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Posts by Marcus Mescher

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Discipleship, in times like these, comes with a cost By Johnny Zokovitch During my college years, one of my professors turned me on to the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard. What I found so compelling in Kierkegaard was his insistence on the way that faith had been co-opted by culture. Kierkegaard reflected on how, for the early Christian community, their allegiance to their faith could cost them so much for being in conflict with the culture surrounding them — resulting in their loss of livelihood, social and economic isolation, the severing of family bonds, and perhaps even their lives.

Johnny Zokovitch writes about Bonhoeffer's words about the importance of the church doing what it's always done — bandaging the wounds of those crushed under the wheel of injustice — but also the need to drive a spike into the spokes of the wheel of injustice itself. Following Jesus comes at a cost.

5 months ago 6 3 0 0
Christian Family Ethics and Shame: Three Perspectives | Published in Journal of Moral Theology By Marcus Mescher. This essay provides a more expansive account of shame in the Christian moral life, heeding the experience of individuals, couples, and families, and the impact of shame on the churc...

V. 14. no. 2 features a 3-article symposium that emerged from the @sofcethics.bsky.social on "Christian Family Ethics and Shame." In his introduction, Marcus Mescher contextualizes the topic & provides an overview of the conversation. @mmescher.bsky.social

doi.org/10.55476/001...

8 months ago 3 1 0 0
July 13, 2025: Meghan J. Clark Preaches for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 13, 2025: Meghan J. Clark Preaches for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time YouTube video by Catholic Women Preach

As always, lots to learn from @drclarkm1.bsky.social on the parable of the Good Samaritan:

youtu.be/-9tbxxAykrU?...

9 months ago 2 1 1 0
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How to Really Understand the Parable of the Good Samaritan This Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 10:25-37) might be Jesus’ best-known story. How many times have you heard the phrase, “Good Samaritan”? Even non-Christians know the term suggests someone who is kind, ge…

ICYMI: this summary offers a deep dive into the depth of the challenge to “Go and do likewise” as a practice of Christian discipleship today:

millennialjournal.com/2019/07/13/h...

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Today’s gospel is often domesticated, reduced to random acts of kindness or helping in an emergency. Jesus’ command to “Go and do likewise” is to emulate the Samaritan’s compassion, courage, and boundary-breaking solidarity in our own context. There is no “us” and “them” in God’s eyes. Just us.

9 months ago 4 1 2 0
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Inhumane Profits Imagine this scenario. Your daughter is a newlywed. While she is not a US citizen, her husband is, and she is trying to navigate the legal system to adjust her own status. She shows up at the immig…

susanandstjoseph.com/2025/06/28/i...

9 months ago 2 2 0 0

The most sobering part about becoming 1930’s Germany is realizing that no one is going to come here and liberate those being brutalized. If this historically inhumane regime is going to be overthrown, We The American People are going to have to do it.

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USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths over the next five years, researchers say An analysis published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet projects that cuts to the agency will lead to more deaths from diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

I really don’t understand how anyone in this administration, or anyone who supports them, sleep at night.

9 months ago 1303 514 69 62
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On hearing Trump invoke God after bombing Iran on the feast of Corpus Christi How should American Catholics respond to the U.S. attacks on Iran? Perhaps the Feast of Corpus Christi offers a counterpoint to the god of war, power and vengeance invoked by so many today.

On hearing Trump invoke God after bombing Iran on the feast of Corpus Christi

www.americamagazine.org/politics-soc...

9 months ago 6 2 0 0
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Bishop Seitz: “We remain resolute in our call for protection of refugees amid their disparate treatment by our government.” Pope Leo has said: “Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones, for the exclusionary mindset that is emerging in political nationalisms.”

10 months ago 1181 296 16 5
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"In the name of human dignity and international law, I reiterate to those in positions of responsibility the frequent warning of Pope Francis: 'War is always a defeat!' And that of Pope Pius XII: 'Nothing is lost with peace. Everything may be lost with war.'" #PopeLeoXIV #PrayForPeace

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#PopeFrancis brought humility and reform to the papacy. In word and action, he modeled a steadfast commitment to mercy, solidarity, and hope. In this Easter Season of new life, let us pray for him. And let us answer his call to radical love in service to those in greatest need and our common home.

1 year ago 7 0 0 0
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Join Mairead Maguire in fasting for children of Gaza Pax Christi International's Catholic Nonviolence Initiative sent out the following message today. Pax Christi USA encourages our members and supporters to prayerfully consider joining in this powerful witness: We invite you to accompany and support the 40-day fast of Mairead Maguire for the children of Gaza. Mairead is a Noble Peace Prize laureate and a member of the Advisory Council of Pax Christi’s 

Join Mairead Maguire in fasting for children of Gaza

Pax Christi International's Catholic Nonviolence Initiative sent out the following message today. Pax Christi USA encourages our members and supporters to prayerfully consider joining in this powerful witness: We invite you to accompany and…

1 year ago 4 3 0 0
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The Unfinished Work of Saint Óscar Romero Two unfinished Masses are linked to the legacy of Saint Óscar Romero, pointing to his unfinished work to see Christ in and be Christ for the poor, marginalized, and excluded. Forty years ago, Óscar…

It’s not enough to remember #SanRomero. He urges us onward to be witnesses of the Gospel in the face of corruption, injustice, and violence; to dignify those who are humiliated, vulnerable, and oppressed. May his unfinished work move us to collaborate for peace

millennialjournal.com/2020/03/24/t...

1 year ago 2 0 0 0
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Oscar Romero: More Than a Saint I still remember the first time I watched the movie “Romero.” It opened my eyes to the realities of people living in conditions I could hardly imagine, growing up in the Midwest. I was moved by Rom…

Visiting El Salvador is always a gift of love. It’s moving to see Romero’s image everywhere: in people’s homes, on neighborhood murals, and in churches. He’s so much more than a saint for Salvadorans: he’s a witness of faith-that-inspires-solidarity.

millennialjournal.com/2015/05/22/o...

1 year ago 0 0 0 0
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“Our persecution is nothing more nor less than sharing the destiny of the poor … if they kill me, I will resurrect in the Salvadoran people … may my blood be a seed of liberation.”

Let us remember St. Óscar Romero, killed while celebrating Mass 45 years ago today.

1 year ago 8 2 2 0
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Opinion | If Elon Musk Were Empathetic (Gift Article) Valentino Deng also has roots in Africa, but he exudes the empathy that Musk scorns.

Elon Musk warned that "the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy," so I'm hoping he reads this, for I found his opposite: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/o...

1 year ago 54 20 8 2
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Religious Freedom as a Defense for DEI? Georgetown University cited its Jesuit mission in responding to Trump administration critiques of DEI. Could religious freedom protect against attacks on diversity practices?

My Jesuit university, and our university president, made it into mainstream higher ed news, in a good way: www.insidehighered.com/news/institu...

1 year ago 3 1 0 0

In El Salvador this week, I met with neighborhood leaders, non-profits, and base ecclesial communities. All lamented the drastic and draconian cuts to USAID. It means less access to water, food, healthcare (especially for women and children), and legal rights. It will also cause preventable deaths.

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A gift to be in Paisnal to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the murder of Fr. Rutillio Grande, S.J., and his companions, Nelson and Manuel. #presente

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It was great fun talking about my @orbisbooks.bsky.social book, “The Ethics of Encounter,” at the University of Notre Dame. I loved the questions from students about how to apply Pope Francis’ culture of encounter and why we must keep expanding our imagination of what solidarity can make possible.

1 year ago 4 0 0 0
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New anthology alert: "Accountability, Healing, and Trust" on the Catholic Sex Abuse Crisis, featuring
@mmescher.bsky.social 's chapter "Walking with Survivors: What Are We to Do with This Pain?"
Don't miss it!

litpress.org/Products/889...

1 year ago 5 2 0 0
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Dorothy Day insisted, “It is by the Works of Mercy that we shall be judged." Well done, good and faithful servant. #RIP Jimmy Carter

1 year ago 7 0 0 0
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Mary Oliver had it right:

Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It's simple, they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light,
and to shine.”

1 year ago 2 1 0 0
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I went forest bathing and it was such a moving experience to use my senses and feel so deeply connected to nature, even in this late fall season when trees are bare, leaves are brown, and life seems to be retreating. The squirrels were still playing, the birds still singing, and I can carry on, too.

1 year ago 2 0 1 0
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Let us honor the Four Church Women martyred in El Salvador on this date in 1980 by remembering the poor people of El Salvador for whom they lived and died.

Sr. Maura Clark, MM
Sr. Ita Ford, MM
Sr. Dorothy Kazel, OSU
Ms. Jean Donovan

¡Presente!

1 year ago 67 22 1 3
There would be no Thanksgiving dinner without farm workers. Make a donation to help make change all year long.

There would be no Thanksgiving dinner without farm workers. Make a donation to help make change all year long.

We are proud to share our skilled work and our knowledge about how your meal got to your table.

While we keep working, you can make a donation during this season of thanks and giving and help fund change all year long: ufw.org/thanksgiving... or paypal.com/paypalme/ufw...

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I’m with your husband

1 year ago 3 0 0 0
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Ice Cream, Gustavo Gutierrez, and a God That Delights in Us Since I learned that Gustavo Gutierrez passed, I’ve been thinking of him and the time I spent with him at Boston College in the summers of 2008 and 2010. I’m still amazed at the joy he …

One month ago, Gustavo Gutiérrez joined the communion of saints. I’ve been thinking about him almost every day, especially what he taught me about the gratuitousness of God’s love and God’s desire for each person to enjoy the fullness of life—and ice cream, too!
millennialjournal.com/2024/10/24/i...

1 year ago 14 4 1 0
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I’m thankful to share my research on moral injury in Santiago, Chile. The conversations at Pontifical University, Alberto Hurtado, and Silva Henriquez have been invigorating. Building bonds across institutions (and continents) illustrates Greg Boyle’s claim, “it is the relationship that heals.”

1 year ago 8 0 0 0
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