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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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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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 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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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: 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: 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: 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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To Listen to the Trees: A Review of “The Overstory”
When I was in first grade, I made a stapled-together picture book about the pear tree in our yard called “My Friend the Tree.” I drew her in each of the four seasons with me, a smiling face attached to legs, right alongside her. I sensed that before I knew how to talk about it…
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Dr. C. Vanessa White: Discipline Leads to Freedom?
Episode 3, Season 5 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. “The spiritual life is a journey in discipline.” – Dr. C. Vanessa White LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Dr. C. Vanessa White and Sister Julia Walsh talk about what healthy spirituality looks like, the…
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The untidy mix of old and new
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.…
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