Wordle for Pope Benedict XVI’s Message for World Communications Day

Here is a wordle for Pope Benedict’s message for the 44th World Communications Day, 2010, The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word

And another for Pope Benedict XVI’s message for the 43rd World Communications Day, 2009, New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship

Image Created using http://www.wordle.net/. Images of Wordles are licensed .

New Encyclical: Caritas in Veritate

This morning I downloaded and started reading Pope Benedict XVI’s new encyclical Caritas in Veritate.

Just to see what would happen, I pasted the introduction and first chapter into wordle.net.

Here is what came out.

Word Cloud of Caritas in Veritate

9th Day of Christmas: The church is our home… wherever we are.

In 2007 or 2008 my wife and I made a New Year’s resolution to attend Sunday Mass (and feast days) wherever we were and whatever we were doing. Prior to that we were faithful to going to mass every Sunday– except when we were traveling or attending weekend long music festivals or…

Since we have made this resolution, finding masses when we are traveling has become a pleasure and an adventure. Web resources like masstimes.org and diocesan websites make it easy to find the location and mass times of a church nearby to where we are staying. The website for our Archdiocese of Toronto allows you to search for the nearest parish by postal code, which is a very handy feature for travelers.

Today we attended mass for January 1, the feast of Mary the Mother of God at St. Justin the Martyr parish, a large suburban parish just north of Toronto. The homily focused on the apparitions of Mary at Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. In each of these instances Mary appeared in a remote, unremarkable location and asked the visionaries to tell their bishops that She wished a church to be built on that location. The priest  pointed out that if these apparitions occurred in such remote locations that nobody should feel that their heart is too remote to ask Jesus to come live in it.

Another reason I love going to mass at churches away from home is that it helps me reflect upon the idea of the small ‘c’ meaning of ‘catholic’ meaning that we belong to a universal church. Wherever we attend mass we are a part of the sacrifice of Jesus in the Eucharist. The suburban parish we attended today is a very multicultural parish with members from many nations and cultures in the parish community. This also helps remind me that the church is worldwide and universal.   St. Justin’s is a modern church building and the artwork within it is a blend of contemporary and traditional styles. The stained glass windows contained portraits of many saints including my daughter’s favorite, Blessed Kateri Tekawitha and St. Maximillian Kolbe. Like many geeks I have adopted St. Maximillian as a kind of patron of the Internet because of his skillful use of all forms of media of his time to spread the Gospel (sort of like many of us are trying to do with new media).

Speaking of new media, I like many others, have found that the promise of podcasting and social media is in making connections between people and facilitating communities. Having been an active participant in several online community projects, in the podcasting community at large, and within the Catholic online community (or St. Blogs Parish as it were), I have noticed that the Catholic community online has a different and richer definition of community than other online community. This understanding of community is very much rooted in our understanding that we belong to a universal church and that we are united by the sacrifice of Christ in the Eucharist. Several times I have heard Catholic rocker Bryan Murdaugh refer to the celebration of the Eucharist as ‘The original social network’. For me it is enough to know that wherever I am, I can probably find a mass and that I will instantly be connected to the worldwide family of the Catholic Church. I’m told that I overuse the word ‘awesome’ but that is truly awesome!

Join us tomorrow for more reflections produced by great Catholic New Media personalities as we journey through the 12 Days of Christmas.

1. Send me your feedback on the blog at http://cc.ductapeguy.net by email at (catholicroundup@gmail.com) catholicroundup (at) gmail (dot) com or by calling 206-337-0611.

2. Go to the Catholic New Media Advent Calendar

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Catholic New Media Roundup Episode 9: Rock the Vote

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (34.0MB)

CNMR Big Question: How does your family recognize Halloween in the context of your Catholic faith?

Rosary Army Forums: Dressing up for Halloween? (Registration required, but it’s a great online Catholic community.

Promo:A Journey into the Land of the Spirit

Catholic Podcasts nominated for Podcast Awards Click here to vote for Catholic Shows at the Podcast Awards (October 23-November 6)

Secrets of Harry Potter [url] [rss]

Hands and Feet [url] [rss]

Healthy Catholic [url] [rss]

Phedippidations [url] [rss]

Catholic Rockers [url] [rss]

Daily Breakfast [url] [rss]

Grace before Meals [url] [rss]

iPadre [url] [rss]

Promo: The Accidental Archaeologist

Top Catholic Songs Itunes list of Unity Awards 2008 – October 25 nominated songs

Song: Sharmane: I Surrender Nominated for UCMVA Song of the Year

Interview with Marc Smith from the Catholic Vocations Podcast

Promo On the U – College Catholic Podcast

On the Blogs: Fr. Philip Neri Powell, O.P., Ph.D.: Church is not Wal-Mart

Bryan Murdaugh’s Glory Contest Get your entries in soon. The contest closes on November 1.

1. Send me your feedback, podcast, blog and website promos ideas etc… on the blog at http://cc.ductapeguy.net by email at (catholicroundup@gmail.com) catholicroundup (at) gmail (dot) com or by calling 206-337-0611.

2. Join the Catholic New Media Roundup Group on Facebook.
3. Let’s not forget about K7 Days. On the 7th, 17th and 27th of the month send some feedback to a blogger or podcaster.
   
4. Theme Song: Lost in Christ (©) Bryan Murdaugh

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A Pilgrimage Close to Home

This year marks the 125th anniversary of my home Parish of St. Margaret’s. Today on Easter Sunday we are hosting the Pilgrimage of The Ark of the New Covenant which is on a walking pilgrimage from the Canadian Martyr’s Shrine to The International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City in June. There will be an Easter mass concelebrated by Auxilliary Bishops from Toronto and Quebec City, followed by a walking pilgrimage about 7 miles to the Canadian Martyr’s shrine. It will be a very special celebration for our parish. The Eucharistic Congress has a wonderful website and there is ongoing coverage of the pilgrimage and the congress at ECDQ.tv, the new media portal fro the diocese of Quebec. This diocese is doing exciting things with blogs, audio and video on the net to spread the good news. Unfortunately for me, most of the media is in French but it is still an amazing example of what a local diocese can do with new media tools.

I hope to post pictures, and maybe interviews of the event over the next few days.

From http://www.cei2008.ca/en/32

1000 km on foot to Quebec City for the International Eucharistic Congress

The 2008 International Eucharistic Congress invites all media, as well as the public, to join in launching the final pilgrimage of the Ark of the New Covenant. A dozen “portageurs” will begin the 1000 km pilgrimage on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008 in Midland, Ontario. The pilgrimage will take them to Quebec City in preparation for the most important religious celebration during the city’s 400th anniversary, the 49^th International Eucharistic Congress.

All those interested are cordially invited to join the “portageurs” (those following the Ark) on Easter day. A Eucharistic celebration will take place at St. Margaret Church in Midland, ON, where the Ark’s pilgrimage will start towards the Canadian Martyrs’ Shrine. Once this 5.5 km distance will be covered, there will be a blessing with the relics of the Martyrs in memory of the first Jesuits.

Following is the detailed schedule of activities for Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008 in Midland, Ontario:

• 10:30 a.m. – Arrival of the portageurs and the Ark of the New Covenant at St. Margaret Church, Midland, ON.
• 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon – Easter Eucharistic celebration with Bishop Peter Hundt, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Toronto & Bishop Pierre-André Fournier, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Quebec at St. Margaret Church.
• 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Lunch. All are invited to join the portageurs for their meal; however, lunch is not provided.
• 1:00 p.m. – Departure on foot from St. Margaret Church.
• 3:00 p.m. – Arrival at the Martyrs’ Shrine, Blessing and Departure Ceremony.

This historic pilgrimage enhances the liturgical Easter season and the foundation of the Church in Canada. The International Eucharistic Congress website at www.cei2008.ca will allow for people to follow the pilgrimage step by step. After a 64-day journey, the Ark will arrive in Quebec City May 25, 2008 for the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Follow the portageurs online

Easter is Here! The 40 Days are Over.

Many years ago, I was able to spend Easter at Madonna House. Several of us stayed up all night after the Easter Vigil, then made a pre-dawn hike up a mountainous hill to get to Ascension Rock– a large outcropping overlooking the Madawaska River Valley for sunrise. We made a slight miscalculation. The cliff faces west, so we saw the sun rise over the trees we had just hiked through. Nonetheless, at dawn one of our group proclaimed, “Christ has Risen”, and we responded boisterously with the ancient response, “Truly He has risen!”

Sunrise. Such an ordinary event. It happens every day. But any time I’ve taken time to notice and take in a sunrise I’ve always been overcome with awe at the peace and beauty of the moment. It is commonplace and ordinary but always miraculous.

So too is this miracle we celebrate today. Jesus Christ has died and he is risen. He has died for us all, and overcome death to give us the same gift. Miraculous indeed. The Greatest of Miracles. But we commemorate this miracle every Easter, every Sunday. We must be every mindful that we never take this miracle for granted, and treat it as commonplace.

Day 21- Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Since she was four, our daughter has attended Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, also known as the Atrium at our home Parish of St. Margaret’s in Midland, Ontario. My daughter has enjoyed the hands-on and self directed approach to learning about our faith, and our entire family’s faith experience has been enriched by the discussions and questions we have shared following her classes at the Atrium. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, was founded in 1954 as a way to teach children the Gospel using the methods of Maria Montessori. I formerly taught in a Montessori school so this was of interest to me. There are currently only 28 parishes in Canada using the Atrium program (including some Anglican and Lutheran churches), so we are certainly fortunate to have such a good program for catechism in our home parish.

Day 19 of 40 Days of Catholic Media: St. Michael’s Cathedral

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.6MB)

While we were at Podcamp Toronto, my wife and I went to mass at St. Michaels Cathedral

which is the cathedral of our diocese and the home of the world famous St. Michael’s Boy’s Choir School. Of course we went to the one Sunday mass that doesn’t have music. It was a good one anyway.

We discussed our visit to St. Michael’s in the car on the way home.

Day 17 of 40 Days of Catholic Media- Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible

I mentioned last week that I’m a volunteer reader for Librivox.org, recording public domain audiobooks. For a while I’ve been participating in a project to record Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, a 1904 adaptation of all the stories in the Bible for young children. The text for the story can be found at the Baldwin Project, a site dedicated to “Bringing yesterday’s classics to today’s children”. The first 3 volumes of Librivox recordings of Hurlbut’s story of the bible can be found here:

Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman. “Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible Part One” ·

Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman. “Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible Part Two” ·

Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman. “Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible Part Three” ·

Tonight I recorded 3 sections for volume 4 (Click on the blue arrow to play or right click the link and Save File as to download it to your computer): 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.2MB)

So grab a cup of tea and curl up on the couch under a fuzzy blanket. It’s story time.

Day 12 of 40 Days of Catholic Media: Catholic Audiobooks at LibriVox

For a couple of years, I have been a volunteer reader for Librivox.org. Librivox is an online project that has an amazing mission statement: “To make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet.” Over a 1500 volunteers all over the world have contributed recordings to over 1000 completed audiobooks. To be recorded for Librivox, books must be in the public domain in the United States, which usually means published earlier than 1923. There are audiobooks of all kinds and genres at librivox. There are a number of volunteers who have recorded a great deal of classic Christian and Catholic works. Here is the results of a search for “religion” on the LibriVox Catalog. You can find recordings of several translations of the bible, some writings of early Church Fathers, and writings of some of the Saints.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Lawrence, Brother. “Practice of the Presence of God, The” ·

Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint. “On Loving God” ·

[Latin] Biblia Sacra Vulgata. “Bible (Biblia Sacra Vulgata) 19: Psalmi XXII” ·

Chesterton, G.K.. “Heretics”

This summer, one of our active volunteers found a century old book of bible stories for children entitled Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible. We are slowly working our way through the Old Testament. I have recorded several chapters for each volume of Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible.

Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman. “Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible Part One” ·

Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman. “Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible Part Two” ·

Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman. “Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible Part Three” ·

Last year, perhaps as his lenten project, Sean McKinley recorded Jewett, Sophie. “God’s Troubadour, The Story of St. Francis of Assisi”. This is a good introduction to the life of St. Francis for families with young children.

Day 8 of 40 Days of Catholic Media– Madonna House

As a young man, I spent almost a year at Madonna House, discerning my vocation, chopping wood and veggies, and learning to live their life of simplicity, prayer, work and charity.   Madonna House is a community of laymen, lay women and priests in the woods of Northeastern Ontario in Combermere.  Their foundress, Catherine Doherty was born in Russia and brought to North America a deep and practical faith that straddles both the Eastern and Western traditions of the Catholic Church.  She died in 1985 and has been designated as ‘Servant of God’.  You can check out the progress of the Cause for her canonization at  http://www.catherinedoherty.org/ .

Although the members of Madonna house live a very simple life, (think of growing their own food, woodstoves, and outhouses), they do have a wonderful website with a description of their community and all their field houses, as well as a catalogue of their many publications.  You can also subscribe by RSS feed to receive articles from their monthly Restoration Newspaper in your favorite newsreader.

Every other summer, our family has enjoyed a family retreat at Cana Colony, a week long  program for families hosted by Madonna house.

Tim Chesterton’s late night questions about the Internet

Over at Tale Spin, Tim Chesterton has posted Tim’s late night questions about the Internet,
in which he poses a series of questions about the nature of community in general and Christian Community in particular on the Internet. 
Some of his questions include:

I do not have answers to all Tim’s questions, but they certainly parallel my own.  Tim is an Anglican minister, a folk musician, author, and a heck of a nice guy.  I’m going to respond to the spirit of his questions using examples from my own experience, in this case the growing community around Catholic Podcasting.  I  started this blog to participate in and explore the possibilities of the growing Catholic Christian community on the Internet.  I have found my personal faith strengthened by listening to Catholic Podcasts, by reading Catholic Blogs, and by becoming acqainted with other Christians involved in the new Social Media,  It was reluctantly that I let down my 20 year fear of “anonymous chat” and started participating in Internet community.

One of the things I have discovered is that Internet Friends are not necessarily the same as Face to Face Friendships and Internet Community is not necessarily the same as Flesh and blood community.  Andrea Ross of the Just One More Book podcasts describes her Internet Acquaintances as her Imaginary Friends.

As I’ve become more involved in EZfolk.com (for folk musicians and enthusiasts) , Librivox.org (recording public domain audiobooks), The Podcamp Movement,  Rosary army, SQPN and Catholic podcasting, I have found some wonderful, lively, supportive  internet communities and I have moved some of the people I’ve met in these communities over from the or ‘Internet Friendships’ category in my heart to consider them as genuine friendships
.

One of the key draws of podcasting for Podcasters, besides being able to share your thoughts and talents with the world cheaply and easily, is the community developing around podcasting and new media.  It is truly a pleasure to be considered a peer by so many wonderful and talented people. 

Then we move to the Catholic podcasting community that I’ve become a part of.  I sincerely believe that with the community forming around SQPN, Disciples with Microphones and Father Chris Decker’s Catholicon, that we are being called (in the spiritual sense) to a  deeper sense of community, as the understood by Christians for 2000 years.  Father Bill Kessler’s tag line of, “Paul used letters.  I think I’ll try podcasting” is an excellent example of what I see happening here.  Just as St. Paul used modern communication tools (letters) to spread the gospel, so Father Bill (and many others) use podcasting and blogs. 

Back to my point that Internet Communities are not the same as “flesh and blood” communities but can develop into them.  I firmly believe that the new social media tools are enabling us to seek out genuine communities of “like minded” individuals from anywhere in the world.  This leads right back to Tim’s post.  Tim’s questions very clearly point out many of the shortcomings of Internet community  but I believe that we can overcome these shortcomings to develop “genuine” communities through use of social media tools.  

I hope we can figure out the hows together, and maybe answer some of Tim’s late night questions.

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Tags: TimChesterton, Tale Spin, CatholiCon, SQPN, Rosary Army, catholic, Anglican, Christian, community