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…
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…
Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God, For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment. — Joel 2:12-13 As Lent began, I stood in a cathedral made of…
As dust, as mortals, we move closer to our graves each day. Lent: this season summons us to deeper holiness with an airy invitation: a breeze blending the chaos of distraction, disappointment, despair with the brightness of hope, love, faith. Repent, Repent, Repent, Repent. We are worthy, God’s children and we are sinners, confronting our…
Over Christmas break, after the brutal winter storm gave way to unseasonal warmth, my sister and I made a clandestine visit to the property where we lived during our teen years. We were looking for the freshwater spring where, every day, no matter the weather, the two of us filled jugs with cold water and…
My Dear Friend, When I woke up on Christmas morning, I thought of John 1:5. It was a rare gift for me to have only one thought, not plagued by a system of worries and threats and to lie awake — even for a short time — with just this one thought. “The light shines…
The other day, I went for a walk along a road in Indiana between cornfields and luxurious homes, and I saw horseshoe prints and Amish buggy tracks in the frozen mud. While I moved through what felt like a strange crossroad of rural America, icy wind swirled flurries around my feet and numbed my cheeks….
“Let yourself be broken. Let yourself suffer. Cling to Christ through it.” – Tessa Bielecki Season 4, Episode 6 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Tessa Bielecki about pain and the healing process: how…
In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Sister Nicole Trahan about inclusivity and equity in the Church, privilege and the importance of imagining new ways to share power.
Over a week ago I celebrated a milestone: my 40th birthday. In the days since, my life has been a whirlwind of joy, labor, celebrations and commotion. I drove hundreds of miles, celebrated my younger biological sister’s 35th birthday, celebrated my Franciscan Sister Meg’s first profession of vows and her birthday, helped empty a house…
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