Vincent J. Miller: The Grind of Hope In a Crisis
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Vincent J. Miller: The Grind of Hope In a Crisis

Episode 68 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe:  Email | RSS | More IN THIS EPISODE In this episode of the Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh, FSPA, talks with Vincent J. Miller, the Gudorf Chair of Catholic Theology and Culture at the University of Dayton. Vincent shares how his studies…

A Spiritual Lesson From the Salamanders
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A Spiritual Lesson From the Salamanders

Over Christmas break, after the brutal winter storm gave way to unseasonal warmth, my sister and I made a clandestine visit to the property where we lived during our teen years. We were looking for the freshwater spring where, every day, no matter the weather, the two of us filled jugs with cold water and…

The spirituality of dumpster diving
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The spirituality of dumpster diving

I started dumpster diving because of free boxes. I live on the edge of Hyde Park, an affluent neighborhood surrounding the University of Chicago on Chicago, Illinois’ south side. My boyfriend and I used to go for neighborhood walks and stop to pick through curb-side boxes, often left by students moving out of their school-year…

A Global Pandemic, Culture Crisis and Spiritual Solutions
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A Global Pandemic, Culture Crisis and Spiritual Solutions

My partner and I intentionally live simply. We have carved out, over a number of years, a low-cost way of living that allows for neither of us to work professionally full time.  We also moved out of the city a couple of years ago, radically shifting our priorities and our environment from busy and overwhelming…

Franciscan prayer for all of us: a conversation with Jon Sweeney

Franciscan prayer for all of us: a conversation with Jon Sweeney

What does it meant to pray like a Franciscan? This question is one that I reflect on regularly. It’s part of my tendency to informally self-evaluate, to ask myself how I am doing at living my vocation. Typically, the question leads me right to Jesus on the cross. As modeled centuries ago by Saints Francis…

Ugandan faith lesson #5: hope
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Ugandan faith lesson #5: hope

Faith lessons from my Ugandan family Editor’s note: This is the final blog post of a five-part series “Faith lessons from my Ugandan family”  (see lessons #1, #2, #3 and #4) by Messy Jesus Business guest contributor/Rabble Rouser Nicole Steele Wooldridge about her experiences in Mbale, Uganda. More than almost anyone I know, my Ugandan host parents…

Old-fashioned trunk-centered simplicity

Old-fashioned trunk-centered simplicity

I admire my sisters’ tales of trunks. Long before I entered the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration – and long before Vatican II for that matter – the common, communal practice was that every sister had to fit all of her personal property into one trunk. Our Franciscan lifestyle is an itinerant one. As sisters…