Hailing from the one and only Spearfish, South Dakota, Chris (a.k.a. “Spear”) is currently at Loyola University in Chicago to study Philosophy and Spirituality. He slowly marched up the ladder of city life from Omaha, to St. Paul , and now the Windy City - falling in love with bright lights of shows and symphonies and the plethora of great food and drink. The serene Black Hills and its people, however, will still always have a hold on his heart. He loves wasting money on going to movies in the theater, and most of all cherishes his family, friends, and being in the Society of Jesus.
Joined in 2017 29 posts cwilliamssj@thejesuitpost.org
A CDC study shows high rates of mental health issues among teens. A group that is suffering, but too often neglected is LGBTQ+ youth. Chris Williams, SJ, delves into the findings and emphasizes the need for compassion and acknowledgment of their struggles.
God’s silence can be painful. It can also be fruitful experience of prayer if we surrender to it.
I felt my pain, like venom, being drawn out of my body by Christ through his wounds. It was physical, psychological, and spiritual all at the same time and it was overwhelmingly strong and intense.
Sacrificed Freedom (Audio recording of the author's reading) The paschal mystery Has passed through My mortal body Chameleon-like transformation: From pain to peace, Broken to beautiful, Satiation to surrender, To love. The pit of unhealed spirit Had bound around My...
The morning is gentle. I’ve come at the perfect time to sit and pray near the old living room windows. The sign of the cross, coffee on the window sill, closed eyes. I’m opaque inside today. I pray about yesterday. And sometimes my prayer isn’t always clear.
What is discipleship? What is mere discipleship? The opening line of my newest poem, “Mere Discipleship,” says that “mere discipleship sheds easy excuses, burns hot and bright,” and that line is just the beginning of unpacking a process of following Christ. Are you a disciple? Are you a mere disciple? How do you know? Pray with me in today’s reflection and discover how I uncover that I am a mere disciple.
“I love you” It just was the most believable utterance of that phrase I’ve ever heard, while sitting in an utterly unremarkable conference room transformed with incense and song into a place open to worship; somehow breaking through the stubborn habits of conventional self-assurance I felt forced to carry. For some, a vocation is automatic, an easy skin to fit into. For others, God’s call is great, the response is real, and yet it is something one must learn to love. Take a moment to read and pray with a reflection about my vocation, and maybe it will illuminate something about yours.
There are times when I don’t want to accept my present circumstances, so I enter another world with more novelty and excitement. Yet when I turn back to reality, that world evaporates and I am left feeling more alone and discouraged than before. A recent chance meeting with someone broke through this fog of drudgery to reignite the roots of life within me, reminding me to keep my faith in what God places before me each day, no matter how small or mundane.
When I take a more honest look at life, with its’ beauty, and also its’ darkness and suffering, I’m drawn to see the meaning of seeking something that transcends worldly pleasures or pursuits, even the willingness to sacrifice those things. And I want to affirm this desire to “transcend” is not an escape from reality, nor is it inhuman. It is rather a call to become even more fully and authentically human concretely in the world. Chris Williams, SJ, invites us to see this transcendence in his newest poem perfect for prayer and reflection.