Topical & Events
Responding to current events, what’s happening on campus, and special moments throughout the year.
November 22, 2024 | By Michaela Wang BK ‘25
Handmade salads and dumplings point us to God’s love: sacrificially provided, freely given, and always satisfying. Of course, good food itself cannot fix everything, but it leads to introspective conversation and equipped me with the confidence to confide in the community back on campus.
October 22, 2024 | By Zeki Tan MY ‘25
Rowan Williams is the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury. He taught theology at Oxford and Cambridge and served as the Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, from 2013 to 2020. Dr. Williams is also a poet and translator of poetry; he published his most recent edition of Collected Poems in 2022. In February 2024 he delivered the Taylor Lectures at the Yale Divinity School. I interviewed Dr. Williams while he was in New Haven to discuss his reflections on writing poetry, intellectual life, and how both enrich and are enriched by religious belief. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
December 18, 2023 | By Gavin S YDS ‘25
When envisioning the ideal life at Yale—a perfect record of crafting perfect papers, always offering perfect contributions in class, and developing perfect relationships and networking connections, with perfect moments sprinkled in between—we seek a perfection so incredible to stand out among the perfectionists. Yet, the question lingers: How does joy fit into this journey? How can failure be tolerated?
December 5, 2023 | By Marcos Barrios ES ‘24
So, what kind of friend is God? For one thing, He’s faithful. The Scriptures show how present He is in the history of Israel and how many times He keeps His promises and provides for His people. He’s forgiving, remembering His “[people] are dust," (Ps. 103:14), treating us with grace we don’t deserve. And He’s proactive, seeking His people by sending prophets, signs, and wonders. He searches for His lost sheep and runs to meet His children. He ultimately took the first step of love, giving His son for us while we were still sinners.
November 20, 2023 | By Zeki Tan MY ‘25
For those desperately attempting to construct meaning in their lives, especially if they have experienced grief, trauma, or suffering that defies any explanation, these predictions can renew their hopes for transformation and escape from present hardship. Another possibility is that prophecies of doom paradoxically make otherwise unpleasant or terrifying events like sickness and death predictable, taking away a source of anxiety for people. Death is a journey in which we lose all control over our bodies and lives, but fixing the hour of our demise restores some sense of agency, allowing us to make plans and say our goodbyes.
October 30, 2023 | By Emma Ventresca BF ‘26
In the words of Cardinal Francis George, we live in a society where “everything is permitted and nothing is forgiven.” Now this can be difficult to believe at first glance. How can a world that proclaims greater acceptance of all be one of condemnation? But the effects of cancel culture validate the Cardinal’s claim.
May 27, 2022 | By Raquel Sequeira TD ’21.5
Over the past few years, I’ve been learning more about the traditional Church calendar. I learned from my audio devotional that today (Thursday, May 26, 2022) is the Feast of the Ascension: the day we celebrate Jesus’ return from life here on Earth to his Father in heaven. I’m not sure how we’re supposed to feel on Ascension Day, but I find that this remembrance is making me profoundly sad.
November 26, 2021 | By Raquel Sequeira TD ‘21.5
As I reach the end of my time at Yale, I’ve been reflecting on the highlights. I’ve realized that many of the best moments of the past five years have just been…talking to people. Brilliant people, it should be said. The kinds of conversations where you start with British Literature and wind your way to quantum computing, or from the philosophy of infinity to the meaning of joy. God is usually in there. You find yourself gesturing to invisible diagrams on the wall behind you. You forget your complaints and anxieties about school in this momentary oasis of dialogue.
November 19, 2021 | By Stephen McNulty MY ‘25
In 2013, an eighty-three-year-old nun stood before a court facing an odd charge — the year prior, she had broken into a Tennessee nuclear site, in what was perhaps the largest security breach in US atomic history. She and her collaborators were part of the Plowshares movement, a pacifist Christian movement infamous for direct action against US nuclear facilities. Their goal, as it were, was to beat the swords of the military-industrial complex into plowshares, as alluded to in the Book of Isaiah:
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December 9, 2024 | By Isaac Oberman DC ‘26
Looking to Mary and Joseph, how can we prepare the way of the Lord this Advent season? By humbling ourselves as both Mary and Joseph did to accept their destinies and God’s will, we can be led to the many beautiful aspects of the Advent season. We must cut through the stress of daily life with moments of peace in knowing that God’s plan is good. By anchoring our trust in the Lord and in each other while in the midst of so much doubt, just as Mary and Joseph did, we prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus.