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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    Praying for Peace With L’Arche Ukraine

    For Putin’s conversion, to be able to see our friends again soon, for a good day, for an end to war, we pray. For over a month, every night since the war began in Ukraine, members of Faith and Light and L’Arche-Kovcheh Ukraine have hosted a “Prayer For Peace and an End to War” Zoom

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  • Sister Roselyn Heil: Spiritual Physics and Barefoot Belief

    Season 5, Episode 9 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. “Going barefoot connects me to the Earth, which connects me to the whole.” – Sister Roselyn Heil LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with “Nature Nun” Sister Roselyn Heil about

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  • Jesus still suffers in his body

    We walk in silence through the often-deserted streets, accompanied only by the solemn beat of one drum. Our feet fall into rhythm. It feels strange to walk with friends and companions without talking, but soon the silence becomes more comfortable and our moving along feels sacred. Together we form one body. At the front of

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  • Brother Matt Wooters: Swimming in the Ocean of God

    Season 5, episode 8 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. “There’s an emptiness…there’s a hole we are perpetually trying to fill….and the hole is God.” -Brother Matt Wooters LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Brother Matt Wooters about how

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  • chicago and lake michigan skyine

    Community and Loneliness in a New City

    When I moved to New York in 2017, I was naive about urban geography. Coming from rural New England, I thought that city life would give me easy access to all the excitement and friendships I’d seen on TV. I imagined checking out museums after class or making a quick hop from Manhattan to Brooklyn

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  • Judith Valente and Brother Paul

    Judith Valente and Brother Paul Quenon: The Beauty of Simply Being?

    Season 5, Episode 7 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. “We have more than one calling, depending on the will of God.” – Judith Valente LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Sister Julia Walsh talks with authors Judith Valente and Brother Paul Quenon about their

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  • Original Watercolor Painting "Remember Tenderness" by Annemarie Erb Barrett

    The Ministry of Presence is a Radical Path

    Somehow in my years of formation as a young adult Catholic preparing to “change the world,” I missed the part about the power of presence. As a student at a Catholic university, I was skilled at social analysis, advocacy and activism rooted in Catholic Social Teaching. I was busy. In an environment bent on creating

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  • Sister Jenny Wilson

    Sister Jenny Wilson: Mercy, Grace and the Mess

    Season 5, episode 6 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. “I found the courage somewhere to take the step, and once I took the step, it was reaffirmed.” -Sister Jenny Wilson LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Sister Jenny

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  • Death Poetica

    Behind barbed wire In the county jail Woman recites poetry; Declares she’ll die. Bodies young, old Form lines. Summoned to penance, Knowing they’ll die. Bodies in lines Words in lines Dust and grime Ash to ash Dust to dust A friar smudges symbol into brow after brow. The texture: touch, trust. We are blackened by

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  • Sister Helen Prejean

    Sister Helen Prejean: Legalized Vengeance and Waking Up to Justice

    Season 5, episode 5, of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. Photos by Scott Langley. “We are called to create, where nothing exists.” – Sister Helen Prejean LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Sister Helen Prejean, who is known for

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  • The transformative power of the spiritual practice of Eucharistic Adoration

    The air is palpably different, more alive, almost tingling to the touch. The round room always feels like entering home and my gaze is fixed on one spot. Sometimes a river of warmth comes toward me and holiness is not even the right word to describe a feeling this immense. At the same moment, the

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  • Gary Jansen

    Gary Jansen: The Super Spiritual and the Supernatural

    Episode 4, season 5 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. “Everything is a spiritual experience, and has the opportunity to provide meaning for you.” -Gary Jansen LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, public speaker and author Gary Jansen talks with Sister Julia Walsh about

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