Conversion Stories: Adapting Woody Allen

Conversion Stories: Adapting Woody Allen

A few days ago on TJP, my pal Joe Simmons asked: why pray? It’s a great question — and you should read what he has to say. But the question takes on a different dimension when asked by folks who are seekers, those looking for God but unsure of what they believe....
“Find a quiet place…”

“Find a quiet place…”

Almost every guide about how to pray I’ve ever read begins with the instruction “Find a quiet place…” including this one from TJP’s own Ryan Duns, SJ.  Of course, finding such silence grows more and more difficult, a fact that’s been brought home...
Doctor Who and Fidelity

Doctor Who and Fidelity

So this guy came up to me – okay he was another Jesuit in a Jesuit rec room, not just some guy on the street – but, he asked me: “John, dude, we’re starting a website that looks at popular culture and faith and stuff, and we’d wondered if you’d be interested in...
Observations on Parish Masses and Wonder

Observations on Parish Masses and Wonder

While spending some time with my parents over the holidays, I had the opportunity to attend Mass with at the parish in which I grew up.  My family has been members since I was fairly young, and my siblings and I all went to the parish school there.  In fact, we all...
Prayers in the Abbey?

Prayers in the Abbey?

Confession: the hit British costume drama Downton Abbey was my guiltiest pleasure of 2011, a distinction poised to continue in 2012 as well. The show has been all over the news in the last few weeks, in the runup to and aftermath of its season two premier on PBS....