Joseph Stoutzenberger reflects on his childhood Catholic faith, filled with rituals and prayers like those to St. Francis and St. Jude. He contrasts this piety with his current struggles to connect with spirituality as an adult, despite recognizing the enduring devotion in others. He finds solace in sacred spaces, valuing prayer’s nuanced presence in life.
Category Archives: Compassion
Are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Dirty Words?
Joseph Stoutzenberger reflects on the significance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in education. He contrasts past efforts to promote DEI with contemporary opposition that argues it’s detrimental. Stoutzenberger highlights the importance of diverse perspectives in enriching education and emphasizes that addressing DEI can foster unity without sacrifice to fairness.
Rest Stop Wisdom
Joseph Stoutzenberger reflects on the importance of brief, encouraging messages found in public spaces, like “You Are Loved.” Highlighting narratives of journeys in literature, he emphasizes the need for compassion and connection among travelers in life. Ultimately, the message “You are loved” serves as a vital reminder for all.
Is Non-Violence Dead?
Joseph Stoutzenberger reflects on the contrast between hopes for non-violence during the “dawning of the age of Aquarius” and the ongoing global conflicts. He cites Gandhi and Jesus as proponents of non-violent resistance, highlighting historical and contemporary examples of conflict resolution through empathy and dialogue, emphasizing humanity over division.
Thomas the Pray-er
Joseph Stoutzenberger reflects on his childhood Catholic faith, filled with rituals and prayers like those to St. Francis and St. Jude. He contrasts this piety with his current struggles to connect with spirituality as an adult, despite recognizing the enduring devotion in others. He finds solace in sacred spaces, valuing prayer’s nuanced presence in life.
Prophetic Voices from the Periphery
Joseph Stoutzenberger shares his experience of feeling like an outsider during a New Year’s Eve party, highlighting loneliness that many face. He connects this to Pope Francis’s sensitivity towards marginalized individuals, including women and LGBTQ+ communities. Francis’s inclusive actions reflect his understanding of Jesus’s embrace of the outcast and the importance of reaching those on the periphery.
A More Inclusive Church: Married and Unmarried Catholics
The Catholic Church views family as fundamental, yet a 2015 Pew study revealed only 51% of U.S. Catholics are married. With changing relationship dynamics, including cohabitation and same-sex couples, the Church faces challenges in inclusion. It must adapt to serve all Catholics, ensuring diverse expressions of holiness are recognized within the community.
How Can We Find the Holy in a Secular Age?
The city of Ephesus hosts a chapel believed to mark the home of Mary, where pilgrimage offers a chance to connect with the holy. The author reflects on modern secularism’s impact on reverence, contrasting tourists with pilgrims. Reclaiming a sense of the sacred requires wonder and contemplation in daily life.
Christ in a Keffiyeh
I was in Jerusalem seventeen years ago. A friend and I went looking for an ATM to withdraw money. Three blocks from our hotel, we came across a gas station where a young man was filling up his car. We asked him if he knew where we could find an ATM, and he told usContinue reading “Christ in a Keffiyeh”
Will U.S. Catholicism Survive?
That sounds exactly like what Pope John XXIII and Pope Francis feared. They warned that the church was not meant to be a museum. If it was to survive it had to be a living, growing, thriving garden. To be that blossoming garden, both of these popes saw a need for change—what Pope John XXIII called aggiornamento, “updating.”
Joseph Stoutzenberger 