Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
FaithJesuitical

Podcast: Pete Holmes needed his life to fall apart to lose God (and find him again)

JesuiticalJune 05, 2020
photo: Jason LaVeris/HBO

Pete Holmes played the game. He followed the rules. He went to church, attended a Christian college and saved himself for marriage. He was ready for God to hold up his end of the deal and deliver happiness and success.

RELATED STORIES

Then his wife (the one he saved himself for) had an affair. Pete’s life started to spiral, sending him on a spiritual journey through atheism, agnosticism, drugs, to what he now calls “Christ-leaning spiritual seeker.” Pete is also the host of the podcast, “You Made It Weird,” where he talks to celebrities and spiritual masters about life’s big questions, and recently wrote a two-part episode of “The Simpsons,” “Warrin’ Priests.”

We talk to Pete about his journey, detailed in his memoir Comedy Sex God, his interest in Father Richard Rohr and make a not-so-subtle case for the Jesuits to him.

(The conversation went long, so no Signs of the Times or Consolations or Desolations this week.)

Links from the show:

Comedy Sex God
Warrin’ Priests
You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Jesuitical

A podcast from the young, hip and lay editors of America Media. Hosted by Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis.

Provide feedback on this article

We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day.

But we still want your feedback. You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics.

Or send us feedback on this article with one of the options below:

We welcome and read all letters to the editor but, due to the volume received, cannot guarantee a response.

In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to.

If we decide to open comments on this article, we will email you to let you know.

If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. We cannot guarantee a response from any author.

We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. Thank you.

Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us.

City and state/province, or if outside Canada or the U.S., city and country. 
When you click submit, this article page will reload. You should see a message at the top of the reloaded page confirming that your feedback has been received.

Most popular

1
I listened to Synod delegates opposed to LGBTQ issues. Here are my responses.
James Martin, S.J.
2
Vatican finally approves Medjugorje devotion: visit Mary but not the visionaries
Gerard O’Connell
3
Ohio bishops issue statement: ‘Standing with our Haitian brothers and sisters’
Ohio Catholic Conference
4
Join us: A Pilgrimage to Ignatian Spain
America Media Events
5
The pro-life movement must reject the false dichotomy between women and the unborn
Melinda Ribnek

Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more.

First Executive Director for Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC)
Jobs
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep seeks a science and math teacher
Education
Joy is Blooming – NEW BOOK by Sr. Ave Clark O.P.
Books
Arthur film by Heart to Heart Ministry
Movies / Films
Ignatian Spirituality – An Online Course
Spiritual Resources
See all Classifieds

The latest from america

Pope Francis says tax billionaires, stop sports betting in fiery economics speech
In a talk to leaders of popular grassroots movements, Pope Francis said, “It is often precisely the wealthiest who oppose the realization of social justice or integral ecology out of sheer greed.”
Gerard O’ConnellSeptember 20, 2024
Trump’s lies about immigrants eating pets defiled something sacred to Catholics: a shared meal
Most of my most meaningful meals have been prepared by friends born outside of the United States and who made a courageous journey to be here.
Tinamarie StolzSeptember 20, 2024
Wim Wenders’s ‘Perfect Days’ finds joy in the most mundane of tasks
A public toilet cleaner who lives alone, Hirayama has discovered deep meaning and beauty in a life that others would demean or reject.
John DoughertySeptember 20, 2024
Podcast: Vocations, voting and building virtuous community with Bishop Kevin Sweeney
This week on a live recording of “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Bishop Kevin Sweeney of Paterson, N.J., about his spiritual journey as a young priest on 9/11 and becoming a bishop during the Covid-19 pandemic.
JesuiticalSeptember 20, 2024