Recent Posts by Kiely Todd Roska

Discernment Flows From a Deeper Place

Discernment Flows From A Deeper Place During the School of Discernment a few weeks ago, Kathleen Cahalan described discernment in a way that was particularly meaningful. She said discernment can be practiced as a disposition, a way of life, instead of an occasional exercise we take up when we have a big decision to make.…
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Welcome, Feelings

Welcome, Feelings: Praying Through the Full Range of Emotions Like so many people, I have been on an emotional roller coaster since March. Coming to terms with the pandemic and its ripple effects has mirrored aspects of the grieving process: denial, bargaining, acceptance, meaning making. In the United States, more have died from coronavirus than…
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Engaged Listening

Engaged Listening as a first step toward addressing racism As we live through a time of pandemic and protest, I revisited the Rule of Benedict to read  what wisdom Benedict might speak into these tumultuous days. I found guidance right at the outset of the Prologue: Listen. Listen is the first word of the Rule…
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Easter is a Season (Not a Day)

Easter is a Season (Not a Day) A Strange Easter The First Sunday of Easter was strange this year. Like many people, I sat in front of a computer screen to participate in  communal worship. Trying to celebrate the Resurrection without physically gathering in community just didn’t feel like Easter. Many friends and acquaintances said…
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Resurrection in Relationship

Resurrection in Relationship: A Reflection on John 20-21   Growing up, I thought of “the Resurrection” as a one-time event, an event where Jesus was “raised” up out of the tomb. As a child, I thought that Jesus’ body simply floated up into the sky. I imagined that Jesus was “absent” from the tomb (and…
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Living Resurrection

Living Resurrection A Reflection on Mark 16:1-8 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been…
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Finding Unexpected Treasure in Lectio Divina

Finding Unexpected Treasure in Lectio Divina When I was encouraged to  attend the School of Lectio Divina, I was drawn to the idea, but I also had some hesitation. I was somewhat familiar with lectio divina (literally “divine reading”) as an ancient practice of praying with scripture, and I had experienced lectio divina in its…
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Dignity: An Uncomfortable Lesson in Hospitality

Dignity: An Uncomfortable Lesson in Hospitality Several years ago, I learned an uncomfortable lesson about hospitality. I was working in a congregation-based shelter for families experiencing homelessness in St. Paul. Because the 55 beds that Ramsey County had in its shelter were always full, congregations acted as “overflow shelters,” housing up to 20 people each…
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The Porter: At the Threshold of Hospitality

The Porter: At the Threshold of Hospitality In the Rule, St. Benedict commends the role of the porter, the person stationed at the front door and responsible for greeting visitors to the Monastery.  Whenever a visitor showed up, the porter was supposed to shout, “Thanks be to God!” or “Your blessing please!” (RB 66). The…
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Everyday Prophets

Everyday Prophets When we think ‘prophetic’ we need not always think grandly about public tasks. . . It is the vocation of the prophet to keep alive the ministry of imagination. ― Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination When I hear the word prophet, I often imagine a bearded man shouting out the Truth with a…
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