The Communion of Haints: Jessica Mesman Griffith [Rebroadcast]

Jessica Mesman Griffith is a spiritual writer and curator of artistic communities for curious and wandering souls. We discuss her recent projects and events, as well as her own journey from brokenness to healing and community.

For Mesman Griffith, communion and community is central to her work. She also notes throughout the interview that her own public approach to her Catholic faith has at times humorously played up the "goth" and spooky sides of the faith. What she has discovered is that others are drawn to this dark sort of humor - but also to her honesty about her doubts and vulnerability about her own wounds. 

This candor began publicly with her first book project. In 2013, she co-authored Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship Shared in Letters, with Amy Andrews. The book is a journey of faith, and moves from wonder to the depths of personal tragedy. We discuss the genesis of this project, and what it meant for the faith journeys of both writers. 

From there, we discuss the many communities that Mesman Griffith has helped to foster, including Sick Pilgrim, a literary community of seekers and soul searchers.

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Jessica Mesman Griffith is a prolific writer for blogs, magazines, and anthologies. She is the co-founder of Trying to Say God: Re-enchanting the Catholic Imagination, a literary festival at the University of Notre Dame. She has spoken about spiritual writing and literary nonfiction at colleges and universities, the Festival of Faith and Writing, the Associated Writing Program’s annual conferences, and the Neiman Conference for Narrative Journalism at Harvard University.

You can view Jessica Mesman Griffith's website here.