Confronting contradictions in the Church: Struggles in faith and a question of conscience 

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 mass confidently explained, to us eager young Catholics, that by attending and participating that night, we were showing ourselves to be different from our peers who were forgoing the opportunity…

A Story of Our History: Trauma and Systemic Racism

A Story of Our History: Trauma and Systemic Racism

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Meg Earsley, who celebrates the anniversary of her first vows on Aug. 7, is currently ministering in Bolivia and serving with the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis. Sister Meg is sharing her Bolivian journey of Jesus business, which we all know is sometimes messy, in her photo/reflection blog “Wanderings and…

A Global Pandemic, Culture Crisis and Spiritual Solutions
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A Global Pandemic, Culture Crisis and Spiritual Solutions

My partner and I intentionally live simply. We have carved out, over a number of years, a low-cost way of living that allows for neither of us to work professionally full time.  We also moved out of the city a couple of years ago, radically shifting our priorities and our environment from busy and overwhelming…

We need each other, not more consumption

Every year around this time, companies ramp up marketing campaigns that do their best to connect contentment with consumerism. Feeling lonely? Buy a candy cane latte. Feeling grief? Buy more holiday decorations. Feeling afraid and anxious as you watch the daily news in a world plagued by family separations, endless wars and mass shootings? Buy…

Finding St. Francis and choosing to stand on the margins

It was early 2013 and I was fresh from three months of formation with Franciscan Mission Service. I had just arrived in Bolivia, South America, to live and serve for at least the next two years as a Franciscan lay missioner. I had spent the autumn months of 2012 in daily classes learning about Franciscan…