Mar 19, 2026 | By Kelsey Rayer UT Austin ‘28

Useless labor, fleeting riches, forgotten reputations, and imperfect justice haunt the Preacher’s reflections in Ecclesiastes. “All is vanity.” Toil under the sun cannot justify itself; virtue and wisdom are “striving after the wind.” The Earth needs an external authority’s redemption, something Plato recognizes “isn’t being but is still beyond being, exceeding it in dignity and power.” It needs God.

Mar 18, 2026 | By Mollie Walters UT Austin ‘27

In 2011, Texas experienced the worst 1-year drought on record. From one winter to the next, average precipitation was 11.27 inches. Statewide water reservoirs dropped to 58%. Plants dried out. Wildfires sparked and destroyed over 1,600 homes. In the end, total crop and livestock losses summed to approximately 7.62 billion dollars.

Mar 17, 2026 | By Joseph Yu BF ‘28

I’m back home for break in Central Massachusetts and the weather has been hovering around 50 Fahrenheit for the past week, not even dipping below freezing on certain days. By New England standards, spring is here, and Punxsutawney Phil’s clock is expiring. It feels as if the moment it shoots above 60 degrees again, green buds and shoots will burst forth and transform the barren forests into a shimmering, viridescent display.

Mar 16, 2026 | By Oscar Miñoso-Rendón SM ‘27

For as long as I’ve been a Christian, I’ve been struck by the marital language of the New Testament: St. Paul’s comparison of the love between husband and wife to the love of Christ for His Church, Christ’s public miracle at the wedding of Cana, and the image in Revelation of the eschatological wedding feast of the Lamb. Only recently, however, have I begun to appreciate the historical and spiritual weight of that imagery—the sense in which Christ the Bridegroom comes as the fulfillment of a promise first spoken to Israel.

Mar 15, 2026 | By William Barbee SM ‘26

It sounds like the start of a bad joke: an Episcopalian walks into a Jesuit mansion for a three-day silent retreat. Fortunately, this Protestant’s recent experience with Ignatian contemplation offered the perfect opportunity for discerning God at the cusp of major life changes—and, perhaps, for writing a piece for the Logos + UT Austin Lent blog.