22 October 2015

Julia Powers on the Saintliness of Those in Our Lives

"'This is going to be awkward,' our professor said.

"The lecture was about ethicist Emmanuel Levinas' idea of seeing God in 'the face of the other.' To illustrate his point, our professor proceeded to pace up and down the rows of desks, stopping at each student and making eye contact with such intensity and for such a duration of time that it was, indeed, awkward. But, we were seen, known, attended to, treated not just as distant students but as uncomfortably-close human persons.

"This is perhaps what Nadia Bolz-Weber does in her recently released memoir-style essay collection Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People (Convergent, September 2015). She walks through rows of accidental saints and looks them in the eye and learns from them - no matter how awkward."

In a recent commentary, writer Julia Powers reflected on the saintliness (among other characteristics) in the persons we meet each day.

To access Ms. Powers' complete post, please visit:

Fare Forward: Saints, Accidentally (19 OCT 15)

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