Jesuitical

Latest Episodes:

Father James Martin on Jesus’s Greatest Miracle Sep 08, 2023

Show notes

On the season premier of Jesuitical’s seventh season, Zac and Ashley talk with their friend and colleague James Martin, S.J., who is out with a brand new book,Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus's Greatest Miracle. They ask Father Martin:

If Jesus actually raised Lazarus from the dead (and do Catholic have to believe it)
What Mary, Martha and Lazarus can teach us about friendship
And how we can all come forth into new life in our daily lives

In Signs of the Times, we discuss the “DJ Priest” who made headlines at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, and ask: Were Pope Francis’ criticisms of “reactionary” Catholics in the United States fair (or helpful)?

Links from the show:

The (not so) curious case of priests who DJ in the history of electronic music

Pope Francis speaks out against his critics in the U.S. Catholic Church

Pope Francis’ criticisms of ‘reactionary’ U.S. Catholics are counterproductive

Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus's Greatest Miracle

Exclusive Excerpt: What can the story of Lazarus teach us about new life?

Become a member of Jesuitical’s Patreon community

What’s on tap?

Corpse Reviver No. 2

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What the Catholic Church can learn about change from baseball’s pitch-clock innovation Aug 19, 2023

Show notes

We have a great summer bonus episode, all about baseball! To listen to the full episode, become a patron of Jesuitical!

This is the first season with a pitch clock in Major League Baseball, which was implemented to try to speed up the game and appeal to younger viewers. But to some longtime baseball fans the rule change feels gimmicky and disrespectful to the grand tradition of America's pastime.

If the debate sounds familiar, that's because the Catholic Church is at a similar pivotal moment in its history. Younger people are not filling the pews as previous generations have, and Catholics are grappling with how to reform itself without compromising its authentic tradition.

On today's episode, two past guests and baseball fanatics return to debate the pitch clock and draw analogies between the game and the church they love. J.D. Long-Garcia is a senior editor at America and Greg Hillis runs the Aquinas Center of Theology at Emory University. You can read their takes on the pitch clock here:

J.D. Long-Garcia, "The pitch clock is a travesty. The Catholic Church must learn from baseball’s mistake."

Greg Hillis, "Quit Trying to ‘Fix’ Baseball" and "In Praise of the Pitch Clock"

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Cardinal Czerny on Pope Francis, Catholic social teaching and the legacy of Vatican II Jun 30, 2023

Show notes

On the season finale of “Jesuitical,” Zac and producer Sebastian Gomes talk with Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., who leads the Vatican’s department for social justice and human development. (Ashley was out of the country at the time of the interview). Cardinal Czerny is also the co-author of the new book Siblings All, Sign of the Times: The Social Teaching of Pope Francis. We talk to him about:

The disputed legacy of Vatican II
How Pope Francis has developed the church’s social teaching
How the church should relate to the outside world

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley point ahead to some stories to look out for this summer. And in As One Friend Speaks to Another, they look back at the season and the many graces it held.

Links from the show:

Jesuitical listener survey

Learn more about the O’Hare fellowship

Vatican confirms Pope Francis will enjoy a ‘staycation’ in July

Pope Francis’ prep advice for World Youth Day: talk to your grandparents first

Siblings All, Sign of the Times: The Social Teaching of Pope Francis by Cardinal Michael Czerny and Father Christian Barone

Ignatian Wisdom Fellowship from Loyola University Chicago

Sacred Heart Major Seminary’s online course "An Introduction to Spirituality”

What’s on tap?

Rum sunset, prepared by outgoing O’Hare fellow, Chris Parker

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A Religious Trip: Finding God on Psychedelic Drugs Jun 23, 2023

Show notes

This week on Jesuitical, Ashley and Zac chat with Bryan McCarthy, who teaches philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, and is the author of a new paper, “Christianity and Psychedelic Medicine: A Pastoral Approach.” They discuss:

What the church teaches about drugs and intoxication
How psychedelic drugs are being used in therapeutic settings, and how Christians should respond
Bryan’s own religious experiences while using psychedelic drugs

During Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac give initial reactions to the new working document for the Synod on Synodality and discuss a curious story involving a fake priest and serious labor violations out of California.

Links from the show:

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Pope Francis called homilies “a disaster.” Here’s what we can do about it. Jun 16, 2023

Show notes

Earlier this year, Pope Francis called most Catholic homilies “a disaster.” Well, we’re doing something about it. This week, Ashley and Zac welcome Ricardo da Silva, S.J., their colleague and the host of the brand new podcast from America Media, “Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast.”

“Preach” releases weekly and features a diverse cast of the finest Catholic preachers. On each episode, preachers open up their hearts and minds, sharing their spiritual lives, approaches to interpreting Scripture and techniques for preparing the best homilies.

Whether you’re curious about preaching methods, or you’re a preacher looking for inspiration and best practices, “Preach” is here to accompany you through the liturgical year with great homilies and conversations about them.

Follow “Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast” on your podcast app! Or at AmericaMagazine.org

If you know a priest, deacon or lay preacher who would benefit from “Preach,” please share it with them! And, if you want to recommend a great preacher for “Preach,” let us know here.

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Does prayer belong in a public school? Jun 09, 2023

Show notes

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Linda K. Wertheimer, a journalist and the author of the book Faith Ed: Teaching about Religion in an Age of Intolerance. In a recent article in The New Republic, Linda explores renewed efforts in some parts of the country to get prayer back into public schools. They discuss:

Linda’s experience of being the only Jewish student in a public school with weekly Christian Bible classes
The history of school prayer at the Supreme Court
How to balance religious freedom and inclusion in an increasingly diverse country

In Signs of the Times, the hosts give an update on Pope Francis’ recovery after his three-hour abdominal surgery and discuss the approval of what would be the first publicly funded religious charter school in the nation.

Finally, Ashley reflects on her vision of heaven.

Links from the show:

Surgeon: Pope Francis is ‘alert’ and cracking jokes after hernia operation

Catholic virtual school approved by Oklahoma board would be first religious charter in the U.S.

Inside the Christian Legal Crusade to Revive School Prayer

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How one bishop’s experience of suicide loss led him to start a mental health ministry Jun 02, 2023

Show notes

This week, Ashley and Zac are joined by Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix to talk about losing several members of his family to suicide, a groundbreaking new mental health ministry in his diocese and how the church can better support those struggling with mental health issues.

They are also joined by America colleague James Martin, S.J., who serves as a consultor for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication. They discuss the dicastery’s new document “Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media.”

Finally, Zac brings a question to discuss: Does God take bribes?

Links from the show:

Bishop Dolan: How losing family to suicide led me to start a mental health ministry

Office of Mental Health Ministry of the Diocese of Phoenix

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media

Vatican tells the bishops of Catholic Twitter: be reflective, not reactive

God doesn’t accept bribes in prayer. Or does he?

What’s on tap?

Maker’s Mark

Support Jesuitical by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/americamedia

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How a religious congregation decides it’s time to close up shop May 26, 2023

Show notes

This week, Jesuitical is joined by Sister Donna Dodge, the president of the Sisters of Charity of New York, which recently decided to embark on a “path to completion,” meaning the over 200-year-old congregation will no longer accept new vocations (though their ministry continues). We discuss:

How religious life has changed since Sister Donna joined in 1966
How the sisters discerned that it was time to let go—and how their charism of charity will live on in the work of lay collaborators
Why the church needs to change the way it talks about “vocation” with young people

And in Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley chat with America’s national correspondent, Michael O’Loughlin, about the controversy sparked by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ decision to include a group of “drag queen nuns” in their Pride Night this June.

Links from the show:

Drag queen ‘nuns’ will be included in LA Dodgers Pride Night. I have complicated feelings about it.

The end of an era for the Sisters of Charity of New York

Nerves, tears and chanting: What I saw during the New York Sisters of Charity vote to stop accepting members

What’s on tap?

Scotch on the rocks

Support Jesuitical by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/americamedia

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Faith, culture and ritual in Toni Morrison's life and writings May 19, 2023

Show notes

“Can we consider Toni Morrison a Catholic novelist,” Nadra Nittle asked in an article for America in 2017. Since Morrison’s passing in 2019, Nadra has been exploring that question in more depth, and the result is her new book: Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision: Faith, Folktales, and Feminism in Her Life and Literature, out this month from Fortress Press.

This week, Zac reintroduces this popular interview with Nadra Nittle from 2021 which explores the Catholic sensibilities and love for aesthetics of the acclaimed writer Toni Morrison.

Support Jesuitical by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/americamedia

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Joining a parish (or club) could save your life. May 12, 2023

Show notes

This week, Jesuitical is joined by Pete Davis to talk about his new documentary “Join or Die,” “a film about why you should join a club — and why the fate of America depends on it.” They discuss: