WRN # 20 Newest Patheos Catholic Writers

This blog post marks 550 articles. As a Patheos writer I’ve seen fellow bloggers in this section of the cyber neighborhood come and go. I’m always on the lookout for what my fellow current Patheos writers are up to. In the last year, 9 new bloggers joined our ranks and several others went to various other places. I took a look at the new kids on the block and their place in our section of the Patheos world to see what they were writing about. This is what I found.

All Texans, Not Some Texans by Julie Nichols

If you didn’t read my introduction, I come from a quarter decade of parenting my own special needs children who are now young adults and a professional career of serving children who have learning, developmental, and cognitive disabilities as an Academic Language Therapist. I also have early onset Parkinson’s Disease and was the youngest Parkinson’s patient in South Texas to receive advanced Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery in 2017.

I’m a Catholic pediatric specialty therapist by profession, but I also serve in an underground recovery ministry as LBGTQIA+ youth come out in their conservative Christian homes and churches in a state of trauma many times. I help families recover from church and family rejection which frequently turns as deadly as suicide. As a Catholic serving where I do, I struggle daily with the clashes of science and faith.

The LBGTQIA+ experience is 3 to 6 times higher in the disability world than it is in the general population. My Catholic conscience tells me that the sanctity of life, human dignity, and unconditional love rise above any other theological clashes, especially when we look at the first and second greatest commandments to love God and love our neighbor.
Julie Nichols Political Survival of “The Least of These” (AUGUST 24, 2022) (patheos.com)

Back Rome Again by Cory Tucholski

The Bible was written 2,000-4,000 years ago across vastly different time periods by authors from all walks of life. It contains everything from epic poetry and song lyrics to pithy cliches and historical narrative.

To understand the Bible, you need knowledge of the various cultures it records, the literary style of the book as the culture that produced it utilized that style, familiarity with several dialects of the original languages, and the basics of textual criticism. And that’s only a start!

Fortunately, people called pastors and elders have studied all of that stuff. It is therefore the job of the church to teach us sound theology, not the job of the laity to figure it all out on our own. Unless we’re willing to devote a lifetime and an academic career to it, interpreting the Bible shouldn’t be our aim. Understanding God’s truths should be, and that’s what the teaching ministry of the church is there for.
Cory Tucholski Becoming Catholic Again: Step One (JULY 18, 2022) (patheos.com)

Blessed to Be Ben by Ben Hartford

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.” (Douay-Rheims Bible, Matthew Chapter 5, Verses 3-4, 2022)

As a young, hard-charging, triple-mohawked, rock and rolling Baptist, I found this verse difficult to comprehend.
Then, as a less-young, hard-charging, high skin faded, 3-kiddo raising former paratrooper Catholic, I found this verse difficult to understand.
And certainly, as an approaching middle-age, hard-charging, hard-parted low skin faded, 8-kiddo raising strength athlete and coach Catholic, I fairly recently found this verse difficult to comprehend. Ben Hartford The Strength To Be Meek (AUGUST 1, 2022) (patheos.com)

Christian Colloquies by Arthur Jordan

The Word of the Lord remains forever.

We believe, as Catholics, that the Catholic Church is the pillar and the buttress of the Truth. Yet, even today, a billion souls are separated from us, a fact which comes back to the remote sixteenth century.

There are, yes, different causes for this: the freedom of man, the mystery of predestination, the corruption of customs, sincerity, ignorance, whatever you want to put here. It will not change the fact: a billion souls are separated from us.

In every 10/31, which it is close, I can only mourn and cry the pain of their separation between us.

Arthur Jordan What do I think about the Reformation Day? (AUGUST 7, 2022) (patheos.com)

Create Soul Space by Jenny duBay

St. Dymphna is one of those obscure, nearly forgotten saints who (so far) has never achieved the celebrity status of Catholic heroes such as St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa of Avila, or St. Pope JPII.

Why St. Dymphna of Ireland is the Patron Saint of Domestic Abuse
(Statue of St. Dymphna/National Shrine of St. Dymphna, Massillon OH)

Yet that doesn’t make her any less inspirational, nor does it make her any less of a powerful intercessor when we call upon her in our needs. And, blessedly, her shift from 7th century obscurity to modern-day acknowledgement is beginning to change—and I’m about to tell you why.

Jenny duBayWhy St. Dymphna is the New Patron Saint of Domestic Abuse Survivors (AUGUST 24, 2022) patheos.com)

The Crossroads by Nicholas Gulda

1 Peter 5:13 is indeed a reference to Peter’s having composed his epistle at Rome. That 1 Peter was written by the Apostle from Rome was the view of various Early Church Fathers, beginning with Papias of Hierapolis (c. A.D. 60 – c. 130).

Whether or not one accepts that Scripture is silent on the matter, it has nevertheless been the constant tradition of the Catholic Church that Peter did indeed come to the capital at the end of his life, and suffer martyrdom there; a tradition reflected in the writings of the Early Church Fathers stretching back to the end of the first century, long before the Canon of Scripture was being hammered out in the fourth and fifth centuries.
Nicholas Gulda The Origins of the Denial of Peter’s Roman Sojourn (SEPTEMBER 4, 2022) (patheos.com)

Well, I'll Be Damned"..."I'm Afraid So, Yes" : r/TheSimpsons

Human Encounter by Tom Head

When you separate from your old patterns, you free yourself up for new ones. So for example during Yom Kippur, Lent, or Ramadan, we might have our fasting and abstinence practices but we also take on a more rigorous prayer schedule. Ibarra describes this as a phase in which one might experiment, and there is always room for experimentation within your religious life—visiting other congregations, taking a short class on a religious subject you’ve never examined closely before, or just making new friends. Or you might take on a directed liminality where you orient yourself around connecting to a specific community or practice.

Tom Head How People Change |(SEPTEMBER 11, 2022) (patheos.com)

Thinking in Centuries by J.M. Birch

Despite being no fan of Christianity himself, Lennon was not exactly comfortable being “bigger than Jesus.” He seemed to be taken aback, maybe even a little scandalized underneath his jaded exterior, that a pop band was outselling the largest world religion among the new generation – even if he didn’t support the religion. In this way, Lennon became a lot like Nietzsche – a controversial commentator on current trends, critical of the church but dismayed at the gap left by it’s declining influence and the things that might arise to fill it. J.M. Birch From Nietzsche to John Lennon: Death and Resurrection of Western Religiosity (SEPTEMBER 9, 2022) (patheos.com)

Walk the Land by Melissa Presser

If you’re going on Catholic Twitter to become famous, think again. Instead, change your motives and look to find connection on Catholic Twitter. Also, God looks at the heart, not at your follower count. People will know immediately if you are on this platform for selfish motives. The thing on Twitter is that you don’t have to be clever, you just have to be real. Post prayer requests, quotes, or a work of art you may have just finished. Independent artists in the creative spaces of Catholic Twitter are loved. We are there to make the space better, offer beauty and consolation, and spend our time in thought over what material we will present in the world. And the world could certainly use more beauty now!Melissa Presser How to find Connection on Catholic Twitter (AUGUST 10, 2022 )(patheos.com)

WRN # 20 Newest Patheos Catholic Writers

Read More @ The Catholic Bard’s Guide to Patheos Writers | Mark Wilson