Spirit Juice is proud to present Reel Homilies from Father Tim Anastos, associate chaplain of the St. John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois-Chicago. In these minute-long reflections, Father Tim will unpack the Sunday Gospel readings through the lenses of Church tradition, pop culture, and self-improvement. We hope these reflections serve to inspire your own thoughts on the Gospel and bring you closer to Christ…as well as bring a smile to your face.
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Blessed Epiphany
So a new “Hunger Games” movie, “Ballad of Songbird and Snakes,” just came out, and this is not a spoiler. However, the two main characters, Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray, have an excellent relationship. Lucy Gray, everything about her, inspires Coriolanus Snow to be good and to be more virtuous. She is the light. She is the hope for Coriolanus Snow. Today, we celebrate the blessed Epiphany of the Lord…
Don’t Take Away His Family
Today is the Feast Day of the Holy Family. And what better thing to talk about than “Fast and the Furious.” Dominic Toretto is amazing at driving fast. But he is more impressive with protecting his family. My favorite quote from the ninth movie is, “The worst thing you can do to a Toretto is take away his family.” Translate that to our faith, and oh my gosh, the worst thing that you can do to God the Father…
Christmas Is Cancel Proof!
A few years ago, I was at a barbershop, and while getting my haircut, a woman shared with everyone in the room that she had a rough year. And because she had had a rough year, she decided to cancel Christmas. And the inner Buddy, the elf in me, freaked out. You can’t cancel Christmas. How can you do that? The reality is that the incarnation cannot be canceled. Christmas is cancel-proof because…
Have You Been Friends With Jesus?
‘Tis the season for gingerbread lattes, candy canes, and watching “Die Hard.” It’s a Christmas movie. Today, we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Advent, which is crazy because tomorrow is Christmas. Very rarely in the church calendar, this happens, where Christmas falls right after the fourth Sunday of Advent, and I love it when this happens because it always makes me realize that whenever I’m not…
Joy in the Midst of Suffering
So, have you ever felt like you are going to die after you get a paper cut or stub your toe? Me too. But blessed Chiara Luce Badano, a contemporary teenage saint of the church, teaches us how to have joy amid suffering. She contracted a rare form of cancer as a teenager. But amid her suffering, she knew that Jesus had already won in her heart, and she did not have to be afraid. Today, we celebrate…
Something Greater Than Ourselves
Let’s talk about my dad. So when I was a kid, about a year ago… One of my most formative things was seeing my dad pray on his knees, praying to someone more important than him. As a kid, I saw my dad as the supreme commander of the universe. Seeing him answer to someone even more significant than him, loved by someone even greater than him, was so freeing for me just to be a kid and loved…
Immaculate Conception Day
In the Marvel movie “Infinity War,” Dr. Strange is the hero. Dr. Strange is the one who looks at all of the possible future scenarios and finds the one where they get to save the world. That’s the crazy thing. Dr. Strange has to keep it a secret to preserve the timeline and save the world. Today, on this Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, Mary is preserved from Original Sin by the merits of Jesus Christ…
SEEK 2024
I get asked very often by people who are slightly older than me. “Father Tim, where are all the young people? They’re not coming to mass. They’re not growing in their relationship with the Lord. They don’t believe in anything.” A bit of that is valid, but most of it is false. Me and Spirit Juice and 24,000 of our closest friends were at a conference called SEEK, which was incredible. Twenty-four thousand young people…