Jon M. Sweeney

This is how my new book on the religious experiences of Francis of Assisi begins. I hope you will ask your local public library to get one for you...

This quote by Netanyahu is offensive on multiple levels. It not only compares Jesus to Genghis Khan, but also suggests that the way of Jesus is naive, while a ruthless, “might makes right” approach—marked by relentless aggression—is what ultimately allows good to overcome evil. Netanyahu, and his Christian Zionist supporters, are making a mockery of the ethics of Jesus. That is the true offense.

One of the many Anglo-Saxon carvings at Breedon Priory Church, Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire. This one has been interpreted as a woman making a sign of blessing. 📸2024

St. Francis teaches us that to obey Christ is sometimes to disobey the church ncronline.org/node/326496 via @NCRonline

@jonmsweeney Such a struggle in these times: both of these great religions, Judaism & Christianity, seem to be used in a twisted way by some powerful people. They both should bring life, not death. How do we engage? How do we re-sanctify?

Correct.

Franciscan cat.

@AnneEBailey1 And that's great. But most often, it seems, the pilgrimages that are discussed, written about, and held up as exemplary are the ones that take weeks.

@jonmsweeney As in the Middle Ages, pilgrimage can be taken in a day and cost no more than the price of transport to and from the destination.

The new Archbishop is making pilgrimage part of the zeitgeist yahoo.com/lifestyle/arti…

When Malcolm Cowley was editing "The Portable Faulkner" in 1945, every one of Faulkner's 17 books was out of print. Faulkner won the Nobel Prize in Literature 4 years later. #hugyoureditortoday

We took serious notice of the new Rachel Held Evans book at S&P. spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/v…

As we focus on Iran and Lebanon, let's not forget what’s happening in the West Bank. In one year, more than 36,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced and 240 were killed. There were over 1,700 attacks by Israeli settlers. We must end U.S. military aid to Netanyahu.

The foes we face, the ones we bow before, hoping they won’t hurt us, are in fact nothing but snails.

Asked about the words of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who during a briefing went so far as to quote Psalm 144 to invoke a divine blessing on the ongoing attack, Cardinal Pizzaballa replied that “as believers we must do everything possible not to leave the discourse to them. We need to say that no, there are no new crusades. If God is present in this war, He is among those who are dying, who are suffering, who are in pain, who are oppressed in various ways”— Amen!! asianews.it/news-en/Cardin…

11 days until Holy Week. This book is for kids - a creative and fun look at the life of the Pope and the Church, while also teaching about words, symbols, and traditions in a simple way everyone can understand. Margaret is the cat who lives at the Vatican with the Pope.

Publishers Weekly has published a great review of Girl in a Box. publishersweekly.com/9781966608257

Really not helpful. What’s the point of having a table of contents then?

@kevin_ahern Horrific might be an exaggeration, Kevin. I would reserve that word for the acts of the war itself.

As well as St Patrick's day today 17th March is also the feast day of St Gertrude of Nivelles, Patron Saint ot Cats born in Belgium in about 626AD. So for all cat lovers out there ... Icon by Jennifer Richard-Morrow

Pray for us St. Patrick, for we too are dancing with snakes.

The site of St Francis' death. The Chapel of the Transition at S Maria Degli Angeli (Basilica of Mary of the Angels) in Assisi, Italy. 📸2025