2012 has been a year with many new or updated Apps introduced to help enhance our Catholic Faith. It is a year marked with a huge increase in people using mobile devices to use the internet. 2013 is now called the “Crossover Year” because it marks the first time that more people will be getting their information from the internet on mobile devices than on desktop computers. Catholic Apps are responding to the needs of prayer, study, catechesis, and communication. Pope Benedict is even hopping on board and should be releasing his own App very soon…will keep you posted on any updates.
Note: Apps are marked for compatibility for A (Apple) B (Blackberry) or D (Droid)
Here are links to some of the best Catholic Apps of 2012:
3-Minute Retreat - A, D, $0.99 3-Minutes of music, photos, and prayer for contemplation every day. Updated with retina display graphics. From Loyola Press.
Encyclopedia of Angels – A, $0.99 a list and history of angels from Judeo-Christian, Christian, Islamic, Mormonism, and Zoroastrianism writings.
Angelus Pro – A, FREE pray the Angelus, includes videos from Pope Benedict XVI
Catholic TV & Radio – A, FREE, many Catholic TV & Radio stations available through this App: including EWTN, Catholic TV, Ave Maria Radio and many more.
CCC Vote – A, D, FREE, Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a Catholic voters guide based on the USCCB Faithful Citizenship.
CNL - A, D $0.99 Catholic News Live — combines many Catholic news outlets into one spot, including this blog and many others.
Confirmation Names – A, $0.99 assits with selecting a confirmation name. By Our Sunday Visitor.
Consecration – A, 33-Day Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. Prayers, preparation, and calendar.
Divine Mercy App – A, D, FREE, Biography of St. Faustina, prayers, Way of the Cross, from the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception.
FlockNote – A, D, FREE, a subscriber system for parishes that offers a great communication and social system.
iMissal - A, B, D, $4.99, Full Missal–it is updated for new 3rd Edition Missal and has option to switch back to 2nd edition. (Kindle Fire supported) iMissal Blog entry
iPadre - A, D, $1.99, podcast by Father Jay Finelli of Rhode Island, updated with internet links
iPieta - A, D, $2.99, Great reference with Norvus Ordo Calendar, Bible, Prayers, and many Catholic books by saints and popes. English and Spanish available. Additions in 2012. More at my: iPieta Blog entry
John Paul II - A, D FREE, e-Votions–Bl. John Paul II photos, videos, and prayers
Laudate - A, D, FREE, NAB-Bible, Daily Readings, Rosary, Prayers, Liturgy of the Hours, Stations of the Cross, and Catechism & Added the Vatican II documents in 2012.
LCM – A, D, FREE Lighthouse Catholic Media, audio Bible, some are free, and 50+ talks are available for a modest fee.
Mary – A, D, FREE many resources about Blessed Mother Mary including prayers, dogmas, rosary, feasts, apparitions, and pilgrimage sites. From the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception.
Prayers – A, D, $1.99 The Prayer app features over 2,000 Catholic Prayers in English, Latin, Italian, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese. (Also supports Kindle Fire)
Year of Faith – A, D, $0.99 My Year of Faith App offers daily inspirational writers each day.
I would also like to recommend to parents that they read this article from Catholic Mom that offers advice about setting up devices for parental controls:
I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will repost my blog from last Christmas as it still has many good stories and music to share:
The Hermitage at Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land
I recently had the pleasure of spending one day and night as a hermit at the new Hermitage at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America. It was a wonderful experience of tranquility, prayer, and refreshment. The Hermitage was just completed as a cooperative effort between Catholic University of America architecture students and the monastery to build a place of peaceful retreat for a single person.
The Hermitage itself is what I would call a blend of Frank Lloyd Wright meets Thomas Merton’s cabin. It is a beautiful modern building set in a mature hardwood forest behind the monastery. The building is only 350 square feet, but offers all one needs to experience a modest and comfortable retreat. The modern building is built with green construction standards using energy efficiency, but still offering beautiful windows, good heating and cooling. The entire building is also handicapped accessible with thoughtful design in the kitchen and bathroom for wheelchair access. There is a cool table that was designed by students and cut by computer design to be used to dining, study, and prayer. The building faces East toward Jerusalem, and the side porch also faces East with beautiful views of the forest and fields behind the Monastery. The monastery supplies linens and towels, and the kitchen is stocked with all the cooking supplies with microwave and cooktop. They also had a nice assortment of coffee & tea. People who stay are requested to bring their own food, but there is an organic grocery store nearby.
Monastery Chapel
The other amazing place to frequent during your retreat is the St. Francis Chapel just footsteps from The Hermitage. It is a chapel that you are given a key to enter and use as you please during your retreat–Wow your own private chapel. It is a beautiful brick chapel, and Brother Sebastian reports that it was built sometime in the 1920′s. There are about 42 acres of land behind the monastery that are beautiful grounds and trails filled with holy statues, grottos, gardens, greenhouses, cemetery, solar panels, and beehives. While I was there I had the pleasure of talking with the beekeeper as she was feeding the hives for the week with her homemade sugar cakes. You are also given a key to a large iron gate to rejoin the public side of the monastery and visit the church and grounds.
Grounds behind the monastery
The Monastery itself offers daily Mass and Confessions, that are a blessing to have with your retreat experience. I was also honored to have a tour of the Monastery from Brother Thomas, who served many years in the Holy Land, and just celebrated his 80th birthday. It is amazing to walk among all the holy sites that are represented in the Holy Land, as well as the beautiful artwork of this byzantine style church. Please note you can click on images for a larger view.
Following is a video done at the dedication of the new Hermitage on September 17th:
The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land is in need of donations to continue their important work of guarding and maintaining the Holy Land Sites. The monastery also just launched their improved website. The majority of the Friars’ work is in Israel, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon, helping with evangelization, education, research, and charity. They have been appointed guardians of the Holy Land for the Roman Catholic Church, and have done so faithfully since 1342. The Monastery in Washington, DC, is a base for the order, and offers the public daily tours, and well as Mass and Confession. The Hermitage is the first one built, and three other unique designs have been designed by CUA architecture students, but await funding. I pray for the continued support of their ministry and I pray for peace in the Holy Land, and especially right now for peace between Israel and Palestinians.
The Monastery was just named as a pilgrimage site for the Year of Faith, and if you come and attend Mass and Confession you are granted a plenary indulgence. I highly recommend you come any time of year and you should put The Hermitage experience on your bucket list. You can find out more about the monastery and hermitage in the links below.
At the beginning of this month I was pleased to join my Secular Franciscan Order brothers and sisters for a retreat at the Priestfield Pastoral Center in Kearneysville, West Virginia. This annual retreat was organized by the St. Margaret of Cortona Region of the Secular Franciscan Order which is a region that includes Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It was a true joy to be among so many Franciscans sharing a weekend in prayer, learning, and fellowship.
The Priestfield Pastoral Center is a facility with the Diocese of Charleston/Wheeling West Virginia and run by Director, Very Rev. William P. Linhares, T.O.R., V.F. With Father Bill being a Third Order Regular Franciscan, he has brought to the retreat center a unique Franciscan feel, that highlights the natural beauty of the land, its artwork, architecture, and Franciscan saints. The center came about through the donation of land to the Catholic Church which dates back to 1802 when Adam Livingston gave the church a 35 acre parcel of farmland; “a field to sustain a priest” for favors granted. There are many beautiful trails for prayer and contemplation that go through woods, fields, and by Opequon Creek.
Fr. Michael Cusato
Our retreat was led by Father Michael F. Cusato, O.F.M. who is an expert in Franciscan history in the Medieval Period. It was fascinating to hear him talk about the earliest period of the Franciscan Orders, and he motivates me to get his books and articles to know more about Francis, Clare, Bonaventure, brother Leo, and other early followers. Father Michael gave us new insight into the famous story about the wolf of Gubbio. Fr. Michael said that we should look at this story as an allegory where the wolf of gubbio actually represents the poor and unwanted in society, and that Francis was helping to teach the need to help the poor and live in peace.
Saint Kevin’s Cabin
The Priestfield Pastoral Center is great place for a retreat for individuals or groups. It is affordable, and offers great facilities and food. There is a large center that offers many comfortable rooms that have private baths, including a chapel, meeting rooms, library, dining hall, and many prayer nooks. The grounds offer many private areas with hammocks, swings, benches, ponds and gardens to take time for prayer and contemplation. I had the pleasure of staying in St. Kevin’s cabin, one of four hermitages on grounds. I highly recommend you take a retreat here when you have the opportunity–check their website link below.
This past Saturday, October 13th, there was an event across America to pray the Rosary in public squares on the 95th Anniversary of Fatima. In Central Virginia, we gathered in Fork Union and honored to have Fr. Gerald Francis Musuubire (Sts. Peter & Paul parish in Palmyra) leading us in prayer. We had a lovely prayer service that included singing Immaculate Mary and then praying The Angelus, Glorious Mysteries (including Fatima prayer), Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Prayer of Total Consecration, Divine Praises, and closing singing O Sanctissima. There were many travelers who passed by on State Route 15 during our one-hour service and hopefully we touched someone, and sure that all the prayers said by the many thousands will have an impact of love & faith & peace. More details in the links below about Fatima and organizing this annual event.
Rosary Rally in Fork Union, Virginia
Fr. Gerald Francis Musuubire
The Angelus Prayer
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary;
R. And she conceived of the Holy Ghost
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
R. Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V. And the Word was made flesh,
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son has been made known by the message of an Angel, may, by His passion and cross, be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Fr. Robert Spitzer is a gifted speaker, scientist, and theologian. I am pleased to write about Fr. Spitzer in honor of Support A Catholic Speaker Month. Support A Catholic Speaker Month was started this year by Brandon Vogt to bring to light the top 100 Catholic Speakers today in the Church. Brandon started an on-line poll and received over 82,000 votes to determine the list and he then made a request to all the Catholic Bloggers to pick a speaker to feature in their blog.
Father Spitzer received his Doctorate of Philosophy from the Catholic University of America and is a world-renowned scholar, author, and lecturer, who went on to serve as President of Gonzaga University, and founded seven major national institutes, and helped produce a number of television series for EWTN. Father Spitzer currently heads the Magis Institute, an organization dedicated to public education on the relationship among the disciplines of physics, philosophy, reason, and faith, and the Spitzer Center for Ethical Leadership, which works with corporations, individuals and nonprofit organizations in the area of ethics education.
Father Spitzer has recently produced two projects that are great contributions to the Catholic Faith that use science, religion, and reason to explain life and the universe. Fr. Spitzer is uniquely qualified to speak about issues for science and faith, and is able to bring complicated issues to a common man’s understanding. First, Fr. Spitzer wrote a must-read book entitled Ten Universal Principles. Father Spitzer elegantly shows in his book that these ten principles are needed to help make the case for right to life, death penalty, poverty, marriage, and immigration issues that are close to the heart of Christians and Catholics, but also apply to all societies. Father Spitzer brings to life many examples in history that help make his point. He makes excellent references to compare the Dred Scott Decision with the Roe v. Wade Decision, and the need for personhood to be established by the courts and also using modern science and genetics. I wrote more about the Ten Universal Principles from his talk this past January in a previous blog.
What is exciting is that Ten Universal Principles has been turned into a High School curriculum from Healing The Culture called Principles and Choices. Healing the Culture helps people fully integrate pro-life ideals into the way they think, and how they live their lives. Its philosophical approach to education encourages students to embrace deep and meaningful definitions of human happiness, freedom and rights; and helps them choose to live by universal principles of reason, ethics and justice. The four-year high-school program not only applies these principles to abortion, but also to other life issues such as euthanasia; physician-assisted suicide; and human cloning. Principles and Choices includes state-of-the-art, multimedia learning tools that are unmatched in visual appeal, contemporary resources, and depth of content.
The second project that Fr. Spitzer has is a great documentary movie called Cosmic Origins. This documentary masterfully shows the universe and its origins with interviews from the most acclaimed scientists and in the context of theology through insights from Fr. Spitzer. He has just released this documentary on DVD including a 3D BluRay edition, and I highly recommend you purchase this for your family, parish, and school.
Sixtus is a group of four seminarians who met at the Catholic University of America and formed a super a cappella group. They have just released their first CD entitled Sixtus: In Living Collar. They all have fantastic singing voices, and this album is a great collection of songs and hymns that will get you singing after the CD player has stopped.
We were honored to have them at our parish, Church of the Incarnation, for a concert earlier this year. Fr. Joseph Goldsmith (Diocese of Richmond) served as a deacon at our parish, and was just ordained and started at his first parish in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Fr. Joe sings the bass and beat box for Sixtus. The other members of the group are Jonathan Gibbons (Archdiocese of Baltimore), Levi Hartle (Diocese of Pittsburg), and David B. Gaines (Diocese of Spokane).
Sixtus
Sixtus was named after Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484) who commissioned the Sistine Chapel. Sixtus sings great spiritual and secular songs that lift the spirit after every tune. This album is well worth your investment and is currently available from their website. Sixtus is planning to sell their CD soon on iTunes and Amazon. Following are the 14 songs on the album:
1) In the Beginning…was Music
2) Ecce quam bonum (Sixtus)
3) In the Light (DC Talk)
4) Naturally (Huey Lewis and the News)
5) Bye Bye Love (Everly Brothers)
6) Where is the Love? (Black Eyed Peas)
7) Criminal on the Cross (Acappella)
8) Man of Constant Sorrow (Dick Burnett)
9) Stand by Me (Benny E. King)
10) Swinging on a Star (Jimmy Van Heusen)
11) Yesterday (Boys II Men)
12) Lead me to Rest (Acappella)
13) The Call (R. Vaughan Williams/Vrazel)
14) Canticle of Simeon
Here is a video of Sixtus doing impromptu concert for their waitress:
Frontline Faith is a new ministry that brings Christian audio recordings to those serving in the United States Military serving around the world. Cheri Lomonte is the founder of this fantastic ministry who saw the need to bring MP3 players loaded with Christian recordings at no cost to our troops. Each players cost $24, and is loaded with 7 hours of either Catholic or Protestant audio content, including a Mass/Service, prayers, and words of encouragement.
Cheri Lomonte with Frontline Faith MP3 Player
I think this is a wonderful ministry, as I understand the need from my own family. My brother, Capt. Joseph Clem, has served three times in the Middle East with the US Navy as a psychiatrist. He told me there were times that Mass was not offered due to a chaplain not being available, and I know he would have appreciated getting such a wonderful MP3 player. There are currently 330,000 Catholics in the US military with only 281 chaplains to serve them.
From Frontline Faith website:Imagine facing one of the most difficult, lonely, and challenging times of your life, and finding yourself cut off from spiritual support and Christian community. This is the experience of many of our hundreds of thousands service men and women.Sometimes our Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Guardsmen, and Marines can go for weeks, months, even an entire tour of duty, without attending a worship service or hearing words of comfort from a chaplain.To help provide spiritual nourishment, Frontline Faith distributes free MP3 players—pre-programmed with spiritual content—to military men and women throughout the world.
Frontline MP3 Player with packaged with headphones and battery
Congratulations and blessings to Cheri Lomonte and her ministry who have now supplied over 30,000 players. The military members who receive these players are free to keep them after their tour of duty. Your donations are very needed, and you may designate if you want your money to be for a Catholic or Protestant MP3 player. You may also designate a name on the Wall of Honor or In Memorium on their website. There are also great resources of prayers and videos to help support men and women and their families in the military. Please take a look further at the links below. I also recommend you look at Cheri Lomonte’s other ministry called Mary’s Touch.
VIDEO (Interview with Cheri Lomonte on EWTN’s Life on the Rock):
I was honored to attend the 5th Annual Catholic New Media Conference this year in Arlington, Texas. This year’s conference was the first time it was a combined effort with two other conferences: the 4th Annual Catholic Writers Guild and the 16th Annual Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show. The CNMC this year offered informative and entertaining presentations for Catholic webmasters, bloggers, podcasters, and media producers. It was awesome to see many good friends as well as meeting many new people all working for the good of the Catholic Faith on the new digital continent.
Immaculee Ilibagiza
After some flight delays with ACME Airlines (flat tire & fuel spill), I arrived in Texas and was blessed to experience a very inspiring talk from Immaculee Ilibagiza. She lived though the horrible genocide in Rwanda, Africa where three of her five family members were murdered in 1991. Immaculee hid in a bathroom with seven other women for three months to survive the genocide of over one million people. She said she believes she was saved by God in order to tell her story to the world. Immaculee’s was raised in a family who had a very strong Catholic faith, and a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Immaculee also said that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared ten years before in Kibeho, Rwanda to warn the people of her country and urged them to pray the Rosary to avoid this tragedy. Her documentary called If Only We Had Listened, is a must watch DVD (trailer below), and also available as a book . Immaculee exudes the Holy Spirit and joy with her presentations, and she is an inspiration to me and many. It was an honor to meet Immaculee and wish her all the best with her incredible ministry.
Jennifer Willits & Immaculee Ilibagiza
The 5th Annual CNMC started with great opening remarks by Fr. Roderick Vonhogen, who is the founder of the Star Quest Production Network. Fr. Roderick, from Holland, talked about how far Catholic New Media has come in the last seven years. It is amazing to think that there was no You Tube, Facebook, Chrome, iPhone, Apps or Twitter seven years ago, and how far we have come in such a short time. I am very thankful to the SQPN community and Fr. Roderick who inspired me through his podcasts to start my own blog, and now Catholic Web Services which have strengthened my faith ten-fold.
Fr. Roderick Vonhogen
One of the great things about this conference was that it is centered around Christ offering daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Confession, and prayer. The focus is on the Triune God, and despite all this great technology, books, and personalities–we all united as apostles in service to the Catholic Church. It was this faith-filled group of people that have inspired me to do great things in the upcoming Year of Faith.
Fr. Andrew Apostoli
The first day of the CNMC was Professional Learning Day with two concurrent sessions: the Main Track and the Tech-Summit. I was glad that a Virtual Ticket was offered this year, which offers recordings and links to all the presentations. This allowed me to see a bit of all three conferences in the Arlington Convention Center, and a great reference afterward. You can still purchase this option if you have not already done so.
Cliff Ravenscraft is an expert on podcasting, and gave a great presentation on the art of good podcasting and how he made a career serving the church. Cliff is a devout Christian, but not Catholic. Cliff formed a good friendship with Fr. Roderick, and has been very helpful to the Catholic community of podcasters. It was great to finally meet Cliff and admire his accomplishments in the profession of podcasting.
Cliff Ravenscraft
The Tech Summit was organized by Matt Warner and Jeff Geerling, who put together a bunch of great speakers for development of websites, Apps, and programming. It was great to meet so many people working on the cutting-edge of technology in service to the church, including: Josh Simmons, Dane Faulkner, Dr. Jim Coyle, Pat Padley, Rob Kaczmark, Brandon Vogt, and Bishop Christopher Coyne. I will be writing more in the coming weeks in this blog and at Catholic Web Services about the things I learned and other links to share.
Jeff Geerling on App Development (FlockNote & Open Source Catholic)
Jeff Cavins came to speak about some new books and resources he has to share for the upcoming Year of Faith which begins October 11th, marking the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II. Jeff was previously Protestant Minister, and converted to the Catholic Faith in 1991. Jeff went on to start one of the most popular Catholic Bible study programs called the Great Adventure Bible Study Program, which was recently revised and we are offering at my parish this Fall. Jeff spoke about a new book for the Year of Faith called Walking Toward Eternity: Making Choices for Today. It is really a journal and DVD to help you “walk the walk” of Jesus Christ, and looks like a great resource to help on this journey toward God. Jeff reported that his wife told him this has made more positive changes in his life than anything he has done previously. Jeff was very enthusiastic about this new project, and his enthusiasm was contagious with the crowd who were excited to receive a signed copy of this book.
Jeff Cavins
One of the real treats of the conference was the World Premier presentation of the movie Restless Heart. This movie is an accurate portrayal of the book, Confessions of St. Augustine. The acting and filming of this movie is top-notch in the art of movie making, and I highly recommend you see this film. Better yet, Ignatius Press is offering a proposition to bring this film to your community as a fundraising possibility. Check the links below for details. Following is the trailer to Restless Heart:
Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC, gave a great speech at the opening breakfast on Thursday about his new book coming out about the Holy Trinity. He gave a wonderful talk about the Holy Trinity. I can not do it justice in this blog, but urge you to get his book when it comes on the market this Fall called, The ‘One Thing’ Is Three. Fr. Michael is also working on a project to bring the framed image of the Divine Mercy into every Catholic household during the Year of Faith. I will be writing details about this in a future blog post.
Fr. Michael Gaitley
At the CNMC on Thursday, there were many great speakers who were filled with the Holy Spirit and filled with great ideas and stories they shared with us all. Super presentation by Elizabeth “The Achoress” Scalia on the New Media and New Evangelization. I love to follow her Twitter feed and writings at Patheos which have been very informative with my ministry.
Elizabeth Scalia
Rob Kaczmark gave a fantastic and entertaining presentation about the Catholic Presence on You Tube. He really wants to urge Catholic Media producers to make high-quality productions, which require time, money, and talent. Rob showed us many examples of good, bad, and funny videos. Rob runs Spirit Juice Studios which have made some great videos which are impacting young people. Rob passed out a copy of Zombies vs. Jesus which is the video below:
Brandon Vogt gave one of the best presentations during the CNMC entitled How Mormons, Protestants, and Atheists Can Teach Us How To Evangelize On-Line. Brandon showed great examples of the use of media by these groups and lessons we can take from their success.
Brandon Vogt
Bishop Christopher Coyneis one of the most active bishops on-line, and realizes the power of the internet and its ability to be used for good in service to the church. We were all honored to have the Bishop of Indianapolis at the CNMC, and shared his wisdom about in his presentation Being Bearers of the Good News within a Digital Culture. Following is a video from Catholic TV interviewing Bishop Coyne and others at the CNMC:
Thursday evening ended with dinner sponsored by Ignatius Press. Country Western singer Collin Raye talked about his daughter who had passed away at the age of ten from a neurological disorder, and is writing a book to come out soon about this tragedy that has deepened his faith. Collin also performed songs for the crowd including some from his recent inspirational album. There was also a presentation about a new initiative from The Vatican called Aleteia, a new website to help aggregate Catholic New Media which launches officially on September 20th–more details soon in a future blog post. Watch video below for a teaser:
Collin Raye
The final day on Friday was the International Bloggers Summit. It was so great to meet so many Catholic bloggers including: Lisa Jones & Shelly Kelly, Dorian Speed, Sarah Reinhard, and Jennifer Fulwiler. Great ideas and bits of wisdom and inspiration from so many fellow bloggers–God Bless you All!!!
Jennifer Fulwiler
The Catholic Marketing Network show was like going to the biggest and best Catholic Book Store in the world. It had just about every Catholic publishing house and manufacturer of Catholic goods anywhere–I felt like a kid in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I was amazed at the large hall with so many booths of goods, with many free goodies for those in attendance.
Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show
Sculpture made of sackcloth and ash
Sanitary Auto Holy Water Dispenser
Beautiful Catholic Icons & Art for Sale
The Catholic New Media Conference was the official launch of a new ministry called Catholic Web Services. Our ministry is to support an online community of Catholic webmasters, developers, social network gurus, and content creators who are willing to share their knowledge of web development and new media to improve parish, school, and Catholic organization websites. Membership to Catholic Web Services will always be free. We hope you will join our community, and we also launched a contest for a Kindle–check our website for details.
I want to thank the crew of SQPN, The CMN, and Catholic Writers Guild for hosting such a great conference. A special thanks to Steve Nelson who works so hard for SQPN to put this together every year. I am looking forward to next year and have many more blogs to write in the coming weeks, as there is too much to write for this one blog about my experiences and exciting things to report–stay tuned.
Maria Johnson, Dr. Paul Camarata, Capt. Jeff Nielsen, Pat Gohn, Steve Nelson, and Pat Padley (back)
Deacon Chris Morash, Pearl Gervais, Bishop Remi De Roo
The Diocese of Richmond was honored to have the Most Rev. Remi J. De Roo, S.T.D., Bishop-Emeritus of the Diocese of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Bishop Remi De Roo is one of the last surviving bishops of Vatican II who attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council between 1962 to 1964. Bishop Remi retired at age 75 thirteen years ago after thirty-seven years as the Bishop of Victoria. He was the youngest bishop in the world when he was ordained bishop at the age of 38 in 1962. He celebrates 50 years as a bishop in December 2012.
Bishop Remi De Roo
Bishop Remi was celebrant and homilist at many of the Masses during August 25th & 26th at Church of the Incarnation. Following is his recorded homily audio link. Bishop Remi is a gifted story teller and gave a fantastic talk about the history of the Second Vatican Council on Saturday Evening. Bishop Remi remembered that there was a great sense that the Holy Spirit was at work in helping the Second Vatican Council. He gave credit to both Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI, but said it was the skills of Pope Paul VI that help bring the bishops together to agree on the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Bishop Remi highly recommended that everyone should take some time to read all the documents, but in reverse order. I thought this strange, but he said that some of the beauty and meaning of the first documents can’t be fully appreciated without understanding some of the ideas that came in the end of the council. He noted that in 1962 there were few women involved in the council, but said today there more women who are theologians than men. He gives great credit to women religious as carrying out the works of Christ in many places all over the globe he has travelled. Bishop Remi has been to many places including China three times to share his experiences with Vatican II and continuing to preach the good message of its creation and giving continued guidance to the Catholic Faith. Bishop Remi gave a great message of hope that he thought there were greater things to come, and this new generation have incredible tools such as the internet to help in learning, helping, and communicating. Bishop Remi also said that one should look at the word Eucharist as a verb and not a noun–through the Eucharist one should act as Jesus does through the teachings of the Beatitudes.
Photo of Vatican II Bishops with Bishop Remi De Roo-(circled)
Bishop Remi De Roo is already a respected author, but is about to release a new book entitled, Remi De Roo: Chronicles of a Vatican II Bishop. Following is a description of the book from the publisher:
Fifty years ago, amidst the excitement and wonder of the early days of Vatican II, a young parish priest, Remi De Roo, is ordained as the Bishop of Victoria. Swiftly called to Rome, the young bishop participates in the enthralling and dramatic proceedings of one of the Catholic Churchʼs most memorable moments in history. Inspired by the passionate call to renew and reform Godʼs Church, he dedicates his life and ministry to the Councilʼs vision.
A rare memoir of the only surviving Canadian English-speaking bishop who participated in Vatican II, this book offers an intimate, insightful perspective on how Bishop Remi De Roo kept the vision of Vatican II alive.
Bishop Remi’s memoir provides an exceptional first hand perspective of the Council as well as the many joys and challenges of implementing its reform of the Church in the years after. Moreover, Bishop De Roo invites us to share in his colourful life as he reflects back on the many chapters of his life from the highs to the lows and the excitement of his priestly and episcopal years of service. As a participant in the Second Vatican Council from its beginning, Bishop De Roo continues to promote the Councilʼs message today.
Love One Another, composed by Bob Dufford, is a favorite Catholic Hymn that is used by many English speaking parishes around the globe. Bishop Remi was very pleased that this song was written for his 25th Anniversary as a Bishop, and is now the Catholic Hymn associated with the Diocese of Victoria. Deacon Chris Morash served as the Minister of Music for Bishop Remi at his cathedral in Victoria for 25 years. It is though the efforts of Deacon Chris Morash that we were able to invite Bishop Remi De Roo to help remember the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II. We want to thank this great shepherd of the church for his the very rare achievement of serving 50 years as a Bishop–God Bless Bishop Remi De Roo!
I am excited to be attending my second Catholic New Media Conference in Dallas/Ft. Worth from August 28-31. Last Year I went to the 4th Annual CNMC in Kansas City, and had a great experience meeting people from SQPN, and many other wonderful new media personalities and producers. The theme of the 2012 Catholic New Media Conference is Marketing Your Message.
The 5th Annual CNMC is now even a bigger event as it combines with the Catholic Writers Guild and the Catholic Marketing Network. The conference will have over 1,000 faithful Catholics from around the globe engaged in prayer, thought, and discussions about the latest in new media and traditional media. It is even more exciting with the addition of many Catholic authors and products. Here is a list of all the exhibitors in the convention hall. Following is a video from last year’s Catholic Marketing Network Convention:
If you are unable to attend the CNMC offers a Virtual Ticket for the first time. They are making audio recordings of all of the speakers and will have additional interviews for listening at your leisure. You can also follow the Twitter Feed during the conference at #CNMC12.
I am excited to be launching our new non-profit ministry, Catholic Web Services, at the CNMC. We have been hard at work to develop a unique service to Catholic Webmasters, with great resources and interactive forum to support parishes, schools, and organizations to have better websites. Our Guardian Angel service provides training and support to parish webmasters using video conferencing with screen sharing. Guardian Angel service will also provide updates and support when a webmaster is unavailable. Please ask your clergy and volunteer webmasters to become a member of our FREE forum, newsletter, and blogs.
I will also be volunteering as an Ambassador for Word On Fire Ministry. I have been priviledged to work with the great staff at WOF. This past year I organized a community viewing of The Catholicism Series at my parish, and it met with super success.
I will be writing a lot more upon my return in this blog and the Catholic Web Services blog. Please come back to read about my experiences, and I’ll be sharing what I learned. Your comments are welcome!
