What do all of these characters have in common? Gaston, Mr. Darcy, Regina George, Gilderoy Lockhart. These characters do precisely the opposite of what St. Paul asks of us. Do nothing out of selfishness and vainglory. St. Thomas Aquinas says that vainglory is the excessive need for the approval of others.
All of these characters are vainglorious. They don’t have pride. They don’t want to be the best. All they want is social status. All they want is the approval of others. As Christians, we fall into vainglory, and the way to fight against vainglory is to do what the saints did, which is to be more concerned with how God sees us. We don’t need the approval of others. We need God to speak the words of truth to our hearts: you are made good, seen, loved, and known, which can never be taken away from you. So fight against vainglory and let God tell you who you are.
Reel Homilies with Father Tim Anastos is free to watch, but it’s not free to produce! Generous donors make it possible for us to continue creating this content. If you enjoy Reel Homilies, please consider making a monthly tax-deductible gift. Spirit Juice Entertainment Group (SJEG) is the non-profit arm of Spirit Juice Studios. It is a 501(c)3 organization that relies on your support to continue creating original, authentically Catholic content that reaches thousands of people each week through our website and social media channels.
Start a new monthly donation and receive an array of Reel Homilies and Spirit Juice swag in gratitude for your generosity. For more information, please visit our Reel Homilies Support page.
To qualify, you must donate a minimum of $10 per month. All gifts in between will be rounded down to the nearest package amount. Please allow 6-8 weeks for your package to be shipped. Questions? Contact us at donate@spiritjuice.org. Your donation is tax-deductible within the United States, and we will provide a tax receipt for your records.
-
Good Friday
Okay, so this is a very solemn day, this is a very somber day. It’s Good Friday. If you have the opportunity to go to your Good Friday service at your parish, the first thing that you will see is the priest lying prostrate on the ground. It’s a sign of reverence, it’s a sign of adoration, but it’s also a sign of vulnerability. On Good Friday, Jesus becomes vulnerable…
-
Glass Half-Empty or Overflowing
Okay, so maybe you are a glass-half-empty kind of person, or you are like me, and you are a glass overflowing. Everything is awesome all of the time, and nothing is ever wrong kind of person. But in the Gospel for this Sunday, St. Thomas the Apostle is a glass-half-empty kind of person. He is very skeptical. Something is intriguing happening here. Thomas, a man…
-
Only Jesus Can Satisfy
Either you know this person, or you are this person who goes through Netflix, scrolls through all of the TV shows and all of the movies, and can never find the perfect show to watch. And those people are so annoying. But the spiritual reality of a moment like that is Jesus knocking out our hearts, reminding us that he’s the only one who can satisfy us. That’s why…
