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…
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…
Whose side are you on, Jesus? I ask, as he sits down across from me. I have been reading the latest news about Israel and Palestine, trying to avoid the pictures. Haven’t you seen any of the interviews I’ve given this week?, he retorts, wincing visibly. I immediately feel bad. Usually Jesus appreciates my sense…
As a teenager, I discovered Oscar Wilde’s “one-act play, Salome”, a retelling of the story of John the Baptist’s beheading by Herod Antipas. I was intrigued to discover that Wilde’s play is a Gospel story. In the Gospel account, Herod’s wife, Herodias, is angry at the prophet because he has preached against her marriage to…
Because I host a blog and podcast about the spirituality of messiness, one might assume that I am very comfortable with being in messy situations. The truth is that I am obsessed with the mess because I’ve learned that embracing this part of being human helps me to feel healthier, happier and more free. Accepting…
**Adapted from “A litany for the teens in Parkland, FL” Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. For our failure to protect life, God, have mercy. For our failure to elect leaders who protect all life, God, have mercy. For our failure to end unjust laws, God, have mercy….
He went out and began to weep bitterly. – Luke 22:62 During the Gospel at Palm Sunday Mass, I noticed the emotions expressed by Jesus’ disciples – even when they failed to respond to the call to love and remain faithful. I wondered if I am faithful to Christ. I wondered if I am responding…
1. I am driving through the Northwoods of Wisconsin, talking to a friend, a man I know very well, on the phone. Tall, snow-covered pines line the ditches; gray overcast hovers. The man and I are catching up, chatting about our lives. The tone of his voice becomes shameful, reluctant. My gaze moves over the…
“It [grace] strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage.” ~ Paul Tillich, “You Are Accepted” You have to be pretty naive to be a Christian in today’s world. This…
The courage and resilience of survivors of sexual assault choosing to share their stories gives me hope. The wave of very public accounts of sexual assault and misconduct sweeping the United States, for many, has made what once seemed safe and certain seem suddenly dangerous and frightening. For those recently opening their eyes to the…
The book of Revelation is a profound example of resistance literature. The author, a disciple named John, is responding to a crisis: the severe persecution of the Church in the late first century. He himself is in exile, in Patmos, a Roman penal colony and island located between Greece and Turkey. The vision John receives and…
God have mercy on us: there was another mass shooting in the USA yesterday. Five people were killed, including the perpetrator. An elementary school was one of the targets. Once again we have failed, as a nation, to protect life and to shield children from the horrors of gun violence. When the shooting happened yesterday,…
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