Jesuitical

In an article that appeared in America over the summer, David Michael wrote:

Hipsters are drawn to craft beer, obscure cheeses, organic farms, taxidermy and homemade preserves. They favor hand-dipped candles, old-fashioned stationery, Indian headdresses and the lamentable industrial-chic decor and exposed bricks that mark so many new restaurants and bars.

Hipsters love the authentic, the craft and the obscure—which is exactly why Catholicism, in its practices and its aesthetic, is perfectly suited for them.

Don’t believe me? Well, let Tommy Tighe, this week’s guest on Jesuitical, have his say. Tighe is the author of The Catholic Hipster Handbook: Rediscovering Cool Saints, Forgotten Prayers, and Other Weird bu [...]

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Last weekend Jesuitical took the show on the road for our first live recording at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in my hometown, Arlington, Va. The Teach-In is the country’s largest Catholic social justice gathering, which brings together students from Jesuit high schools and colleges and other members of the Ignatian family for three days of learning, prayer and advocacy.

For this week’s interview, the tables were turned and your hosts were in the hot seat. Our audience had some extremely thoughtful questions for us: How has our faith changed since graduating from college? How do you convince teens who say they like God but not religion that the church has something to offer them? And, of course, if we could canonize one person, living or dead, Catholic or not, who would it be?

And in Signs of the Times, Pope Francis makes an extra-long distance call to the International Space Station. Next, the “chainsaw nun” now has an IPA named in her honor [...]

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Last weekend Jesuitical took the show on the road for our first live recording at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in my hometown, Arlington, Va. The Teach-In is the country’s largest Catholic social justice gathering, which brings together students from Jesuit high schools and colleges and other members of the Ignatian family for three days of learning, prayer and advocacy.

For this week’s interview, the tables were turned and your hosts were in the hot seat. Our audience had some extremely thoughtful questions for us: How has our faith changed since graduating from college? How do you convince teens who say they like God but not religion that the church has something to offer them? And, of course, if we could canonize one person, living or dead, Catholic or not, who would it be?

And in Signs of the Times, Pope Francis makes an extra-long distance call to the International Space Station. Next, the “chainsaw nun” now has an IPA named in her honor [...]

This week, we talk with celebrity nun, Sister Simone Campbell. Sister Simone is the leader of the Nuns on the Bus and executive director of the NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. We talk balancing spirituality with fame, women religious, Catholic feminism, Paul Ryan and more. 

In Signs of the Times, next week is Halloween, and some women religious warn: sexy nun costumes aren’t funny. Half of U.S. citizens don’t think you need to believe in God to be a good person—what exactly does it mean to be good? Have you heard of the Palmarian Catholic Church? Well, Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code and infamous for getting Catholicism wrong, has a new book out focusing on the creepy, Catholic sect (as a bonus, you guys get to hear about Zac’s schismatic church rabbit hole). Earlier this year, the Vatican released a survey in anticipation of next year’s Synod 2018 on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment. The three of us took the survey ba [...]

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“What does religion have to offer me?” It’s a question more people are asking as affiliation with organized religion continues to fall. Brandon Vogt thinks that Catholics should be ready with answers.

“Today, as the world becomes more and more disinterested and disenchanted with religion, we need this positive approach [to being Catholic more] than a negative defense,” he says.

Vogt, the guest on this week’s episode of Jesuitical, is the author of Why I am Catholic (And You Should Be Too). In it, Vogt recounts his conversion to Catholicism and the arguments that convinced him to enter the church. He also outlines arguments he thinks will convince those skeptical of what the Catholic Church teaches.

Before the interview with Vogt, we summarize and discuss the top [...]

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“What does religion have to offer me?” It’s a question more people are asking as affiliation with organized religion continues to fall. Brandon Vogt thinks that Catholics should be ready with answers.

“Today, as the world becomes more and more disinterested and disenchanted with religion, we need this positive approach [to being Catholic more] than a negative defense,” he says.

Vogt, the guest on this week’s episode of Jesuitical, is the author of Why I am Catholic (And You Should Be Too). In it, Vogt recounts his conversion to Catholicism and the arguments that convinced him to enter the church. He also outlines arguments he thinks will convince those skeptical of what the Catholic Church teaches.

Before the interview with Vogt, we summarize and discuss the top [...]

What does it mean to be a feminist? I wasn’t raised one—I barely even understood what the word meant growing up. It wasn’t until my 20s that I began to fully engage with feminist ideas and literature, from Betty Friedan to bell hooks to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. For me, feminism is intersectional, incorporating various aspects of my identity: being a woman of color, an immigrant, a writer, and a person of faith.

This week, in a women’s only episode—Zac is on a much deserved vacation—Ashley and I discuss our personal relationships with the feminist label, Catholicism and more with this week’s guest, Claire Swinarski. A former FOCUS missionary, Claire is the host of “The Catholic Feminist Podcast.”

And, in Signs of the Times, Pope Francis reaches [...]

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What does it mean to be a feminist? I wasn’t raised one—I barely even understood what the word meant growing up. It wasn’t until my 20s that I began to fully engage with feminist ideas and literature, from Betty Friedan to bell hooks to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. For me, feminism is intersectional, incorporating various aspects of my identity: being a woman of color, an immigrant, a writer, and a person of faith.

This week, in a women’s only episode—Zac is on a much deserved vacation—Ashley and I discuss our personal relationships with the feminist label, Catholicism and more with this week’s guest, Claire Swinarski. A former FOCUS missionary, Claire is the host of “The Catholic Feminist Podcast.”

And, in Signs of the Times, Pope Francis reaches [...]

Even super fans (your hosts included) of Grammy-nominated Christian artist Matt Maher may not know this fun fact: The Canadian musician went to a Jesuit high school in Newfoundland! On this week’s episode, we ask Matt if Ignatian spirituality has influenced his music, how the music industry has changed since he released his first album in 2001 and about the place of protest and suffering in his latest album, “Echoes,” which dropped on Sept. 29.

In Signs of the Times, we talk about how we, as individuals and a country, responded to the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas. Are thoughts and prayers enough? Is this the right time to talk about gun control?

Next, a former ESPN employee fired for writing a racist headline and about to become a Catholic priest show the power of second chances. And in other sports news, a Catholic diocese decrees that student athletes and spectators cannot take a knee during the national anthem. Also, they might have found Santa’s gra [...]

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Even super fans (your hosts included) of Grammy-nominated Christian artist Matt Maher may not know this fun fact: The Canadian musician went to a Jesuit high school in Newfoundland! On this week’s episode, we ask Matt if Ignatian spirituality has influenced his music, how the music industry has changed since he released his first album in 2001 and about the place of protest and suffering in his latest album, “Echoes,” which dropped on Sept. 29.

In Signs of the Times, we talk about how we, as individuals and a country, responded to the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas. Are thoughts and prayers enough? Is this the right time to talk about gun control?

Next, a former ESPN employee fired for writing a racist headline and about to become a Catholic priest show the power of second chances. And in other sports news, a Catholic diocese decrees that student athletes and spectators cannot take a knee during the national anthem. Also, they might have found Santa’s gra [...]