Spirit Juice is proud to present Reel Homilies from Father Tim Anastos, associate chaplain of the St. John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois-Chicago. In these minute-long reflections, Father Tim will unpack the Sunday Gospel readings through the lenses of Church tradition, pop culture, and self-improvement. We hope these reflections serve to inspire your own thoughts on the Gospel and bring you closer to Christ…as well as bring a smile to your face.
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Desire and Act to Heal
In the gospel for the Sunday, Jesus shares with us, “If a brother sins against you, go to that brother and share his fault with him alone.” This message is so powerful for us, and we can take this teaching and completely ignore it. What do we do when someone sins against us when someone hurts us? We tell every single person in the universe except for…
Reject Isolation
At the end of Marvel’s “Infinity War,” Thanos sits alone on a planet alone. And you may think that it’s paradise, but it’s hell. In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus says clearly, “What does it profit one if he gains the whole world “but loses his life? “Loses his soul?” Thanos gets everything he wants. He receives the Gauntlet. He gets the Infinity Stones. He wins the war…
Keys to the Kingdom
We live in a culture of life hacks. We can make anything more effortless and more efficient. There are life hacks for finding flights online, cooking eggs, and dating relationships. And when it comes to your dating relationship, please do not use any hacks. We can make things so easy and comfortable. Do we need the Lord? There will be a moment in our lives…
Bible study mode activate. The first reading for this Sunday from Isaiah is fire. God is speaking to the people of Israel, saying, “I will place the keys of the House of David on the shoulder of Eliakim. When he shuts it, no one will open it. And when he opens, no one shall shut. When the king is away, Eliakim, you are in charge.” We see this again in the Gospel. Jesus says…
Have You Experienced Hopelessness?
We live in a culture of life hacks. We can make anything more effortless and more efficient. There are life hacks for finding flights online, cooking eggs, and dating relationships. And when it comes to your dating relationship, please do not use any hacks. We can make things so easy and comfortable. Do we need the Lord? There will be a moment in our lives…
Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
There is a problem. And that problem is distracted walking. In 2022, thousands of people were injured, texting and walking simultaneously, more than a grizzly bear, shark, and alligator attacks all wrapped into one. In the gospel today, St. Peter himself is distracted by the storm. And when he is distracted by the storm and takes his eyes away from Jesus…
The Transfiguration
In “Thor: Ragnarok,” Bruce Banner and the Hulk, they are fighting against each other. They’re the same person, but they need to be integrated better. But then you see in the movie, “Endgame,” Bruce Banner and the Hulk are truly one. They are no longer fighting against each other. They are integrated well. Bruce Banner is the Hulk, and the Hulk is…
The Pearl of Great Price
Please don’t judge me, but I have been into AI lately, especially image-based AI. Image-based AI, you can type in a prompt, and then the artificial intelligence will create an image. And so, I gave AI two prompts. The first was Captain America praying a rosary. And the second was Pope Francis as a Chicago Cubs fan. As you can see, AI is incredible…
A Problem with YOLO
Here’s the problem with YOLO. The more and more our culture embraces YOLO, the more and more marriage becomes radical. Marriage is saying that I no longer live for myself; I live for another. That selfless love bears fruit. But with YOLO, you are living for yourself. You can do what you want whenever you want, but it’s sterile. The second reading today from…