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  • Lisa Jones 4:16 am on July 29, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    Review: CatholicTV’s WOW Challenge 

    Are you ready to take the WOW CatholicTV Challenge? WOW: The Catholic TV Challenge is a fun Catholic game show for children featuring 3rd graders answering questions about Catholic life. You can watch it streaming directly from the CatholicTV website.

    The 28-minute show hosted by Fr. Robert Reed is broken into short segments with teams of different contestants.  Perfect for limited attention spans, Father Reed engages the kids with energy, enthusiasm and just enough humor to make it fun.  In between the questions and answers, Fr. Reed takes a brief moment to tell you something about the most recent question or answer while keeping the action moving right along.

    Each show has a topic with questions flowing in a natural order.  We started watching with the show on “Christmas” and moved to “Growing Up Catholic.” Their posted schedule also includes shows about Easter, Sacramentals, The Holy Rosary, The Blessed Mother, The People of God and more.

    CatholicTV has taken all the elements that make a game show entertaining and mixed it with interactive stuff kids like to create a fun program the whole family will enjoy.  When a contestant gets a question right, the underage audience says “WOW!”   While I found it a bit cheesy, my kids loved it and were soon saying “WOW” right along with the show.  My three kids, ages 9, 7 and 4 were amazed at how quickly the children hit their buzzers and answered the questions correctly.  They found it fun to watch other kids compete on a reality show and now mine desperately want to be on it.

    CatholicTV is a nationally broadcast television network streaming a live feed 24 hours a day at http://www.CatholicTV.com.  If you do not receive CatholicTV from your local cable provider, visit CatholicTV Everywhere to help them grow, and then watch their programming directly online at CatholicTV.

    WOW is lots of fun!  And it’s an entertaining show for our kids about our Catholic faith!  What a great combination.

    Do you know more about the Catholic faith than a Catholic 3rd grader?

    Click here for a cool photo set on the Flickr account of Boston Catholic.

     

  • Lisa Jones 1:42 pm on May 13, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    Review: Be An Amazing Catechist 

    For those who bless their parish community as a catechist or who have considered teaching, Our Sunday Visitor published a booklet to aid in your ministry.

    “Be an Amazing Catechist. Inspire the Faith of Children” by Lisa Mladinich speaks to experienced catechists, those new to the ministry, and individuals discerning the call to teach our faith.  This 32-page magazine style booklet contains great suggestions, resources and tips for teaching the catechism to children from preschool all the way to high school age.

    Reading Be an Amazing Catechist, generates excitement about spreading the faith to the next generation.  Mladinich prepares the catechist by giving starting points to enhance the catechism instruction.

    The booklet instructs the catechist to understand the specific nature of the age group, identify your instruction style, and recognize and direct the teaching to different types of learners in your group.  Helpful tips aim to improve your confidence in teaching, empower you on addressing potential problems in the classroom, and get parents and families involved in their child’s faith education.

    The author provides varied resource lists to supplement your parish curriculum and aid the catechist as the year progresses, including where to find the catechism & bible online, free catechetical puppet scripts, arts and crafts, and more.

    Lisa Mladnich has written an inspirational guide for all those who are called to be a catechist to our children.  To help prepare for the next school year, share Be An Amazing Catechist with your parish Director of Religious Education and fellow Catechists.

    Visit Lisa Mladnich and Amazing Catechists on FaceBook and purchase the booklet on Amazon: Be An Amazing Catechist

     

  • Lisa Jones 4:22 am on April 27, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    Prayer in 3 Minutes a Day 

    Loyola Press, A Jesuit Ministry, has created an inspirational iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app for busy Catholics on the go – the 3-Minute Retreat.  By opening this app, you are treated to a daily reflective prayer retreat wherever you are, whatever you are doing.  The spiritual retreat opens with a theme and scripture reading set to lovely pictures and soothing music.  As you proceed through the slides at your own pace, you are presented with reflective comments and questions based on the previous scripture.

    The 3-Minute Retreat app has quickly become a favorite in part due to its portability. Because it is short and on my phone, I can turn to this retreat whenever I need to spend a moment in prayer.  I use it to pray while waiting for my children, standing in line or sometimes in a quiet moment at home.

    The simplicity of the retreats offered is a large part of the spiritual success found in the app.  Loyola Press has combined beauty, prayer and scripture in a straightforward way to inspire peace and reflection in the participant.    I have been astonished at how these 3-Minutes a day spent in spiritual retreat have positively affected my prayer time.

    Visit Loyola Press to experience their 3-Minute Retreat app in English and Spanish.  It is also available directly on iTunes for the iPod,  iPod Touch and iPad.

     

    • John-brunton 8:39 pm on April 30, 2011 Permalink | Reply

      i have had this app for a while now and have to agree its fantastic

    • Jclem413 10:28 am on April 27, 2011 Permalink | Reply

      I agree with Lisa, this is a great App that I use daily for spiritual reflection in my busy days. I recently got an iPad2 and enjoyed that it also has a feature to see all of the past retreats and these are now offered with HD pictures. Kudos to Loyola Press for a great App.

  • Lisa Jones 4:04 am on April 27, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    Faith as “Survivor” Strategy? 

    It is rare to find Christianity present on mainstream network reality shows and rarer that it is presented in a positive light; however, CBS in their 22nd season of Survivor chose to include one  player’s obvious belief in God.  Matt Elrod, a contestant from Nashville, TN, is often shown praying, reading scripture and discussing his Christian beliefs with other contestants. While in past seasons, you might have glimpses of a contestant’s faith, it has never been highlighted in consecutive episodes and with the focus given this year.

    Matt has done the unthinkable by winning every challenge on Redemption Island so far to remain in the game. He publically attributes his place in the game to “God’s will,” even after being brought back from Redemption Island to join the merged tribe only to be subsequently voted out to Redemption Island for a second time.

    Across fan sites, some Survivor fans find Matt’s constant prayer and references to God’s will to be annoying and out of place in this game. Many, if not most fans, will argue that he is inept at playing this game of strategy, evidenced by his naiveté leading to two blindside tribal council votes.  Still, others find his demonstration of faith a refreshing inclusion in a reality game that celebrates and rewards lying, cheating and backstabbing.

    Are you watching this 22nd season of Survivor?  If so, do you enjoy the airtime given to Matt’s Christian faith?

     

  • Lisa Jones 4:08 pm on March 26, 2011 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , education, Parish Ministry, webinars, workshops   

    Educational Catholic Workshops Direct to You 

    Ave Maria Press is bringing professional development workshops directly to parish ministers by using online technology. Anyone interested in free parish ministry workshops should head over to Ave Maria Press for their online series.

    These WEBinars offer participants the opportunity to listen to the host, view their presentation and offer questions through a chat component.  During the first five months of the year, Ave Maria Press is producing 10 WEBinars on a variety of topics targeted to parish ministry.  Registration is free and each workshop lasts an hour.

    A recent WEBinar, “Catholic Moms: Building and Sustaining Small Groups to Support the Vocation of Motherhood” was hosted by CatholicMom.com founder, Lisa Hendey. This workshop offered the participants details on how Catholic Moms want to be supported by their parish, tips on organizing the parish group and supplied resources to enhance the group’s success.  Through the question and answer at the end, she addressed specific problems in dealing with rural parishes, answered technology questions and stressed the importance of being inclusive to all women in the parish.

    Topics for upcoming WEBinars at Ave Maria Press include;

    ·      Technology Tips for Religious Educators

    ·      Pastoral Leadership in the Christian Community

    ·      Digital Ministry and Social Media

    ·      Teens and Chastity:  Implementing the USCCB’s New Document, Catechetical Formation in Chaste Living

    ·      Economic Stewardship: Catholics Spending and Acting Justly

    For the workshops you might have already missed, the recorded audio is offered free online for convenient listening anytime.

    View their complete WEBinar Series and listen to past workshops at Ave Maria Press online.

    What a beneficial way to support parish communities no matter where they are located.  Have you participated in a WEBinar?  What topics would make you log in and listen?

    Visit Ave Maria Press and their WEBinar Series by clicking here.

     

  • Lisa Jones 10:00 am on March 23, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    Healing Psalms & Prayers App 

    In recognition of the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Pauline Books & Media and the Daughters of St. Paul community created a special section on their website for prayer and healing resources to aid individuals, parents, teachers, priests and groups “seeking a way to help bring the needs of the victims to God.”  The resources on their website include:
    • YouTube videos of prayers matched with photos
    • PDF of suitable prayers
    • How to talk to kids about disaster
    • Addressing our questions, such as ”Did God permit the earthquake and tsunami?”
    • News from the Daughters of St. Paul community of Sendai, Japan
    For a short time, Pauline Books & Media is offering their Healing Psalms and Prayers app for free because they know that “sometimes we just need a short prayer to reconnect with God’s love and mercy.”  The Healing Psalms and Prayers app contains meditations with contemplative music, 36 prayers of healing, audio psalms, and journal options in text and photo.  ”Listen, meditate, pray for special needs, journal what’s in your heart.”
    Find the Pauline Books & Media Prayer Resources by clicking here
    The Healing Psalms and Prayers app can be found here
     

  • Lisa Jones 10:24 pm on March 19, 2011 Permalink | Reply
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    “Ask a Catholic Nun” Facebook Page Wins Award 

    The “Ask a Catholic Nun” Facebook page won a Reader’s Choice Award for Best Catholic Facebook page in an online contest sponsored by About.com’s Catholicism site.

    The Reader’s Choice contest offered awards in a variety of categories including website, blog, Facebook page, twitter, iPhone app, and book among others.

    The “Ask a Catholic Nun” Facebook page describes itself as “a place where Catholics and non-Catholics alike can ask questions concerning matters of faith, morality, and religious learning.  It is meant to be an informational site about the Catholic faith.”

    After allowing their more than 12,000 fans to “Ask a Catholic Nun” questions about the faith, the hosts of the page, Sr. Susan James Heady and Sr. Marianne Lorraine Trouve, of the Daughters of St. Paul in collaboration with uCatholic.com,  provide thoughtful and faithful answers to the questions and bond their Facebook community together through prayers and friendship.

    Sr. Susan Heady responded to the award announcement by saying in part, “Our hope is that the heightened publicity for our page will result in many more visitors and friends who will enjoy our posts and find answers to their questions.”

    You can visit the “Ask a Catholic Nun” Facebook page by clicking here – “Ask a Catholic Nun”

     

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