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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God has got this
Guest blogger: Ben Anderson I was left dumbfounded and depressed sitting there at my desk. “Rape in War” was the topic for my feminist ethics course last week. As I finished my reading and was trying to think of how to write something philosophical about it I was overwhelmed by the stories and stats that…
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interdependence
Guest blogger: Amy Nee Last week I was invited to speak as a panelist at the National Religious Vocations Conference in Franklin, Ill., and offered this prompt: “Could you describe two key aspects of your faith life right now? In what ways do you feel called by God?” Directly following that event I joined my…
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with my feet
A version of this post was previously posted here. While I was in my early 20s and discerning sisterhood, I felt insecure about my prayer life. I envied people who were able to wake up at the same time every day and pray in the same way. I had some silly impression that that’s what…
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the prayer box
Guest blogger Liz Diedrich Praying is hard. It is hard to find time to pray. It is hard to stay focused. It is hard to quiet one’s mind and listen for the subtle movements of God. It is hard when we feel far from God, and it is hard when God asks things of us that we…
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coming home
Guest blogger: Sister Sarah Hennessey Family life is messy. If you are part of a family you probably know what I mean. To be church is to be family. To me this means that we are more than some institution or club to belong to; as family we belong to each other. Our lives weave…
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power to the people
Jesus gave power to the people a long time ago. The power is still with the people today. People are uniting and speaking out and rising up working for the type of justice Jesus taught us about- the justice of love. They’ve done this since the time of Jesus. Then and now the people use…
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Ode to St. Francis
Father of feasting, fasting and fun: your ecstatic love of God still feeds us with inspiration, devotion, commotion, communion, so we gather up sticks and play violins. we kneel in the dirt praying praising, remembering our mother earth, our sister water, the fox our brother Jesus a babe, born so simple in a barn, poor-…
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Credo
Credo by Sister Sarah Hennessey i believe in a place (or time) where God’s love flows free i believe our reason on earth is to let God’s love flow like hot lava rushing through our crusts i believe in Christ as light and fire inside my ribcage i believe in creation’s perfect song already complete…
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Santa Chiara praying
This is a poem I wrote and published here last year, on the feast of St. Clare: pregnant with poverty she stands up boldly holding Truth with “always” piercing her lips the pure Truth-Light shields and embraces her back covered with brown like earth she beckons community to the table breaking open Bread of union…
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In Dependence
Guest blogger: Steven Cottam I do not depend on God. Well, I mean I do, as all existence does. But I prefer to think that really I succeed because I’m a hard worker and a good guy and I’m ever so smart. All I ask, really, is that God not smite me with some sudden…
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Dear Aemiliana, Dear Sarah
Note: Mother Aemiliana Dirr founded the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in 1849. After difficulties fulfilling their mission, she and some other sisters left the order in 1860 and lived out the rest of their lives as lay women. I have written Mother Aemiliana a letter. July 28, 2011 Dear Aemiliana, My heart is so…
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ugly body
orange over me upon still solemn sidewalk silent under black My breathing quickens. the truth is too tight: innocent men are confined tortured to death human-inflected trauma in the name of national security The cells of my eyes water what my heart holds. my love, Jesus, tortured by thorns, nails, cross laments stab while questions…
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