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Timothy O'Malley

Easter and the Asceticism of Festivity

By Timothy O’Malley If you are friends with clergy or other pastoral workers, the first days of Easter are a time of catching one’s breath....

Is There Really a Secular Christmas?

By Timothy P. O’Malley A virtuous grumpiness has overtaken a certain kind of Christian. At least, we imagine that it’s virtuous. While the rest of the...

Tradition and a Tree

By Timothy P. O’Malley One of the great gifts of homeschooling — which our family began to practice during the pandemic — is time. We...

The Blood and the Name

By Timothy P. O’Malley On the eighth day after his birth, before receiving the “name above all names” (Phil. 2:9), Jesus was circumcised. The temptation is...

De-Normalizing the New Normal

By Timothy P. O’Malley When the nation “shut down” in March of 2020, the phrase “the new normal” assumed a degree of prominence in public...

The Promise and Perils of Preaching Experience

This post continues a series of essays on preaching from the perspective of lay people. Previous entries may be found here. By Tim O’Malley I often hear two...

Reading Contemplatively

While the decline of contemplative reading is a problem for the professor, it’s a threat to the Christian, especially those of us operating within a sacramental tradition.

A Creedal Posture

Christianity without a Creed risks becoming an endorsement of works righteousness, of human effort at being a decent person. With the Creed, Christianity becomes a remembering of what has been accomplished through Christ.

A Wondrous Exchange

On Christmas, we learn that God is absolute, total, self-emptying love.

Darkness Falls

On Christmas Eve Day, night has not yet come; darkness has not yet fallen. But it will come.