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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St. Francis Day Photos
Worldwide Franciscans like me are celebrating the founder of our order today. On the eve of this day, in 1226 St. Francis of Assisi died and went to heaven. Last night we celebrated the Transits to memorialize this sacred story. Today we remember and honor St. Francis’ story and contributions to the Church. Through his witness 800 years ago,…
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Enough or not
I live on the cusp of enough and dreamy desires; in the liminal land of paradox. I am always trying to make do with my limits, to authentically live my vow of poverty and get re-rooted in simple living. Yet. I am always longing for more. Desire, dreams, faith and hope fuel my energy. Even when…
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Pumped for Pope Francis in the USA
This afternoon Pope Francis will arrive in the USA! Even though I can’t go the East Coast to greet him, I am very excited! During these first few weeks of school I have been doing different things with my students to get us all pumped up for his visit to our country. (I made the local…
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Gleanings from “The Francis Factor”
Question from the audience: I am a rich Christian. What should I do? Shane Claiborne (smiling hugely): Ha! If only Jesus had said something about that! Sometimes I feel that if only Jesus had left some concrete teachings, a pattern of life to follow and a community of believers to hold on to, it…
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A new school year and a refreshed legacy
Like many students and teachers around the country, I recently started a new school year. As this new year began to feel imminent, I looked back on my experience of teaching, so far. I hesitate to admit that I haven’t always loved teaching. Sure, when I started this important ministry eight years ago, I loved…
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For the Love of Earth
Today is the World Day of Prayer for Creation! This is an ecumenical and global day of prayer. World-wide, Christians are united in prayer for the healing of this sacred home and our Sister, Mother Earth. Out of love for her, we pray in hope and thanksgiving. Here in La Crosse, Wisconsin we are keeping…
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Undoer of knots
“It’s one of the symptoms of our time to find danger in men like you who don’t worry and rush about. Particularly dangerous are men who don’t think the world’s coming to an end. ‘It’s coming to an end, all right,’ the seer said. ‘That started the moment it was born.’” Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck…
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A Visit to The Simple Way
Earlier this summer I was fortunate to be able to make a pilgrimage-of-sorts to The Simple Way, a Christian community in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia described as “a web of subversive friends conspiring to spread the vision of ‘Loving God, Loving People, and Following Jesus’ in our neighborhoods and in our world.” Like many thousands of…
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Being Bread for Life: A Sacrifice Pleasing to the Lord
Messy Jesus Business Rabble Rouser, Amy Nee-Walker, recently wrote the following Scripture reflection “Being Bread for Life: A Sacrifice Pleasing to the Lord” for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time and posted it on the Catholics On Call blog. In today’s readings, John the Baptist is prodded past the point of despair through miraculous nourishment in the desert, St. Paul…
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Ordinary lights
During a recent volunteer stint at the local drop-in center for people who are homeless, I overheard a conversation between two of the guests. A man gestured toward me and said, “Don’t talk like that here, especially with her around — she’s a nun.” I don’t know what they were talking about or what words…
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Seeking corners of quiet but learning lessons on love instead
Recently I had a conversation with another sister. During the chat, we realized we had a common experience on our different retreats earlier this summer. We had each gone to opposite corners of the country and were looking forward to some sacred one-on-one time with God. He found a way to sneak in–to surprise and enlighten…
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Staring At My Pile of Dirt: The cost of growing the kingdom of God in Chicago
I am glad to share this recent post from Daily Theology with all of you. It is written by one of my friends, Dannis Matteson from Catholic Theological Union, who writes from the messy trenches of Gospel living in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago. Let us hold their ministries in prayer and…
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