Tag Archives: common good

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And Yet the Cardinal Sings

And Yet the Cardinal Sings . . . The weight of the world felt very heavy this morning as I walked in the pre-dawn fog and gloom through the deserted park near my house. It was as if the suffering of a world-turned-upside-down was hanging in the air with every pregnant water droplet in the…
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Divine Sparks: Kindling the Fires of Ministry

Divine Sparks Kindling the Fires of Ministry Dr. Barbara Sutton, Director of Ministerial Formation and Field Education and a member of the faculty at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary, was a visiting scholar with the Benedictine Center for 2017-2018. This reflection follows Dr. Sutton’s webinar by the same title, available online. Divine Sparks…
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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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Radical Hospitality

Radical Hospitality At our food pantry, we have a children’s corner. It is filled with books and toys for the children to play and even choose something to bring home. One evening, little James waved me over to meet his new purple stegosaurus. He explained, “See the missing eye? He’s been through a lot. I’ve…
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A Day with Ministry on the Margins

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to befriend someone who had spent time in prison? S. Paula Hagen OSB has an experience to share about volunteering with S. Kathleen Atkinson OSB, who is coming soon to the Benedictine Center of St. Paul's Monastery.

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Can Small Acts of Courage and Compassion Really Save the World?

Can Small Acts of Courage and Compassion Really Save the World? I have to be honest. I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to all-encompassing spiritual proclamations. You could call me a “yes, but…” doubting Thomas-type person when conversations get a bit “spirited” or overly idealistic. And my friends and I sometimes do…
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Conversatio: Living Conversion through Hospitality

S. Kathleen Atkinson OSB is the founder of Ministry on the Margins and keynote presenter for the Benedictine Center's 2020 Radical Hospitality Series (Feb. 27 - Mar. 1). Conversatio Living Conversion through Hospitality After returning from four months in Guatemala, I knew I couldn’t go back to ministry as it had been. I needed to…
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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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2020 Radical Hospitality Series

Beyond Fear Helping Communities Choose Welcome Thurs., Feb. 27, 9a-3p The foundation of welcome is the inherent dignity of the human person, as created in the image and likeness of God. We are called to welcome others with a presence that is more than just polite and that extends beyond our reservations. We are called…
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We Can Forgive Even the Most Heinous Wrongs Done to Us

We Can Forgive Even the Most Heinous Wrongs Done to Us Is there a more difficult command given to us by Jesus than to forgive those who wrong us? We know we are called to forgiveness; every time we recite the Lord’s Prayer, we express the plea, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those…
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