As we exist in the space of the Resurrection, how can we notice small revivals in our every day surroundings?
Macro-Virus and Microaggressions
When the World Health Organization announced the global epidemic of the coronavirus, a ripple of chaos moved across the globe. With over 1,775 deaths and 71,902 confirmed cases, the initial cause for concern reached an immense spike in collective anxieties. As medical teams and scientists released more information, the U.S. quickly began to take precautions. When […]
What Are the Elements of Your Spirituality?
Reflecting a year removed from a retreat I took myself on, I ponder what it looks like to create retreats for myself in “the real world” and how I can use my natural gifts to enter more deeply into relationship with God, myself, and the world.
Listen Up: There’s Power in What You Put in Your Ears (Part 2)
Is it ethical for us to enjoy listening to music from artists who have displayed harmful and oppressive behavior? Should we separate the artist from the art?
Listen Up: There’s Power in What You Put in Your Ears (Part 1)
Music has always been influential and, in turn, political. If our news source can massively influence the way we perceive events, people, and issues, wouldn’t something as prominent as music make just as much of an impact in the digital age?
Radical Friendship
I’ve recently started to re-examine what Arrupe actually meant by love in his “Fall in Love” prayer. What if we treated our friendships with the same kind of intentional love as other relationships?
Chia Seeds: Truth in Trends?
What’s up with chia seed trend? Is it healthy or should we think twice?
Thoughts On Homeless LGBTQIA+ Youth Social Services: What Does Enough Look Like ?
I recently attended a conference on Building Stronger Communities, held by the Albert Kennedy Trust, one of the UK’s biggest LGBTQIA+ social services. After an incredible experience, I reflect on where social service spending goes and how its being used.
I Devoted A Year to Trying All Natural Deodorants
About a year ago, in attempts to live simply, safely, and ethically, I decided to switch to all-natural deodorants. Here’s what I came up with.
Queer Sexuality and its Challenges to Christianity and Catholicism
Released in 2018, Boy Erased and The Miseducation of Cameron Post bring major attention to Christian conversion therapy and the general repression of queerness by conservative Christian communities. In this post I discuss the ripple effects this kind of mass media representation has on people who identity as both queer and Christian, and what that might mean for FJVs working towards a better understanding of allyship within the church.
Exploring Tradition: Praying with Mary Oliver
I woke up to the sad news that Mary Oliver, poet of the natural world, had passed away. That day I took a few moments of silence to read a few of her poems and it suddenly dawned on me that her text, in many ways, could be considered sacred and spiritual. Reverting to the Catholic practices I am familiar with, I decided to apply the tools of Lectio Divina to a few different Mary Oliver poems, treating them as texts open to spiritual contemplation and personal reflection.
Finding New Communities: Does Social Media Suffice?
We tend to cling to ideas, concepts, faces, and groups that we are familiar with to help us cope and connect. As a new FJV of five months, I find this particularly true when thinking about processing my JV year. If you’ve stayed at your placement or are living in a major city in the […]
The Ruined Report 