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Over the next two episodes, host Eric Clayton is going to take you on an adventure. We’re going to travel to Central America, to a small country on the Caribbean Sea. A country that is both ancient and relatively new. A place that is both a melting pot of so very many cultures and ways of life, and yet is also the least populated country in all of Central America.
We're going on pilgrimage to Belize.
Eric was there earlier this year visiting the Jesuit communities. Jesuits have been in Belize since 1851, when members of the English Province came over from nearby Jamaica. Ever since, Jesuit have played a foundational role in the development of the Catholic Church in the country — even before it was a country.
And that last bit is important. The Mayan people lived and thrived in that land for centuries before Europeans arrived in the early 1500s. But when the Spanish conquistadors arrived — and soon after, British pirates — the Mayan people suffered, dying from conflict as well as disease.
The country as it’s known today became independent in 1981. Before then, since 1862, Belize was declared part of the British Empire and known as British Honduras. As a result of the relative new-ness of the country, Belizeans are still in the process of discovering their own identity, of making known what it means to be a citizen of Belize.
So, what role are the Jesuits playing in all of this? As you'll hear from today's guest, Fr. Brian Christopher, SJ, the superior of the Jesuit community in Belize, the Jesuits are called to accompaniment. Fr. Brian is focused on walking with Belizeans in discovering what it means to be Catholic and Belizean is this moment.
This is part 1 of a two-part series on Belize. Next week, we'll journey to a different part of the country. In the meantime, check out this video featuring Fr. Brian and some of the lay leadership in Belize: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cLzGsVsxRs -
Today we’re talking about the global nature of God’s invitation. Our guest — Fr. Chuks, the new director of communications for the Jesuit Curia in Rome, responsible for sharing the stories of the entirety of the global Society of Jesus — reminds us that the people of God are everywhere. And we, informed by the Ignatian tradition, have a responsibility to go and hear their stories—and to share them with others.
Fr. Chuks — whose full name is Chukwuyenum Afiawari — is a Nigerian Jesuit. Most recently, he was the provincial of the North West Africa province, which includes Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Gambia—no small task!
Now living at the Jesuit headquarters in Rome, Chuks is tasked with thinking about how we communicate with one another. How we communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ with on another. How Ignatian spirituality and the legacy of Ignatius of Loyola equips us to go out into the world and witness Christ’s love to one another. This, too, is no small task.
Today's conversation covers a lot of ground, hitting on the nature of global communications, our responsibility as members of the universal Catholic Church, how we might train today’s communicators to respond to the signs of the times and more. -
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When the celebrity chef and restauranter Lidia Bastianich was just a few months old, the city her Italian family lived in was assigned to Yugoslavia as part of the reorganization of Europe after World War II. Her family became exiles without a proper homeland. Eventually, her family fled to Italy, where they lived in a refugee camp for two years. With the help of the Catholic Church, her family was resettled in the United States in 1958.
It is her own family history and her own close personal connection with the Society of Jesus that prompted Lidia to join the board of the Jesuit Refugee Service USA recently.
The mission of Jesuit Refugee Service is to accompany, serve and advocate for the rights of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. Founded by Jesuit superior general Fr. Pedro Arrupe in 1980, in direct response to the humanitarian crisis of Vietnamese refugees, JRS today works in 58 countries worldwide to meet the educational, health and social needs of refugees.
Lidia is most well known for Italian cooking, which she has shared with the world in almost 20 cookbooks, several restaurants and a handful of extremely popular cooking shows on PBS. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked her about her career and how her family’s moving story led her to where she is today. They also talked about the unique and mysterious power of a shared meal, plus differences between Italian and Italian-American cooking and how the US at its best is a place where cultures from around the world can come, encounter each other and grow in harmony. Lidia also gave Mike a few tips for his own cooking! She is a delightful storyteller and an insightful conversation partner and we know you’ll love getting to know her in this extended interview format.
Lidia Bastianich: https://lidiasitaly.com/
Jesuit Refugee Service USA: https://www.jrsusa.org/
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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From the Jesuit Media Lab, this is AMDG. I’m Mike Jordan Laskey.
Today’s episode is the fourth and final one in our series on faith and politics leading up to the 2024 presidential election here in the U.S. Our guest is the Jesuit Conference’s very own Tom Mulloy, who serves as our director of government relations.
Sometimes people are surprised to find out that we have a director of government relations and that our Office of Justice and Ecology spends the majority of its time here in Washington meeting with lawmakers and others in power, trying to influence laws and policies. Tom is a lobbyist, essentially, but you have to think about that word differently in this case. Instead of lobbying on behalf of big oil or a tech behemoth like Google, Tom works alongside other faith groups and NGOs to advocate for a more just and peaceful world. He brings the voices and experiences of the huge Jesuit network to the halls of power in order to humanize issues ranging from immigration to tax policy to indigenous housing. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Tom to share how he got into this work and why his faith calls him to bring Gospel values to Capitol Hill. They also talked about how all of us can be informed, faith-filled advocates on behalf of justice. Because the work of politics is not just about elections. It’s about making sure those we elect pursue the common good.
The Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology: https://www.jesuits.org/our-work/justice-and-ecology/oje/
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Go Yankees.
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AMDG is a production of the Jesuit M -
For the third episode of our pre-election series, we’re going to focus on the role of the media in a democracy. Our guest is Scott Detrow, a veteran radio journalist and a host of NPR’s flagship show All Things Considered. You can usually find Scott hosting the weekend editions of the show on Saturday and Sunday, but this month he’s filling in on the weekday afternoon broadcast. He’s also a host of the Consider This podcast. Scott joined NPR in 2015, and he spent eight years covering national politics. He covered two presidential campaigns, Congress and the White House. Before NPR, Scott was a statehouse reporter in California and Pennsylvania for NPR member stations.
He's also Jesuit educated twice over -- an alum of Marquette University High School in Milwaukee and Fordham University in New York. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him on the show recently to discuss the state of the news media today, which is just as caught up in the challenges of polarization as the Catholic Church is. We wanted to get his take on the state of journalism today and even just to get back to basics: What is the news media for in a democracy? Why is mistrust of media so high these days? Are there any signs of hope out there?
And you can trust Scott on this stuff because he’s thoughtful, hard-working and a great old-fashioned journalist. He wants to tell stories that matter to communities, not to spout his own opinions about the latest hot topic of the day. Because he’s not a pundit, this podcast might be the only time you get to hear him share his thoughts on the media landscape today and why journalism is worth fighting for.
Scott Detrow: https://www.npr.org/people/444796749/scott-detrow
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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twitter.com/jesuitnews
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instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
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This is the second in our series on faith and politics leading up to the 2024 presidential election here in the United States. Our guest is Dr. Nichole Flores, one of the most exciting young theologians around. Nichole is an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, and completed her doctoral study in theological ethics at Boston College. It was tricky to decide what to talk to her about because her work covers so many topics: Her research in practical ethics addresses issues of democracy, migration, family, gender, economics, race and ethnicity, and ecology.
She talked with host Mike Jordan Laskey about her background and topics like polarization, faith and politics within the various Hispanic communities in the US, and how we might try to seek out spaces in our daily lives that are not just echo chambers of our own views. It was a wide-ranging discussion and it’s fascinating to see how Nichole brings her intellectual interests together with the very practical day-to-day stuff of family and community living.
Dr. Nichole Flores: https://religiousstudies.as.virginia.edu/nichole-m-flores
Nichole’s writing at America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/nichole-m-flores
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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It’s October, which means the presidential election here in the US is next month. So here on AMDG we are going to take old that rule about never discussing religion or politics in polite company and throw it in the Potomac River.
Our four episodes this month will all cover faith and politics in a variety of ways. We know you don’t come here for political news and analysis, so we won’t be talking about the ins and outs of the election or really all that much about the election itself. Instead, we’re hoping to go deeper into why politics might matter to people of faith in the first place. Our series of guests all come at questions about this stuff from different angles. We’re getting started on today’s episode with the only American Jesuit who served as a state’s lieutenant governor before entering the Society of Jesus. (We didn’t actually look that fact up, but we’re sure it’s true.) Cyrus Habib, SJ, is a Jesuit in the stage of formation called regency.
When he entered the Jesuits in 2020, Cyrus had been serving as the State of Washington’s Lieutenant Governor for three years. An extremely successful and popular politician, it was quite possible Cyrus would’ve eventually become the governor of the state. But he gave up his political career for a Jesuit vocation. And these are just two chapters of Cyrus’ incredible life story: the son of Iranian immigrants to the United States, Cyrus lost his eyesight to cancer as an eight-year-old kid. After graduating from Columbia University in 2003, he studied English literature as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University then earned a law degree at Yale. He practiced law in Washington State from 2009 until 2017, and during that time was elected to the Washington House of Representatives. It’s safe to say he surprised a lot of people when he walked away from politics to enter the Society.
Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Cyrus about his story and his vocation. They also talked about the value of politics and what from the Church’s tradition we might be able to offer the country to help heal our partisan divides.
Cyrus Habib, SJ, on his decision to join the Jesuits in America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/03/19/lieutenant-governor-cyrus-habib-why-i-am-giving-elected-office-and-joining-jesuits
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/ -
Santos and Noehlia worked with Jesuits in Nicaragua; when the government began to attack the Church, they had to flee.
This audio reflection is part of a series marking the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Over the course of six episodes, we invite you to join migrants in solidarity and prayer.
Find supplemental resources for reflection and action here: https://sites.ignatiansolidarity.net/world-refugee-day-website -
Fr. Sudzer and Matthew support migrants at the Jesuit parish in Miami. They both have family members who’ve migrated.
This audio reflection is part of a series marking the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Over the course of six episodes, we invite you to join migrants in solidarity and prayer.
Find supplemental resources for reflection and action here: https://sites.ignatiansolidarity.net/world-refugee-day-website -
Today’s episode is different from anything we’ve ever done. Instead of an interview, we have three audio pieces about what you could call the spirituality of everyday life. What are the things we do to find meaning and purpose within the daily grind?
First, host Mike Jordan Laskey tells you about his “kindie rock” band, Down By The Bagel.
Then, New York-based writer Kaitlin Campbell shares “You Can Do This,” a story about a big case of writer’s block and her prayer for God to just show her a sign already.
Finally, Steve Givens, an author and spiritual director from St. Louis, has a piece about how an imaginary baseball game he played as a kid shaped his spiritual life in ways he only would come to realize decades later.
If you’d like to submit us your own proposal for some creative work, check out our pitch guide at JesuitMediaLab.org.
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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Sometimes on this show, host Mike Jordan Laskey has topic in mind he’d like to cover and then he goes and finds someone great to talk about it. Other times, he knows he wants to talk to a specific person because they’re brilliant and Mike doesn’t really care what the topic is. Whatever the guest wants to discuss will be interesting. Today’s episode is this latter type of show.
Dr. Mahri Leonard-Fleckman teaches at the College of the Holy Cross, where she’s an associate professor in the Departments of Religious Studies and Classics. She’s an Old Testament scholar, and first came on the show about four years ago to talk about the Book of Ecclesiastes and King David. Mike wrote her recently and asked what’s fascinating her these days. And that’s how we have come to have an episode about Samson, that strong guy with the long hair from the Book of Judges.
Mahri has been researching the history of Samson, how this bizarre Biblical character came to be and how interpretations about him have shifted through centuries. Mahri’s research has way deeper concerns than the surface-level story of Samson – she uses the story to reflect on the nature of Biblical biography writ large. Where do these larger-than-life characters come from and what do they mean? How do cultures receive and interpret sacred texts over generations? After hearing form Mahri, you won’t think about Samson the same way ever again.
Mahri Leonard-Fleckman, Ph.D.: https://www.holycross.edu/academics/programs/religious-studies/faculty/mahri-leonard-fleckman
Mahri’s “Ponder: Contemplative Bible Study”: https://litpress.org/Products/PONDERSET/Ponder-Complete-Set?srsltid=AfmBOopdlMpTTpBbZ-ug-XsSwHtMz-zSQYcBLkw3BBr6-h8AcDpI1Szl
World Day of Migrants and Refugees Audio Reflection Series: https://sites.ignatiansolidarity.net/world-refugee-day-website
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/ -
Think back to the early days of ChatGPT and generative AI. It was a topic discussed on seemingly every podcast and countless news segments. Nearly every one of them started those segments with some elaborate introduction about the risks and opportunities that the new technology posed, how the way we communicate with one another would be irrevocably changed, how we would no longer be able to differentiate the writing of humans from that of computers. And then, to conclude the intro, the host would say something along the lines of, “Bet you didn’t realize everything I just said was written by ChatGPT.”
Don’t worry—we didn’t do that here. All that clunky writing is your host's.
But for a second, you were unsure. Even now, you might be wondering if you can trust us, if you can take us at our word.
And that, our guest today says, is a problem. Dr. Joseph Vukov is an associate professor of philosophy and the associate director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago. His latest book—and the topic of today’s podcast—is called “Staying Human in an Era of Artificial Intelligence.”
Joe points to this erosion of trust as just one of the threats AI poses to our ability to stay human. But he doesn’t stop there. Throughout our conversation, he takes on this idea that just because AI can write something that sounds vaguely human doesn’t at all mean it’s eroding the building blocks of our humanity.
All the same, as people of faith responding to the signs of the times, continuing to reflect on AI and its inevitable role in our present and future is important. And that’s what we do today.
It’s a fun conversation. If you want to learn more about Joe and his work, visit josephvukov.com and check out the links below.
Get his book: https://www.amazon.com/Staying-Human-Era-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1565485998
Learn about his course: https://www.scienceforhumans.com/ -
There aren’t that many times in the Gospels when Jesus tells his disciples how they might act if they’re hoping to get to heaven one day. When Jesus does indeed get that direct, it’s probably a smart idea to pay attention. And probably the most famous example of this sort of Jesus talk comes in the 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. It’s the Last Judgment story, the one about the sheep and the goats. Jesus tells his friends that whenever they feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick or visit the prisoner, they are caring for Christ himself. He makes a radical one-to-one identification with people who suffering and oppressed.
Perhaps the most challenging category of person listed in Matthew 25 is the prisoner. Because Jesus doesn’t just say you can find him in unjustly held prisoners. He just says prisoners. If you want to see Christ, he seems to be saying, look into the eyes of someone on death row. That’s a privileged place to find Jesus, important enough to make it into this dramatic story in the Gospel. Our criminal justice system is certainly not set up to treat prisoners as if they were reflections of the Lord’s face. But our guest today is the founder of a Catholic organization that’s working hard to make world a bit closer to God’s dream for it.
Fr. Zach Presutti is a Jesuit priest and the founder and executive director of the Thrive For Life Prison Project. In 2017, before his ordination to the priesthood, Zach founded Thrive For Life with a mission to transform lives both behind and beyond prison walls. In jails and prisons, Thrive For Life offers thousands of men and women in New York and Wisconsin retreats and spiritual direction rooted in Ignatian spirituality. On the outside, the organization is growing a network of houses of study for returning citizens to live in community while receiving holistic support services.
Recently, Fr. Zach was nominated as one of three finalists for the prestigious Opus Prize, hosted this year at Santa Clara University. The Opus Prize is given to recognize unsung heroes, anywhere in the world and from a variety of faith traditions, solving today’s most persistent social problems. All Opus finalists receive gifts of $100,000, with the winner receiving $1 million. When host Mike Jordan Laskey spoke with Fr. Zach recently, he asked him to share the story of how Thrive For Life got started and why he thinks it has grown and thrived the way it has. Fr. Zach shared his reflections on working in prison ministry and why he finds it to be such an enlivening mission. While he’s a humble guy who deflects praise and is always quick to lift up members of Thrive For Life’s team and network, we couldn’t help but be struck by Fr. Zach’s passion, energy and vision. We think you’ll enjoy getting to know him a bit.
Thrive For Life: https://thriveforlife.org/
The Opus Prize: https://www.scu.edu/news-and-events/press-releases/2024/july-2024/santa-clara-university-announces-opus-prize-finalists.html
AMDG is a product of the Jesuit Media Lab, a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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A couple of weeks ago, The New Yorker magazine published a fabulous profile of a Jesuit priest: Fr. Brian Strassburger, SJ, who lives in a Jesuit community that’s serving migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas and the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The piece went deep into Fr. Brian’s vocation story and how he wound up at the border as his first assignment after ordination to the priesthood. The article is also theologically rich, politically astute and paints a vivid picture of the harsh reality the migrants the Jesuits accompany are facing every day.
The author of the story is a freelance reporter named Jack Herrera whose work on immigration, among other topics, has appeared in places like The Atlantic and the Los Angeles Times. Jack is our guest today.
In reporting the story, Jack spent hours and hours with Fr. Brian and his fellow Jesuits in their ministry. Host Mike Jordan Laskey wanted to know what Jack learned from his experience: What most surprised him as he accompanied the Jesuits on both sides of the border? What stories and research got left on the cutting room floor? How did the project come to be in the first place, and why was The New Yorker interested? If you have read the story already, we hope this conversation will be a helpful supplement to what made it onto the page. If you haven’t read the story yet, we can’t recommend it highly enough.
“The Betrayal of American Border Policy”: https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-betrayal-of-american-border-policy
Jack Herrera: https://x.com/jherrerx
Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries, where Fr. Brian serves: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/our-work/del-camino/
How Jesuits Accompany Today’s Holy Families on the Border: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85U1B3zECU4
www.jesuits.org/
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www.jesuitmedialab.org/ -
The end of the summer and the beginning of fall means many of us will be returning to school in one form or another. Teachers, students, bus drivers, cafeteria workers—it’s all about to begin again. It’s a time of excitement and maybe a little apprehension.
I’ll wager a bet that a few listeners are familiar with a particular type of school. It may be your alma mater; it might be your place of employment. It might just be where you send your tuition. I’ll bet when you visit this school, there are signs with funny Latin words: cura personalis, magis, agere contra and so on.
Of course I’m talking about Jesuit schools. And whether or not you’ll be setting foot on one in the coming weeks, I think you’re going to like today’s episode. Because our guest, Dr. Michael T. Rizzi, is about to take us on a brisk tour through the vast and compelling history of Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States.
Dr. Rizzi is the director of student affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. He’s written an incredible book aptly called “Jesuit Colleges and Universities in the United States: A History.” In it, he tells the story of this particular kind of school, how it has developed and what it has meant to the history of the U.S. We’re introduced to not only a cast of characters but every Jesuit college past and present. It’s a history with more than a few surprises. And it may just make you appreciate your own Jesuit school that much more.
If you’d like to pick up a copy of Dr. Rizzi’s book, visit this link: https://www.amazon.com/Jesuit-Colleges-Universities-United-States/dp/0813236169 -
This is a conversation about racism and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. Put more precisely, this is a conversation about how the Spiritual Exercises might better form us to understand and push back against the repercussions of racism in America.
The question that frames this conversation is one that comes from the global Society of Jesus. At the last General Congregation—GC 36—when Jesuits from around the world gathered to elect a new superior general and examine the most pressing issues facing our world today, this question was raised: Why do the Exercises not change us as deeply as we should hope?
In short, how does injustice and racism and violent persist, even after so many of us have made the Exercises? The Exercises, after all, are meant to change our hearts and minds, to help us better understand God and who God desires that we be with and through community.
This question is at the heat of a new book from Liturgical Press. It’s called “Praying for Freedom: Racism and Ignatian Spirituality in America.” It’s a collection of essays and reflections that attempt to wrestle with this question and try to envision how we might build a more just and compassionate society.
We have three guests today. Dr. Laurie Cassidy, the editor of the anthology, currently teaches in the Christian Spirituality program at Creighton University. She is an award-winning author and editor, and has been engaged in the ministry of spiritual direction for more than 30 years. Our two other guests, Elise Gower and Justin White, both contributed chapters to this book, both reflecting on their own experiences of a retreat called “The God of Us All: Praying with Black Spirituality.” They both share with us personal and powerful insights into their own prayer life.
Elise has an extensive background in Ignatian spirituality, higher education and leadership, having served as associate director of Contemplative Leaders in Action—a formation program for young adults—and at Loyola University Maryland in the offices of Campus Ministry and the Center for Community Service and Justice, and more. Justin White has a long career in Jesuit education, having taught theology for 8 years at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Baltimore and having held several roles at Loyola Blakefield, most recently as a counselor for middle school students.
If you have ever prayed through the Spiritual Exercises or if that’s something you hope to do, this conversation will add a helpful frame to your prayer and challenge you to examine those places in our lives where we are resistant to God’s love—those places where we are not free.
Our prayer today is one of freedom—as we begin this conversation, let us pray that we all may recognize those places of unfreedom in our lives, and take the necessary steps to step beyond those obstacles.
https://litpress.org/Products/6791/Praying-for-Freedom -
Today’s topic is one straight out of science fiction. We’re talking about transhumanism—which, as you’ll soon learn, is very much a real thing with very real ethical implications. That’s why Dr. Jason Eberl, professor and director of the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University, is here to share his insights and expertise.
Transhumanism, at its core, is about modifying the human body. As Dr. Eberl will explain, that can be as simple as taking some sort of drug to help focus your mind during a late-night study session. But it can also imply something much more—think of a cyborg from Star Trek.
And we do—think about Star Trek, I mean. Dr. Eberl is an expert fan, having written and edited countless essays, articles, book chapters and more investigating the philosophical side of some of our favorite pop culture franchises. It’s a helpful way to engage a tricky, complex topic like transhumanism. As Dr. Eberl says, it gives us distance to game out ethical scenarios that are both uncomfortable and necessary to making good decisions.
We do that in today’s conversation, too. While we may arrive at few answers, Dr. Eberl lays out a variety of outcomes that transhumanism—in all its varied forms—might lead to. Some are good; some, less so. But as you’ll see, these aren’t just hypothetical issues for the next Star Trek series; these are issues that can have very tangible impacts in our daily lives and relationships.
This conversation brings in insights from everyone from Mr. Spock to St. Thomas Aquinas, and helps us better understand what it means to be embodied. Ultimately, as Dr. Eberl lays out, it’s because of our limitations, our imperfections as humans, that we are able to find happiness. That sounds counterintuitive, but I think by the end of today’s episode, you might begin to see why.
Want to check out some of Jason Eberl’s prolific works?
SLU Faculty Page: https://www.slu.edu/arts-and-sciences/bioethics/faculty/eberl-jason.php
"Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy:" https://www.amazon.com/Battlestar-Galactica-Philosophy-Knowledge-Begins/dp/1405178140/
"The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy:" https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Star-Wars-Philosophy-Blackwell/dp/1119038065/
"Star Trek and Philosophy:" https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Philosophy-Popular-Culture-ebook/dp/B003S3RL8U -
Today, July 31, we celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Happy feast day! We'll wager a guess that if you’re a listener of this podcast, then today’s saint needs no introduction. You know about the cannonball, the pilgrimage, the Spiritual Exercises and the founding of the Society of Jesus. Ignatius’ story, told year after year, might even begin to feel a bit dry.
That’s why we're excited about today’s interview. Our guest takes a fresh approach to this well-known history. We’re looking at the story of Ignatius and the Jesuits not from a chronological perspective but from a thematic one. Claudio Ferlan is an Italian historian and was a fellow at Boston College’s Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies. His time at BC has led to the publication of a new book titled “The Jesuits: A Thematic History.”
What are these themes? We explore the historical development and importance of the Ignatian identity, of the role of mission work in the Society, of the Jesuit’s unique way of proceeding and of the inevitable conflicts that Jesuits have found themselves engaged in. We think you’ll find this to be a brisk, fascinating tour of Jesuit history.
And if you do like this conversation or just have an interest in Jesuit history, then pick up a copy of “The Jesuits: A Thematic History” here: https://jesuitsources.bc.edu/the-jesuits-a-thematic-history/ -
There is a list of Jesuit giants through history you hear over and over. That list starts with Saint Ignatius and his companions, of course, then includes to other Jesuit saints and blesseds to more modern Jesuits who are often called by just one name: Rahner. Hopkins. De Lubac. Teilhard. Arrupe. Dulles. Ellacuria. Bergoglio. And today’s episode is about one more on this list: Lonergan.
Bernard Lonergan was a Canadian Jesuit philosopher and theologian who lived from 1904 to 1984. And to be honest, his work is intimidating. He was pretty clearly a genius and wrote volumes on volumes of work on topics like epistemology, the philosophy of science, economic and political theory, and so much more. His most significant work is a 1957 book called “Insight: A Study of Human Understanding.” Whatever Lonergan was up to during his life was so important that there are scores of scholars who devote their careers today to studying and responding to his work. Today’s guest is one of these scholars: Jonathan Heaps is the director of the Bernard J. Lonergan Institute at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, and the author of the recent book The Ambiguity of Being: Lonergan and the Problems of the Supernatural.
Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Jonathan to introduce Lonergan to us and explain why there is this whole cottage industry around Lonergan’s thought and why he’s still important today. Jon did a great job translating some of Lonergan’s big ideas into language even Mike could understand. We think you’ll enjoy the chance to get this accessible introduction to one of the most influential North American Jesuits ever.
Jonathan Heaps: https://www.jonathanheaps.com/
Lonergan Institute: https://www.shu.edu/lonergan/
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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A few weeks ago, our guest was the sociologist of religion Tricia Bruce, who talked about what we know about the state of the American Catholic Church today. On this episode, host Mike Jordan Laskey is pursuing the same questions but from a different angle. Our guest is Scott Moringiello, and he’s an associate professor of Catholic Studies at DePaul University in Chicago. In that role, he teaches a rather large course called Introduction to Catholicism, which he has taught multiple times. Over the years, he has taught hundreds of Gen Z kids from all sorts of religious backgrounds about the foundational basics of the Catholic faith. He’s gotten to learn about the students’ own experiences with faith and what energizes them or keeps them distant.
Scott was also an academic mentor of Mike’s almost 20 years ago. He was a graduate assistant in a phenomenal liberal arts seminar Mike took, which he still considers the greatest intellectual experience of his life. One way you can tell the power of that class is the fact Scott and Mike are still friends all this time later. So they talked a bit about what made that class so incredible and how it informed Scott’s own approach to education. They also discussed some of his Scott’s mentors from Regis High School in New York City, his Jesuit alma mater that’s still near and dear to his heart.
Finally, Mike also asked Scott the role of the liberal arts and college education in the world of ChatGPT. They had a wide-ranging conversation that feels a bit like old friends getting together over a meal or a libation.
Scott Moringiello: https://las.depaul.edu/academics/catholic-studies/faculty/Pages/Scott-Moringiello.aspx
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, 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/ - Vis mere
