During the Year of Saint Joseph, what does this silent saint have to teach our hurting and divided world? Michael Martinez SJ reflects on five of his important lessons for us today.
Posts in Spirituality
What’s in a Name, Anyway? Finding Solace in Our Patron Saints
Names are powerful. I had a professor in college who I have gotten to know well since I graduated, and I still cannot call her by her first name. Conversely, I have graduate professors who insist I call them by their first names. Then there’s my local parish priest back home whom I call “father” because nothing else fits. Names, what we call people, matter. Read how the names of Saints can inspire our lives.
Ignatian Hip-Hop: “Radical Prayer”
Have you ever prayed with rap music? Michael Martinez, SJ released a new album, “Worship Real”. The album’s fourth track, “Radical Prayer,” explores the question of how a deeper prayer life can lead us to live our Christian calling more radically.
A Year of Lockdown: SSRIs and Grace
While none of us can compare our suffering in the past year, we can learn a lot about grace and love through both King David and depression medication.
Sometimes I Sit Inside the Fog of My Prayer
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.
My Catholic Faith Pushed Me to Adopt an Almost Vegan Diet
The Catholic Church condemns animal cruelty. Does our consumption of animal products violate this teaching?
The Potter and the Bowl: In Whose Hands Do We Find Ourselves?
I’ve been throwing pottery for over a year now. For a while, I had the technique down, or at least down enough to center the clay and build from there. But lately, I have had the worst time centering the clay. As I sit with my struggles to center the clay, my mind wanders to the world around me: does anything feel centered these days?
For a Church That is Unafraid to Welcome Black People
A certain memory of Peter Claver is often used by Catholics to distance themselves from actually engaging in ministry or relationships with Black Americans. Yet this false image of Claver, rather than absolving Catholics of their responsibilities towards Black people, is rather an even more scathing indictment of our indifference. Our image of Claver is a call to all of us Catholics to be who he was not.
First Day Out of Prison: A Modern-Day Parable on Coming Out of the Pandemic and Into Lent
“This whole year has felt like a Lenten penance in the desert, so I’m not thinking about what to give up. Instead, I enter this season replaying images of that day with Javier.” Christopher Alt, SJ, recounts the story of his friend’s first day out of prison and considers what lessons it has for us as we see promises of the end of the pandemic and move into Lent.
5 Takeaways from SEEK21
Every other year, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) hosts its SEEK conference that draws thousands of young Catholics together to encounter Christ and share the Gospel. As a virtual event this year, SEEK21 was actually the largest it’s ever been, with 27,000 participants from 20 countries on 6 continents. Check out our 5 key takeaways.