This third Mindwalk along the path of “synodality” looks at how two acknowledged leaders from vastly different backgrounds drastically changed their way of thinking and behaving. It is about their complimentary conversions through listening to the spirit and each other.
Month: January 2022
Bird’s-eye View – Word of God and Synodality
Yesterday’s image was an “up close and personal” experience of the Word of God via the amazing two seasons of The Chosen”. Today I would like to step back for a bigger picture of the Word of God.
Could Teleportation Aid Bible Reading?
As we celebrate ”Word of God Sunday”, I reflected on the change in the way I read the Bible. I sometimes wish I could be teleported back to the days of the early church. The TV series “The Chosen” is a possibleaid.
Claiming the Gift of Vincent’s Charism
“St. Vincent left a wonderful gift within the Church. He has placed it, to a large extent, in your hands and in mine. Pass it on to the young.” The Spirit is challenging Vincentians in the various branches of the Vincentian Family to identify and support people in naming and recognizing the gift and the tradition they stand in.
Are We As Church Hard of Hearing … or Listening?
Hearing is the simple physiological act of hearing sounds. Listening means to pay attention to sound; to hear something with thoughtful attention, and to give consideration. Which type of listener are you?
Ever Wonder About Jesus’ Kindergarten?
There is so much we don’t know about what Jesus learned in his earliest years in Nazareth. We know Mary and Joseph were his first teachers. Almost everything else is conjecture. Yet there is much we can learn from Our Lady of Nazareth.
How Big Is Your Dream?
Each year we are reminded about a supersized dream. We all know the words “I have a dream”. It was a dream of loving one another. Jesus prayed … “that all may be one”.
The “Broccoli Approach” to Synodality
Mothers often say “try it, you’ll like it”! I wonder of some today have rejected synodality without trying it or even understanding it.
My Favorite Image of God
There are many possible images of God. Which one seems more real to us can vary over time.
How is your current image working for you?
Vincent As a Seeker
The Magi were “men with a restless heart seekers after God. In Jerusalem the Magi ask questions: they inquire where the Child is to be found.
St. Vincent de Paul looked beyond his horizons to find Christ.
Pope Francis – Magi School of Seekers Visiting Professor
Pope Francis serves as visiting professor in the Magi “school of desire”. What can they teach us especially if we are stuck in a “parking lot” of life.
If I were John the Baptist…
If I were John the Baptist standing in the Jordan, I am sure I would have asked Jesus, “why are you asking me, a sinner, to baptize you?” What’s behind God speaking about his beloved son?
An Eight-year-old Jesus Figure
A simple explanation of why the Word of God took flesh and fully entered into our human condition. Emmanuel, God with us, the Word made flesh says, “Don’t worry, I have been through all this and will help you get through it.”
Mindwalk Top Twenty for 2021
The list of top 20 Mindwalks for those who are curious. It seems to imply we are a group with varied interests.
Elizabeth Seton and Our Ordinary Epiphanies
Regina Bechtle connected the dots for me between Elizabeth Ann Seton, the feast of the Epiphany, and our “ordinary epiphanies”. She found her God precisely in the most ordinary of moments.
Pope Francis – Mothers Hold Things Together!
This inclusive way of seeing things, which transcends tensions by “keeping” and “pondering”, is the way of mothers, who, in moments of tension, do not divide, they keep, and in this way enable life to grow.
Rom 16, 13 reads: "Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother—a mother to me also." If this…
Have a blessed Holy Week!
I have never thought about the people that were named in the Gospels. I would agree that they may be…
Generally, I love the laconic nature of Mark's Gospel. The Passion narrative is very compelling in its starkness, with one…
Father John, Blessings to you as you step cautiously down that new path. Grace and Peace be with you!