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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Embrace The Ordinary
Imagine yourself three years ago. What were you like? Most likely, you have grown and matured, and the vast majority of those three years were probably really ordinary; they were probably boring. We are now in ordinary time, and the Gospel is for this Sunday. The disciples begin their three-year journey with Jesus. Imagine the disciples at the beginning of this time, and imagine who they are at the end of that time…
SEEK 2024
I get asked very often by people who are slightly older than me. “Father Tim, where are all the young people? They’re not coming to mass. They’re not growing in their relationship with the Lord. They don’t believe in anything.” A bit of that is valid, but most of it is false. Me and Spirit Juice and 24,000 of our closest friends were at a conference called SEEK, which was incredible. Twenty-four thousand young people…
Blessed Epiphany
So a new “Hunger Games” movie, “Ballad of Songbird and Snakes,” just came out, and this is not a spoiler. However, the two main characters, Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray, have an excellent relationship. Lucy Gray, everything about her, inspires Coriolanus Snow to be good and to be more virtuous. She is the light. She is the hope for Coriolanus Snow. Today, we celebrate the blessed Epiphany of the Lord…
Don’t Take Away His Family
Today is the Feast Day of the Holy Family. And what better thing to talk about than “Fast and the Furious.” Dominic Toretto is amazing at driving fast. But he is more impressive with protecting his family. My favorite quote from the ninth movie is, “The worst thing you can do to a Toretto is take away his family.” Translate that to our faith, and oh my gosh, the worst thing that you can do to God the Father…
Christmas Is Cancel Proof!
A few years ago, I was at a barbershop, and while getting my haircut, a woman shared with everyone in the room that she had a rough year. And because she had had a rough year, she decided to cancel Christmas. And the inner Buddy, the elf in me, freaked out. You can’t cancel Christmas. How can you do that? The reality is that the incarnation cannot be canceled. Christmas is cancel-proof because…
Have You Been Friends With Jesus?
‘Tis the season for gingerbread lattes, candy canes, and watching “Die Hard.” It’s a Christmas movie. Today, we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Advent, which is crazy because tomorrow is Christmas. Very rarely in the church calendar, this happens, where Christmas falls right after the fourth Sunday of Advent, and I love it when this happens because it always makes me realize that whenever I’m not…
Joy in the Midst of Suffering
So, have you ever felt like you are going to die after you get a paper cut or stub your toe? Me too. But blessed Chiara Luce Badano, a contemporary teenage saint of the church, teaches us how to have joy amid suffering. She contracted a rare form of cancer as a teenager. But amid her suffering, she knew that Jesus had already won in her heart, and she did not have to be afraid. Today, we celebrate…
Yes To God
So, very often in the Old Testament, this is what happens. A prophet speaks to a group of people, calling them to turn back to the Lord. And what does the group of people do? They say no! They reject God, and bad things happen. They dig a hole that they cannot get out of. But the fantastic thing about the first reading for this Sunday is that Jonah, a prophet, speaks to the people of Nineveh, calling them to repent and…