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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Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Today is a very solemn day. It is a day of mourning. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, he’ll be laid to rest. We pray for his soul. The thing that I remember most about him is how Pope John Paul II asked him when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, “What are you gonna do when you retire?” And Cardinal Ratzinger said, very simply, “I want to write a…
Love Mary Like I Love Harry Kane
We just had the World Series, and it was awesome. Please don’t tell the government, please don’t judge me, but I actually was rooting for the team of England. I was rooting for England, because my favorite soccer player of all time is Harry Kane. And in British English, it’s Harry Kane. I love Harry Kane. He is the striker of all strikers…
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, everyone. Merry Christmas, y’all. Merry Christmas, mom. Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown. This day is a day of intimacy that the Incarnation is all about intimacy. It’s God literally becoming flesh, becoming one of us, so that we can love Him, we can know Him, and we can live with Him forever. There is no greater love…
Stop Exposing Others to Shame
It is the fourth Sunday of Advent and the Gospel today is very beautiful. It talks about St. Joseph, since he was a righteous man, does not want to expose Mary to shame and I think that is an incredible witness for us because we can so easily expose others to shame. It is the holiday season. We are with family all the time. There’s a lot of…
You Belong With Him
The Gospel for this Sunday is so awesome. The disciples are asking, Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” And I think we can live that way so often that we are not looking for Jesus, but we are looking for something else or someone else. And I think the solution to this problem is Taylor Swift…
Immaculate Conception
One of the things that I absolutely love about Buddy the Elf is the fact that he is so innocent. He is so pure. He is so humble. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that Santa. Takes him out of the orphanage and Buddy lives in the North Pole. He is preserved from the craziness of the world. This is the reason why…
The Most Hipster Thing
Okay, let’s talk about hipsters. We all know them. They are everywhere. And the crazy thing about hipsters is that they all look the same. Have you ever noticed that? St. John the Baptist was the OG hipster. He ate organic, farm-to-table locusts and honey every day. He wore vintage clothing. St. John the Baptist even…
King Herod
So I’m not sure if I can say this as a priest, but King Herod sucks. In the Gospel today, King Herod is evil. He is Voldemort, he is Thanos, he is the Mind Flayer all rolled into one. All he wants to do is control everything, the Jewish people, the Roman government, even to control the God of the universe, even to the point of wanting to kill…