When people meet me and learn that I am a Catholic Sister, some respond with surprise, excitement or intrigue. Others, I notice, shift uncomfortably as if realigning their filter to “only things I can say in front of a nun” mode. Although I have no formal theology background, many assume my place in the world…
Lord of Mixed Emotions, thank you for knowing. Thank you for knowing where we hurt, what we fear, what we dread, and what makes us sing. It’s a strange day, Lord, the day after many of your children sighed deep sighs of relief, and cried out to you with gratitude — thank you for being…
We bought a lemon tree a couple of years ago. Bonnie Sue Ellis came home with what appeared to be a scrawny seedling from friends at our neighborhood garden store. Bonnie is a strong, passionate, observant, prayerful, exuberant pillar of our community life. She is also the unchallenged maker of our sweat teas and salad…
Years ago, I sat before my friend after a particularly hard week and said, “I don’t know if I can take this anymore.” I was thinking that I didn’t deserve to live anymore. He looked at me and didn’t try to talk away the pain. He listened. And all he said in reply was, “I…
My three-year-old daughter, JoyAna, loves the garden. She walks around smelling flowers, searching for worms and almost indiscriminately exclaiming, “Whoa, daddy, this is amazing.” Last week she got a hold of a red and yellow zinnia and, with all the free-spiritedness of an exuberant toddler, ran up and down the sidewalk unpetalling and tossing the…
Marlena Graves: The dangers of money, power and influence Season 1. Episode 9 of Messy Jesus Business, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In episode nine, Sister Julia speaks with Marlena Graves the author of The Way Up Is Down. They discussed her new book and its message about downward mobility and…
Jason Odhner and Laura Ankeny: Nursing as a Work of Mercy and Justice Season 1. Episode 8 of Messy Jesus Business, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In episode eight, Sister Julia speaks with two nurses who are serving during the coronavirus pandemic. Jason Odhner is nursing on a COVID ICU…
Kateri Boucher / Geez magazine: Contemplative Cultural Resistance Season 1. Episode 7 of Messy Jesus Business, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In episode six, Sister Julia speaks with guest Kateri Boucher from Geez magazine. Together they discuss contemplative cultural resistance, prophetic voices, composting, urban gardening and how the United States is an empire. ABOUT…
“If we’re really doing the Gospel work, our work is not to be loved by everyone. If we’re really challenging the status quo in the way that Jesus did we’re not going to make everyone happy. It is uncomfortable. It also means taking risks, it also means putting your body on the line.” -Sister Alison McCrary SFCC
I wasn’t sure what it would look like, or how terrible it would be, but deep in my gut I felt something squirming. An awareness. A knowing. An intuition. I had a feeling that bad days were ahead. I am fairly certain that my intuition that we were heading toward a humanitarian crisis wasn’t unusual….
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