Jonathan Ryan's Blog, page 5

Things Keeping Us Going: Hurricane Henri Edition

A Storm’s A Comin’ My husband comes from a long line of folks who are amateur meteorologists, so when the news that next hurricane of the season, Henri, was expected to hit landfall in Massachusetts, he got downright giddy. We got the hatches battened down while getting up-to-the-minute reports from different local television news stations, […]

Dark Devotional: Submit

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 20th anniversary.    “But Theresa!,” you ask “How could you possibly have been married 20 years! Did you get married in middle school?” Oh, it’s sweet of you to ask. Yes, I was married in middle school. Our wedding colors were “Lisa Frank” and I walked down […]

Things Keeping Us Going: Things Are Looking Pretty Dark

Things Aren’t Looking So Good I cannot ignore the facts. Things are looking a tad bit apocalyptic out there right now. There are wildfires circling the globe. A devastating earthquake hit Haiti this weekend. A hurricane is heading towards them—and the rest of the Caribbean—now. The Afghan government has fallen to the Taliban. Hundreds and […]

Dark Devotional: When the Virgin Cast Off Her Veil

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold (Ps. 45:9).   After years of answering questions from Catholic Answers’ clients about unapproved and disapproved Marian apparitions in the United States (such as those reported in Bayside, New York; Conyers, Georgia; and Scottsdale, Arizona), I […]

Things Keeping Us Going: Good Medicine for the Soul Edition

What I Did on My Summer Vacation I’m starting my fourth (and final) week of my summer vacation. The first three weeks were INTENSE. I co-edited a poetry anthology on deadline. I became a grandmother for a second time. I got a surprise, unsolicited job offer that I accepted. (Not before I agonized over the […]

Dark Devotional: Of Hearth-Cakes and Knitted Sweaters: An Unlikely Portrait of God

  During a surprisingly moving formation session, a group of us sat around doing a close reading of the first few chapters of Genesis, looking for clues that would tell us something about what God is like. One of the women started to speak slowly, even with awe: “If you look closely, it seems as […]

Things Keeping Us Going: Circle of Life Edition

  There are so many things happening in the world right now that are causes of strife and stress. None of them matter today, because on Thursday, July 29th at 7:49 AM, my second grandson was born at a hearty Viking size of 19 inches, 8 lbs 14 oz. Leading up to his arrival, I […]

Dark Devotional: He Who Comes to Me Will Never Be Hungry

It was 8.30am on Ash Wednesday, 10 February 2016, when I noticed an email from one of the priests at the church I’d been to for the 7.30 am mass-–the church I had attended faithfully for 19 years until just before Christmas. This Ash Wednesday morning, I’d gone to mass, then come into work to […]

Things Keeping Us Going: Away on a Writers’ Retreat Edition

The past few weeks have been a blur. Mary Bishop (co-editor of this blog) and I have done lots of things, but these have been the best: We got to spend a lot of time—days and days—together IN PERSON. Thanks to geography and the pandemic, it has been almost two freaking years since we were […]

Dark Devotional: What Do You Do for the Poor?

Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted (John 6:11).   For several years I took classes in Judaism at a local synagogue, occasionally attending services, especially on holy days. One Sukkot, I attended the congregational supper in the […]