Imagine: A Guide to Jesuit Prayer

Imagine is proud to share the latest podcast in the America Media family: Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols.

Subscribe to the entire Hark! podcast series online, on apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

O Come, All Ye Faithful is a rousing, controversial and some might even say, miraculous Christmas carol! And it’s believed to have a subversive Jacobite rallying call hidden in the text. To peal back the layers of history in this song, Host Maggi Van Dorn is joined by Rev. Andrew Cameron-Mowat S.J., a Jesuit priest at St. Ignatius, Stamford Hill (London), and an accomplished organist and music director. We also hear from Dr. Kim Harris, Assistant Professor of African-American Thought and Practice at Loyola Marymount University, along with a former Choir of King’s College organ scholar, Parker Ramsey.

Special thanks to the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and the Ignatian Schola 

for allowing us to play parts of their recordings of Adeste Fideles/O Come, All Ye Faithful. 

To support the production of “Hark!” and to access other great Advent reflections from America Magazine staff, please subscribe at americamagazine.org/subscribe. 

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The resurrected Jesus reveals himself to Peter and the disciples by the sea. After catching nothing through the night, a man tells the disciples to cast their nets again, and they catch a huge number of fish. They realize that it is Jesus and eat with him on the shore. Afterwards, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” Focus on Peter in this story and his own need for healing and reconciliation.

Find more reflections and resources for Lent and Easter at: https://www.americamagazine.org/lent2021

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In this episode, we’ll reflect on the events that take place following the last supper. We’ll keep watch with Jesus as he prays in the garden. Accompany Peter as he watches Jesus’ trial from a distance and witness his heartbreaking denial of his friend and teacher. Details will be taken from each of the Gospel accounts. What do these events teach us about Jesus’ experience of human suffering?

Find more reflections and resources for Lent and Easter at: https://www.americamagazine.org/lent2021

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“If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” - Mark 5:28

A woman who had been afflicted with a hemorrhage for years believes that if she just touches the garments of Jesus, she will be cured. Pray with this moment of great faith and her encounter with Jesus. 

Find more reflections and resources for Lent at: https://www.americamagazine.org/lent2021

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“What do you want me to do for you” - Mark 10:51

As Jesus passes by with a large crowd, the blind man Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, “Son of David, have pity on me.” When the crowd tries to silence him, Bartimaeus calls out even louder. Witness this healing encounter between Jesus and the blind man who can see who he truly is.

Find more reflections and resources for Lent at: https://www.americamagazine.org/lent2021

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“Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you.” - John 8:10-11

While Jesus is preaching at the Temple, a group of scribes and Pharisees bring before him a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. They seek to condemn her, but Jesus treats her with mercy. What can we learn about the healing love of God through this encounter?

Find more reflections and resources for Lent at: https://www.americamagazine.org/lent2021

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“Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Rise and walk’?” - Luke 5:23

While Jesus is speaking in a crowded home, a group of people go to extraordinary lengths to bring their friend before him for healing. 

Find more reflections and resources for Lent at: https://www.americamagazine.org/lent2021

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“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” - Luke 5:8

Jesus calls on Peter and his partners to cast their nets into the deep, where they catch a huge number of fish. Peter responds with a moment of vulnerability. See how Jesus responds.

Find more reflections and resources for Lent at: https://www.americamagazine.org/lent2021

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Released on Fridays during Lent, new episodes of "Imagine" will introduce you to a form of prayer called Ignatian Contemplation, in which you use your imagination to interact with various scenes from Scripture.

First Friday of Lent: “At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by the devil.” - Mark 1:12-13. Before Jesus began his ministry of healing and reconciliation, he faced his own temptations in the desert. Join him in the desert as he faces these temptations and is ministered to by angels.

Find more reflections and resources for Lent at: https://www.americamagazine.org/lent2021

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“When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’” Angels announce the birth of Jesus to the poor and lowly shepherds of the region. Join them to visit the newborn Jesus.

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