A Reading from the Gospel According to Saint Luke. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and... Read more
“Total non-retention has kept my education from being a burden to me.” –Flannery O’Connor This whole “give us your top five spiritual books” thing was my idea, and I thought it would be an easy post for a busy week. Then I sat down and tried to remember my favorite spiritual books and couldn’t think of any. I always say I read my way back to the church, but I didn’t read very many spiritual books. I just read regular old... Read more
When we decided to start Sick Pilgrim, we imagined it as more than a blog. We wanted a multi-layer community that would involve a number of different pieces–though we couldn’t quite imagine what they’d be. In the early Sheed and Ward days, they set up soapboxes in the street and talked to anyone who listened. Then they moved on to the respectable college lecture circuit. Neither or us could imagine ourselves doing either. We don’t really want to lecture; we want to have a... Read more
As a writer of paranormal thrillers, I get asked about horror movies all the time. Much to everyone’s disappointment, I actually hate most modern horror movies. Glorified Torture Porn is probably a generous way to describe many of them. There’s no invitation to explore the darker corners of our minds, imaginations and souls. To me, this is what a good scary story should do. And I’m very protective about the scary stories I read or watch because one can... Read more
“Through his works, the artist speaks to others and communicates with them. The history of art, therefore, is not only a story of works produced but also a story of men and women. Works of art speak of their authors; they enable us to know their inner life, and they reveal the original contribution which artists offer to the history of culture.” –St. John Paul II One of the reasons we (both Jessica and I) came back to the Catholic... Read more
A Reading from the Book of Exodus. There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.” When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I... Read more
In case you haven’t noticed, we like to read around these parts. Sharing the books we love (and love to hate) with you will be a regular feature here at the blog. But there are a few books in particular that inspired the creation and mission of Sick Pilgrim. Uncle Jonathan’s Top Five Books for Sick Pilgrims Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy Walker Percy is one of my favorite writers and Lost in the Cosmos demonstrates... Read more
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’s quite the opposite. It’s about the particular gift of rootedness, of staying put, and the power of art-making to heal a restless soul. As I’ve never lived anywhere more than a year and I was hoping to find in Grahame another... Read more
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 being a pilgrim is “about the journey and not the destination.” This attitude smacks of the New Age Angelism that Walker Percy lampooned in Lost in... Read more
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 exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the... Read more
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