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…
I sometimes joke that I want to start a cooking blog where, instead of telling the same formulaic stories about “my grandmother used to make this cake,” or “my family discovered this stew on vacation,” I situate my recipes in dramatic fantasies and thrillers. Who wouldn’t want to try the cake I made for my…
Episode 86 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. In the return of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh, FSPA talks with Fr. James Martin, SJ about his vocation, the raising of Lazarus, pilgrimages and Jesus’ parables, and Fr. Martin’s experience at the Synod. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Email | RSS | More A transcript of…
Episode 85 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Email | RSS | More “Sometimes [conversion] just felt so hard to do. I had so many questions and I had so many doubts and it was conveyed to me by more than one person that It shouldn’t be this hard, but I look…
Marigolds have unexpectedly become a symbol of hope for me in this bleak moment where we find ourselves, as a church and as a country. Our little backyard garden didn’t do anything right this summer. Well, almost anything. For years, our little raised beds would generate pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, garlic, and peppers. Our…
Episode 84 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Email | RSS | More ” Once they enter our [Humanitarian Respite Center for immigrants along the border], the very first thing that I asked is, “Como estas?” How are you? And it’s for the very first time that someone that has been through…
Episode 83 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Email | RSS | More “I think so many of us are holding anxiety and grief and despair in our bodies all the time. And we’re not letting it out….We don’t have spaces for rituals around grief.” -Lydia Wylie-Kellermann IN THIS EPISODE In the…
I. On the lakeshore, I stoop close to the ground studying stones. I am mesmerized by the beauty: the shades of blue, white, red, colors of stones made smooth by their repeated encounters with sand, stones, ice, waves. I place my palms upon the rocks and feel the firmness, the tough texture. Granite. Brick. Limestone….
This is Part II of a two-part story. Click here to see Part I. The night I missed the pilgrims’ departure to honor the Virgen de Urkupiña, I imagined the procession getting further and further away… So I tried to pull the story of her appearance closer to me, but the various accounts I had…
In mid-August 2017 in Cochabamba, Bolivia, I was nearly finished with Spanish language studies and in no hurry to return home. There was so much I loved about this place: the mountains, always in the distance; “Amiga,” rather than “hey you,” as the standard term of address by strangers; the value placed on a meandering…
I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. (John 10:10) Recently I accompanied Catholic sisters, advocates, and survivors to Washington, DC in support of legislation that breaks the link between forced migration and human trafficking. In congressional offices we attempted to share the stories of families fleeing violence with members of…
“Did I tell you about the pastor and the rainbows?” my friend asks while on our way to a church event. Apparently, some catechists had taught their young class about Noah, and the flood, and the promise of that great bow in the heavens. A classroom full of mini-replicas now adorned the wall used by…
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