Jonathan Ryan's Blog, page 46

Dark Devotional: Tourists vs. Pilgrims

An archeologist writes about the empty tomb. He says, “Pilgrims come to touch Golgotha and the tomb because the events that took place here define our faith. Everything we believe flows from this center. Tourists travel away from their center to go and experience other lands — to learn, or to rest, or to be [Read More...]

The post Dark Devotional: Tourists vs. Pilgrims appeared first on Sick Pilgrim.

Advent: A Brief History of Time

The first Sunday of Adventbegins the Catholic Church’s New Year, and in his homily, our priest took the chance to reminded us that here, in the Church, time works differently. Seculartime is a straight line, stretching out ahead indefinitely. I picture the diagram of “the flea and the acrobat” that the science teacher inStranger Thingsdraws [Read More...]

The post Advent: A Brief History of Time appeared first on Sick Pilgrim.

Secret Krampus This Way Comes

This Advent, to thank all of our readers and contributors from the bottom of our sick little hearts, we at Sick Pilgrim wanted to have a little giveaway. Weoriginally envisioned this as asort of“Secret Santa,” but, being who we are, we decided to go with“Secret Krampus.” Also we couldn’t figure out how to give you [Read More...]

The post Secret Krampus This Way Comes appeared first on Sick Pilgrim.

“Thanks” Keeping Us Alive – November

This month…this year…has been a trying time for many of us us. And we at Sick Pilgrim are well-acquainted with shadows and loss. Yet, we are not a people of despair. Sick Pilgrim knows the reality of struggling against the dark – and we are not afraid to tackle despair, loneliness, brokenness, anger. We do [Read More...]

The post “Thanks” Keeping Us Alive – November appeared first on Sick Pilgrim.

Looking for the Feast

Our family had an unusual Thanksgiving this year. Burnt out from a busy autumn, and trying to bounce back from weeks spent fighting colds, my husband and I decided to keep things simple: no houseguests, no turkey. I was seriously considering just crashing in front of the TV with ham sandwiches when our neighbors asked [Read More...]

Advent: Kicking your Darkness

Since I first heard the song in college, I’ve meditated on a lyric by Canadian folk musician Bruce Cockburn. It’s a phrase that I’ve considered tattooing over my heart. In the song “Lovers in a Dangerous Time,” he sings that you’ve got to “kick the darkness until it bleeds daylight.” Advent is a time where [Read More...]

The Broken Body of Christ at the Border

Last month, I attended Mass at the border; I was part of a community of believers uniting around bread and wine miraculously made into flesh and blood. I was on the Mexican side, sitting on a concrete street curb next to another Catholic sister. Together we were a color pop in the assembly: we stuck [Read More...]

Dark Devotional: First Sunday in Advent: Stay Awake

“You know the time;it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.” Romans 13 “Therefore, stay awake!For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” Matthew 24 My two year old has no qualms about the frighteningly large spaces between the bridge’s railings; she pulls away from my hand when [Read More...]

Hot Mess Hospitality: Against the Art-Directed Life

There are two truths I must tell you. I have to tell you that I have wept with laughter over #PinterestFails and things of this kind. I simply adore them. They are one of the best, most concrete examples of “real world meets fantasy world” that I know of. Putting cellphone shots of failed Pinterest [Read More...]

Timeless: An Attempted Spoiler-free Review of Arrival

I’m not a fan of current movie reviews. I detest spoilers, especially when it comes to new movies. When I saw the movie Arrival, however, I knew I had to review it. So here goes. An attempted spoiler-free review of this new film. Hiding under my rock that I call Netflix, I hadn’t seen or [Read More...]