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.
Embracing the Dead
After my father died in 2020, I began to have dreams about him returning from the dead. Sometimes we found a way to revive him…
Sister Eileen McKenzie: The Complexity of the Call to the Way of Christ
Episode 52 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Stitcher | Email | RSS | More “Christ is The Way and whatever is in the…
Discipleship and Decay: Why I Resist Greatness
In this part of the world (here in the Upper Midwest, in the United States of America), it’s the season of decay. Decay is colorful,…
Ivan Ng: The Journey from Pride to Christian Humility
Episode 51 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Stitcher | Email | RSS | More IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus…
Little Winter Flower
Soon after I turned 24 last winter, I went on a weekend hermitage. I stayed in a solitary cabin in rural Illinois, remote and full…
Prison reform and COVID-19
Quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic forced many of us into involuntary confinement and isolation. The painful experience reminded us that humans are social animals who…
The spirituality of dumpster diving
I started dumpster diving because of free boxes. I live on the edge of Hyde Park, an affluent neighborhood surrounding the University of Chicago on…
Vita ex Morte
Loss. It’s a strange word. It implies that you once had a thing and now, not only is it gone, but you can no longer…