Jonathan Ryan's Blog, page 25

March 31, 2018

Dark Devotional: A Walk to Easter

I have spent the last week thinking about an Easter devotional.  What on earth (or heaven, for that matter) can be said that has not already been said, and by those holier and more intelligent than I, just a mom?  I keep coming back to the fact that I am not all that excited about […]
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Published on March 31, 2018 11:00

March 30, 2018

You Are Not Alone: Catholic Women’s Real Life Experiences of NFP, Part II

In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae this summer, Sick Pilgrim will be featuring a series of essays on Natural Family Planning, the only acceptable method of achieving or avoiding pregnancy according to the teaching of the Catholic Church. These essays will not present ideological stances or theological arguments, but will simply offer unvarnished testimony […]
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Published on March 30, 2018 10:25

March 29, 2018

You Are Not Alone: Catholic Women’s Real Life Experiences of NFP, Part VI

  In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae this summer, Sick Pilgrim will be featuring a series of essays on Natural Family Planning, the only acceptable method of achieving or avoiding pregnancy according to the teaching of the Catholic Church. These essays will not present ideological stances or theological arguments, but will simply offer […]
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Published on March 29, 2018 08:29

March 27, 2018

Things Keeping Us Alive, March 2018

Time marches on, and our job is to keep up with it. So if you’re reading this, you’re doing great. You’re staying alive. Sometimes those of us with a melancholic streak gotta relish whatever little victory we can get. Sometimes enduring and putting all of your efforts into accomplishing the most menial tasks — getting […]
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Published on March 27, 2018 10:19

March 26, 2018

An Offering in Betrayal – A Holy Week Meditation

“Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in.” – Leonard Cohen, Anthem   On Palm Sunday, it looked like Christmas day. Here in Indiana, it snowed five inches and threw us all into the depths of despair. All […]
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Published on March 26, 2018 13:59

March 24, 2018

Dark Devotional: The Jackass

The curtain is about to rise on the greatest week of the year for Catholicism. The first act is this Sunday, when the church-going Catholics stand for the lengthy and familiar reading from the Gospel. The story is a familiar one, acted halfheartedly by the congregation and the priest. “Prophesy!” most of us shout, pronouncing […]
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Published on March 24, 2018 18:40

March 19, 2018

You Are Not Alone: Catholic Women’s Real Life Experiences of NFP, Part I

In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, Sick Pilgrim is featuring a series of essays on Natural Family Planning, the only acceptable method of achieving or avoiding pregnancy according to the teaching of the Catholic Church. These essays will not present ideological stances or theological arguments, but will simply offer unvarnished testimony from individuals who […]
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Published on March 19, 2018 10:27

Recognition: Jean Vanier and “Summer in the Forest”

“I think that we human beings have a compass, a mysterious compass, which leads us to do what is right.” –Jean Vanier   Hearing the quote above–which begins Summer in the Forest, a documentary about L’Arche, founded by Jean Vanier–I was afraid the film itself would be overly pat and syrupy. I was wrong. When four men […]
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Published on March 19, 2018 06:46

March 16, 2018

Dark Devotional: Hear Us, O Lord!

“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At […]
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Published on March 16, 2018 09:29

March 14, 2018

Approaching Mystery: Portrait and Punctum by Joanna Penn Cooper

  In Camera Lucida, Roland Barthes speaks of the photograph’s punctum, of the detail that punctures, that draws the attention of the individual viewer and provokes an emotional response based on personal associations.  There’s a photograph of me as a baby, wearing something soft and white, including a soft, white hat with a huge pom-pom.  […]
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Published on March 14, 2018 21:24