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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Jesus and Our Purpose
Imagine if Luke Skywalker never left Tatooine, or imagine if Frodo never left The Shire, or imagine if Eleven never left Mike Wheeler’s basement and just stayed there. All of these heroes were meant for something. They had a purpose, and they lived it out. And we are called to do the same thing. In the gospel for this Sunday, Jesus pities the people because they are like sheep without a shepherd, and…
Security Blanket
Question: what is your security blanket? For Gollum, it’s the ring. For Tony Stark, it’s the Iron Man suit. For Woody, it’s his status as a favorite toy. In the gospel for the Sunday, Jesus gives us the foundations of discipleship, and one of those things is getting rid of the unhealthy attachments that prevent us from Jesus. We all have them. We all have those security blankets that bring us false security…
Resume As A Christian
If you had a resume for being a Christian, what would be on it? In the second reading for this Sunday, Saint Paul lists out his resume, and it’s not what you think. Saint Paul doesn’t boast of his successes and awesomeness. He boasts of his weaknesses. His weaknesses are what makes him strong, offering his vulnerability to Jesus. For Saint Paul, he has a huge list for his resume. He has…
Do Not Mock God
So, Christianity 101. Never ridicule or mock or laugh at God because God is always right. In the gospel for this Sunday, people ridicule, mock, and laugh at Jesus for what he says. And in the end, Jesus is correct. The little girl rises, and she is alive. A lot of the time, we do not understand God’s ways. But God promised He is the way, the truth, and the life. And we can rely on Him even if we do…
The Lord Keeps Us Safe
So, have you ever seen those videos of police dogs that attack the guy wearing the crazy, weird-looking suit? Sometimes I feel like that’s my life. There are many times when I feel attacked, and I feel like I’m out of control, and I don’t feel safe. In the gospel for this Sunday, the apostles experienced the same thing. The storm is attacking them, and they are not safe. But what does Jesus do…
Start Small
Okay, so if you’ve ever been to the jungle or the rainforest or are just Indiana Jones, you may have used a mosquito net before. The crazy thing about mosquito nets is that the holes of the mosquito net are bigger than the mosquito’s body. A mosquito could crawl through but can’t because it doesn’t know how to fold its wings and crawl through a hole bigger than its body. In this Sunday’s…
Accused For Failing
Like this message if you have ever messed up or failed, and then someone accused you for it. Accusation hurts. It unlocks shame in our hearts. And that is one thing not present in this Sunday’s first reading. In Genesis, Adam fails. And so, right after Adam’s sins, what does God do? He asks one symbol question, “Where are you?” He does not accuse. He does not say, “Well, I knew you were…
Hungry for Jesus
Okay, so let’s talk about sushi. It is a common experience that when people eat sushi, they feel more hungry afterward. There are so many factors to this. White rice is quickly digestible. There is very little protein within sushi. The salty soy sauce that we consume also makes us really, really thirsty and really, really hungry. All these factors combined do not satisfy us. In the gospel for this Sunday, Jesus…