experience of racism and what a Catholic response to this might entail. This is a much needed book as we think through how we might better equip parish, educational, and diocesan leaders to better plumb the tools of our faith as they bring the Good News of Christ to all. Thank you, Liturgical Press, for partnering with us in this!

A Catholic Witness Against Racism: Resources for Ministers and Educators will showcase chapters that help bring both robust scholarship and professional expertise to this pressing concern. In addition to chapters by Tia and I, our all-star list of contributors includes Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, Ansel Augustine, Kim Harris, Linh Hoang, Brett Hoover, Dan Horan, Efran Menny, Maureen O’Connell, and Bethany Welch. Each chapter will close with thoughtful discussion questions for readers to think through how they might apply the insights to their context. As always, as the project progresses, I will post updates on my Books page.

Excited to announce that the contract has been signed! I’ll be partnering with Dr. Richard Flory and his team at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture to bring scholars and practitioners a new book: How Congregations Thrive: Fostering Community, Identity, and Mission in Today’s Churches. It will be part of the Bloomsbury Studies in Religion and Civic Culture series, led by CRCC.

This book explores the Los Angeles subset of the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations study, a national study housed at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research and led by Dr. Scott Thumma. It is a fascinating dataset that shows both the fragility and the resilience of today’s congregations in the midst of and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The book is taking shape as I dive more deeply into the data, especially the observations and interviews. One big observation that shapes the book is that congregational “thriving” is often not a binary (either you’re thriving or you’re not) and really there are typically areas that congregations are doing well in (e.g., outreach) and other areas in which they are struggling (e.g., connecting with teens and young adults). This framework helps scholars and clergy alike really understand and assess a “typical” congregation, rather than the handful of “exemplary” congregations that typically characterize books on congregational health. I’ll put updates on my “books” page throughout the process!