Jonathan Ryan's Blog, page 37
July 14, 2017
Dark Devotional: Alive with Decay
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. My son hopped off the bus and ski -ran toward me, clutching [Read More...]
July 13, 2017
Taking Intersectionality to Church
I just read an article in First Things, called “First Church of Intersectionality,” by Elizabeth Corey. Her article was timely, in that I’ve been, over the last several months, reflecting more and more on what it means to have a body. To be a body. To move through life in a female body. In a body with fair [Read More...]
July 10, 2017
I Love a Good Clean Murder
Best are those with minimal blood: perhaps poison, asphyxiation, or even strangulation. But even better is the off-camera death, where we don’t see the victim stalked by their killer. Oh, I like a murder that feels staged—and that’s also available on Netflix. My husband and I watch at least three murder mysteries a week, usually [Read More...]
July 7, 2017
Dark Devotional: Missing Your Own Party
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me… and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” MT 11:28-30 Is it all bullshit? Is Christianity just a coping mechanism people [Read More...]
July 6, 2017
The Bats of St. Alphonsus
As a writer and artist, people ask me why I’ve gotten back into parish work. It’s a fair question as many people see local parish work as a hinderance to creative expression. The local church often does strangle creativity in a variety of ways. Every time I look at a lily white Marian prayer card, [Read More...]
June 30, 2017
Dark Devotional: Toxic Love
Jesus said to his apostles: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose [Read More...]
June 23, 2017
Trying to Say God: An Address to the Artists
A Catholic writer lives and works at this edge of meaning, between light and the dark.
Trying to Say God: An Address to the Artists from Bishop Daniel Flores
The following was delivered as a plenary address by Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, at the inaugural TRYING TO SAY GOD conference at the University of Notre Dame, 22 June, 2017. THE POVERTY OF THE WORD The WORD is our most constant and mysterious companion. In some way we come together during these days [Read More...]
June 22, 2017
Dark Devotional: The Mystery of Persecution
In a world dominated by selfishness and the pursuit of their own interests, those who preach love, poverty and forgiveness will inevitably be persecuted.
June 20, 2017
Things Keeping Us Alive, June ’17
When I was young, summertime meant joy. And it mostly still does – the long days, the eagerness to be outside, even the suffocating heat of South Louisiana recalls days of summer break for school, freedom unlike anything else in my school-aged mind. But getting older means that freedom isn’t as carefree as it once [Read More...]
