AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

It’s a bit of a cliché to say that we live in uncertain times. Just look at the headlines. Relationships — from the global to the intimate — are fraying. We swim in waters full of fear and worry, contempt and disdain. Anxiety abounds. That’s why today’s guest — writer and cultural commentator, Sara Billups — has written a new book. It’s called “Nervous Systems: Spiritual Practices to Calm Anxiety in Your Body, the Church and Politics.” It’s out now and — spoiler alert — Billups writes quite a bit about Ignatian spirituality. She looks to Ignatius’ all-important idea of holy indifference as a way of approaching the anxiety-inducing moment in which we all find ourselves. You may recall that when Ignatius says “indifference,” he’s not promoting a lifestyle that is apathetic or callous to the signs of the times. Rather, Ignatius wants us to let go of how we want things to go and to instead allow God’s Spirit to use us as they Spirit wills. In short, God’s ways are not our ways; so, let’s put aside our preferences and discover God’s. In addition to this new book, “Nervous Systems,” Billups has bylines in the New York Times and Christianity Today. She completed a Doctor of Ministry in the Sacred Art of Writing at Peterson Cetner for the Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary. She writes a Substack called “Bitter Scroll” and hosts a podcast called “That’s the Spirit.” You can learn more about Sara and her work by exploring the links below. Website: https://www.sarabillups.com/ Order the book: https://www.amazon.com/Nervous-Systems-Spiritual-Practices-Politics-ebook/dp/B0F2NC1QDL Substack: https://www.sarabillups.com/bitter-scroll

Whenever a man joins the Society of Jesus, his family and friends have to process that big life change and figure out how it’s going to affect their relationship with the new Jesuit. In that way, Kristin Gilger is not unlike the thousands of mothers who have watched their sons join the order. Her son Patrick – who everyone else calls Paddy – joined the Jesuits in 2002. But one big way Kristin is different from other moms of Jesuits is that she has just published a book about her experience. It’s called “My Son, the Priest: A Mother’s Crisis of Faith,” and it has all the makings of an instant spiritual classic. Kristin Gilger is a longtime journalist and journalism professor, and she brought her reporting chops to a topic much closer to home than her usual subjects. Kristin is not afraid to ask big, tough questions, she’s not afraid to be vulnerable, she’s not afraid to share about her struggles with the Catholic Church and her son’s vocation. “My Son, the Priest” is honest, human, deeply researched and often hilarious. Kristin and Fr. Paddy recently joined host Mike Jordan Laskey to record a podcast, and we found that mother and son had so much to say and so much fun talking to each other that we could take Mike right out of the episode. So you’ll be hearing just from Kristin and Fr. Paddy here, a glimpse into the Gilger family and their story. It feels just perfect to be sharing this episode with you during Thanksgiving week, when families around the country gather with love, joy, and maybe just a bit of tension or stress. “My Son, the Priest: A Mother’s Crisis of Faith”: https://www.monkfishpublishing.com/product/my-son-the-priest/ Kristin Gilger: https://search.asu.edu/profile/494566 Fr. Paddy Gilger, SJ: https://www.luc.edu/sociology/faculty/profiles/patrickgilgersjphd.shtml AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Rob Lorenz was a National Park Ranger who spent time working at places Arches National Park in Utah and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. One of his favorite things to do was to give tours and ranger talks to groups, explaining the extraordinary places of natural beauty in ways that were accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. During a post in Washington, DC, where he worked near the National Mall at places like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, he started feeling like God might be calling him to something else. Long story short, Rob joined the USA East Coast province of the Jesuits in 2019. Today, he’s in the stage of formation called regency, which is typically two or three years of active ministry that falls in between periods of philosophy and theology study. Rob is spending his regency as the outreach coordinator for the Vatican Observatory. Founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, the Vatican Observatory is led by Jesuit astronomers who are doing high-level scientific research in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and Tucson, Arizona. Rob’s job is to speak with groups about the wonders of the cosmos and the work the observatory – a job not too dissimilar from what he was doing as a National Park Ranger. He stopped by our Washington, DC, studio recently for a conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey. Rob Lorenz, SJ: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/profile/rob-lorenz-s-j/ The Vatican Observatory: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

“To many, Fantasy, this sub-creative art which plays strange tricks with the world and all that is in it, combining nouns and redistributing adjectives, has seemed suspect, if not illegitimate. To some it has seemed at least a childish folly” writes J.R.R. Tolkien in his classic essay, “On Fairy-Stories.” He goes on to insist: “Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not either blunt the appetite for, nor obscure the perception of, scientific verity. On the contrary. The keener and the clearer is the reason, the better fantasy will it make.” In short, Tolkien is saying that the fantastical—stories of elves and dragons and magical staffs—are not escape hatches from this world but rather invitations to delve deeper into the truth of our own reality. Today’s guest tests that hypothesis—and, in my humblest of opinions, proves just how right Tolkien was. Rose John Sheffler is a Catholic writer who has been telling stories her whole life. She’s written a delightful volume of Biblically inspired fairy tales called “Past Watchful Dragons: Biblical Stories Retold.” Her book invites us into the world of Erith where we meet characters we know from the Bible but…different. Still—and, as you’ll hear—the truth of these stories, the values and the hopes that they point to, are familiar and likely resonate with what lies deep in your own heart. If you want to learn more about Rose’s work or get a copy of her book, visit rosejohnsheffler.substack.com.

If you love old books – if you love how they smell, if you love imagining their journeys through the world into your hands, if you can’t pass by a used bookstore without popping inside – then you’ll love today’s episode. Our guest is Fr. Michael Suarez, SJ, a Jesuit priest and the director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia. The Rare Book School runs courses for students and practitioners from all disciplines on the history of written, printed and digital materials with leading scholars and professionals in the field. Fr. Suarez is also an English professor and an honorary curator of UVA’s special collections. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him about the work of the Rare Book School and why he is fascinated by books (and all matter of printed material) as cultural objects. They also discussed how Fr. Suarez’s work has deep connections to his faith, and how the Jesuits through the centuries have often been at the forefront of writing and making books around the world. Fr. Suarez is so clearly passionate about his work and teaching that it’ll make you want to travel to Charlottesville, Virginia, to check out all the fascinating stuff housed in the special collections at the university. Rare Book School: https://rarebookschool.org/ Fr. Michael Suarez, SJ: https://rarebookschool.org/faculty/general/michael-suarez/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

If you’ve hung around Jesuits and Jesuit organizations long enough, you surely have come in contact with the phrase cura personalis. In short, practicing cura personalis means caring for the whole person: body, mind and spirit. It’s an invitation to ask more questions, deeper questions, about who we are and where we’re going and what unique tools and experiences we might need to get there. You know cura personalis. But have you ever heard of cura personalis mission-driven, organizationally-minded little sibling, cura apostolica? Cura apostolica means a care for the apostolate. This principle—like care for the fullness of a person—means recognizing and caring for the fullness of a mission. What is an organization meant to do? How can it persist in the work of shepherding a mission as time and circumstances change? I’ll confess that I was far more knowledgeable of and comfortable with cura personalis. Cura apostolica seems a bit esoteric, relevant only to CEOs and HR departments. What has it got to do with me in my daily life? Well, as today’s guest, Jesuit Fr. Matt Carnes insist, a lot. In fact, cura apostolica and cura personalis go hand-in-hand; they’re two sides of the same coin. Understanding and embodying one leads us to better live out the other. Fr. Carnes is the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Santa Clara University, as well as the Executive Director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education and Professor of Political Science. Prior to joining Santa Clara University, he was an associate professor at Georgetown University in the Department of Government and the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and he served as Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs in the School of Foreign Service and as the Director of the Center for Latin American Studies. Most important to today’s conversation, Fr. Matt is the editor of an upcoming book from Georgetown University Press entitled “Leadership Lessons from the Jesuits: Cura Apostolica and the Mission-Driven Organization.” It’s due out sometime next year. I had a chance to read an early copy—and I found myself inspired by how cura apostolica can revolutionize how we approach our mission-driven work. I hope you get a sense of that today, and leave inspired to return to your own singular part of our shared mission. Preorder the book: https://press.georgetown.edu/Book/Leadership-Lessons-from-the-Jesuits Meet Fr. Carnes: https://www.scu.edu/cas/political-science/faculty--staff/matthew-e-carnes-sj/

Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, the Jesuit Conference's Secretary of Justice and Ecology, joins host Mike Jordan Laskey to discuss Pope Leo XIV's apostolic exhortation "Dilexi te," which calls on the church to remember that the care of those on the margins is at the heart of our mission. Read the exhortation: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html The Jesuit Conference's Office of Justice and Ecology: https://www.jesuits.org/our-work/justice-and-ecology/oje/ Fr. Kellerman's book, "All Oppression Shall Cease": https://www.amazon.com/All-Oppression-Shall-Cease-Abolitionism/dp/1626984891 AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

The Jesuit Border Podcast has just launched its ninth season, and to commemorate the event, we're featuring the first episode of season nine here on AMDG. You'll hear stories, reflections and an interview from hosts Fr. Brian Strassburger, SJ, and Joe Nolla, SJ, of Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries. Bishop Michael Pham of the Diocese of San Diego is today's guest. Bishop Pham was the first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV. He shares the harrowing story of fleeing Vietnam as a young boy on a small boat that nearly capsized in the sea. Bishop Pham also talks about an experience this summer attending immigration court to walk with migrants. He calls out our immigration enforcement approach that is criminalizing migrants and separating families, when our country should be a place of refuge, as it was for him and his family decades ago. Fr. Brian and Joe open up the new season talking about what it means to find refuge. Brian shares the story of Naomi, a single mom from Honduras with a five-month old son. They were denied refuge in the U.S. when they crossed the border and were rapidly sent back into Mexico. At the local shelter, the women rallied to support this young mother, showing her what it means to provide refuge. Joe shares the story of Marialex, a young girl in Matamoros, who showed how small actions can speak loudly in offering welcome and inclusion. You can learn more about the work of Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries and subscribe to the Jesuit Border Podcast here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/our-work/del-camino/

Fr. George Drance, SJ, is a great example of the fact that Jesuits can do and be anything. Fr. George is a theatre artist, which, in his case, encompasses acting on the stage, directing, teaching acting classes at Fordham University in New York, and writing and adapting his own shows. He’s also the artistic director for the Magis Theatre Company, which he founded. His work takes him all over the world: he has performed and directed in more than 25 countries on five continents. This past summer, Fr. George’s work took him to his ancestral homeland: Ukraine. Ukraine, of course, has been facing wartime conditions since 2014, and the full-scale invasion of the country Russia launched in February 2022 has disrupted or destroyed countless lives. In that context, Fr. George visited a former Fordham student of his who is now living in the city of Kyiv and running an experimental theatre company there. Fr. George ran a workshop with Ukrainian actors and was involved in some performances in the city. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him to talk about the experience of doing theatre in a war-torn land and why he thinks it’s so vital to keep making art in a world that’s on fire. It was a powerful conversation about his experiences in Ukraine and the inspiring artists he met there who are bringing beauty within a heartbreaking, enraging situation. Magis Theatre Company: https://www.magistheatre.org/ Nashi Experimental Theatre Club in Kyiv, Ukraine: https://www.instagram.com/nashi.etc/?hl=en Fr. George’s “Forming a Practice of Hope” series at the Jesuit Media Lab: https://jesuitmedialab.org/category/forming-a-practice-of-hope/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

On October 4 and 5, the Catholic Church will observe the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Today’s guest, who recently stopped by our studio in Washington, DC, is a perfect guest for the occasion. His name is Michael Petro, SJ, and he’s a Jesuit of the American East Coast province who is currently in the regency stage of his formation. Michael’s regency has been quite far from the norm, though – he’s working in Beirut, Lebanon with Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Michael has worn a lot of hats in his time in the country, including setting up and running an emergency shelter for men, women and children who were displaced by the war between Israel and Hezbollah. During a visit home to the U.S., Michael stopped by to share stories from his work in Beirut and to talk about his Jesuit vocation. It’s safe to say he never imagined he would be running a temporary emergency shelter in Lebanon when he joined the Jesuits in New York not long after he graduated college. Host Mike Jordan Laskey loved hearing from Michael about the people he has met and why it’s so important for the church to keep accompanying and serving migrants and refugees, even and especially when it’s not politically popular to do so. We think you’ll be moved by Michael’s stories and inspired by his faith in action. Learn more about Michael: https://jesuitspro.com/6373/ https://jrs.net/en/story/amid-bombs-in-lebanon-a-church-opens-its-doors-to-hundreds-of-migrants/ https://www.jesuits.global/2025/08/18/arrupe-migrant-center-in-beirut-to-gather-to-pray-to-play/ JRS in the Middle East and North Africa: https://jrs.net/en/jrs_offices/jrs-middle-east/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/