AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

As the COVID-19 pandemic has descended upon the United States over the past three months, today's guest, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has become a household name thanks to his expertise and his clear and calm communication style. Though many of us have just learned about his work recently, Dr. Fauci has been in public service for decades, directing the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. If there’s been a widespread infectious disease you’ve heard about, Dr. Fauci worked on it, from HIV to Ebola to Zika. His impact on public health both here and around the world is incalculable. Dr. Fauci is also a product of Jesuit education, and he credits his years at Regis High School in New York City and the College of the Holy Cross as helping to lay the groundwork for his career. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asks him what he found distinctive about his Jesuit education, what his typical day looks like mid-pandemic, and where we stand right now in our fight against this dreadful disease. Conversation recorded June 16, 2020. You can subscribe to AMDG wherever you listen to podcasts.

June 20 is World Refugee Day. While local headlines have taken over our consciousness even more than usual, our faith calls us to have a global vision. Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic has a disproportionate impact on those who are already vulnerable, including refugees. Many displaced persons live in close quarters in refugee camps or urban areas with limited access to healthcare. Global resettlement of refugees has been halted and international borders have been closed. All of these challenges pile up on the other challenges refugees face in the best of times. It’s why the world needs organizations like the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), which serves people displaced from their homes in over 50 countries around the world. Guest Danielle Vella is the director of reconciliation for JRS, and she has written a book of stories from her encounters with refugees called "Dying to Live: Stories from Refugees on the Road to Freedom." Danielle is from the tiny Mediterranean island nation of Malta, and she sat down with host Mike Jordan Laskey on the last day of her US book tour in early March, right before COVID-19 began its assault on North America. She shares incredible stories from her book and how her faith inspires her work. Danielle's book, Dying to Live: https://www.jrsusa.org/dying-to-live/ JRS USA's World Refugee Day campaign: https://www.jrsusa.org/campaign/welcome-protect-world-refugee-day-2020/

Fr. Mario Powell, SJ, is a Jesuit priest and the president of Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, which is a middle school serving low-income families of diverse races, ethnicities and faiths in New York City. Last week, Fr. Mario wrote a piece for America, the Jesuit review, headlined “‘How long, O Lord?’ Psalm 13 is the cry of black Americans.” He and host Mike Jordan Laskey use that piece as a jumping-off point to discuss the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the enduring sin of racism in America. Fr. Mario is 38 years old and one of the youngest black Jesuit priests in the country, and he brings a vital perspective to this time of anguish and protest. Read Fr. Mario's piece in America: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/06/03/how-long-o-lord-psalm-13-cry-black-americans Learn more about Brooklyn Jesuit Prep: http://www.brooklynjesuit.org/

Becky Eldredge knows what it means to turn a moment of intense suffering into a creative opportunity for God’s Spirit to work. In her latest book – “The Inner Chapel” – she applies Ignatian spirituality to the everyday struggles of ordinary people – and in so doing, encounters God. Eldredge, an accomplished author and spiritual director – and mother of three – shares with us her reflections on how the tools of St. Ignatius can be applied in our own time, amidst the ongoing pandemic, and the rebuilding that will ultimately ensue. Whether we’re feeling overwhelmed, lonely or just uncertain of ourselves, Eldredge reminds us that we can turn to God, enter into our inner chapels, and find rest. If you’re finding your prayer life to be a bit rocky these days, this episode – and the reflections and stories that Becky shares – are for you. Learn more about Becky and her work: https://beckyeldredge.com/

When California Governor Gavin Newsom wanted to assemble a task force on business and jobs recovery for the state, he turned to some usual suspects: Tim Cook of Apple, Bob Iger of Disney and former fed chair Janet Yellen, among others. But right toward the top of the alphabetical list of 80 some-odd prominent Californians is a Jesuit priest and today's guest Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. If you’re not familiar with Homeboy’s work of empowerment and kinship with former gang members, you really have to pick up copies of Fr. Greg’s two memoirs, which are both spiritual instant classics: "Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion" and "Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship." Host Mike Jordan Laskey asks Fr. Greg about what messages he wants to bring to the governor’s task force, and how he and Homeboy have been navigating this crazy time when their in-person ministry of compassion has been shaken up. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts. Homeboy Industries: https://homeboyindustries.org/ More about Fr. Greg: https://homeboyindustries.org/our-story/father-greg/

Catholic parish leaders around the world have been grappling with the pandemic in a unique way: How do you function when your existence as a community is dependent on people gathering for worship, education, and service and social events? Host Mike Jordan Laskey poses this question and others to today's guest, Fr. John Whitney, SJ, who is the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Seattle, the Jesuit parish there. As you might remember, the Seattle area was one of the earliest regions in North America to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Like so many others, the parish has come together (while apart) in dozens of beautiful ways. Fr. Whitney, who is the former provincial superior of what was then called the Oregon Province of the Jesuits, has loads of leadership experience to draw on in this hard time. His insight about how this experience has helped to empower the laity in some ways is fascinating to hear. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you listen to podcasts.

Our special guest is Senator Bob Casey, who has been representing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the Senate since 2007. In addition to being a dedicated public servant, Senator Casey has major Jesuit cred: He graduated from a Jesuit high school (Scranton Prep, Class of 1978). He graduated from a Jesuit college (The College of the Holy Cross, Class of 1982). Then, he spent a year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, teaching and coaching basketball at the Gesu School in Philadelphia. Senator Casey and host Mike Jordan Laskey discuss the Senator's Jesuit education and how it prepared him for a career in public service. They also talked about the COVID-19 pandemic, and what roles he thinks the federal government should be playing in our response to this difficult time. And stick around until the end, when Mike asks Senator Casey to weigh in on one of Pennsylvania’s biggest culinary debates. It has to do with various forms of breakfast meat. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe to AMDG wherever you listen to podcasts. And tell your friends, especially residents of the Keystone State.

We have never needed good leadership more than we need it right now. The COVID-19 pandemic is begging for excellent leadership in every sphere of life: Government at all levels, business, education, sports, all the way down to our own family systems. If you’re tasked with leading anything in any way these days, you’d be smart to draw some lessons from the 500-year old wisdom of St. Ignatius Loyola. Our guest, Fr. David McCallum, SJ, has devoted much of his life to mining the Jesuit tradition for leadership principles that we can apply in the world today. He puts Ignatian spirituality into dialogue with cutting-edge leadership research from “secular” sources like the business world and academic fields like sociology and psychology. Fr. McCallum puts his thought into action as LeMoyne College’s vice president for mission integration. He also leads the Institute for Discerning Leadership out of the Jesuit Curia in Rome, which is a formation program for senior church leaders. He joins host Mike Jordan Laskey to talk about which principles dear to St. Ignatius are most relevant for pandemic-era leaders today. Subscribe to AMDG wherever you listen to podcasts.

If you've ever been to a Jesuit institution, chances are you've been told to, "Go and set the world on fire." You’ve perhaps walked down halls lined with the text of St. Ignatius’ famous prayer for generosity. And you may have been moved by Fr. Pedro Arrupe’s well-known prayer about falling in love. But did you know none of those things were ever said? At least, not in the way you think. Today's guest is Fr. Bart Geger, SJ, a research scholar at the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, assistant professor at the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College and the general editor of "Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits." He’s also the editor of a forthcoming new edition of the autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola. As Bart will discuss — and as you might have already guessed — some of the most famous lines attributed to St. Ignatius or Fr. Arrupe are misattributed, if they were ever uttered at all. Now, you might say: Who cares? Prayers that teach me to be generous and to serve God are good, right? Falling in love with a God who IS love is a beautiful thing, no? Well, it’s complicated – and that’s where Fr. Geger comes in.

If you’ve been trying to read more these days, then this episode is for you. Our guest is author Nick Ripatrazone, whose latest book is titled “Longing for an Absent God: Faith and Doubt in Great American Fiction.” In the book, Nick explores how two major strands of Catholic writers--practicing and cultural--intertwine and sustain each other. Nick talked in-depth with host Mike Jordan Laskey about Nick’s three favorite authors from his book: Flannery O’Connor, Don DeLillo and Toni Morrison. Nick also played book concierge, suggesting seven books for seven different quarantine moods. If the conversation makes you want to talk literature with Mr. Ripatrazone himself, you’re in luck. Nick is also the facilitator of our online Jesuit Book Club. Our selection for May is the novel "Mariette in Ecstasy" by Ron Hansen. Get more information and sign up to participate at jesuits.org/bookclub. Buy Nick's book here: https://bookshop.org/books/longing-for-an-absent-god-faith-and-doubt-in-great-american-fiction/9781506451954 Check out his website here: http://nickripatrazone.com/home.html