Prayer
Prayer is the heartbeat of the messy, faithful life. Whether you come to it with confidence or doubt, with eloquence or silence, with a rosary in your hands or nowhere near a church — these posts are an invitation to show up anyway. From ancient practices to honest lament, from the Examen to poetry to prayers stitched together from the wreckage of an ordinary day, Messy Jesus Business writers explore what it means to speak, listen, and sit with God in the midst of a complicated world.
How to be Hot for God
Being Christian is not for sissies, I have heard some say. We must be bold, courageous and purposely enter into experiences of encounter that might…
When Jesus asked for food (or, how I realized Easter is an ordinary thing)
Sometimes the Easter story is just plain unbelievable to me. Doubts invade my prayer and distract me from the whole point of the story— of the entire…
Technology habits and the connections that really matter
Over the past five years, I have gradually become attached to a laptop. A couple of months ago, I reluctantly got a smart phone. Of…
Friday stations
It’s another Friday in Lent. It’s a day of sorrow and penance as we remember Jesus’ death on the cross. Many of us are fasting…
Beautiful chaos and Lenten conversion
Recently, I asked my students what comes to mind when they hear the phrase “Kingdom of God.” This (low-quality) photo summarizes the lively classroom discussion that…
Lent for the love of others
Lent: we’ve been into it for over a week now. We are in this spiritual wilderness desiring to be better people, hoping to change. All sorts…
Anticipation and Ashes
tomorrow, everywhere: next to strangers friends, neighbors We form lines. around blocks down church aisles arise and admit we sin, we suck we…
As the insects, like the swans: Living the vow of obedience with a free spirit
I am in the woods on Mount Subasio above Assisi, Italy, at a sacred place of prayer called La Carceri. It’s July 20, 2014. I…