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July 2016

July 04, 2016

Interview with a Drunk Ex-Pastor

About a year ago, as I was growing more and more disillusioned with the reflection...

June 2016

June 26, 2016

Destroy the Walls: Modest Proposals for a Renewed Catholic (and Christian) Literary Imagination

A few weeks ago, a friend called me a "blue collar writer" and then...

June 21, 2016

Adventures in Popular Piety: Confession

There has always been something unappealingly puritanical to me about getting up early. It’s so...

June 19, 2016

Weird Things Happened on the Set of The Conjuring

(As a part of The Conjuring coverage, we're republishing this article from my blog The...

June 12, 2016

The Conjuring 2, The Devil and The Catholic Church

I've been asked many times “why did you revert to the Catholic Church?” It’s a...

June 08, 2016

Saint Jude, Sick Pilgrims, and Other Lost Causes

St. Jude, patron of lost causes, pray for us sick pilgrims. A common practice in...

June 01, 2016

Death of a Gorilla: A Sentimental Holocaust

For the past few days, my Facebook feed has been filled with video of...

May 2016

May 22, 2016

Surprised by Dangerous Joy: Lessons from Chewbacca Woman

By now, everyone has seen the video of Chewbacca woman, the lady who buys a...

May 17, 2016

Marian Apparitions: Blessings or a Curse?

As a kid, I grew up in the Charismatic renewal that swept its way...

May 13, 2016

Dark Devotional: A Holy Distraction

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For many years, my father was the only saint I’d pray to. St. Paul...

May 12, 2016

Three Reasons I Don’t Pray to Mary

Mary, it's not you. It's me. I promised that this month, your month, I would...

May 10, 2016

The North Remembers–Kind Of–On Good Days–If You’re Lucky: A Note From Sick Pilgrim’s Viking Correspondent

I laugh when my Facebook feed advertises some inspirational book or other called The Way of...

May 04, 2016

They Call Me Parrain: On the Strange Practice of being a Godparent

Cajun Country is a unique little hub in southern Louisiana. Nestled in the steroeotyped Southeastern...

May 01, 2016

I have a Problem with Mary…and Possibly Women in General.

I wear a rosary around my neck and not for a fashion statement. My best...

April 2016

April 28, 2016

Dark Devotional: Fifth Sunday of Easter: All You Need is Love

A Reading from the Gospel According to John When Judas had left them, Jesus...

April 27, 2016

God at Platform 9 and 3/4

For the last year my faith has been a gritty, dig in and get dirty in...

April 26, 2016

The Bloody, Enchanted Host

About seven years ago, I took a job as an assistant minister in Columbus, Ohio....

April 24, 2016

About a year ago, I took one of my many trips to Utah, which has...

April 22, 2016

The Dark Devotional: Christians Drive Me Crazy

"My children...This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love...

April 19, 2016

Catholic-Attracted? Come Sit By Us. A Reflection on the Festival of Faith and Writing

We're still recovering from our first-ever Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College--where Jonathan and...

April 13, 2016

I had a Dream about Amoris Laetitia (A Divorced Dad’s Thoughts)

I had a strange dream over the weekend. I was in a hospital with...

April 13, 2016

Scapegoats for Each Other

Editors' Note: This article is part of the Patheos Public Square on Sacrifice: Religions...

April 12, 2016

(With this post, we're kicking off a series called Popular Piety, exploring the physicality and magic...

April 07, 2016

Bringing Catholic Magic Back

An article in The Atlantic grabbed our attention last week--about young Jews embracing the more traditional practices...

April 06, 2016

Sick Pilgrim Now Has Two Things in Common with the Pope

1. We're Catholic. 2. We share a publisher. We're writing a book for Loyola Press,...

April 04, 2016

The Nasty Truth of a Mother’s Heart

“They appear more often now, both of them, and on every visit they seem more...

April 03, 2016

Is this Heaven? An Ode to the Sacramental Beauty of Baseball

Our regular Sick Pilgrims might be shocked to read a meditation on sports gracing the...

March 2016

March 28, 2016

A Mid-Life Report Card from St. Peter…..

(We are taking a week off here at Sick Pilgrim. So, Jess and I...

March 24, 2016

Good Friday Dark Devotional: The Day God Abandoned God

Matthew 27: 45-46 From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in...

March 24, 2016

Dark Devotional: Holy Thursday: Thy Uncomfortable Will Be Done

“The stage is set. The curtain rises. We are ready to begin.” Benedict Cumberbatch probably...