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.
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Confronting contradictions in the Church: Struggles in faith and a question of conscience
I remember sitting between my fellow Catholic classmates at an evening student mass in my first year at a Jesuit University. The Jesuit offering the mass confidently explained, to us eager young Catholics, that by attending and participating that night, we were showing ourselves to be different from our peers who were forgoing the opportunity…
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Marked by Encounter
Since the lifting of Title 42 on May 11, United States’ news outlets have bombarded us with conflicting and confusing accounts of its repercussions at the US-Mexico border. The best reports tell stories of adults, youth and families with young children, giving us a glimpse into the challenges faced by those seeking to enter. These…
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Claiming why and causing dissatisfaction
For decades now, I have been riding this planet as she circles the sun. Decades now, I’ve desired to please. Please God. Friends. Housemates. Coworkers. Community. For much too long, I’ve tried to do what is right and satisfactory to those I’ve respected and admired; I’ve wanted to be respected and admired, too. If I…
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‘You are my flowers’: Learning to love
While I was in college in San Diego, one of my favorite places to wander around with a camera and journal was Balboa Park — a giant, urban park studded with Spanish architecture that holds museums, art, a conservatory and gardens. With buskers playing instruments and dancing, it is always full of music. Alcázar Garden…
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We Have All Known the Long Loneliness
Last week, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. This advisory comes in response to a national “loneliness epidemic,” which is profoundly impacting both our collective emotional and physical health. Dr. Murthy speaks not only as a medical professional but as one who has…
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Kristina Ortega: Inclusion and Catholic Education
Episode 63 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS | More “Prayer has to push you to do something outside yourself.” -Kristina Ortega IN THIS EPISODE For the latest episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia is in conversation with Catholic educator and inclusivity advocate Kristina Ortega. Their…
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Easter Contemplation: Setting Us Free
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 For this special time of year, we present to you this Easter contemplation episode of Messy Jesus Business Podcast. Sister Julia will lead you through a some thoughts on what Jesus’s rise from the…
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‘Let the Children Come to Me,’ Except Under Capitalism
As a little girl growing up in a small Catholic parish in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, my favorite part of weekly Sunday mass was being called forth with the other kids to participate in Sunday school: a special space, just for kids, in a world mostly made for adults. I remember well one of our favorite…
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Sister Christa Parra: Accompanying At the Border
Episode 62 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS | More “Whoever is in front of us we are called to love.” -Sister Christa Parra IN THIS EPISODE For this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh chats with an old friend, Sister Christa Parra, IBVM. Sister…
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A stone in place of bread
The summer I was 19, I dropped out of college and moved to an organic wheat farm in Kansas to help start a radical conservative religious community. My motivations for doing this had more to do with restlessness and romanticism than with deep spiritual yearning, but even if I had been deeply committed I probably…
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Death in Spring: Two Holy Week Meditations
As we enter into Triduum and the celebration of Easter, Messy Jesus Business invites you to experience this reflection from Sister Julia Walsh, first published in 2018. On the first day of Spring, I awoke to a voicemail from a friend, her voice cracking with emotion as she said that her mother had unexpectedly died….
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Father Justin Claravall: Being Real Inside the Mess
Episode 61 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS | More “Every time I’ve been raw and vulnerable before God, I’ve been surprised at how Jesus has responded to it.” -Father Justin Claravall IN THIS EPISODE For this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh chats with…
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