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March 2021

March 04, 2021

Taking the Long Way Home

This is the third week of our Lenten Series: Sick Pilgrim's Progress. You can read...

January 2021

January 08, 2021

Welcome Back, Sick Pilgrims

From its inception, Sick Pilgrim was intended to reach Catholics and Catholics-in-exile on the margins....

April 2018

April 30, 2018

Things Keeping Us Alive, April ’18

April Fool's! I mean, Happy Easter! April is almost over, but not yet. So it's...

March 2018

March 27, 2018

Things Keeping Us Alive, March 2018

Time marches on, and our job is to keep up with it. So if you're...

March 11, 2018

Introducing Robert Saler – On Being Protestant and a Sick Pilgrim

Why would a Protestant want to be part of Sick Pilgrim? There are basically two...

February 2018

February 26, 2018

Things Keeping Us Alive, February 2018

I'm ready for spring. Some people live for colder weather-- the days when the air...

November 2017

November 28, 2017

Sick Pilgrim’s Progress

“Sick Pilgrim was founded as a space for fellow travelers to rest a while. We’re...

November 09, 2017

Five Lessons I Learned from Dorothy Day

In my 33 years as a Catholic, I’ve found the saints--canonized or not--have often found me...

October 2017

October 24, 2017

Things Keeping the Undead Alive, October 2017

"Boys and girls of every age Wouldn't you like to see something strange?" That question...

September 2017

September 30, 2017

Welcome to Spooky Pilgrim Month: Looking for Places of the Uncanny and Strange

The Nicene Creed tells us that God is the Creator of all things "Seen and...

September 28, 2017

Things Keeping Us Alive, September 2017

Maybe this is contradictory to what is expected from a somber sick pilgrim in a...

September 26, 2017

The Greatest Fault of Fr. James Martin’s Book? It’s Boring. Here’s Why.

Some Catholics are ferociously angry at James Martin, SJ’s recent book, Building a Bridge:...

August 2017

August 31, 2017

Things Keeping Us Alive, August ’17

There are only faint traces of Hurricane Harvey outside my window: Repetitive rainfall. Darkness uncommon...

July 2017

July 06, 2017

The Bats of St. Alphonsus

As a writer and artist, people ask me why I’ve gotten back into parish work....

June 2017

June 20, 2017

Things Keeping Us Alive, June ’17

When I was young, summertime meant joy. And it mostly still does - the long...

May 2017

May 18, 2017

Things Keeping Us Alive, May ’17

Sometimes April showers don't bring May flowers. Sometimes the thing keeping you alive last month gets taken...

April 2017

April 27, 2017

Things Keeping Us Alive, April ’17

Lent is over, and Easter is here. The time for mourning and sacrificing is over....

April 12, 2017

13 Reasons Why: Netflix Invites us to Spiritual Works of Mercy For Holy Week

(Two alerts. This review talks about rape, bullying and suicide. It also contains a lot...

March 2017

March 27, 2017

Things Keeping Us Alive, March ’17

How's Lent going for you, pilgrims? The 40 days of preparation before Easter is typically...

March 08, 2017

Road Trip Homilies: Wounded Knee and the Snake Givers

As I walked along a sandy path in Badlands National Park, I noticed a sign...

February 2017

February 20, 2017

Things Keeping Us Alive – Feb. ’17

We recently and randomly declared it "Treat Yo Self Day" in the Sick Pilgrim community*....

February 06, 2017

Are You a Child of Thunder? Or a Vigilante of Love?

On the first Sunday of the year, my priest printed out slips of...

January 2017

January 13, 2017

Sick Pilgrim and Sacramental Weird Fiction Writer, William Paul Blatty, Has Passed.

I'm sad today. William Peter Blatty has gone into the Unseen realm. As the writer...

January 05, 2017

The Wonder Podcast Episode I: Death in the Grand Canyon

We've been talking about it for months. But, finally, here it is, the first...

January 04, 2017

Things Keeping Us Alive – January ’17

Happy New Year, pilgrims. Most people see the beginning of a new year as a...

January 03, 2017

A Letter to the Devout Mother’s Son Who Skipped Christmas Mass

This week, I read an article on a Catholic blog about a son’s absence from...

December 2016

December 19, 2016

Advent: The Catholic Church IS the Rebellion

A few days ago, I was talking about the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One...

November 2016

November 29, 2016

“Thanks” Keeping Us Alive – November

This month...this year...has been a trying time for many of us us. And we at...

October 2016

October 29, 2016

The Crucifixion Made Halloween Possible

The recent death of Jack Chick made me think about my own personal history with...

September 2016

September 28, 2016

‘Twas the Night Before Michaelmas

Apologies to Clement Clark Moore 'Twas the night before Michaelmas, when all through the blog...