Beatitudes Blog
Life in Kairos Time
Would Jesus’ teachings and promises draw crowds today? Would his promises satisfy our yearning? Would we care?
Ryan and Julia Sapena Wedding Homily, September 30, 2023
Ryan, on behalf of everyone gathered here, thank you for proposing to Julia. Julia, we thank you for saying yes. Some here have known and loved Ryan for a very long time, and others, Julia. All of us gathered here have come to love you both as a couple, and we are...
A Listener’s Prayer
A Listener’s Prayer J. Marshall Jenkins My Lord God, With a holy heart broken for me, you heal me by breaking my heart for others. Another child of yours sits before me. With the mind of Christ, I put myself aside. We pan this child’s words until we find gold, a...
What Every Heart Needs (poem)
What Every Heart Needs J. Marshall Jenkins Every heart needs a witness: hidden enough as it is, it needs to be known, cannot remain invisible, yet it can only be seen by its own. Every heart needs tears lest it shrivel and harden like a forgotten raisin...
Love Wears Down Walls
On moving out of our comfort zone to get to lasting peace.
Praying Through Depression (poem)
Praying Through Depression by J. Marshall Jenkins My Lord God, when the cares of the world distract me from the gift of breath, and my worries insist they are as real as the moment’s pain, when regrets come home to crowd and clamor my memory, and the future...
Science, Mysticism, and the Power of Unknowing
Don’t rely too much on what you know. Unknowing may save your life. Read on to see what I mean…
Heart Like an Oyster (poem)
Heart Like an Oyster J. Marshall Jenkins Your heart is no mere blue thistle surprise on an altar with lilacs, lilies, and leaves, all of which will die soon after the church service ends. No, your heart is an oyster among oysters resting on coral and sharp...
Mother Teresa and the Thirsty Christ
How far must you go to give a drink of water to the poor? Calcutta? Across town? Next door?
Searching for Something Eternal (8th Wedding Anniversary Poem)
Searching for Something Eternal for Wanda, on our J. Marshall Jenkins 8th wedding anniversary Just a moment while we check out our home surroundings for something eternal. Consider the clear plastic bird feeder full of...
Taking Wind As Love (poem)
Taking Wind As Love J. Marshall Jenkins I remember the wind that caressed my brow when I could not yet walk well. Sitting in the stroller in hot, sticky Montgomery, I watched the air until it moved, which I took as love without hands, without a face, without words,...
You Can Rest Now
Get a feel for true righteousness. And relax.
As a psychotherapist and spiritual director, I bring well-honed insight and skill to these posts; yet, my vulnerability plays a more important part, for more than advice from experts, serious people of faith need resonance with fellow travelers.
In my writing and in your reading and comments, may we face our challenges in God’s compassionate presence rather than in a private dressing room where we try in vain to make ourselves presentable to God at an appointed meeting. God meets us where we are.
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