At first glance, it may seem like quite a stretch to connect Ash Wednesday, Valentine’s Day and Systemic Change. But hear me out. Actually, it is not that hard.
Mindwalk Podcasts: Latest posts and thoughts…
Lessons Learned From a “Street Priest!”
Is God tired of us waiting for us among the poor?
Christ the King and the “Duck Test”
We speak of Christ as King.
Do our lives show it?
Are You “Woke?” – Should You Be?
Today we increasingly hear about being “woke.”
In this Vincentian Mindwalk I will try to move beyond any narrow political meanings.
Raised in the world of “Pay-Pray-Obey”
I was amazed to discover a Vincentian born in 1868 who pioneered a thoroughly Vatican II concept of laity.
His words in 1923 echo today!
Street-level Encounters – a Parable
In this Vincentian Mindwalk, explore with me a street-level parable about the latest buzzword in many religious circles – “encounter.”
Have Catholics Seen Such Polarization Before?
There is so much polarization in our world today. And it is not just political.
Polarization is on full display at all levels of the Church today… hierarchy, clergy, laity, vowed religious.
Is this the first time in history that the Church has been so divided?
Certainly not!
What’s Your Way of Handling Conflict?
A simple fact of life. We don’t always agree… especially on things that are important to us.
A painful fact of life. Disagreements and conflicts can get out of hand.
But, there is another fact of life.
We can and should learn from disagreements.
How Are You At Predictions?
A stopped clock is right at least twice a day.
I hope my track record for predictions is a bit better than that.
Here I revisit 3 predictions I made some two years ago.
Hearts on Fire – Feet on the Move!
Pope Francis sees mission as a way of speaking about the road BACK from Emmaus to Jerusalem with “hearts on fire and feet on the move.”
Shocking document bishops signed in the Catacombs 60 years ago
Pope St. John XXIII certainly had expectations of Vatican II!
Saint John XXIII convened it hoping that it would lead to the Church becoming “the Church of all, and particularly the Church of the poor”
NATO As No Action – Talk Only
In this Mindwalk, I explore an alternate meaning of the acronym NATO
It involves the story of a pivotal moment in the life of Frederick Ozanam. He was inspired to move from talk to action.
Is it Time for the “Brocolli” Approach?
Many generations of mothers have cajoled their children with “Try it. You’ll like it!” (It seems they all went to the same “Mommy” school.)
A famous layman, of the last century, Chesterton, used it in a different sense. ”The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”
I wonder if maybe we should use the “try it, you’ll like it” approach to synodality.