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.
Spiritual and Also Religious
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?
Two of My Favorite Prayers
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.
A Modification to the Hail Mary
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.
Guest Post: Reverse Culture Shock: Who Am I Post-Service?
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.
Conversation Office Hours
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.
After the Nuclear Family
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.”
Simple Living Recreation Tactics
Part of being human is balancing work, leisure, and recreation. For many of us, balancing all of it can be a real challenge.
Light a Candle & Say a Prayer for Someone
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.
We Need to Talk About China
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.
Guest Post: Advent Birthing
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.
My Principles
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.
My “Formation” Years
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.
Guest Post: They Say
“They Say” is a poem Meg O’Neill wrote while working in Ritsona refugee camp in central Greece.
Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim
Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim was a tenth-century German canoness, dramatist, and poet. (A canoness is basically like a nun, but with less strict vows.) Hrotsvitha is remarkable: she has been called the first Western playwright since antiquity as well as the first known woman playwright. In her six plays, Hrotsvitha takes comic tropes used by Roman playwrights and reworks them into plays that not only glorify God but also deeply honor faith, celibacy, and women.
