Catholic Roundup

Musings on faith, life, and new media from a Catholic perspective

Mar
10

Promo for Catholic Roundup Lenten Day of Reflection March 28

Posted by Sean on March 10, 2009

I have prepared a promo for the online day of reflection.  Feel free to pass it around, play it on your podcast, etc…   If you are interested in joining us during the online day of reflection on March 28 or would like to help planning or presenting during the event, please head on over to our Google Group at http://groups.google.com/group/catholic-roundup-group.

The music in the promo is Hail Mary by Acid42 aka Lionel Valdellon.

Mar
24

Catholic Carnival #168: An Easter Carnival/ podcast simulcast

Posted by Sean on March 24, 2008

I started my 40 Days of Catholic Media blog/ podcasting project on Ash Wednesday to explore the intersection between new media and faith communities. I did not make a distinction between blogging, podcasting, or video in this project. I just set out to explore the great variety of Catholic blogs, podcasts, musicians and resources on the internet. I also conducted about 20 interviews with podcasters, priests, musicians and ordinary folks about how they enrich their spiritual lives during Lent, about places of spiritual significance and of how they use the new media to find Catholic community.

I am blogging and podcasting this carnival simultaneously in the hope that it will foster some crossover between the Catholic blogging and podcasting communities I have become a part of. The blog carnival entries are all listed in this post and I have added some comments within the podcast. I apologize for the untidiness of the links below but I worked on a fabulous blog post all weekend which vanished into the internet in a tragic cut and paste mishap.

Anyways, here we go for Take 2 of the Easter edition of the Catholic Blog Carnival.

Bah-da bah-da-da-da
Bah-da bah-da-da-da
Bah-da bah-da-da-da

Maundy, Maundy, so good to me
Maundy mornin’, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Maundy mornin’, Maundy mornin’ couldn’t guarantee
That Maundy evenin’ you would still be here with me

Over at Play the Dad? No, be the Dad!,Matthew S presents Maundy, Maundy, a reflection on Holy Thursday which includes a rewrite of the Mamas and the Papa’s classic song.

Shamelle presents It Doesn’t Cost Much To Consult With God posted at Enhance Life.

Denise Hunnell presents A New License For Teens–And It Is Not For Driving! posted at Catholic Matriarch in my Domestic Church aka Catholic Mom.

Kate Wicker presents Why I Nurse at the Mall and at Mass posted at Kate Wicker.

Catholic musician and lay minister, Bryan Murdaugh presents Why is the Cross So Important?, a theme he explored earlier on his song, We Need the Cross, which is on his album, ‘with everything i know its a long way home’.

Jay at Deo Omnis Gloria offers some thoughts on Reinventing Christianity in Your Own Image, just a post pondering those who use Christianity to push a theologythat looks nothing like Christian Truth.

Mary DeTurris Poust presents So Much for Free Thought posted at Not Strictly Spiritual.

Jason presents 1796: Mastro Titta’s first execution of many posted at Executed Today. I had trouble finding where to fit this post in the Catholic carnival because it is a historical biography of the executioner for the Papal States in the 19th century. We must not forget the historical failings of even people high up in the church. This is a reminder that individuals and the church as a whole must always strive to live out the whole of the gospel and respect human life at all its stages.

Mary’s Aggies have a timely post called Attacks on Human Life Getting Bolder in which they discuss the Incarnation, Easter, The Dignity of the Human Person and the fight for human life in all of its forms.

On Easter Sunday, at from the field of blue children Cathy Adamkiewicz wrote and posted a lovely poem entitled, In Your Shadow.

Fred presents sola fides sufficit posted at Deep Furrows.

Ian presents Top Ten Favorite Quotes from John Milton?s Paradise Lost posted at Musings from a Catholic Bookstore.

E.L. Core at The Blog from the Core continues an Easter custom by presenting Newman for Easter: a list of Ven. John Henry Newman’s Easter-related sermons.

Fellow Canadian, Steven R. McEvoy at Book Reviews and More has an essay about Cursillo 50 Years of Challenge In North America.

HMS Blog presents LET THERE BE LIGHT: A reflection on the readings for the Easter Vigil Mass, focusing on Christ’s resurrection as the light of the new creation.

A Catholic Mom climbing the Pillars presents A Word about being a Good Catholic Parent in which she offers some thoughts on how to be a good example for our children to carry on the traditions of our faith and keep them Catholic.

In Journey to Jesus, Part 3 at Just another day of Catholic pondering, guest blogger Heather shares how Mary is a very real part of her conversion through an experience with her daughter.

Suzanne presents Friday Poetry: Goodly Fere on Good Friday posted at Adventures in Daily Living . This is part of a weekly Poetry Friday project which is a great way to build up the blogging community.

Over at Catholic Fire Jean is talking about The Feast of Divine Mercy and Its Extraordinary Graces. She presents a brief but detailed description of this grace – filled feast day and God’s promises to us

On Saturday after the Easter vigil, I joined Rob from the Tupelo Catholic Blog and Podcast on Ustream along with a bunch of his other virtual friends as he ended his Lenten fast. In his post he looks at the Week Ahead where he points out that this Wednesday is a starting date for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary and Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday.

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii brings us Sacramentals in the Home: A Catholic Tradition, in which she discusses different kinds of sacramentals to enrich a Catholic home.

I’m going to close my 40 Days of Catholic Media project exactly as I started it, by playing Race You to the Tomb by Karl Kohlhase. Karl Kohlhase is a Contemporary Christian, Catholic songwriter from Minnesota who has released 7 CDs of his original music for free download at his website k4communications.com. He writes:

“You may burn as many copies of the CDs as you like for family and friends. I only ask that you give them away free of charge. Freely you have received, so freely give…

Update:

I made a newbie Catholic Carnival mistake. I forgot to check my spam folder to check if any submissions got there by mistake and there were five. I’m sorry for the omissions.
Teresa’s Two Cents shares about going to The Easter Vigil with a boy who can’t sit still. I can understand the sentiment. We took our daughter to all of the Triduum services except the vigil. We got a babysitter for that one.

Julie at Adoro te Devote reminds us that we are Pilgrims on a Journey. We are citizens of Heaven, here on a journey. The world is not our home and there is a reason our hearts are restless.

Chris at Catholic Converts reminds us that April 13 is a 24 Hour Rosary: World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In his World Day of Prayer for Vocations message Pope Benedict XVI’s said, “The Church prays everyday to the Holy Spirit for the gift of vocations. Gathered around the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles, as in the beginning, the ecclesial community learns from her how to implore the Lord for a flowering of new apostles, alive with the faith and love that are necessary for the mission.” Catholic Converts invites everyone to join in 24 Hours of the Rosary for Vocations on April 13, 2008. We are asking people to sign up for as little as 30 minutes of continuously praying the Rosary for Vocations.

Over at Apostolate of the Laity David discusses, Judgement, It’s a good thing.

Ho Kai Paulos gives us A light from the shadows shall spring. How is it that last Friday was called “Good”? It seems wrong, somehow, to celebrate that day, when so many evil beings were celebrating – the pharisees, the Romans, the Devil. He discusses briefly, using some poetry from Tolkein, what makes it a good day.

Mar
23

Easter is Here! The 40 Days are Over.

Posted by Sean on March 23, 2008

Sunrise

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.

Mar
22

Day 46: Waiting is Over- Time for Popple!

Posted by Sean on March 22, 2008

Today is a day of preparation and waiting. The 40 days of Lent is almost over. We wait with the church as Christ waited in the tomb. At the Easter Vigil tonight we will celebrate the risen Christ.

But you have all waited enough for me. The podcast file today is an early listen to my For the Sake of the Song episode with Kyle Heimann from Popple. I will not be releasing it on For the Sake of the Song until April 20.

Enjoy

Mar
21

Day 45: Good Friday

Posted by Sean on March 21, 2008

Bible on Good Friday

andrea_mantegna_crucifixtion

The Crucifixtion: Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431 – September 13, 1506). Andrea Mantegna – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mar
20

Day 44 with Rob and Kristen Williams of Tupelocatholic.com

Posted by Sean on March 20, 2008

Today I talk with Rob and Kristen Williams from the Tupelo Catholic Podcast.  I had a brief 1 min interview with Rob at the beginning of Lent, but we thought we would have a longer conversation.

Mar
19

Day 43 of 40 Days of Catholic Media: Holy Week, or the overtime episodes

Posted by Sean on March 19, 2008
    • In Day 1 of 40 Days of Catholic Media, I featured For Me, a free downloadable CD for Lent called by Karl Kohlhase. He has released a second CD this Lent called, Bread Of Life: Eucharistic Reflections. I open the podcast with Create In Me (Psalm 51).
    • Reflection on K7 Days.

    I am declaring the 7th, 17th and 27th of each month as K7 days. On a K7 day take 7 minutes to leave voice feedback for some of your favorite podcasts. You can also join the K7 Days group on facebook.

    • This week’s Catholic Carnival is up at Mary’s Aggies. I’m looking forward to hosting the Easter blog carnival next week here on A Catholic Canadian.
    • Reflections on 40 Days of Catholic media and ideas for continuing this concept.
    • Popple God is Love (Prayer of St. Francis).

    Remember, I can still be persuaded to release my interview with Kyle from Popple early. Just leave me comments on the blog, send email to ductapeguy at hotmail dot com or call my K7 voicemail number at 206-337-0611. Remember that K7 numbers are in the Seattle area code so normal long distance charges may apply.

    I almost forgot to mention that both a Catholic Canadian and For the Sake of the Song are now available on Itunes.

    A Catholic Canadian on the Itunes music Store

    For the Sake of the Song on the Itunes music Store

    Mar
    18

    Day 42 of 40 Days of Catholic Media– with Father Bill Holtzinger

    Posted by Sean on March 18, 2008

    For ten days in February, Fr. Bill Holtzinger led members of his parish from St. Anthony’s Church in Forest Grove Oregon on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We talked about his experiences on the pilgrimage and his Pilgrim Cast podcast.

    In keeping with the truism that no podcaster produces just one show, here is a listing of Father Bill’s seven podcasts. You can find them all at frbill.org .

    Mar
    17

    Day 41 of 40 days of Catholic Media with Doug Mumphrey.

    Posted by Sean on March 17, 2008

    Today, I talk with Doug Mumphrey of The ManlyCatholic Podcast. Enjoy.

    Mar
    16

    Day 40 of 40 Days of Catholic Media: Math Woes

    Posted by Sean on March 16, 2008

    Here we are on day Day 39 of 40 Days of Catholic Media and there is still a whole week left in Lent. What happened?

    Well, they say there are 3 kinds of people in the world: people who can do math and people who can’t. I’ve also heard that there are in fact 10 kinds of people: People who get binary, and people who don’t.

    Back to Lent: We started on Ash Wednesday and on Day 40, we still have 6 days left. What’s up with that? In fact there is a simple explanation– The six Sundays in Lent don’t count. Sunday is always considered a day of commemoration of the resurrection (like a mini Easter all year long). I knew that going into this blog project, but decided that I would still blog daily during all of Lent, so you can look forward to Day 41 of 40 Days of Catholic Media tomorrow.

    Heres a longer explanation about Lent from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Lent, in most Christian denominations, is the forty-day liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter.[1]Jesus spent in the desert, where, according to the Bible, he endured temptation by Satan.[2] Different churches calculate the forty days differently. The forty days represent the time

    The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer—through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial—for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

    In Western Christianity, but with the exception of the Archdiocese of Milan which follows the Ambrosian Rite, Lent lasts from Ash Wednesday through to Holy Saturday.[3] [1] The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter“, a celebration of Jesus’ victory over sin and death.[2]

    In those churches which follow the Byzantine tradition (e.g. Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics), the forty days of Lent are calculated differently: the fast begins on Clean Monday, Sundays are included in the count, and it ends on the Friday before Palm Sunday. The days of Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday and Holy Week are considered a distinct period of fasting. For more detailed information about the Eastern Christian practice of Lent, see the article Great Lent.

    Mar
    15

    Day 39 of 40 Days of Catholic Media with Jennifer Willits

    Posted by Sean on March 15, 2008

    Over the past 3 years, the Rosary Army Podcast and the Rosary Army as a whole have become a very important part of my family’s growth together in our Catholic Faith. I’ve become known as a bit of a class clown around the Rosary Army for my silly audio comments and sometimes silly parody songs that I send in and that they actually play on the podcast. The beauty of my Zoom h4 recorder is that I can record audio feedback anywhere, so there is often background sounds in my audio feedback. For several months, Jennifer Willits has been teasing me about the background noise in my audio comments. Then on February 21, she seemed hurt that I had interviewed Greg but not her for my 40 days project. I couldn’t resist and produced a virtual audio interview for her, complete with my random responses and all sorts of household interruptions. Jennifer and Greg are great sports and they gamely tried to conduct the interview around my nonsense. Enjoy, and be sure to check out the Rosary Army and That Catholic Show.

    Mar
    14

    Day 38 of 40 Days of Catholic Media with Russ Clayton

    Posted by Sean on March 14, 2008

    Russ Clayton
    The other day we had a family playdate with the family of my good friend Russ Clayton. Russ recorded and produced my CD and has covered my songs on two of his Children’s CDs. He also has a couple Channels on Youtube: RussTV featuring songs and hand rhymes for pre-schoolers and russy67 for his more adult oriented songwriting. (I’ve even appeared on RussTV a couple of times).

    In the interview, we talk about Lent, the importance of finding a quiet place to reflect and meditate (like the bathtub). We close the episode with Created and Living, a song Russ co-wrote and produced last year for Catholic Education Week.

    Mar
    13

    Day 37 with guests Mac and Katherine Barron of Catholic in a Small Town

    Posted by Sean on March 13, 2008

    During the weekly chatroom circus that is the live Ustream recording of Catholic in a Small Town, I pestered Mac and Katherine Barron to do an interview with me. As soon as their show recording was done, they called me on skype and we did this interview, live in front of the Ustream irregulars. Mac and Katherine do a podcast about raising children in a small town and being Catholic in the deep south. Besides, they are EXTREMELY funny. Check it out at sqpn.com.

    Mar
    12

    Day 36 with guest Jim Coyle

    Posted by Sean on March 12, 2008

    Join me today for a wonderful conversation with Jim Coyle. Jim is a professor in the Communication Arts Department at the Fransicsan University of Steubenville and one of the organizers for the Franciscan University Communication Arts Conference April 4-5, 2008. We discussed his Lenten spiritual reading of Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen. Then we launched discussion of Catholic communication and community using the new media tools. At one point he turned the mic around and asked me about my motivations for the 40 days of Catholic Media project.

    Jim also blogs a bit at Catholic Media Journal. He is hoping to use the Catholic media journal to showcase and highlight blogs and other new media covering the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States on April 15-20.

    If you are within reasonable distance, be sure to check out the Franciscan University Communication Arts Conference April 4-5, 2008. Guest speakers include SQPN podcasters, Father Roderick from The Daily Breakfast and Greg and Jennifer Willits from the Rosary Army. Registration is very reasonably priced and it looks like it will be a great conference. Alas, it is just a little too far for me to attend on a weekend trip, but I hope I can catch some of it on Ustream.

    P.S. I know I said, “Welcome to Day 37″, in the interview but I meant day 36… really.

    P.S. again.  This week’s Catholic Carnival is up at A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars
    (http://acatholicmumclimbingthepillars.blogspot.com/).  A whole bunch of great Catholic blogs to explore again this week.

    Mar
    11

    Day 35 of 40 Days of Catholic Media: Maria Lectrix

    Posted by Sean on March 11, 2008

    I’d been meaning to write about Maria Lectrix some time during these 40 days, and this seemed like a good time. Since September 2005 (which pre-dates Librivox, Maureen O’ Brien has been doing a daily podcast of readings of public domain literature. Her tastes are very catholic (note the lower-case c) in that they are broad and wide-ranging. She usually has several serial books going on at the same time and divides the week up according to genres.

    From About Maria Lectrix

    Mondays, I do whatever kind of literature comes into my head: short stories, poems, essays, history, even plays. Tuesdays are currently dedicated to fantasy. Thursdays are for mysteries, and Fridays are for science fiction.

    Wednesdays are for reading the Fathers of the Church and other Early Christian literature. (As members of a diverse and advanced civilization that is often hostile to their religion, their problems are very similar to ours.) Saturdays are for the works of later Christians.

    In general, the idea behind this podcast is that I catch up on my reading while sharing it with others. There are a lot of things that just work better read out loud; there are others that could go either way. Sometimes my choices may prove less than felicitous, since I’m often reading works for the first time. But I will try to keep things from getting boring.

    As seen above, Maria Lectrix also has recorded a great deal of early Catholic literature (note the upper case C). Next week for Holy Week she will be reading, The Seven Words on the Cross by St. Robert Bellarmine. Thanks Maureen. This would be an excellent way for Catholics to reflect on the meanings and mysteries of Holy Week and the Death and Resurrection of Christ.

    If you enjoy audiobooks, I definitely recommend that you check out Maria Lectrix.

    BTW: As a long time sci-fi fan, I really enjoyed Maureen’s reading of H. Beam Piper’s Little Fuzzy.