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.
Religious Life is a Movement of the Spirit
Since the birth of the Church at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has stirred in the hearts of the faithful and called upon some to commit…
Finding Care in the Collective: Is Individualism Weighting You Down?
It was 7:30 a.m. on a brisk morning in the Andean mountains of Bolivia back in 2013. I was immersed in my first year of…
Personal Freedom and the Fourth of July
Personal Freedom: freedom of the person in going and coming, equality before the courts, security of private property, freedom of opinion and its expression, and…
Truth-telling and Healing for Racial Reconciliation
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa is well known for his work opposing apartheid and facilitating reconciliation and forgiveness after the fall of South Africa’s…
A Letter to the 22nd Life Lost
I greet you as a first-time writer for the Messy Jesus Business blog at a time that seems messier than most. My heart has been…
Meeting My Savior Wherever I Find Him
The Spirit has descended, the disciples speak in tongues, 3,000 come to Christ this day in baptism. Yesterday was the feast of Pentecost. In many…
Listening in Ordinary Time
Learning the art of listening shapes us into creatures who love. Years ago, at around 6 p.m. every night, I sat in the lower bunk…
The Gospel Mess of Being Human
Because I host a blog and podcast about the spirituality of messiness, one might assume that I am very comfortable with being in messy situations…