Father Adam Bucko: Every Day A Beginner
In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Father Adam Bucko about contemplation, action, new monasticism and the messiness that permeates it all.
-
-
November invitation
after all hallows eve & all saints, all souls i admit my longing for slowing, resting. i name my dreams and groan in prayer. “i sense an invitation in this season.” toss and turn grab the remote recheck the vote count the headlines recheck the heartaches recheck reality lost hopes, now hallowed: the mighty remain…
-
Making good trouble and the trouble with goodness
It’s Sunday and four-year-old P’s turn to pick the movie. The eight-week ban on “Frozen 2” has expired and so, to her older brother’s chagrin, that is what we are watching, again. I admit that, aside from the film’s flaws and how tiresome it is to watch it for the hundredth time, it is a…
-
Steven P. Millies: Our World Needs All Hands on Deck
In Season 2, Episode 2, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Steven P. Millies about the believer’s role in our highly-politicized ecosystem. We also dive down into the interplay of sin and polarities, the importance of trusting in Divine timing and our jobs as Catholics working on the assembly line on the project of building God’s reign.
-
The little way today
My three-year-old daughter, JoyAna, loves the garden. She walks around smelling flowers, searching for worms and almost indiscriminately exclaiming, “Whoa, daddy, this is amazing.” Last week she got a hold of a red and yellow zinnia and, with all the free-spiritedness of an exuberant toddler, ran up and down the sidewalk unpetalling and tossing the…
-
On the good days
On the good days, I am conscious of the discoveries. This life under COVID-19 has been full of new and beautiful discoveries, both inner and outer. I recently read that while our outings to restaurants, shopping malls and amusement parks have all decreased dramatically, our visits to public parks has increased exponentially. This is certainly…
-
Lay down the weapon of good intention
A few years ago, my partner and I were invited to speak with a small group of white Catholic North Americans visiting Bolivia. My partner, from Bolivia, was asked to speak briefly with the group about Andean spirituality, and I was asked to translate his words from Spanish to English. (I am sharing this story…
-
Sorrow and Joy during the Black Lives Matter movement
In the June burst of green and sunshine, I am taking a bike ride through the historically black neighborhood where I live in Chicago. Along the way, I encounter a heron and a flock of geese; I see wrappers and plastic bags littering the sidewalks, discarded in the gutters. I smell freshly-cut grass and wave…
-
Lessons learned in liminal spaces
this is the space of chrysalis– of break-downs & becoming something something better something more true (we hope, we imagine) this is the crazy time (some say) this is what they warned us about: “remember, you are more prone to accidents and illness. remember to breathe.” no maps are available no one has been here…
-
The body bags of pandemics and wars
Sheltering in place during the coronavirus pandemic, I’m tucked away into my bedroom, where my time is defined by solitude and screens as I move between projects. Right now, I am working at my desk on various tasks: responding to emails, returning phone calls, setting up meetings. In the background, my radio hums quietly, the…
-
Franciscan prayer for all of us: a conversation with Jon Sweeney
What does it meant to pray like a Franciscan? This question is one that I reflect on regularly. It’s part of my tendency to informally self-evaluate, to ask myself how I am doing at living my vocation. Typically, the question leads me right to Jesus on the cross. As modeled centuries ago by Saints Francis…
-
Letting the pandemic change us for the better
When I was 24 years old, I fell off a cliff and shattered my face. Surviving a life-threatening accident at a young age transformed me. Afterwards, I had no more illusions about my mortality or the sacredness of time. I discovered a new urgency to live well. My long-term goals came front and center. From…
