A Reflection for Monday of the Second Week in Lent, by Jim McDermott, S.J.
Jim McDermott
Jim McDermott writes about pop culture at jimmcdermott.substack.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
For Catholics, Lent 2023 is a time to act against antisemitism
As Catholics enter into Lent, a season that we mark by acts of both repentance and service, it is worth considering how we might move from alarm at antisemitism to action.
Posted inArt, Arts & Culture
‘Evil will be defeated by God’: a Ukrainian artist transforms objects of death into life
When Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Klymenko came upon thousands of wooden boxes being used to transport ammunition, he decided to use them as canvases for art.
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
‘Women Talking’ is the Oscar nominee every Catholic needs to see
“Women Talking” is an exploration of the way that religion can be used to imprison people—and what’s worse, to teach them to imprison themselves.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
I asked A.I. to write homilies for Ash Wednesday—and the results were wild
This week, I gave Playground, a more customizable version of ChatGPT, a series of prompts for Ash Wednesday homilies. And the results were pretty astonishing.
Posted inArt, Arts & Culture
I asked an AI art generator to draw the communion of saints. I don’t love what it revealed about the Catholic Church.
What does A.I. paint as the communion of saints? And what does that say about how we have taught it to visualize the saints?
Posted inArts & Culture, Short Take
What the Jesus Super Bowl ads get right (and wrong) about evangelization
The Super Bowl ads are effective precisely because they’re less interested in Jesus and more interested in getting us to think about our choices.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The tradition of papal telegrams: Why the pope sends a message to every country he flies over
In a sense, the pope’s messages all amount to the same thing: Hello and God bless you. But there is a care in the language that is striking.
Posted inIdeas, Politics & Society
Popes on a Plane: How the Boeing 747 changed the Catholic Church and the papacy
Prior to 1964, no pope had left Italy for 150 years. The advent of the 747 and long-haul flights enabled popes to finally visit the world, and the world to visit the pope.
Posted inFaith, Scripture Reflections
Praying with Tyre Nichols’ grieving family on the Feast of the Presentation
A Reflection for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, by Jim McDermott, S.J.