Tag Archives: poverty
No One Is Expendable
How you treat other human beings is how you treat Jesus. Continue Reading No One Is Expendable
The Poverty of Christmas
There’s really nothing necessarily pretty about the first Christmas. Continue Reading The Poverty of Christmas
The Goodness of Solidarity
Rediscovering the Common Good The Goodness of Solidarity Thursday, November 4, 2021 Few Christians in the twentieth century lived their lives as devoted to the common good as Dorothy Day. She served the poor, homeless, and hungry in New York City for decades. Her steadfast belief in the dignity of the poor as bearing the… Continue Reading The Goodness of Solidarity
The Catholic Worker Movement
Spirituality and Social Movements The Catholic Worker Movement Tuesday, December 1, 2020 After Brian McLaren’s helpful summary of biblical examples of social movements, I want to turn our attention to movements that originated within the United States in the last century. The Catholic Worker movement, established by Dorothy Day (1897‒1980) and Peter Maurin (1877‒1949), has… Continue Reading The Catholic Worker Movement
Greater Proximity, Greater Mercy
Restorative Justice Greater Proximity, Greater Mercy Friday, September 11, 2020 Love is the motive, but justice is the instrument. —Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer, social justice activist, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. [1] In his book Just Mercy: A Story… Continue Reading Greater Proximity, Greater Mercy
Openness and Receptivity
Simplicity Openness and Receptivity Wednesday, July 1, 2020 Despite many differing views of Jesus’ life and teaching, we can say confidently that Jesus was a poor man who fully embraced life with those on the margins of society. Francis of Assisi certainly did the same, and it became his litmus test for all orthodoxy and… Continue Reading Openness and Receptivity
Embracing Enoughness
Simplicity Embracing Enoughness Tuesday, June 30, 2020 I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. —Lao Tzu Most of us have grown up with a capitalist worldview which makes a virtue and goal out of accumulation, consumption, and collecting. It has taught us to assume, quite falsely, that more is better. But it’s… Continue Reading Embracing Enoughness
Prayer in Captivity
Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross Prayer in Captivity Wednesday, April 22, 2020 In 1567, when Teresa of Ávila was 52 and deeply involved in her attempts to reform the Carmelite Order and create the Discalced (or “barefoot”) Carmelites, she met the newly ordained John of the Cross. Though he was only 25… Continue Reading Prayer in Captivity
The Minores
Franciscan Way: Part One The Minores Tuesday, October 1, 2019 Feast of Thérèse of Lisieux, “The Little Flower My friend since 1962 and fellow Franciscan, Father John Quigley, OFM, has written a helpful, succinct summary of Franciscanism. We worked closely together with the New Jerusalem Community in Ohio and could practically finish each other’s sentences,… Continue Reading The Minores
Changing Our Economy
Economy: Week 1 Changing Our Economy Friday, June 29, 2018 Pope Francis often says, “This economy kills.” [1] The divide between the wealthy and the poor in the United States continues to grow. A handful of billionaires are literally “making a killing,” while millions who live below the poverty line are “making a dying,” and… Continue Reading Changing Our Economy