Season 4, Episode 9 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.

"I go, and I think I'm bringing Church to them; Church is already there."

- Deacon Pablo Perez

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IN THIS EPISODE:

Sister Julia Walsh talks with Deacon Pablo Perez about how he became a deacon and chaplain at Chicago's Cook and Lake County Jails, after being a gang member himself.

"I was just as reckless as they were. I was just as broken as they were," Pablo Perez explains. "That's why I know that investing time in each of those young men...is worth it. Because if I changed, I know they could change."

Sister Julia and Deacon Pablo Perez discuss forgiveness and mercy, how our Church and society could promote these values, and the importance of truly seeing people who are incarcerated.

"Look at them the way the Lord looks at all of us," he says.

They also examine the mess of our criminal justice system.

"The whole environment is messy. It's a mess that no one wants to touch. It's a mess that no one wants to clean," Pablo explains. He encourages us, instead, to respond with compassion.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Pablo Perez was born in Guatemala and came to Chicago when he was four-years old, then grew up on the north side of the city. He fell in love with jail ministry in the summer of 2006, when he served as a volunteer at Kolbe House, as part of his formation to become a deacon. He was ordained a deacon in February 2008. A former gang member himself, he now works in the Archdiocese of Chicago as the Associate Director of Kolbe House and Chaplain at Cook and Lake County Jails. 

In addition to ministering in the jail, Pablo ministers at St. Bede the Venerable Parish on the Southwest side of Chicago, where he counsels couples and trains Eucharistic ministers and lectors. He has been married for 24 years and has three children: two adults and one teenager. 

His story is told in the film, RESTORED: Stories of Encounter - Deacon Pablo Perez.

Contemplative Moment is an excerpt from number 16 of the Apostolic Letter Misericordia et misera.

MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is produced and hosted by Sister Julia Walsh, and edited by Charish Badzinski.

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Season 4, Episode 8 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.

"Once we surrender into that place of the Divine...we're moving in the waters of the holy."-Beverly Lanzetta

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IN THIS EPISODE:

Sister Julia Walsh talks with theologian, author and teacher Beverly Lanzetta how she lives out her call to surrender to the Divine and be a contemplative guide, and how loving and surrendering God can be an innate experience.

"Once we surrender into that place of the Divine, we're not going against anything, we're moving in the stream, we're moving in the waters of the holy," Beverly explains. "And so the more humble we are the more we get a glimpse of what's possible...and that gives us a freedom to try to paint pictures of the sacred in the world and to plant seeds."

They also talk about the mystery inherent to interspiritual and interreligious dialogue. "I think God is big enough to hold our various expressions, the ways in which God has come to us," Beverly says.

They also explore the mess of living a spirtual life, and how God provides groundedness.

"You know it's like digging in soil: our hands are going to get dirty, we're going to get dirt on our hands when we dig and plant the seeds," Beverly explains.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Beverly Lanzetta is a theologian, contemplative scholar and teacher, and the author of many groundbreaking books on emerging universal spirituality and new monasticism. Dedicated to a vision of theological openness and spiritual nonviolence, her work is considered to be a major contribution to what theologian Ursula King called, “a feminine mystical way for the 21st century.”Beverly is also a vowed monk of peace living in the world and an interfaith chaplain. She has formed a community of new monks—single, married, partnered, celibate, etc.—dedicated to the universal mystical heart and to the spirituality of nonviolence. She has devoted much of her life to mentoring people who seek a deeper contemplative commitment and who wish to take personal monastic vows. She has taught theology at Villanova University, Prescott College, and Grinnell College.

MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is produced and hosted by Sister Julia Walsh, and edited by Charish Badzinski.

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In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Paul Engler, author, activist and community organizer. They explore the integration of spiritual life and social justice work, and--in spite of the dominant culture's focus on individualism--how community is necessary to bring about social change.

"Let yourself be broken. Let yourself suffer. Cling to Christ through it."- Tessa Bielecki

Season 4, Episode 6 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.

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IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Tessa Bielecki about pain and the healing process: how they forge transformation, and how suffering can help us to know union with God.

Tessa explains this concept through the lens of a past trauma, and says she didn't lose her faith at that time, nor did she expect Jesus to come riding in on a horse, like a knight, to save her. "My experience was, that's not possible because Jesus and I are clinging to one another on the cross through this...we're united in this suffering. I am a part of his suffering; he is strengthening me in mine. It's one crucifixion. It's one resurrection."

Tessa and Sister Julia also look at healthy asceticism, and how we're called to honor the goodness of all God creates for us. "We're training like athletes. Or we're training like dancers. It's a discipline, it's not a punishment," Tessa explains.

Sister Julia and Tessa also examine interspiritual dialogue and why it's important for contemplatives to be in relationship with people from other faith traditions. Lastly, they explore the creative process of making order of the chaos.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Tessa Bielecki was born in Norwich, Connecticut on September 16, 1944. From early childhood she loved the diverse peoples and cultures around our planet and studied Russian and French at Trinity College in Washington D.C., preparing for a career in international relations.

Her dream took a more spiritual turn when she met Fr. William McNamara in 1965 and with him co-founded the Spiritual Life Institute. With a brave band of fellow-monks, she helped create a monastic community and four retreat centers over four decades: Nada Hermitage in Sedona, Arizona in the 1960s (lost to land developers in 1981), Nova Nada Hermitage in Kemptville, Nova Scotia, Canada in the 1970s (lost to logging development in 1998), Nada Carmelite Hermitage in Crestone, Colorado in the 1980s, and Holy Hill Hermitage in Skreen, County Sligo, Ireland in the 1990s.

After serving as Mother Abbess of these centers and traveling between them for almost 40 years, Tessa left monastic life in 2003. In 2005, with friend and colleague, Fr. David Denny, she created The Desert Foundation, an informal circle of friends exploring the spirit of the desert, its landscape and soulscape, with a special focus on peace and reconciliation among the Abrahamic traditions: Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

With Fr. Dave she was an adjunct professor at Colorado College for almost fifteen years, teaching courses on Fire and Light: A History of Christian Mysticism and Sand and Sky: Desert Spirituality from the Middle East to the American Southwest.

Tessa is a seasoned retreat leader and the author of numerous articles and several  major works: Teresa of Avila: Mystical Writings, Holy Daring, Ecstasy and Common Sense, Season of Glad Songs: A Christmas Anthology, Desert Voices: The Edge Effect, and Sounds True audio learning courses Passion for God and Wild at Heart: Radical Teachings of the Christian Mystics. She is currently working on a memoir.

Fulfilling her dream of more peaceful international relations but from a more spiritual perspective, Tessa has years of experience with interspiritual dialogue, most notably with Buddhists throughout the 1980s at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. She has led pilgrimages to Spain, Italy, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, and visited Russia, Mexico, Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands, where she participated in symposiums called Women for Peace and Art Meets Science and Spirituality in a Changing Economy.

She had the privilege of speaking three times at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and was part of the Lindisfarne Fellowship during its early years in Crestone, Colorado. She was also a member of the first group who met in Rio de Janeiro to draft the Earth Charter. Under the auspices of the Embrace Foundation, she represented Christianity in a gathering of major world religions at the United Nations Chapel.

Tessa now lives as an “urban hermit” in Tucson, Arizona. She loves not only her silence and solitude, but colors and flowers, big earrings, good food and drink, cooking and celebrating with friends, and serving wherever she is needed, especially writing, leading retreats and workshops.

Contemplative moment is St. Teresa of Avila's bookmark prayer.

MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is produced and hosted by Sister Julia Walsh, and edited by Charish Badzinski.

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Sister Julia Walsh talks with Ellen Salmi van Cleef and Joshua van Cleef about how they became missionaries serving in Eastern Kentucky, and how being a missionary today is about presence.

In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Sister Nicole Trahan about inclusivity and equity in the Church, privilege and the importance of imagining new ways to share power.

"There's nothing that I wouldn't give to just tear that wall down."- Sister Tracey Horan

Season 4, Episode 3 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.

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IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Sister Tracey Horan about her journey from being a teenager arguing in favor of a border wall, to an educator and minister working on the border who wants the wall torn down.

They discuss the problems with Title 42 and the importance of restoring asylum protections for those who need them. They touch on the human rights of migrants and the harsh realities for people traveling at the U.S./Mexico border.

"Holding that tension of these painful experiences, and also accompanying people who have that desire to claim that right is a really tough, messy space to live in," Sister Tracey explains.

They also discuss how the dangers of organized crime affect the poor and vulnerable, and how to advocate for justice and comprehensive immigration reform. Lastly, they consider community, and how to build it by being authentically present to another and working together in the mess.

In this episode, Tracey and Sister Julia reference this blog post on Messy Jesus Business.

Since this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast was recorded, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention renewed Title 42, to remain in effect indefinitely.

Contemplative moment is from Luke 18:1-8.  

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Tracey Horan, S.P., is a Sister of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, and Associate Director of Education and Advocacy for the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Sonora and Arizona, where she has lived and worked since 2019. Sister Tracey has ministered with Latinx migrant communities in a variety of contexts for over a decade. She previously worked as a teacher and then as a community organizer, and has grappled with the gifts and challenges of intentional community living in a variety of contexts, including with biological family, Catholic Worker companions, and vowed Catholic Sisters from a variety of backgrounds. This fall, Sister Tracey will celebrate seven years as a religious sister.

You can connect with Tracey and the Sisters of Providence on several social media channels.

Tracey Horan on Facebook: @horantrl

Sisters of Providence

Facebook: @SistersofProvidence

Instagram: @spsmw

Twitter: @spsmw

MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is produced and hosted by Sister Julia Walsh, and edited by Charish Badzinski.

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"This idea of finding grace within the mess, I think that is the call of the Christian life."-Laura Kelly Fanucci

Season 4, Episode 2 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.

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IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Sister Julia Walsh talks with author and speaker Laura Kelly Fanucci about how she discovered her vocation to write about the intersection of parenting and faith, as a new mother.

"It became a spiritual practice for me in those new years of motherhood, to just reflect on where I was finding God or struggling to find God, in the challenges and the joys of parenting. and things kind of grew out of that and I think I came to find that this was my life's calling," she explains.

Laura also shares her story of grief and loss as a parent and how it strengthened her and her husband's connection to Holy Mystery. And Laura and Sister Julia discuss how the mess can help us support one another.

"There's a call from this loss and grief for me to be in a different way with other people and with God," she says.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Laura Kelly Fanucci is a writer and speaker who has spent over a decade working on the theology of vocation. She earned her Master of Divinity from Saint John's School of Theology and her BA from the University of Notre Dame. Laura is an award-winning columnist for Catholic News Service, and her nationally-syndicated “Faith at Home” column runs monthly in Catholic newspapers across the U.S. Her writing has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, On Being, and The Christian Century, as well as popular outlets including People Magazine and the Kelly Clarkson Show.Laura has authored seven books, most recently, "Grieving Together: A Couple's Journey through Miscarriage." She and her husband live in Minnesota with their children.

You can find Laura on several social media channels as well as her website.

Facebook: @mothering.spirit

Instagram: @thismessygrace/

Twitter: @lkfanucci

Contemplative Moment features a reading from Galatians.

MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is produced and hosted by Sister Julia Walsh, and edited by Charish Badzinski.

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"I think what I've learned is there's great fruitfulness in messiness...you need dirt to grow things."- Heidi Haverkamp

Season 4, Episode 1 of Messy Jesus Business, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode of Messy Jesus Business, Sister Julia Walsh talks with writer and Episcopal priest Heidi Haverkamp about why being a part-time hermit is essential to her, and how it serves her in her work.

"Part of a healthy solitude is that you're growing in love for other people," she explains.  

They discuss how discipleship of Jesus is meant to come from a place of freedom and joy and how that can offer clarity. They also talk discernment, and feeling called.

"Pay attention to your obsessions. I think there's something of God in what we can't stop thinking about. Especially if it's a good thing." Heidi says.

And they consider how mess can actually be a good thing, resulting in fruitfulness.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Heidi Haverkamp is a writer, spiritual director, an Episcopal priest, and a part-time hermit. For 10 years, she served in parish ministry in churches in the Chicago area. She is the author of three books: Advent in Narnia, Holy Solitude, and Everyday Connections: Reflections and Practices for Year C, due out in September. She has been featured in the media, including a recent article in the New York Times on solitude and the pandemic.

Heidi received a Master's of Divinity from The University of Chicago Divinity School in 2006 and a certificate in Anglican studies from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (now Bexley Seabury) a year later. She has worked on organic farms, in a corporate law office, as pastor of a rural congregation in New England, and at Trader Joe's. She is married to Adam Frieberg. They live in Indianapolis.

You can find and follow Heidi Haverkamp on the web:

www.heidihaverkamp.nethttps://www.facebook.com/HeidiHaverkamphttps://www.instagram.com/heidihaverk/

CONTEMPLATIVE MOMENT features the poem: For Solitude, from page 112 of the book, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings, by John O'Donohue.

MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is produced and hosted by Sister Julia Walsh, and edited by Charish Badzinski.

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In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Father Dan Horan about how he came to discover his vocation as a Franciscan, and they consider the importance of encouraging one another as Christians. Father Dan also talks about what he calls Holy Spirit atheism, which he says puts us at risk of acting in ways that are contrary to the will of God.