A way to get through this
Look deep into the current,
See what’s real and holy,
Look around: see your friends.
Study sparkles in their pupils.
See how each face
is a mirror of love
Looking into you.
Trust the voices
Who will summon
You in the night.
Learn their names,
their numbers.
Plant phone trees.
These faces and voices:
They are your people.
Together you’ll be
Pilgrims crossing Jordans
and dreaming up justice.
Link your hands.
Learn—and relearn—
the torment of Love.
The tyrants will try
to redirect, distract,
and divide. But we
Will remain a we:
a people who believe
in the glory of goodness,
Kindness, mercy.
We cling to compassion.
We trust in Truth.
We show up and share,
Resist, protect.
We don’t care
if this becomes
Dangerous.
No one can take
our faith from us—
our insistence
that love is
outpoured,
extended.
We will keep
cooking, feeding
and singing, dancing.
We will give shelter, welcome.
We will paint, repair, pray.
We will wash our shoes
by walking through
puddles of grief
and watching ripples dance.
We will dine on courage
and transformation.
The tyrants will try
to stir up fear,
sorrow, shame.
But they’ll have
no chance
if we’re ready--
and really willing--
to risk all security, comfort
for the sake of the cross,
the depth of communion,
the glory of bread
made God, made human.
By the bonds of being a we
we'll walk together into
peace, beauty and liberty;
we’ll walk back to being
humanity: faces, voices,
a people crossing a river
and becoming blessed
in the moonlight.
A QUICK NOTE
Dear Ones,
Many of us are watching in horror as systems crumble and the poor and marginalized become increasingly oppressed. Emotions and chaos are storming, certainly, and I am increasingly convinced that the call to follow Jesus and live the Gospel — to feed the hungry, to welcome the stranger, to advocate for peace, to love our enemies, to be people of subversive hope and charity — has become a bolder necessary mission. Now it's more apparent that the people of God can no longer rely on the government to be a partner in our mission. We can’t give into despair: despair is a device of the devil, the devil who divides. Our love, faith, and hope shall fuel us instead.
I was away on a long retreat at the start of this year. (What a gift!) I returned to society feeling invigorated in my faith and desiring to stay centered in Christ, in the deep sacredness of silence. I feel inspired by martyrs and saints. I’ve been thinking of the many who risked safety and comfort to love their neighbors during other times in Church history.
And, I am convinced that now is a time for us to deepen our love for one another, to build community, to strengthen our bonds. We will only be able to respond to the pressing needs if we are united together, as God’s children who trust in Christ’s love. Courage comes from communion, relationship. Together in mission and compassion, we will be light and salt (Matthew 5: 13-16). By God’s grace, Love will lead us forward and guide us as we respond to the mess. Let’s keep praying, loving, plus get to work.
Peace & All Good, Julia
SISTER JULIA SUGGESTS
Ash Wednesday is this week. So, Lent is starting: a season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and a good time to remember the global poor who need our support and solidarity. Catholic Relief Services provides prayer, resources, and simple Lenten recipes.
Learn how to help save SNAP, Medicaid and more from NETWORK.
Ignatian Solidarity Network is offering a daily Lenten Reflection resource.
Tune into my Messy Jesus Business podcast interview with Dr. Ann Garrido about conversation and conflict.
I’ve never attended anything at Kirkridge Retreat & Study Center, but their list of upcoming programs and retreats could be intriguing for many of you!
Consider trying something Tessa Bielecki suggests in her list of “Contemplative Rhythms.”
UPCOMING PUBLIC EVENTS
Thursday, March 27, 2025, 7:00 p.m. DUBUQUE, IA Loras College Talk: "The Messiness of Faith." Open to the public. (In-person event)
Sunday & Monday, March 30-31, 2025, 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. DUBUQUE, IA St. Anthony Catholic Church. Evenings of Reflection with book-signings. Open to the public. (Hybrid event)
Wednesday, April 9, 2025. MILWAUKEE, WI Family of Five Parishes. Eat, Drink & Be Catholic event. Open to the public. (In-person event)
Tuesday May 6, 2025. 9:00 - Noon. ARBOR VITAE, WI Marywood Spirituality Center. "Being Members of the Broken Body" Program. Open to the public. (In-person event)
Tuessday, May 6, 2025. 5:00-7:30. MANITOWISH WATERS, WI Manitowish Waters Library. "Spiritual Writing: Staying open to sacred mystery" Workshop. Open to the public. (In-person event)
LAST WORDS
For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits. -James 1:11
For it is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish people. -1 Peter 2:15
THANK YOU
My first book, For Love of the Broken Body: A Spiritual Memoir, has now been in the world for a whole year! Wow! Thank you for reading, reviewing, and recommending the book to others.
I know that some book groups are reading my book together during Lent, which is a dream for me. And, so I want to remind you all that I offer a FREE discussion guide to accompany the book. Plus, I am happy to meet virtually with book groups for Q & A. Feel free to reach out!
A questioning novice nun’s coming-of-age story. Readers will be moved to reflect on the universal human experiences of being broken and the pull to be part of something bigger than themselves. At the age of 25, just a month into her novitiate as a Franciscan Sister, Julia Walsh fell from a cliff and became disfigured. While working toward healing, she felt pulled to religious community life, but also toward unresolved feelings regarding her own sexuality, identity, and injustice.
For Love of the Broken Body is a story of pain, questioning, recovery, and discovery. What does it mean to exist as a broken body? Why would a young woman dedicate herself to the Catholic Church—to a life as a Franciscan Sister—while others are leaving churches in droves?
“I laughed out loud, gasped, felt seen, and learned so much in this exquisitely written memoir. It is full of universal truths, questions, and doubts.” —Marlena Graves, professor of spiritual formation, Northeastern Seminary; author of The Way Up Is Down
“This bold, stereotype-busting book is bursting with wisdom. It helps us turn toward our weaknesses, self-doubt, and anxiety and walk through these, with Love, into self-acceptance, self-kindness, and concrete love for others. Bravely coloring outside the usual religious lines by sharing her story frankly, Julia brings us into the brightest hope. Highly recommended!” —Carmen Acevedo Butcher, poet and translator of Brother Lawrence’s Practice of the Presence and The Cloud of Unknowing