As The Oscars invite us to reflect on what makes for quality filmmaking, Raj turns to Dune, a recent Academy Award winner, to examine the spiritual power of good storytelling.
Posts in Pop Culture
Millennial Optimism and the Year of Hope
As a new year dawns, Nate Cortas, SJ invites us to reflect on choosing faithful hope over shallow optimism.
“Fantastic Four: First Steps” – Christ Hidden in the Most Unlikely Places
Bored on a Saturday night, Raj Vijayakumar, SJ reluctantly clicked play on a Marvel film—and stumbled into an unexpected theological meditation. Fantastic Four: First Steps, he reflects, raises enduring Christian questions about sacrifice, family, and ethics.
The Conformist Trap: How Minimalism is Killing our Identities
From Cracker Barrel to city skylines, minimalism has stripped away much of what makes our culture unique. Alex Hale, SJ warns that this “conformist trap” isn’t just an aesthetic problem — it’s a spiritual one.
KPop Demon Hunters Is an Ignatian Fever Dream—and That’s a Good Thing
What does an animated musical about a Kpop group have to teach us about Ignatius’s rules for the discernment of spirits? Andrew Milewski, SJ, uses “KPop Demon Hunters” to help us understand how the spiritual world operates on the human heart.
Atomic Pilgrim: A Book Review
In his forthcoming memoir Atomic Pilgrim, James Patrick Thomas recounts his cross-continental pilgrimage from Washington State to the Holy Land and his later activism back home. Writing for The Jesuit Post, Luke Lapean, SJ reflects on how the memoir provocatively asks whether true success in the struggle for change lies in measurable outcomes or in the quiet, interior transformation of the one who walks the road.
Finding God in Football: The Ignatian Examen Applied to Sports
As a semi-professional soccer player, Javi Bailén, SJ understood the importance of routine reflection. As a Jesuit, he discovered how the Ignatian spirituality provides perfect tools for athletes and teams to reflect on their performance. In his first for TJP, Javi writes about how the Examen can be adapted for sports teams to find God in their game – and perhaps improve their future play.
Finding God in Newcastle United’s Long-Awaited Trophy
On March 16, Newcastle United F.C. won their first trophy in over half a century. Christopher Brolly, SJ, a Newcastle lad living in Boston, reflects on the significance of his beloved football club’s victory for the city and its people. Brolly writes that the club’s triumph in the Carabao Cup goes deeper than football.
What’s the Value of a Grammy? How Ignatian Spirituality can Explain Miley Cyrus’s Acceptance Speech
Miley Cyrus is no longer the mere child star many might know her as. After winning her first major award, her acceptance speech highlighted tensions in the spiritual life that we might be experiencing this Lent.
The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Every Chicago Deep Dish Pizza: Part IV
The practice of repetition is an important tool used throughout the Spiritual Exercises. Looking back on their shared time in Chicago, Collin and Michael reflect on how we all might learn to better savor the graces in our own lives.