Blog Archive
Contemplating the messiness of Christian life
The Messy Jesus Business Blog is an ecumenical Christian gathering of musings about what it means to live the Gospel today. A variety of contributors offer prayer, poetry, book reviews, creative nonfiction and prose about what it means to live a life of faith in our complex, modern times.
Adult friendship and Gospel living
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Adult friendship and Gospel living
The radio buzzed in the background when a friendly voice, coming through the airwaves, caught my attention. I paused, briefly, to listen before I turned off the car and rushed to my next appointment, learning that the friendly voice belonged to a children’s songwriter. She said, “This song is about making friends. It’s also a…
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Ellie Hidalgo: Listening to Learn
Episode 64 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS | More “Sometimes it is at the prophetic edge you can see the Holy Spirit breaking through and allowing a new thing to happen” – Ellie Hidalgo IN THIS EPISODE In this episode of the Messy Jesus Business Podcast, Sister…
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Resisting violence in our skies and museums
On a bright Sunday afternoon last month, my friend Ashley and I went to an “anti-militarist field day” outside the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It was organized by a group of recent college grads and was part of the Boeing Arms Genocide campaign. My desire to learn about anti-war efforts like these…
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A long journey to healing, justice
Having slid in a few minutes late, I sat in the last row of the courtroom. I had only been in a courtroom one other time since my husband’s immigration court appearance. Neither were particularly positive experiences. Court proceedings are dry, confusing and surreal. Jargon and formalities make it feel like a scene in a…
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Hoverboards, driving lessons, friendships and the common good
The sun was setting as we wrapped up a delicious meal at a local park with some new family friends. A couple of the youngest daughters from the Ahmed family walked slowly by the side of my daughter, JoyAna, on her first attempt at riding a hoverboard. JoyAna’s body was shaking, her knees bent, as…
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Surrender to the sacred
There was a time when the questions caused me a lot of agony, when the diversity of spiritualities and religions worldwide caused confusion and doubt. How could there be such a wide variety of religions and spiritualities throughout the world? What is The Truth? Am I am fool for being a Christian — a committed…
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Prayer is listening to my heart’s longing
“Well, what do you want? What do you desire?” At the start of my final year as a student at a Jesuit University, I felt like a spiritual mess. I had recently returned from studying abroad for four months in El Salvador through a service-based educational program that effectively upended what I knew about myself…
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A Personality Mosaic: How Enneagram Connects the Pieces
I live in a neighborhood filled with vibrant, Mexican art and murals. Some of my favorites are mosaics. I love admiring a cohesive image from afar, then drawing close and realizing how many different shades and colors are really there. From close up, it can be hard to imagine how these little shapes could possibly…
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Neither created nor destroyed
Last month, as Chicago and other Midwest cities made headlines for smoky skies, I donned my mask and headed outside. A certain sadness, much like the haze, enveloped me. I wondered whether the tears in my eyes were from the smoke or for the smoke, and what it meant. By the end of June, Canada…
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Women Eating Alone
For decades, there was a stigma around women eating out alone. In 1964 the New York Times published a piece about how single women were not always well received at restaurants and how other women were too self-conscious even to try it. Now many women are discovering that eating out alone isn’t shameful. It can…
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The Messiness of Franciscan Sisterhood
A Special Episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS | More IN THIS EPISODE We’re in between seasons on a break but are offering a special episode featuring five Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, who are in the same community as Sister Julia. Featured are Sisters Karen Kappell,…
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Litany of Joy
Joyfulness is one of the things I most admire in other people; perhaps one of the main marks of an authentic Christian life. I gravitate towards people who exude joy, and I aspire to do the same. Unfortunately, despite what feels like a long road of seeking to build a joyful life, the emotional ups…
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