Jesuitical

We’ve all been there. You need to buy something random and a bit urgently. You hop in the car and drive to a nearby Walmart, or open your Amazon app and get a next-day delivery through Prime. No doubt that these regular fixtures of our modern economy have brought convenience and expedience to our lives, but what are the tradeoffs that we aren’t considering? Kathryn Judge is the author of Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source. We talk about how “middlemen” became part of our everyday consumer lives and whether or not the way we shop necessarily lines up with our Catholic values.In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley talk with Kevin Clarke, America’s chief correspondent, about what happened at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual meeting in Baltimore.Links from the Show:  Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source Archbishop Broglio, questioned on abuse, homosexuality and whether he’s a ‘Pope Francis’ bishop in first press conference as USCCB head Jesuitical Litany of the Saints What’s on tap? Fancy Free (Luxardo liqueur Old Fashioned) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Covid-19 pandemic closed churches, many parishes began streaming Mass for their communities. That opened up a whole new digital world for Catholics near and far searching for great preaching and a meaningful sense of community. Today, as people return to their parish churches, some Catholics want to stay connected to the digital communities they discovered during the pandemic. What does the rise of these remote parishioners mean for a church that is sacramental to its core?Today, Ashley and Zac welcome Jim McDermott, S.J., and Sebastian Gomes to discuss Part Three of America Media’s new, groundbreaking documentary, “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States.”Watch “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s no secret that the priesthood in the United States is aging, quickly. But what if part of the solution to the priest shortage is actually ordaining more older priests? Deacon Steve Kramer thinks the church should get serious about late-in-life vocations—recruiting men in the 40s, 50s or even 60s who have had another career, who maybe have been married and lost their spouse, for the priesthood. On the other hand, he thinks we should be encouraging men in their 30s and 40s to consider becoming a deacon—a vocation usually associated with more “mature” gentlemen.During National Vocation Awareness week, we ask Deacon Steve about the growing role of deacons in the U.S. church, his experience joining the diaconate in his 30s (and with four young kids!) and what questions someone discerning a call to the priesthood or diaconate should ask themselves.In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley talk with Colleen Dulle, the host of America Media’s “Inside the Vatican” podcast, about French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, the former head of the French bishops’ conference who admitted to abusing a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago. They ask: Have reforms aimed at combatting clerical sexual abuse really brought accountability to the highest levels of the church?Links from the show:French cardinal admits to abusing teen girl 35 years agoReport: 330,000 child victims of sex abuse in France’s Catholic ChurchPope Francis issues new rules for accountability and response to allegations of sexual abusePennsylvania report documents over 1,000 victims of priest abuseFormer Cardinal Theodore McCarrick laicized by Pope FrancisSacred Heart Seminary and School of TheologyPeople of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United StatesWhat’s on tap?Barolo  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In many parishes across the United States, churches are closing, there’s a shortage of priests and many younger Catholics are leaving the faith. That has forced some dioceses to "cluster" parishes, a process that asks communities to tighten budgets, share resources and, in many cases, share priests. One such parish cluster sits in the small city of Antigo, Wis., where the local pastor, the Rev. Joel Sember, is about to incorporate a fourth church into his three-parish cluster.Today, Ashley and Zac welcome Jim McDermott, S.J., and Sebastian Gomes to discuss Part Two of America Media’s new, groundbreaking documentary, “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States.” Is parish clustering a longterm solution or a bandaid fix to a much deeper crisis in the U.S. church?Watch “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to be a mystic in the modern age? Many of us think of mysticism as something for spiritual masters who lock themselves away from the world in monasteries and convents and dedicate their lives to constant prayer. But we are all called to a close and yes mystical relationship with God and to lead lives of contemplation. And today's guest, Kelly Deutsch, wants to help people do just that.After entering a convent, Kelly came down with an illness that left her bedridden for 18 months—and spurred great spiritual desolation and growth. She went on to found Wanderlust, a center for contemplative formation, which provides podcasts, courses and other spiritual resources to those hunger for a closer union with the divine.And in Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss a new report on clergy burnout and the at-times deceptive ways Catholic political groups try to sway voters.Links from the showNew study of priests shows a distrust of bishops, fears of false sex abuse allegations and widespread burnout‘The Catholic Church is always politically nonpartisan’: Arizona bishops warn voters of groups claiming to represent the churchSpiritual WanderlustPeople of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United StatesWhat’s on tap?Seltzer Water with Lime Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catholic parishes are growing quickly in the Southwest, and that’s raising important questions for the U.S. church: How are Anglo and Latino communities integrating on the ground? Why aren’t Latinos adequately represented in parish, diocesan and national church structures? Ashley and Zac welcome Jim McDermott, S.J., and Sebastian Gomes to discuss Part One of America Media’s new, groundbreaking documentary, “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States.” The film begins in the suburbs of Phoenix, Ariz., where one parish built a second church to accommodate the new families joining the parish on an almost daily basis.Watch "People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States"Stay tuned to the Jesuitical feed for more bonus episodes on the film! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To get in the sPoOkY spirit, this week’s episode of Jesuitical is getting a little macabre. Zac and Ashley are joined by Candida Moss, a columnist for the Daily Beast and the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology at University of Birmingham. We talk to Professor Moss about how the church and the culture’s understanding of hell has changed over the centuries, what some sure signs of demonic possession are, and why the church teaches what it does about cremation and burial practices. After the conversation with Candida Moss, stick around for a special new episode of “Voting Catholic,” which is out with a brand new season ahead of the midterm elections.Links from the show: The church forbids ‘human composting’ at death. But what about ‘green’ burials?When Did Satan Go From Inmate to Warden?Why Did the Catholic Church Ban the Spreading of Ashes?Listen to the Voting Catholic podcast from AmericaWhat’s on tap?Moscow Mule Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Podcast episodes and YouTube videos featuring Father Michael Schmitz rack up thousands, even millions, of views. His latest project, “The Bible in a Year,” has even made it to the top of the Apple Podcast charts since it debuted in 2021. But for students at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Father Mike isn’t just another celebrity priest. He’s their chaplain.This week, we talk to Father Mike about the big questions Catholics (and non-Catholics) on campus are asking today, the challenges and opportunities of ministering at a big state school and how he balances life in the public eye and being present to his students.And in Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley chat with Colleen Dulle about Inside the Vatican’s latest deep dive into the synod on synodality. The global church has just finished up the listening phase of the synod and reports from at least 112 of the 114 bishops’ conferences around the world are in. What have we learned so far from this yearlong consultation? And what comes next?Topics:04:10 - Colleen Dulle of "Inside the Vatican" breaks down the Synod on Synodality at the end of phase one14:55 - A day in the life of Fr. Mike Schmitz20:55 - The joys and challenges of doing campus ministry on a secular university campus32:53 - How 'The Bible in a Year' project changed Fr. Mike's engagement with Scripture42:07 - How Fr. Mike balances being a celebrity priest and a chaplain to his studentsLinks from the show:Podcast: Synod reports from all over the world are in. What happens next?The Bible in a Year podcastWatch America’s new documentary, People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United StatesWhat’s on tap?An IPA that was not made in Father Mike’s brother’s brewery Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most Catholics these days don’t think there is a conflict between the theory of evolution and their faith. But it’s harder to wrap our heads around the idea that we’re still evolving—and that God might be, too. This week, we talk with Sister Ilia Delio, a theologian who thinks we can’t separate the evolving nature of our universe and consciousness from our faith. We ask Sister Delio what it’s like to work at the cutting edge of theology, where rapidly changing technology and artificial intelligence might be taking us as a species, and what that means for the church.In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the still-open questions about the legacy and implementation of the Second Vatican Council, which opened 60 years ago this week. Did the council fail? What would success look like, and what would the church look like today if Vatican II hadn’t happened?Links from the show:Did Vatican II fail? Are we allowed to ask the question?Pope Francis marks 60th anniversary of Vatican II by warning against worldly ‘progressivism’ and backward-looking ‘traditionalism’The Emergent Christ, Ilia DelioPeople of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United StatesWhat’s on tap?Pinot Noir  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ashley and Zac are joined by Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P., of the all-Dominican bluegrass group, The Hillbilly Thomists. They discuss what the Order of Preachers could teach the wider church about preaching, liturgically appropriate music as well as The Hillbilly Thomists new album, Holy Ghost Power. During Signs of the Times, America’s national correspondent, Michael O’Loughlin, discusses a shakeup at the Newman Center at The Ohio State University. Links from the Show: Holy Ghost Power (Spotify)Who owns the Newman Center? Shake-up at Ohio State highlights the tension between students and older parishionersPope Francis: The devil knows the passwords to our heart. We must know them too.What’s on tap? High Screamer: 2 oz. bourbon, 1 oz. Cointreau, 0.5 oz simple syrup, 1/2 of a lime, juiced. Best served on ice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices