Resisting violence in our skies and museums
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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…

Personal Freedom and the Fourth of July
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Personal Freedom and the Fourth of July

Personal Freedom: freedom of the person in going and coming, equality before the courts, security of private property, freedom of opinion and its expression, and freedom of conscience subject to the rights of others and of the public. – Merriam-Webster Dictionary Personal Freedom: is it a real idea or an ideal made up that each…

Democracy is collapsing, but let’s imagine how the church could change that

Democracy is collapsing, but let’s imagine how the church could change that

I was in another Zoom meeting with my friend, another Catholic sister who is a professor on a college campus. Together we were lamenting the extreme polarities in the church and society. Rubbing our foreheads. Sighing. Praying right out loud: God, help us. Together we were bemoaning how the tensions impact our freedom to love…

Jason Odhner and Laura Ankeny: Nursing as a Work of Mercy and Justice

Jason Odhner and Laura Ankeny: Nursing as a Work of Mercy and Justice

Jason Odhner and Laura Ankeny: Nursing as a Work of Mercy and Justice  Season 1. Episode 8 of Messy Jesus Business, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In episode eight, Sister Julia speaks with two nurses who are serving during the coronavirus pandemic. Jason Odhner is nursing on a COVID ICU…

Freedom songs
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Freedom songs

Selma has been on my mind lately. With the passing of John Lewis, my social media feed has been flooded with photos of him standing at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, stories of his constant bravery and even videos of him dancing or crowd surfing. We have lost a legend. And my mind…

Sorrow and Joy during the Black Lives Matter movement
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Sorrow and Joy during the Black Lives Matter movement

In the June burst of green and sunshine, I am taking a bike ride through the historically black neighborhood where I live in Chicago. Along the way, I encounter a heron and a flock of geese; I see wrappers and plastic bags littering the sidewalks, discarded in the gutters. I smell freshly-cut grass and wave…