AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

• Big Questions About God, Suffering and Philosophy with Dr. Eleonore Stump

  Here are a couple questions for you: Do you believe in God? Why or why not? What evidence do you have to support your belief? What different types of evidence might one even consider? If we believe in an all-good, all-powerful God, why does God allow so much human suffering? And why is there something instead of nothing? Even before the Big Bang… what was there? And do human beings have a soul? Or are we just blood and guts and bones? These are some of the big questions philosophers have been wrestling with for as long as humans have been thinking about stuff. In particular, scholars interested in the philosophy of religion spend a lot of time with these big metaphysical questions. Our guest today is one of the foremost philosophers in the American Jesuit landscape: Doctor Eleonore Stump, who is the Robert J. Henle, S.J., Professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University, where she has taught since 1992. Professor Stump’s specialties include medieval philosophy, philosophy of religion and metaphysics. Host Mike Jordan Laskey saw some great video interviews with Dr. Stump on a YouTube series called “Closer to Truth,” so he reached out to see if she’d talk about some of these big questions. They also discussed her perspective on the role of the Jesuit university today, especially in an era when the liberal arts like philosophy often find themselves on budgetary chopping blocks. Why should we study philosophy at all? We think you’ll enjoy encountering Dr. Stump’s towering intellect and her deep faith. Dr. Eleonore Stump: https://sites.google.com/site/stumpep/ Dr. Stump on "Closer to Truth": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azvb_P1ymmM&list=PLFJr3pJl27pI42ZODiz2En-hr9PIjibEu AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

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• How To Live An Artistic Vocation with Chris Pramuk

  “What you gaze upon, you become,” says Fr. Bill McNichols. “We need to gaze on truly conversational, truly loving images.” Those words are a mystical invitation that challenge us to look with greater intentionality at the many images in our lives. These words come at the very beginning of a new book called “All My Eyes See: The Artistic Vocation of Fr. William Hart McNichols,” a book meant to stir in us wonder at a God who works through the creative spirit of people the world over. This book just so happens to chronicle the vocational journey of the great iconographer, Bill McNichols. It's a story told through conversation, a dialogue recounted between Fr. Bill and today’s guest—and the book’s co-author—Dr. Chris Pramuk. Dr. Pramuk is the Regis University Chair of Ignatian Thought and Imagination where he teaches courses in theology and spirituality. He is also a renown scholar of Thomas Merton and the author of several books. Long-time listeners may remember when Chris was on the pod before to discuss his great book, “The Artist Alive.” Today’s conversation centers on the work and life of one man: Fr. Bill McNichols. But as you’ll soon find, reflecting on Fr. Bill’s vocation is actually an invitation to reflect on the creative spirit alive in us all. How is God challenging us to pray with art and image? How is God’s Spirit working in our own vocations? If you’d like to learn more about Fr. Bill’s work or pick up more of Dr. Pramuk’s books, check out the links below: https://www.regis.edu/academics/faculty-finder/faculty/chris-pramuk https://orbisbooks.com/products/all-my-eyes-see-the-artistic-vision-of-fr-william-hart-mcnichols https://frbillmcnichols-sacredimages.com/

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• From NFL Lineman to MIT Math Professor with John Urschel

  Here’s a hypothetical scenario I’m sure many of us have faced in our lives: Imagine you were a football player good enough to make the NFL. Imagine you are also a mathematician good enough to get a doctorate from MIT. Which path would you choose? OK, so maybe that’s not that common a discernment. But it was the decision our guest today faced: John Urschel first started playing football at Canisius High School, the Jesuit high school in Buffalo, New York. He got good pretty quickly, and he’s a big dude. John ended up getting a scholarship to play football at Penn State, where he could also pursue studies in math, which was his first love. He ended up with a bachelor’s and master’s degree while starring on the offensive line at Penn State. And after his time there finished, he was drafted into the NFL by the Baltimore Ravens. As he embarked on his NFL career, he also enrolled as a doctoral student in mathematics at MIT. After three years in the league, he retired from football to start a career as a math professor, also at MIT. Host Mike Jordan Laskey remembers hearing about John a few years ago when he made the decision to switch career paths. And when we found out he was Jesuit educated, we thought a conversation with him for Super Bowl week would be perfect for the show. John was an incredible guest, speaking so clearly and compellingly about his life journey and the big discernment he made to leave NFL fame and fortune on the table. He’s a great representative of Canisius High School and the type of thoughtful, well-rounded, compassionate person Jesuit education aspires to form. Learn more about John’s math (good luck): https://math.mit.edu/~urschel/ Read John’s book, “Mind and Matter”: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Matter-Life-Math-Football/dp/0735224862 AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

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  51:50
• Pilgrim Spirituality for Everyday Living

  What do you imagine when you hear the word ‘pilgrimage’? Do you see in your mind’s eye the laces of an old pair of boots? A walking stick? A winding trail through an unknown forest? The company of friends and strangers? Perhaps a particular place comes to mind; you may immediately think of the pilgrim routes through Spain. The Camino de Santiago, perhaps: that famous pilgrimage to the resting place of the St. James, beginning in France and ending in the northwest of Spain. Maybe your mind goes to the Camino Ignaciano—the pilgrim route that traces the key steps that St. Ignatius took from his home in Loyola to Manresa, that infamous cave where Ignatius penned the Spiritual Exercises. And still, there may be more pilgrim places that come to mind; the world is full of them! How often, though, do you think of your daily life as a pilgrimage? How often do you reach for those spiritual lessons so easily glimpsed on roads trod by boot-wearing-hikers? Do you think to practice the kind of simplicity, indifference and awareness that is so necessary on those pilgrim routes in your day-to-day, when you’re picking your kids up from school or making your grocery list? In some ways, it’s a lot harder. That’s why we have two pilgrimage veterans joining the podcast today—and two guests who are also veterans of our show. The Jesuit priest Fr. Brendan McManus has written several books on pilgrimages, both to Santiago de Compostella and Manresa. His latest, Living the Camino Back Home: Ignatian Tips for Keeping the Camino Spirit Alive—written with Sr. Katherin O’Flynn—is an extended meditation on how to bring a pilgrim spirituality into everyday life. Christine Eberle has recently published her third book, Finding God Along the Way: Wisdom from the Ignatian Camino for Life at Home, chronicles her own Spanish pilgrimage, inviting readers to find their own pilgrimage where ever they are. This conversation is a real delight, full of wisdom and laughter and a deep desire to help us all along whatever road we’re currently walking. If you’d like to learn more about our guests visit the links below. Finding God Along the Way: https://www.amazon.com/Finding-God-Along-Way-Ignatian/dp/164060989X Living the Camino Back Home: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Camino-Back-Home-Ignatian/dp/1788127137 Christine's website: https://christine-marie-eberle.com/ More books by Fr. Brendan: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00MU4S70O

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  54:21
• Trying to Resist Digital Distraction with Jonathan Malesic

  There aren’t many things most people agree on today across all the different political and cultural divides. But this following claim probably unites most of us: We are too distracted today and our collective ability to pay attention is in bad shape. That seems like pretty conventional wisdom. Today’s guest enjoys few things more than taking a piece of conventional wisdom and poking and prodding it to see if it’s actually that wise after all. Jonathan Malesic is a writer and writing teacher at Southern Methodist University whose work has appeared in the New York Times, The New Republic, The Washington Post, America Magazine and elsewhere. He’s also author the author of the great book “The End of Burnout.” And Jon has offered fantastic spiritual nonfiction writing courses through the Jesuit Media Lab. In a recent essay in the magazine Commonweal, Jon wrote about going to an art museum in San Francisco as a sort of experiment. He wanted to see if looking closely and attentively at works of art for a long time could help heal his own fraying attentiveness. Host Mike Jordan Laskey really enjoyed the essay and was challenged by it, so he invited Jon on to discuss his experiences. They talked about museums and Instagram algorithms and the different types of attention you need while looking at art versus, say, driving a car. The essay and this conversation might make you think some more about our crisis of distraction and what might be the right antidotes to pursue. Jon's recent Commonweal essay, Fix Your Gaze: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/fix-your-gaze Jon's book, "The End of Burnout": https://www.amazon.com/End-Burnout-Drains-Build-Better/dp/0520344073 Jon's Substack: https://jonmalesic.substack.com/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

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