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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A Father Who Keeps Us Safe
I was just in the Gulf of Mexico, went to the beach, and saw something crazy. I saw a father placing his 2-year-old son on the edge of the water, and he sat there and let his son walk forward. The son took one step into the ocean, looked back at his dad, smiled, turned back, and took one more step forward, and he kept doing this. This little 2-year-old boy felt safe amid a vast, powerful, dangerous ocean because he knew…
Jesus Stays The Same
So, the latest Terminator movie was set for the future in 2024. It was predicted that by 2024, artificial intelligence would take over the world. Well, we are now past 2024. It is a new year, and AI hasn’t conquered us yet. But we always fear that we have no clue what will happen in this new year. Crazy things may happen, heartbreaking things may happen, amazing things may happen, but guess what? Jesus stays…
Against The Grain
Okay, so fish are fascinating. Did you know that salmon swim upstream for almost 2,000 miles every year? This is insane. This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, and the family are like fish always swimming upstream. No matter what is going on in the culture, no matter what is happening in the world, the family is always being counter-cultural, going against the grain, bringing life, and providing…
The Visitation
Christmas is getting close, and I want to give you the gift of having your mind blown and your face melted. In the Old Testament, King David travels to the Hill Country of Judah for three months. Mary travels for three months in our gospel for this Sunday to the Hill Country of Judah. King David dances before the Lord in the Ark. The baby, John the Baptist, leaps into Elizabeth’s womb in the presence of…
Life or Death
Let’s talk about fire and water, and I’m not talking about the Pokemon types. In the gospel for this Sunday, Saint John the Baptist says that he will baptize with water, but Christ will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. Fire represents life, but it also represents death. Same with water. When the Israelites went through the Red Sea, water was life-giving. The Egyptians went through the same Red Sea, and…
Glory To God
So, the first reading for this Sunday is from the Prophet Baruch, and yes, that is an excellent name for your new puppy. So, the Prophet Baruch gives us incredible things to pray about this advent, specifically glory. The Prophet Baruch uses glory six times in the reading. The dictionary doesn’t do the word glory justice as Catholics. That as Catholics, what is glory? Glory is extraordinary beauty. It is holy beauty…
Consider Making A Gift | Giving Tuesday 2024
If Reel Homilies has been a blessing to you, please consider making a Giving Tuesday gift so we can continue producing this series and launch a new series with Father Tim called “Ask A Priest.” Please consider making a tax-deductible donation, and a group of generous donors will match it dollar for dollar up to $5,000. God bless you for your support…
Moral Authority
Guys, Muppet, Yoda, beats CGI, Yoda, any day of the week. We see this in The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke Skywalker is Yoda’s apprentice. Luke follows everything that Yoda says because Yoda has moral authority; we see this moral authority and the gospel for this Sunday at the wedding of Cana. Mary says to the servants, do whatever he tells you, and they do it because Mary has this moral authority; because of…