When I read the Christmas stories in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, I’m often struck by the paradoxes. That is to say, two things that seem like they shouldn’t be joined come together around the birth of Jesus. Advent and Christmas are seasons full of both/and, of now and not yet. The liturgy of the season challenges us to both remember the events surrounding Christ’s birth in the past and anticipate Christ’s coming again in the future. The past... Read more
It’s that time of year again! The time when you look at the calendar, notice it’s the third Sunday of Advent, and realize that you still have gifts to buy. You have procrastinated and, in short, it’s time to panic. If you have sick pilgrims in your life, then we are here to help with our handy dandy Sick Pilgrim Gift Guide! If you don’t have sick pilgrims in your life, then maybe you need some new friends.... Read more
“What about the self as the grotesque?. What happens when that category is applied to ourselves, as opposed to when we apply it to something other? What happens when we begin to see ourselves as the other?” These questions that really struck me when I heard them. They’ve stayed with me, partly because of the way I experience myself. As someone who is extremely introverted I’m used to seeing myself from the outside, feeling like I’m outside the group,... Read more
“Can you comment on the self as grotesque?” The men on the panel at the conference looked bewildered, but the woman knew exactly what the questioner meant. Is experiencing one’s body as strange, even as grotesque, just part of being a woman? Later many of us shared our stories–tales of embarrassment and horror over what our bodies can do, can make, can shed. Each of us had them. Each of us nodded in agreement and empathy as the others spoke.... Read more
Something changed inside of me during the week following this summer’s shattering Pennsylvania Grand Jury report on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. I began facing serious PTSD-like flashbacks about an experience I had with a priest who betrayed my trust and stomped on my dignity a few years ago. Though I had mourned and processed that experience as honestly as I could since it happened, it was only with breaking of the Grand Jury report that I began to... Read more
The trees are getting naked around here. The trees: companions in my neighborhood, definers of the landscape, manifestations of God’s goodness, creativity, and strength. Towering oaks, maples, aspens, birch, all tucked between the pines. These wide-reaching wonders now expose their bark, limbs and brownish cores. Orange-tan leaves that once defined them, now cover the ground and create a crunch underfoot. It’s a stripping. And, a great modeling of love. Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with... Read more
The first thing you notice about Salem is that it looks like every old port city in New England. Lovely 1700’s colonial homes with cobblestone sidewalks line narrow streets. The harbor boasts beautiful views and some of the best seafood restaurants in the world. These days, there are shops, restaurants, museums, and quaint inns aimed at capturing the tourists’ imaginations (and dollars). As I parked my pickup truck, I had the fleeting thought that I could be on Cape Cod,... Read more
After The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown The important thing about stories is that they’re always partly true. They’re fun to read, and sometimes they’re called fiction and sometimes they’re called nonfiction. Sometimes they’re called sermons and sometimes they’re called lyrical creative flash poetry. You may read them, or hear them through the keyhole, or know them in the depths of your heart from the time you’re born. But the important thing about stories is that they’re always partly true. The... Read more
The Witch: A New England Folktale, one of the best horror movies of the last decade, is now streaming on Netflix. It says a lot about current events that a few of us at Sick Pilgrim found it to be a comforting alternative to our social media feeds last week. We found relief in just straight up acknowledging how scary the world feels right now. (Comedy makes me want to punch someone in the face, one friend commented on FB).... Read more
The last time I sat down to write a Dark Devotional, a meditation on the Bread of Life discourse and my experience with the Eucharist, it turned out to be only a couple days before the release of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report. The gruesome report, detailing allegations of sexual assault against 1,000 minors by 300 priests, along with the arguably systematic coverups of the crimes by bishops, immediately threw my relationship to the Church hierarchy into crisis, and has... Read more
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