The Resurrection Volvo

Just about nine months ago—the Tuesday after Valentine’s Day, to be exact—I hit a carload of nuns. It’s not like I was trying to or anything, though: It was the middle of the morning, a misty winter day. I was driving on a quiet street in the part of Washington, D.C. that’s sometimes called “Little [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2016/10/the-resurrection-volvo/

Poetry Friday: “Poverty of Spirit” by Fleda Brown

“Blessed are the poor in spirit.” This beatitude has always puzzled me: what, I’ve wondered, does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? So I was drawn to Fleda Brown’s poem “Poverty of Spirit,” hoping it would elucidate the concept. What I found was a fascinating narrative: of the speaker letting a wagonload of gypsies [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2016/10/poetry-friday-poverty-of-spirit-by-fleda-brown/

When the Gate is Shut–A Faithful Response to Vaginismus

Aleteia posted a deeply heartfelt article about a Catholic woman’s struggle with vaginismus, a disorder in which the muscles of the vagina involuntarily spasm or become rigid which makes intercourse either painful or, in extreme cases, impossible. I don’t know anything about the author of the blog referenced in the article, except to say that, [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithonthecouch/2016/10/when-the-gate-is-shut-a-faithful-response-to-vaginismus/

Interview with a Zombie

Halloween costumes and decorations. If I’m a vampire, Pinterest is my garlic. Not only do I cut and paste at a first-grade level but tolerate little more than a basic jack-o-lantern or paper bat in my house. But come September, neighborhood front yards become graveyards. Styrofoam headstones with epitaphs like “I.M. Dead” and “Bone Voyage” [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2016/10/interview-with-a-zombie/

The Debate About Beauty

I’ve been engaged in an ongoing wrangle with Gregory Wolfe about the status of Christian intellectuals in the public sphere. We got a bit stuck on the question of T.S. Eliot and the worthiness of New Criticism. Mr. Wolfe has helped to un-stick the conversation with a rather devastating reply to my last post. Pointing [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2016/10/the-debate-about-beauty/

A Conversation with Pinckney Benedict

This post originally appeared as a web-exclusive feature accompanying Image journal issue 57. Mary Kenagy Mitchell for Image: You have a novel titled Dogs of God, and in your new story in Image, “The World, the Flesh, and the Devil,” a feral dog is one of the two main characters. What do dogs have to teach [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2016/10/a-conversation-with-pinckney-benedict/

Glorying in Flawless Skin and God’s Love

Driving in the car recently, my daughter pulled down the visor in front of her and opened the mirror. Her hair was in a side ponytail draped over her right shoulder. She wore a black and white plaid beret. “I really like this hat and hair thing I have going on today.” “Yes, very cute,” [Read More...]

from
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2016/10/glorying-in-flawless-skin-and-gods-love/