AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

Fr. Michael Rozier, SJ, is a public health professor at St. Louis University. He talked with host Mike Jordan Laskey about approaching the coronavirus as a health professional and priest, Catholic social justice teachings that apply to responses to the pandemic, and the fascinating history of Catholic healthcare.

Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, reflects on how we can draw on the tradition of Ignatian spirituality to respond to the coronavirus pandemic with faith, hope and love.

"Woman, this is your son" . . . "This is your mother." This is the third of the 7 Last Words of Jesus, and the third in our Lenten audio reflections. Fr. Tim O'Brien, SJ, a Jesuit of the Maryland Province, leads us in meditating on how we see the cross in our everyday lives.

About two weeks ago, before Italy's national lockdown, Fr. Paddy Gilger, SJ, traveled to Milan -- epicenter of Europe's coronavirus outbreak to this point. He's still there. Host Mike Jordan Laskey talks to Paddy about the mood in the city plus how as Christians we can respond to fear with compassion and hope.

Since the time of Ignatius, the Jesuits have been on mission. The legacies of Jesuit missionaries like Francis Xavier and Matteo Ricci inspire generation after generation of Jesuits to journey to the margins, to accompany the excluded and to work for a more just, peaceful world. Today’s Jesuits are no different. In part two of our three-part series, the Jesuit Mission in Jordan, Eric Clayton sits down with Fr. John Sheehan, SJ, at the end of his three years in Jordan. Fr. John shares how he went from acting in NYC to becoming a Jesuit and ultimately serving in Nigeria, Jordan and more. Learn more about the Jesuits in Jordan by visiting jesuits.org/jordan.

"Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise" This is the second of the 7 Last Words of Jesus, and the second in our Lenten audio reflections. Fr. Tim O'Brien, SJ, a Jesuit of the Maryland Province, leads us in meditating on how we see the cross in our everyday lives.

Since the time of Ignatius, the Jesuits have been on mission. The legacies of Jesuit missionaries like Francis Xavier and Matteo Ricci inspire generation after generation of Jesuits to journey to the margins, to accompany the excluded and to work for a more just, peaceful world. Today’s Jesuits are no different. In part one of our three-part series, the Jesuit Mission in Jordan, Eric Clayton takes you to the Jesuit Center in Amman to hear the sounds and stories of the refugees served by the Jesuits and their collaborators. Learn more about the Jesuits in Jordan by visiting http://jesuits.org/jordan.

"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." This is the first of the 7 Last Words of Jesus, and the first in our Lenten audio reflections. Fr. Tim O'Brien, SJ, a Jesuit of the Maryland Province, leads us in meditating on how we see the cross in our everyday lives.

We’ve all heard the expression: God works in mysterious ways. It sounds a little cheesy, a little trite. But the conversation you’re about to hear is a result of exactly that mystery at work. It was not a small amount of serendipity that saw guest host Eric Clayton talking with dr. timone davis at such a crossroads moment: the end of Black History month and the beginning of Lent. And as they delved deeper into their conversation, dr. davis’s own research interest—storytelling and the Black Catholic experience—served as an organic, helpful link between these two significant moments in time. dr. davis is an assistant professor in the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago. She serves as treasurer of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. And she runs PEACE centered WHOLENESS with her husband, where they blend clinical counseling with spiritual companioning. An excerpt from timone's bio provides helpful insight into how her story is accessible to all: “timone davis is a cradle Catholic who was a “pewster” until she discovered that the uselessness of the Church was because she wasn’t giving anything of herself. After committing to do something, her life changed.” Ultimately, this conversation led to an idea that might be termed "Ignatian storytelling": a reflective effort to put ourselves into stories to encounter God and one another, to heal, to reset power and privilege and ultimately to build bridges in the real world.

Ash Wednesday is THIS Wednesday. And that means we're nearly at the beginning of the season of Lent. Each week of Lent, AMDG will feature reflections from Fr. Tim O'Brien, SJ, on the Seven Last Words of Jesus, a traditional Lenten meditation. Every Monday, a new reflection — no more than three minutes in length — will pop up in your feed. Our prayer for you is that these brief reflections help anchor your week in Lenten spirituality, giving you something to chew on amidst the hustle and bustle of your daily life. As a special bonus, if you subscribe now — if you tell your friends to subscribe, too — you'll also get our regularly scheduled episodes each Wednesday.