Jonathan Ryan's Blog, page 53

Try and Make it to the River: A Conversation with Michael Delp about Fulton Sheen and the Eucharist

When men see Han-shan They all say he’s crazy And not much to look at Dressed in rags and hides. They don’t get what I say & I don’t talk their language. All I can say to those I meet: “Try and make it to Cold Mountain.” Nobody really knows who Han-shan was or exactly [Read More...]

The Tradition of the Catholic Ghost Story: Call for Submissions!

Last year, Ave Maria Press (my place of gainful employment) celebrated 150 years of existence as a Catholic publisher. We started off as a magazine, founded by Father Sorin, the same guy who founded a small but scrappy school now known as the University of Notre Dame. The editorial department was assigned to comb [Read More...]

South Louisiana’s Great Flood of 2016

The Flood of the Century. The Great Flood. A Flood of Biblical Proportions. The Hundred Year Flood. Whatever you want to call it, South-central and Southeastern Louisiana has been battered by torrential rain this past weekend, leaving unbelievably huge pieces of roads and entire neighborhoods underwater, leaving thousands rescued and at least 3 killed. The [Read More...]

Come Back, Elliott: A Man Writes a Tear Stained Review of Pete’s Dragon

(Spoilers ahoy) When the original Pete’s Dragon came out in 1977, my parents took me to see it. Being three years old, I don’t remember the experience. But according to family legend, when Elliot flew away from Pete to help another boy at the end, I stood on the seat and [Read More...]

Dark Devotional: Enduring Unto Death

Hebrews 12:1-4 Brothers and sisters: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, —–let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the [Read More...]

Seeking Tanis: The Search for Enchantment Leads (Back) to the Church

“When I say the first line of the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven…’ I imagine this heaven as invisible, unenterable but intimately close. There is nothing baroque about it, no swirling infinite space or stunning foreshortening. To find it–if one had the grace–it would only be necessary to lift up something as [Read More...]

Confession: Is it Really Good for the Soul? Or is that just BS?

A few weeks ago, I attended the Applied Biblical Studies Conference at Franciscan University in Steubenville. My gainful place of employment (Ave Maria Press) sent me to investigate possible new authors for our house. But I was glad for the chance to go. As a former Presbyterian minister, I spent most of my life [Read More...]

Dark Devotional: Grab Your Loins and Go

Growing up in the Midwest, I have a few rough edges. Jess (and other women friends) are always telling me I shouldn’t be so crude and crass. A good Mormon patriarch (and a good friend) once said about me, “He’s a good boy, but he has a potty mouth.” I can’t help it. The Midwest [Read More...]

We Don’t Need Another Hero

Last week Jonathanasked me to writeabout Sick Pilgrim’s mission and/or “charism.”The way I understand it, in church language charism means gift, or the way God gives gifts to the world through you. It’s really hard for me to think in such terms. I’m suspicious of ever trying to pin God down or describe how he’s [Read More...]

Being a Dad is Hard….even for Harry Potter (a review)

(Ridiculous Spoilers Ahead) It took until the fourth Harry Potter book released for me to become a big fan. Everyone loved it so much that I avoided it. The supposed witchcraft controversy didn’t bother me, as I was, at the time, a Presbyterian steeped in the cultural discussion of Protestant theologianFrancis Schaffer. He and his [Read More...]