Jonathan Ryan's Blog, page 17
February 26, 2019
Respond to the Closet and the Cage with Compassion
For obvious reasons, there has been a lot of buzz about Catholicism in the news the past week. The bishops’ summit at the Vatican has meant that there’s been a particular focus on child abuse, but conversations about sexual abuse in the Church seem to inevitably lead to conversations about sexuality and Catholicism. This past […]
February 22, 2019
Dark Devotional: There Is a Way
Looking for Home – Things are meant There are signs The heart speaks There is a way —Fr. John Dunne, C.S.C. Working at my alma mater this past week, I found myself drifting across the grey expanse of the main quad in the bitter, colorless air of early February. I asked myself: […]
February 20, 2019
On Venomous Snakes and Bishops’ Summits
The moon is something strange and wondrous when seen at 2am. If you’re lucky, you’ll find it floating directly overhead, a perfect sphere of white in the center of the dark sky. It will amaze you with its beauty, but the weirdness of it will send you rushing indoors. It was 2007, maybe 2008, […]
February 15, 2019
Dark Devotional: A Middle Way?
“Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers, but their delight is in the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their […]
February 8, 2019
Dark Devotional: The Imperfect Conversion of St. Paul, Friend to the M(asses)
We can almost see Paul talking himself down sometimes, can’t we? Like in this weekend’s letter to the Corinthians, he tries so hard to find humility, but he just can’t help inflating himself. Then he brings it down again, trying to temper his enthusiasm. Recalling the events of Christ’s death and resurrection, Paul reminds the […]
February 5, 2019
Advocacy and Exile: Roy Bourgeois and the Fight for Women’s Ordination
“What I came to, is that as Catholic priest, I was in a profession that discriminated against women.” – Roy Bourgeois It has been five years since Roy Bourgeois was excommunicated from the Catholic Church for advocating for women’s equality. Ordained a priest in 1972, Roy’s remarkable journey includes a Nobel Peace Prize […]
February 1, 2019
Dark Devotional: A More Excellent Way
I first memorized the scriptures in 1 Corinthians 13 when I was a freshman in high school in 1981. That was the year that Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles in a spectacle that basically the entire world was obsessed with for weeks. Fitting for a fairy tale royal wedding, this passage on love […]
January 21, 2019
Dark Devotional: Sunday in the Chapel of Split Ends and Hangnails
Body Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live, a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive. Shit, we’re late. Crap, I need to stop cussing in my head in God’s house. Dammit. “C’mon, Jillie.” I tug her hand. “We’re a little […]
January 20, 2019
The Small Revolution of Mary Oliver’s Poetry
Sometime in 2016, a profusion of quotations by Mary Oliver flitted across my Facebook feed. I’m not sure what prompted it. I’d never heard of Mary Oliver before (mea culpa), but suddenly her name seemed to be everywhere. I took the bait and bought Upstream, a collection of her essays. Upstream turned out to […]
January 6, 2019
Dark Devotional: Epiphany
January always makes me think of stars. It begins with an artificial star – the ball dropping in Times Square. Six days later, Christians celebrate Epiphany – a story about a star. Around this time of year the temperature drops noticeably. On these colder nights, the stars begin to shine brighter and stronger. The scientific […]
