Most days, I start my day with a morning walk, and as I walk, I usually work through this reflection. It’s a nice way to focus my attention outside myself, to remember and pray for those around me, to foster joy and gratitude, and to look for where God is active in my life.
I want to convince you to try using an RSS feed reader.
I really like “Gender, Sex, and Other Nonsense,” an essay by Daniel Walden back in the March issue of Commonweal. It’s a beautiful, Catholic piece of writing about transness and self-narratives.
I do not identify as spiritual but not religious. I do think organized religion is the most valuable means of furthering spiritual growth. For me, however, the problem comes in the next step: which religion?
I want to share two of my favorite set prayers. One comes from the Baha’i Faith, and the other is my reinterpretation of it.
About two years ago, I ended up accompanying a friend of mine to the hospital. Once the paramedics showed up, there really wasn’t anything for me to do other than hang around, wait, and pray.
Almost a quarter of a year has gone by since I left my life as a Jesuit volunteer in Peru. I was not prepared for the struggle to define myself in an old and familiar context but now as someone different.
This year, I tried something new as my Lenten practice: conversation office hours. I came across this idea while reading Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.
If you’re at all interested in kinship, family structures, or intentional community, you’ve gotta check out David Brook’s cover article in The Atlantic titled “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake.”
Part of being human is balancing work, leisure, and recreation. For many of us, balancing all of it can be a real challenge.
It’s painful to think back on all the people I’ve loved and lost touch with, but it’s important that I do this, that we do this. All these people were important pieces of the social fabric of my life.
Right now, in Xinjiang, China’s far western province, roughly one million people are being detained in extralegal internment camps (the state calls them “re-education centers”). Those detained are mostly Uyghers, a mostly-Muslim Turkic ethnic group.
I love the imagery and symbolism of pregnancy and birth during this time of Advent, because it is so rich with meanings and also of course because I love accompanying women as they prepare and work to bring new life into the world.
I’m the sort of nerd who likes to articulate my principles. I love being able to recite these words in times of prayer and lean on them in times of stress. My articulations of my principles are largely borrowed from Thich Nhat Hanh’s mindfulness trainings, but I have gone ahead and made some modifications of my own.
After graduating from SCU, I spent time with JVC, L’Arche, and the Maryknoll China Teachers Program. I’ve thought of these experiences as my “formation years,” as something akin to the notoriously long Jesuit formation process, which typically lasts at least ten years.
The Ruined Report 