Simply Spirit

Christine Schenk chronicles the presence of the spirit of Jesus in our world.

People carry flags with words "Jesus" and "Trump" on them as a President Donald Trump supporter breaks a window at the U.S. Capitol in Washington Jan. 6, 2021. (CNS photo/Leah Millis, Reuters)

How should Christ-believers counter insurrectionist cults?

Jan 15, 2021

Simply Spirit: I think it oddly providential — or perhaps synchronistic — that the horrific events at the U.S. Capitol occurred on the Feast of the Epiphany. An epiphany is a manifestation or an awakening.

A cruet and ciborium hold wine and bread that will become the Body and Blood of Christ during Mass inside the Mother of Mercy Hall at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wisconsin, April 28, 2019. (CNS/The Compass/Sam Lucero)

The implosion of clericalism dramatized in Leonard Bernstein's 'Mass'

by Christine Schenk

Dec 1, 2020

Simply Spirit: It may be time to own our despair. The clerical system isn't working anymore. Perhaps it was never meant to work, only we didn't realize it.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, left, sits outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Oct. 4, as Dr. Sean Conley, a Navy commander who is the White House physician, speaks to the media about President Donald Trump

The pandemic, politics and the power of prayer

by Christine Schenk

Oct 29, 2020

Simply Spirit: Okay, I have a confession to make. Last spring, as I watched the coronavirus pandemic explode across our planet, I was beyond furious at Donald Trump. (But that's not my confession.)

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden lay a wreath during a visit to the Flight 93 National Memorial wall near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Sept. 11. The day marked the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 aviation terrorist attacks on t

Faith-based initiatives strengthen Democrats, Catholics and 'Believers for Biden'

by Christine Schenk

Sep 18, 2020

Simply Spirit: In a group called "Believers for Biden," I did not expect to be so deeply moved by praying together and witnessing that our shared faith requires us to help the most vulnerable and to promote the common good.

Columns ›

How should Christ-believers counter insurrectionist cults?

The implosion of clericalism dramatized in Leonard Bernstein's 'Mass'

The pandemic, politics and the power of prayer

Faith-based initiatives strengthen Democrats, Catholics and 'Believers for Biden'

Let's use the title 'co-worker' for laypeople in parish leadership

Will the church use paycheck protection money as it should?

The black faith community a channel of God's power

Four African women share wisdom for a suffering world

Women demonstrate what the priesthood of Jesus truly means

Where is God in the agony of coronavirus?

Despite looming pandemic, intrepid pilgrims honor church foremothers

Good news and not-so-good news in Francis' Amazon exhortation

'Little Women' unwraps foibles of the human heart

Indigenous people can teach us about divine maternal power

Francis' biggest reform is to shift church from Eurocentric to universal

A tale of two synods: Putting the people of God first, 14 years later

When Fran saw us, she saw only God

When it is dark, praying communities give us eyes to see the sacred at work

Community gives us eyes to see sacred

Relationship is key in Magdalene film

In Magdalene film, it's all about the relationship

Despair is not an option

When it comes to church reform, despair is not an option

Theology rooted in patriarchy delays restoration of female diaconate

Pages