Jonathan Ryan's Blog, page 9

Dark Devotional: Seeing Is Believing

Jesus said to [Thomas], “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29). For two thousand years, St. Thomas has been remembered more for his doubt than for his bravery. Every Easter we hear from St. John about how Thomas steadfastly refused […]

Things Keeping Us Going: Easter Monday Edition

HOPE is keeping me going this week, and, man, have I had some tangible signs this week: Baseball. I am a wee bit baseball obsessed. I love tee ball. I love Little League. I loved when my children played high school ball. I love that I can watch the college baseball team play from my […]

Dark Devotional: Rejoice and Be Glad

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad (Ps. 118:24). Like everywhere else in mid-March 2020, Catholic Answers closed its office because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were all sent to work from home. Fortunately, the IT department managed to get us all working remotely without hiccup. I transitioned […]

Not by the Book

This is a continuation of our Lenten Series: Sick Pilgrim’s Progress on pilgrimage. You can read our introduction here, week 2 here, week 3 here, week 4 here ,  week 5 here, and week 6 here. When I started Lent I mentioned that I was at an impasse with my Catholic faith, and decided to go on a pilgrimage of the soul […]

Things Keeping Us Going: Out Like a Lamb Edition

  A few years back, as I was struggling to get a chronic illness managed, my primary care doctor—who is made entirely out of awesome—looked me squarely in the eye and said, “You only have so many good hours in a day. You need to really think about how you spend them.” That was a […]

Dark Devotional: Obedient to Death

  [Christ Jesus] humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). This Easter will mark my twenty-fifth year as a Catholic. I spent seventeen of those years working as a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, an independent lay apostolate in the Diocese of San Diego, California. When […]

Still on the Road

This is a continuation of our Lenten Series: Sick Pilgrim’s Progress on pilgrimage. You can read our introduction here, week 2 here, week 3 here, week 4 here , and week 5 here We are coming up on Palm Sunday, so my pilgrimage journey is nearing the end. Here is what I have done so far: […]

Things Keeping Us Going: First Week of Spring Edition

If you don’t like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes.” ― Mark Twain   After a few days of unseasonably warm weather, last week ended with bitterly cold temperatures and a howling wind. Then Saturday morning, BOOM,  it was SPRING. The past two days here in the Blackstone Valley have been […]

Dark Devotional: Practicing for Death….And Life

I’ve loved yoga for years, but since the pandemic, I’ve committed to its practice with a new fervor. Almost every single day of the past year, yoga has been my nonnegotiable. Not that I have the time for it. With three children at home, two of whom are involved in online school (and the other […]

Recalibrating Your GPS

This is our fifth article in our Lenten series about pilgrimage, Sick Pilgrim’s Progress. You can read week 1 here, week 2 here, week 3 here, and week 4 here. Pilgrimages have been indispensable to faith journey. I have found much healing in my almost daily pilgrimages hiking, biking, snowshoeing and walking here in New Hampshire. […]