Stephanie Paulsell
It’s easy to mistake humility for humiliation
The saints are so big on humility that sometimes the line seems fuzzy.
Which new books deserve a spot under the Christmas tree?
We asked our contributing editors to each pick two.
Bethel AME Boston’s response to sexual violence in the community
“We’re going to do what it takes,” says co-pastor Gloria White-Hammond, “to be our sister’s keeper.”
A pilgrimage of Virginia Woolf readers
Walking together through Sussex and To The Lighthouse.
Our practices keep our commitments alive
To resist the kind of society we don't want, we have to cultivate the kind we do.
How millennials gather
Peer-led discussions among young Muslims, Christian experiments in communal living, and pop-up Shabbat meals embody common yearnings.
More saints than we can know
On the feast of St. Paul's conversion, Google kept reminding me that it was also Virginia Woolf's birthday.
The inexhaustible spiritual practice of rereading
In a course on contemplative prayer, I assigned just six books—and we read them each twice.
Can we reclaim "thoughts and prayers"?
Instead of being an excuse for inaction, thoughts and prayers can turn us toward acts of love.
The life of faith requires muscle memory
We need to learn to adjust our posture so our theology rings true.
Pilgrims together on St. Cuthbert's Way
Every step of my sister’s pilgrimage was a prayer, and I tried to follow in the path she made.
When the financial market is god, who pays?
Most religions acknowledge the contingencies and paradoxes of human life. Not this one.
Life together as an empire collapses
If Benedict’s Rule is a text of resistance, what does it help us resist?
Harry Potter, holy writ
People read J. K. Rowling’s books as if they were scripture. What if they were?
Politics into poetry
Need a book to replenish your political and spiritual imagination this election season? I recommend Adrienne Rich's Collected Poems.
Unremembered
In the midst of a procession of well-known stories is an image marking what's been forgotten. That's most of history, isn't it?
On the verge of comprehension
Those who heard the disciples preach on Pentecost comprehended the message in their own language. But that was only the beginning.
Within the cross
At the least-visited museum in Rome, a marble cross caught my attention. It depicts the Madonna and Child and the warm tangle of their intimacy.