Blog Archive
Contemplating the messiness of Christian life
The Messy Jesus Business Blog is an ecumenical Christian gathering of musings about what it means to live the Gospel today. A variety of contributors offer prayer, poetry, book reviews, creative nonfiction and prose about what it means to live a life of faith in our complex, modern times.
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Sister Laura Nettles: The Power of Presence and Ongoing Conversion
Episode 67 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Email | RSS | More IN THIS EPISODE In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh, FSPA, talks with Sister Laura Nettles, the Executive Director of Mission and Social Justice at Viterbo University. Sister Laura shares her vocation story and how…
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Whose side are you on in this war, Jesus?
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…
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Father Carl Gales: The Depth and Richness of Blackness
Episode 66 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Stitcher | Email | RSS | More IN THIS EPISODE In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Father Carl Gales, pastor of Our Lady of Africa Catholic Parish in Chicago, Illinois. They discuss Father Carl’s journey into the Catholic Church…
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Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee
I have a love-hate relationship with the book of Job. I hate that God lets the devil test Job. I hate that not only Job’s animals but also his children are horribly killed, and it’s somehow okay because God gives him new ones. (If you haven’t had a chance to watch Season 2 of Good…
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Father Greg Boyle: Staying with the God of Love
Podcast: Play in new window | Download Episode 65 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS | More IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Fr. Greg Boyle, director of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, CA. They discuss Fr. Greg’s journey into being a Jesuit priest who…
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Adult friendship and Gospel living
The radio buzzed in the background when a friendly voice, coming through the airwaves, caught my attention. I paused, briefly, to listen before I turned off the car and rushed to my next appointment, learning that the friendly voice belonged to a children’s songwriter. She said, “This song is about making friends. It’s also a…
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Ellie Hidalgo: Listening to Learn
Episode 64 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Stitcher | Email | RSS | More “Sometimes it is at the prophetic edge you can see the Holy Spirit breaking through and allowing a new thing to happen” – Ellie Hidalgo IN THIS EPISODE In this episode of the Messy Jesus Business Podcast, Sister Julia…
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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…
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A long journey to healing, justice
Having slid in a few minutes late, I sat in the last row of the courtroom. I had only been in a courtroom one other time since my husband’s immigration court appearance. Neither were particularly positive experiences. Court proceedings are dry, confusing and surreal. Jargon and formalities make it feel like a scene in a…
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Hoverboards, driving lessons, friendships and the common good
The sun was setting as we wrapped up a delicious meal at a local park with some new family friends. A couple of the youngest daughters from the Ahmed family walked slowly by the side of my daughter, JoyAna, on her first attempt at riding a hoverboard. JoyAna’s body was shaking, her knees bent, as…
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Surrender to the sacred
There was a time when the questions caused me a lot of agony, when the diversity of spiritualities and religions worldwide caused confusion and doubt. How could there be such a wide variety of religions and spiritualities throughout the world? What is The Truth? Am I am fool for being a Christian — a committed…
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Prayer is listening to my heart’s longing
“Well, what do you want? What do you desire?” At the start of my final year as a student at a Jesuit University, I felt like a spiritual mess. I had recently returned from studying abroad for four months in El Salvador through a service-based educational program that effectively upended what I knew about myself…
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