Jonathan Ryan's Blog, page 54

Things that kept us alive in July

Yo guys, Matt here. Again this month, I bothered my fellow sick pilgrims to come up with a couple of things that kept them alive. And they did it. A+ for effort, sick pilgrims. F- for timeliness. So here, in August, is our reflection on the things that gave us joy in July. This month [Read More...]

Dark Devotional: Obsessive Compulsive Ecclesiastes

“Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune. For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the [Read More...]

Resistance is our Charism: Why Sick Pilgrims are Catholic rebels with a cause

People are always asking what Sick Pilgrim is about and what we want to accomplish. It would be great to say we had all this planned out and a vision for how it would go. We didn’t. Not really. We just knew we were different–square pegs–and we wanted to find the others who were like [Read More...]

Dark Devotional: An Argument with St. Paul about some Biblical Platitudes

“Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope,and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 In his Letter to [Read More...]

Sick Pilgrim Chats: Jonathan and Jess Bingewatch Stranger Things

Sick Pilgrim started when we, Jess and Jonathan, two writers and editors, started chatting about theology, ghosts and everything in between through email and Facebook. We always joked about sharingour convos on the blog. Today we had a great one about our mutual obsession with Stranger Things. We thought you might enjoy it. Have [Read More...]

I went to Communion and You’ll Never Believe What Happened Next!

I saw that it is the will of Christ’s lovetobe put into the hands of sinners, to trust Himself to men, that He may betheirgift to one another, thattheymay comfort Him in each other, give Him to each other. In this sense the ordinary life itself becomes sacramental, and every action of anyone at [Read More...]

Dark Devotional: Finding Jesus on the Floor

But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. “I relate to Jesus kind of like he’s [Read More...]

St. Kateri, Pray for the National Parks and Against Our Abuse of God’s Creation

I’m something of a National Park fanatic. On my cubicle wall at Ave Maria Press, I have a huge map of the National Parks. Every time I visit one, I mark the spot with a push pin into my cubicle wall. Even more embarrassing, I have a National Park Passport that I get stamped very [Read More...]

Sick Pilgrim’s Existential Crisis Summer TV Bingewatch

“People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” — Abraham Lincoln The world has gotten so heavy in the last couple weeks, and this blog has followed suit. We allneed abreak. As Jess is so fond of reminding us: Even St. Teresa of Avila said that sometimes [Read More...]

Six Steps Toward Creating a Culture of Life

Catholic writers often find themselves in a weird position. We’re accused of being neanderthal conservatives on one hand and communist liberals on the other. And it’s not because we aim to find “the middle ground” or “see both sides.” Rather, Catholicism often represents athird way, the Gospel way, inspired by sacred scriptures and the teachings [Read More...]