Since the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents on the streets of Minneapolis, I have found myself in some grim conversations with people I care deeply about. Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny themself, take up their cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save their…
I’ve been thinking about misogyny and the church even more than usual. A week ago, an ICE agent shot and murdered a woman named Renee Good, without reason or provocation. Days later, men who identify as Christian continue to defend the murderer, mock the victim, make jokes about her death, and say that she was…
Note from the editor: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Messy Jesus Business podcast and blog schedule have been switched around this month. Check back the next two weeks for our final podcast episodes, with many more blog posts to follow! Modern Christians often fail to discuss that the Christian Church was established during a time…
Our relationship with the stuff of our lives can be complicated. Look around the space where you are sitting. Whether it is an office or public space or bedroom, what fills the room? Where is it all made? Who made it? What are the stories that come with the stuff of your space? Depending on…
Recently I spent several weeks out of town, as a guest in the home of some of my friends. A family member had a major surgery and it was a privilege to be present during the recovery. I decided to walk to the local Catholic Church and attend daily mass – nothing too unordinary for…
In this part of the world it’s back to school season, a time to take inventory of supplies, arrange schedules, and restart routines. Although I’m not a teacher nor student right now, my work in vocation ministry has also put me in planning mode and I feel the crunch of time ticking away, eating up…
On Saturday August 16, 2025, hundreds gathered for Mass outside Alligator Alcatraz in protest of reported harsh conditions for the hundreds of immigrants held at this remote detention center in the Florida Everglades. During his homily, Fr. Frank O’Laughlin advocated for “Liberty to the oppressed,” echoing Jesus’ proclamation at the beginning of his public ministry….
Chi’ chil Bildagoteel, known as Oak Flat in English, lies within Tonto National Forest in Southeast Arizona. According to the Association on American Indian Affairs, “Since time immemorial, Native Peoples have traveled to Oak Flat to participate in ceremonies, to pray, to gather medicines and ceremonial items, to honor those buried within its boundaries and…
“Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value.” – Desmond Tutu I was solo parenting on Sunday. My husband and son were out of town. I was flanked by daughters Nim, six, lolling around in the pew to my left and asking “when’s…
Days ago, Christians gathered in Churches around the world and chanted a summons to the sweet, Holy Spirit. Veni Sancte Spiritus. Days ago plus today and tomorrow, we fill(ed) the streets with chants of lament and outrage. We pray, we chant. We cry for raids to end. We risk arrest while neighbors and friends— blessed…
It is surprisingly easy to forget the wounds of the past, especially as a person of privilege. Last year, I took a course at Catholic Theological Union called “The Racial Justice Pilgrimage.” As part of the class, we journeyed to sacred sites of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery, Alabama. These were…
I spent my early childhood in the rural South. The bulk of my social interactions were with our artists’ community of hippie Christian homeschoolers, but the folks who had been there for generations were friendly and pleasant, too. We knew the names of the shop owners in the poky little village near us. We even…
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