Jonathan Ryan's Blog, page 62
February 23, 2016
Wayfarers All: The Gifts of an Unsettled Life
There’s a chapter in Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows called “Wayfarers All.” I remembered it as an ode to the vagabond life and the pilgrim spirit in us all, but when I re-read it to my daughter, I realized it’squite the opposite. It’s about the particular gift of rootedness, of staying put, and the [Read More...]
February 22, 2016
The Misadventures of a Pilgrim Dad: Teaching my Kids to Embrace the “White Martyrdom.”
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the pilgrimage that I’m taking with my kids. When I finished that reflection, I recognized a tension in my mind about the very idea of a pilgrimage. Too often, going on a spiritual journey gets attached to the whole notion of “self discovery” or with that old cliche that [Read More...]
February 18, 2016
Dark Devotional: Second Sunday of Lent: Mountain Climbing with Kathleen Tarr
A Reading from the Gospel According to Luke. Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray.While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodusthat [Read More...]
Review of The Third Inkling, a biography of Charles Williams (a very Sick Pilgrim indeed)
Two weeks ago, my review of The Third Inkling, a biography of Charles Williams, was published in the online edition of Notre Dame Magazine. For those of you who don’t know, Charles Williams was a member of the legendary writers group known as the Inklings whose members included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I’ve written [Read More...]
February 16, 2016
The Danger of a Clean Faith: Colleen Mitchell
I’ve heard it for as long as I can remember, how it’s our job to carry our crosses. The subtext, that in doing so we imitate Christ, is a cornerstone ofChristian faith. And I have believed it, but too often I have believed it wrongly, I think. I imagined that true Christians, the really holy [Read More...]
February 15, 2016
A Band of Misfits
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17) “Heaven must be messy.” –Eric Elnes,Gifts of the Dark Wood Last week I wrote about Eric Elnes’sGifts of the Dark Wood,but there’s something moreI want to share. Something so centralto the mission of Sick Pilgrim that it merits its own post. Elnes calls it“The Gift of [Read More...]
February 11, 2016
Dark Devotional: First Sunday of Lent: The Devil Inside
Click here for the complete Massreadings for the First Sunday of Lent2016. A reading from the Gospel According to Luke. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. In the Gospel reading for this [Read More...]
February 9, 2016
Dark Devotional: Ash Wednesday 2016: Bring on the Night
Click for the complete Mass readings for Ash Wednesday 2016. Psalm 51: 12 Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. Last Ash Wednesday, my brother sent a text asking what my spiritual goals were. I wrote back, “stay alive.” I was lying in my best friend’s bed [Read More...]
February 8, 2016
The Misadventures of a (Divorced) Pilgrim Dad
I’m not ashamed to say the new Star Wars movie made me cry. But it wasn’t for my lost childhood or because I once traded away my original Millennium Falcon (now worth thousands of dollars) for a dented baseball bat. *Spoiler alert if you’re one of the few people who hasn’t seen the movie* [Read More...]
February 5, 2016
The Dark Devotional: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Deep Waters
Click here for the complete mass readings for Sunday, February 7, 2016. I’m drifting in deep waters Alone with my self doubting again I try not to struggle this time For I will weather the storm I gotta remember Don’t fight it Even if I Don’t like it Somehow turn me around No matter how [Read More...]
