The late Pope Francis once said of the mercy of God, “It is not easy to entrust oneself to God's mercy, because it is an abyss beyond our comprehension. But we must! ... ‘Oh, I am a great sinner!’ All the better! Go to Jesus:” Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices are ways of descending into...

I recently attended a unique Way of the Cross at Saint Margaret of Scotland CatholicChurch. It is called, “Search Me, a Way of the Cross in...

God will ask us if we have cultivated and cared for the world that he created for the benefit of all and for future generations, and if we have taken care of our brothers and sisters-What will be our answer, my dear friends” Pope Leo XIV Our nations first Earth Day was founded on ...

For your prayer practice, and for your joy this Easter, we offer you the painting “Justification” by artist Jim Ballman:...

Construction of data centers has been in our local news lately, as communities struggle with the wisdom of allowing them within their boundaries. Information from the Southern Environmental Law Center reveals...

Christ’s Passion Sure we’re trained to his suffering, sure the nine-inch nails, and so forth. And the cross raised up...

At the end of January, the Cardinal Archbishops of Chicago, Washington, DC, and Newark issued a joint statement on the morality of U.S. foreign policy, measuring it against the principles set forth by Pope Leo XIV in his address to the diplomatic corps assigned to the Holy See. They asserted that...

Guidance for Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices includes letting go of expectations for our prayer. Typically, this ...

It’s very difficult to recognize sin, prejudices, or hatred once it has been normalized, once we’ve grown cozy with it. Perhaps this is why the Bible speaks so much about blindness: if we’re honest, every one of us is loaded with blind spots, inherited from...

As we continue to travel on the Lenten journey toward Easter, let us pray this powerful prayer for environmental justice provided by Network, an organization that lobbies for Catholic social justice: “God of humanity, open our eyes to the rightful priority of ...

The Seeds of Justice Network has shared this inspiring invitation for Lent from Pope Leo XIV. “I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that ...

Former MMOC Contemplative Core teammate Saralou Hendrickson offered this insight in 2021 – we share it again this week in memory of her: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things. One thing is...

In his “Message for Lent 2026,” Pope Leo XIV makes a connection between authentic fasting as a witness to the world, and awareness of and surrender to Divine Communion, such as is cultivated by our contemplative practices. He then calls us to a unique fast born out of this communion:...

Love Thy Neighbor is a sub committee of our Peace and Justice Ministry Our Mission Statement is: Love Thy Neighbor prioritizes listening and learning, as we welcome our community and our sexual and gender diverse members and their...

As we begin the season of Lent, many Catholics will undertake or rededicate themselves to the three Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in order to grow in openness to God. Popular Catholic author and speaker Fr. Mike Schmitz ...

Did you know that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) faces $186 billion in cuts over the next decade?...

We all have our preferences, but for the most part, we must admit that our likes and dislikes are often based on external factors such as cultural conditioning, habits, and unquestioned assumptions, rather than really being rooted in...

Humility is a critical spiritual disposition, and when I think of humility, I often think of a very small child – perhaps because Jesus says,...

The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) works to expose disparities in our criminal justice system that are a legacy of our history of racial injustice. Black men are nearly six times more likely to be incarcerated than white men; Latino men are...

Contemplative practice and its fruits certainly edify the soul, but this edification and the ever-growing realization of our absolute communion with God come not through any sort of filling up, but rather a stark and beautiful surrender to..