Messy Jesus Business

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.

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.

LISTEN HERE:

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,

"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.

LISTEN HERE:

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.

Email us at [email protected]

BE SOCIAL:https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness

https://www.instagram.com/messyjesusbusiness

Twitter: @messyjesusbiz

SUPPORT US:

https://www.patreon.com/messyjesusbusiness

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.

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.

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.

LISTEN HERE:

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.

Email us at [email protected]

BE SOCIAL:https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness

https://www.instagram.com/messyjesusbusiness

Twitter: @messyjesusbiz

SUPPORT US:

"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.

LISTEN HERE:

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.

Email us at [email protected]

BE SOCIAL:https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness

https://www.instagram.com/messyjesusbusiness

Twitter: @messyjesusbiz

SUPPORT US:

https://www.patreon.com/messyjesusbusiness