Franciscan Life
Franciscan life is a love story — with God, with the poor, with the earth, with the stranger. Rooted in the spirit of Francis and Clare of Assisi, these posts explore what it means to embrace simplicity, kinship, and courageous countercultural choices in a world that constantly pushes the other direction. From returning land to Indigenous communities to the spirituality of dumpster diving to what the feast of St. Francis has to teach us today, this is a space for anyone drawn to the Franciscan way — whether you’ve taken vows or are just beginning to feel its pull.
Litany of Joy
Joyfulness is one of the things I most admire in other people; perhaps one of the main marks of an authentic Christian life. I gravitate…
Alone With God: Joan of Arc’s Resilience
On May 30, Joan of Arc’s feast day — also the day she was burned at the stake in 1431 — I watched the great…
Worthy and unworthy
Again I am standing in a pew, among strangers and friends. I am facing an altar on which bread and wine were just transformed to…
God Who Riots
I often hang out with idealistic Christians. People in my circles want to get back to the roots of the Gospel, to emphasize justice and…
Confronting contradictions in the Church: Struggles in faith and a question of conscience
I remember sitting between my fellow Catholic classmates at an evening student mass in my first year at a Jesuit University. The Jesuit offering the…
Marked by Encounter
Since the lifting of Title 42 on May 11, United States’ news outlets have bombarded us with conflicting and confusing accounts of its repercussions at…
Claiming why and causing dissatisfaction
For decades now, I have been riding this planet as she circles the sun. Decades now, I’ve desired to please. Please God. Friends. Housemates. Coworkers…
‘You are my flowers’: Learning to love
While I was in college in San Diego, one of my favorite places to wander around with a camera and journal was Balboa Park —…