Because it's Beautiful

“If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine Floor” — Neil Simon

Joe was born and raised Catholic, the second of six children.  He grew up with a strong relationship with Jesus and a devotion to His Mother Mary.  He met his own Mary, who came from a family that sporadically attended various Protestant churches.  Joe evangelized Mary as he courted her, letting her know from the beginning that his faith was an integral part of his life.  Mary attended RCIA and they married in the Catholic Church and would go on to raise three girls.

Two years ago, Mary was talking to some of her girlfriends and mentioned something about the architecture of the church that she and Joe had attended recently while on vacation.  Her friends were amazed that someone would take time away from vacation to attend church.  Catherine, 48 years old, went home and told her husband, Lawrence, 62 years old, about the conversation.  Lawrence, who had recently been spiritually searching, said “We need to find out what church they go to - they obviously truly believe”.

Catherine had grown up in a Pentecostal family, one of 8 children.  Her family attended church every Sunday.  She was raised in what she describes as a very anti-Catholic atmosphere.  She also was a self-described feminist and was pro-abortion.  Lawrence was an only child and had been raised Baptist. They were both divorced when they married 6 years previously and had not attended church except at Christmas and Easter.

Over the next 6 months, Lawrence or Catherine would ask Mary questions about the Catholic Church, such as “Why do you Catholics worship statues?”  Mary would give her best answer, and then later share it with Joe.  Joe would expound on the topic and provide evidence supporting the Catholic position, and Mary would return to share it with their friends.  Their friends began attending Mass every Sunday - Catherine told Mary she was doing it for Lawrence.  They eventually sat down with the parish priest to explore becoming Catholic.  However, the annulment process seemed too daunting, and they stopped coming to Mass. 

This summer, Lawrence and Catherine vacationed in Rome.  Standing in the Sistine Chapel, they were overcome with emotion as the beauty and sacredness of Michelangelo’s masterpiece washed over them. St Peter’s basilica was even more moving, and it was here, near the altar, that Lawrence reported feeling an overwhelming desire to become Catholic.

Joe and Mary are now the sponsors for Lawrence and Catherine in RCIA.  Their friends’ 18 year old daughter (who did not even know the Lord’s Prayer until RCIA) and her boyfriend, are also in the class.  Catherine is now on fire for her new faith and speaks eagerly of what it will mean to receive the Eucharist for the first time.

The seed of evangelization was planted by Mary speaking openly about one, minor aspect of her faith. The conversion was cultivated by answering many questions and praying to the Holy Spirit. The harvest occurred when the warmth of the Son shown upon Lawrence and Catherine in all of His beauty on a trip to Rome. 

Peter Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and the King’s College. In his audio CD “7 Reasons to Be Catholic” (available at the kiosk in the back of Good Shepherd), his seventh reason is “…because it’s beautiful”. He describes how as a boy, he visited St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and thought “This is heaven”. As he was undergoing his conversion to Catholicism from Calvinism, someone suggested that he listen to some of the music of the Catholic composer Palestrina. It was beautiful to him, and again he thought “I absolutely know this music comes from heaven.”

Be aware that we are made in His image and that the body is beautiful. The Church is the body of Christ. Don’t forget to look to the beauty of the Church to help you in your quests to evangelize.

Have a joyous and blessed Christmas.

Oh, and one more thing…

 

What Do the Saints Say?

"Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!"  -St. Augustine

This Week’s Evangelization Challenge

We want to hear from you! If you are a convert or have come home to the Church after a long absence, please write about it or call the parish office be interviewed for a story.

Love Will Find a Way… Back to God

After more than a decade of not walking with the Lord and a failed marriage, I met my wife Susan and fell in love. Susan lived at home with her parents and was a Catholic who had attended parochial school and a Catholic college. Many of our interests were the same and I always felt very comfortable with her.  She attended Mass faithfully, some might say “religiously,” on weekends, Holy Days and other days of obligation. I began to go with her though she never pressured me.  I firmly believe that God sent her to save me. In 1980 we were married first in the Baptist Church as she explained that we would not be allowed to be married in the Catholic Church. I knew very little about Catholicism. The first experiences of Mass were a source of wonderment to me. Susan never raised the issue of religion nor did I feel any pressure from her at all to become a Catholic. Having just come out of a decade of not walking with the Lord I hungered to return to him. I decided to examine the Catholic faith. My love for Susan led me to want us to share a strong foundation spiritually for our marriage. In retrospect part of what attracted me to Susan was her faith.

I received my own private RCIA training from Monsignor Louis at a nearby Church. I began the process of seeking an annulment from my first marriage and was blessed that it went quickly. Susan and I were married in the Catholic Church shortly before the birth of our son Adam. Later that year I received the Eucharist and Confirmation and was brought into full communion with the Catholic Church.

I have a daughter from my first marriage and I had visitation every other weekend. I was grateful that her mother did not stand in the way of Jennifer being raised in the Catholic faith. Her training was accomplished privately with Monsignor Louis during visits and ultimately she was baptized, and received her First Holy Communion at an Easter Vigil. I arranged for ongoing religious education through the Church in New York. Two of my greatest joys are giving my daughter her Catholic faith and watching my now grandchildren, Olivia and Derek, be baptized and raised as Catholics

I have heard it said that our Mission as Husbands and Fathers is to get our loved ones to heaven and that is my quest.

— Parishioner Steve Z

What Does the Bible Say?

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…  And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 12 - 13)

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

What Do the Saints Say?

"To convert somebody go and take them by the hand and guide them."  - St. Thomas Aquinas

 

This Week’s Evangelizing Challenge

Gift idea! Grab a CD or Book for a family member or a friend from the kiosk in the narthex.

For Advent, Start Some Family Traditions

It’s not too late to assemble an advent wreath to light at each of your evening meals this advent. Say a prayer or have the youngest sing a verse of a Christmas hymn like Silent Night.

Put a nativity scene (crèche) in the house where it can be plainly seen. Gather around it and say a prayer as a family. If there are children in the home and the pieces are not breakable, have the three Wise Men start their journey on Christmas Eve and move them slowly closer to the stable each day, arriving on January 6th (Epiphany). You could also have Mary and Joseph make their way toward the stable during Advent to arrive on Christmas Eve. This will reinforce that Christmas is a season in the Church and help kids understand the concept of The 12 Days of Christmas.

Leave the manger/crib noticeably empty through Advent. Place the Baby Jesus in the crib sometime during Christmas morning.

On Christmas Eve, gather the family around and read Chapter 2 of St Luke’s Gospel aloud. Consider having a grandparent read it, or everyone reading a section depending on their reading skills and desires.

 

 

 

Everyone Likes a Story

“Modern man listens more willingly to a witness than to a teacher, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”  

— Pope Venerable Paul VI

Everyone likes a story with a happy ending.  Everyone wants to see George Bailey find that $8,000 and Clarence to get his wings.  No one is disappointed when Scrooge comes to the Cratchits’ on Christmas morning with his arms piled high with presents and his heart filled with Christmas spirit.  And who has not shed a tear when the Baby Jesus brings the Little Drummer boy’s lamb back to life? Every conversion story has a happy ending because it ends with the person coming closer to Jesus, the source of all joy and happiness.

Whether you are a convert, a revert (one who has returned to the faith), or a lifelong Catholic, you must find your own personal way of sharing your own faith testimony.  In Terry Barber’s How to Share Your Faith with Anyone, he suggests five effective testimony types to help you evangelize.

1.     My personal walk with the Lord

2.     The reasons I love being Catholic

3.     The Catholic Church as the Church founded by Jesus Christ

4.     My conversion

5.     God’s call and my vocation

Whichever you choose, keep it simple and centered on one event. “Whether your conversion was from another religion or denomination or from a worldly life to a Christ-centered one, it is the transformation . . . that will appeal to people.”

“Arrange your testimony into three parts:

1.     Before You committed your Life to the Lord

Your testimony will begin with some personal history:  your family background and upbringing, your vocation in life, your interests, and so forth.  Then you will share more specifically about your “past life”, that is, the way things were before you committed yourself to Jesus Christ and his Church.”  Be honest about the sinful areas of your past life but be prudent and don’t glamorize it.

2.     God’s “Divine Invasion” and Your Conversion.

How did Christ come into your life in a personal way?  Be specific.  It is your story, but remember the main character is our Savior.  Concentrate on Him.  “The main point of your entire witness is the way you have become a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) in Jesus Christ especially through His grace communicated through the Sacraments and the transformation that has come about in your life (Acts 26:12-19).

3.     Your New Life in Jesus Christ

Express clearly the differences in your life now that you have “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2: 16).  Make it compelling enough to make the person you are evangelizing want what you have:  a relationship with Jesus Christ that resulted when you entered the Church or returned to the practice of the Faith.  Be honest and provide specific, concrete examples and true stories.  Examples include “… your new outlook on life; your ability to forgive; your new freedom, which may include freedom from addiction or bad habits but is most especially liberation from the enslavement of sin and bandage of the devil”

Write out your story.  Practice it out loud.  Remember, your personal testimony has the power to bring someone to eternal life.

What Does the Bible Say?

“Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.”

— 2 Timothy 4:2

“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.”

— John 15:16

What Do the Saints Say?

“Modern man listens more willingly to a witness than to a teacher, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”  

— Pope Venerable Paul VI

This Week’s Evangelizing Challenge

Check out these great Catholic Apps.

Missio

Launched by Pope Francis and created by the Pontifical Mission Societies, MISSIO is the perfect Catholic app for staying up-to-date on the latest Catholic news from the Vatican and around the world. With daily news reports and videos, users will find out about the latest happenings of the global Catholic Church, anywhere, anytime.

For iOS or Android, the app is free.

The Bible App for Kids

·      Kid-friendly navigation

·      Touch-activated animations

·      Engaging content that introduces kids to the big story of the Bible

·      Experiences designed to encourage kids to return again and again.

Download it free at Bible.com/Kids.

 

 

Telling Your Story

“You are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all, shown to be a letter of Christ administered by us, written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are hearts of flesh”  

— 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

We, like the members of the parish in Corinth almost 2000 years ago, have the same letter written on our hearts “… by the Spirit of the Living God.”  If we are to evangelize or re-evangelize, we must be able to read that letter to our family, friends, and acquaintances with which we wish to share The Good News.  It is our own personal experiences with God’s saving love that will be the most effective way to draw them back to Jesus and His church.  Jesus himself often used stories to communicate the Good News to his listeners.  It might be wise to follow His example. 

In Henry Libersat’s book, Catholic and Confidant, he offers some general guidelines on how to organize your personal testimony.  It is important to sit down and think of your relationship with Christ and His Church and organize it in your mind (if not also on paper).  Everybody who knows and loves Christ and His Church has a story to tell, a testimony to give. 

Develop and embrace an attitude of “grateful repentance”.  “God has been merciful to you:  You felt unloved or discouraged or fearful and you are perpetually grateful that Jesus died ‘thus and so’ to lift you out of the mud.”

“Continuously grow in your relationship with the Lord.”  Be a disciple.  Pray daily.  Attend mass.  Receive the sacraments.  Live a moral life.  Embrace all the truths the Church teaches.

“Think about how to tell your story.  What was going on in your life before you came to know the Lord?  You don’t have to specify your sins – it’s enough to say you were totally disoriented, unable to make sense out of life, in stressful family relationships, or what have you.  What led you to ask Jesus into your life?”

“Describe how you experienced Christ’s love.  Was it a feeling of great warmth, a sudden sense of well-being, or new hope, peace, joy?”

“Examine how your life has changed.  What has happened in your relationships?  Is your prayer life changed?  Are you truly a happier person?  Do people acknowledge the change in you?”

Finally, share you story conversationally.  Be yourself.  Be sincere.  You are not preaching or teaching.  You are honestly and humbly sharing how Jesus and His body, the Church, helped you break the bonds of sin and walk in the sunlight of glorious freedom.  This telling of your own story, of how you came to know the Lord, is such a powerful way to evangelize because it is unassailable.  No one can argue with your own experience of how Jesus has changed your life.

 

¹Libersat, Henry:  Catholic and Confident, pp 40-43. Everything in quotes comes from this source.

 

 

What Does the Bible Say?

“Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient”

— 2 Timothy 4:2

But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”  

— 1 Peter 2:9

What Do the Saints Say?

“God doesn’t require you to succeed; He only requires that you try.”

 — Blessed Mother Teresa

 

Evangelizing Challenges This Week

1.  Buy a religious ornament for your tree.  The Holy Family, the Star of Bethlehem, the Baby Jesus, a stable, a manger, etc.  Put it in the center of the tree at eye level, just as   Jesus should be plainly visible at the center of our Christmas season.  (Try www.bronners.com or www.ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com).

2.  So you have a holiday tie.  You can do better.  This Advent, buy a religious Christmas tie and wear it to Church, to work, and everywhere else you go.  Bring Jesus back into the public celebration of Christmas.  (Try www.zazzle.com or www.tieguys.com/Religious_Ties/index.html )

3.  St Augustine is quoted as saying “He who sings prays twice” Fill your home this Advent with a background of sacred Advent music.  Try “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus and “Let All Mortal Flesh”, by Fernando Ortega in his album “Christmas Songs” or “Comfort, Comfort, O My People” by Tony Alonso in his album “And Heaven and Nature Sing” or “Gabriel’s Message” by Sting in the Album “A Very Special Christmas”

4. Shun “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings.” Embrace “Merry Christmas.”

 

 

 

 

A Drama in 9 Acts

“Always be prepared to render an account for the hope that is within you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.”  — 1 Peter 3:15

 Many of us know non-practicing Catholics that we would like to help return to the faith.  What is our message to them? Our opening statement in evangelization is - ourselves. We must be first hand witnesses who have met Jesus Christ personally and allowed him to change our lives. The existence of Mother Teresa is a far better argument for conversion than someone trying to out quote Bible verses with their opponent. Our next task is to discover the level of their understanding of the kerygma. The kerygma (Greek:  Proclamation) is the “Great Story” of Jesus. Today, we cannot assume that those around us know the story. Many don’t know the basic facts or perhaps how they fit together to make a whole. They often do not know what it means to them personally, or what it means to the world.

Let’s review the Acts of the kerygma, the “Great Story”.[1]

1.        Jesus of Nazareth, born in the 1st century, begins his earthly ministry proclaiming the Kingdom of God.  We learn that God is love. Our lives have a purpose – to live our life with Him full of love, peace, truth, beauty, goodness, and meaning that begins now, lasts forever, and can’t be taken away.  Kingdom

2.       Jesus is not just the messenger; He is God who became man. Jesus is Lord. God

3.       Jesus reveals the love of God the Father by His words and actions, performing many healings and miracles. He speaks with authority, driving out demons and forgiving sins.  Actions

4.       In obedience to the Father, He is crucified as a means to our salvation and access to God’s life.  Crucifixion

5.       Jesus rose from the dead. Because God assumed our human nature, His voluntary death and resurrection break the bondage of sin and death. He opens the way to our own resurrection and new life.  Resurrection

6.       Jesus asks us to follow Him with all of our heart, mind, and strength.  Follow

7.       We must recognize and acknowledge our personal sins and need for forgiveness.  Sin

8.       We are baptized into Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection or we renew our baptismal grace through confession and return to the regular practice of our faith in the body of Christ the Church.  Baptism

9.       We live the life of a disciple of Jesus, following Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the Church for the sake of the world.  Disciple

Not only must we learn the kerygma in a complete way, we must learn to proclaim it in a compelling way. We need to ask ourselves, does our friend know all the acts of the story? Does he or she know how they are connected? Does our friend know the significance of the story? What has been their response to the story? People do not have to hear the entire story all at once.  They do not need to hear them in this order. But “… in the end, an individual will need to be familiar with all the “Acts” and understand the Kerygma as a whole before he or she can make a deliberate decision to follow Jesus as his Disciple.”[2]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] The separation of the kerygma into 9 distinct Acts is taken from Sherri Weddell’s book “Forming Intentional Disciples”. The summaries of the acts are paraphrased from this and other sources. [2] Ibid

What Does the Bible Say?

 “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ”

— Romans 10:17

“No one can say “Jesus is Lord” expect by the Holy Spirit”                                             — 1 Corinthians 12:3

Evangelizing Tip for This Week

To prepare for helping someone return to the faith, make it a point to learn the basic Acts of the Kerygma. Learn the following sentence by heart: “King of Glory: A Caring Ruler Fights Sin By Disciples”.  The first letter of each word is your clue to remembering the theme of that particular Act. These words are in bold in the previous Evangelization Message.

1. Kingdom   2. God   3. Actions   4. Crucifixion    5. Resurrection   6. Follow   7. Sins   8. Baptism   9. Disciples

 

 

Kerygma

Many years ago, we took our then five-year-old daughter skiing.  The instructor said he would teach the class the basics.  At noon, we picked her up from ski school, and after the ok from him, we took her up the mountain.  There, we asked her what she had learned.  Slowly inching down the slope with her skis in a wide wedge, she yelled out “Pizza”!  Smiling as only a young parent can when she realizes her child is a skiing prodigy, her mother asked “What else did you learn?”  Jumping up and landing with skis parallel, our daughter shouted out “French Fries!”, as she unexpectedly shot straight down the hill way too fast for comfort.

When first evangelizing, not everyone needs an immediate explanation of consubstantiation or transubstantiation, or Mary’s role as Mediatrix.  Many just need the basics.  Kerygma is a Greek word meaning “proclamation”.  This kerygma is what the disciples used initially as a call to conversion.  Once the person had been baptized, there was plenty of time to deepen their understanding and maturity through more thorough instruction (didache in Greek).

Whether skiing or evangelizing, sometimes it is the simple, initial instructions that can move you very quickly in the direction you want to go.

Monsignor Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington does a good job of presenting the content of the basic kerygma: 

Jesus is the chosen Messiah of God, the one who was promised.  And though He was crucified, He rose gloriously from the dead, appearing to His disciples, and having been exulted at the right hand of the Father through His ascension, now summons all to Him, through the ministry of the Church.  This proclamation (kerygma) requires a response from us, that we should repent of our sins accept baptism and live in the new life which Christ is offering.  This alone will prepare us for the coming judgment that is to come upon all humanity.  There is an urgent need to conform ourselves to Christ and be prepared by Him for coming judgment.

If we are to preach the kerygma, we must preach it as first-hand witnesses who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  This is how the apostles were able to convert thousands because they had seen Jesus and had been friends with him.

Some may protest and point out that the apostles were so successful because they were also able to present miracles such as St Peter healing the cripple or the apostles’ gift of tongues such that all heard the apostles speaking in their native language.  But we too can present amazing signs.  We can show others the miracle of a life transformed by a personal relationship with Jesus.  We can show them the “…witness of a transformed human being who shows forth the glory of love, serenity, of the obvious fact of sins having been put to death, and replaced by graceful and godly living.  The greatest miracle to seek is a transformed human being, absent of pride and gluttony, lust and anger, but possessed rather of love, charity, generosity, kindness, self-discipline and authority over their passions.”

Preaching the kerygma cannot be presented as a dry set of facts devoid of any life.  The kerygma must be preached by one who has experienced the relationship and shares it with the joy of a five year old hurtling down a mountain side on skis shouting out “French Fries!”

 

 What Does the Bible Say?

 “What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon, and touched with our own hands… What we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you!”

— 1 John:1-3

“When I came to you, brothers, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

— 1 Corinthians:1-2

Evangelizing Challenge This Week:  Check out these great Catholic Apps 

Universalis – Office of Readings (Morning Prayer, Terce, Sext, None, Evening & Night Prayers), Readings at Mass and About the Day. Very popular app for iOS or Android (including Kindle Fire), and reasonably priced at $13.95. 

Guadalupe Radio Network – Allows you to listen live, not only to our local station (KATH) but to any station in the EWTN network. The app is free. Only for iOS at this time. 

Catholic Calendar – Feasts and celebrations according to the General Calendar. The app is complete in itself. It needs no Internet connection and no downloads. One-month preview of the full Universalis content. Free. 

 

 

 

 

How Shall We Begin to Evangelize Others?

In Ferrol Sam’s poignant book “Christmas Gift”, he invites the reader to share a depression-era Christmas with his family in rural Georgia. “Christmas Gift!” is the cry that is shouted by adults and children alike on Christmas morning as a greeting and as an exclamation of the joy and promise of Christmas.

Wrapped up in this joyous phrase lies layers of deeper meaning to his family – the birth of the Christ-child, presents, the tree, shopping, his aunt’s fruit cake, visitors, relatives, Santa, carols, etc.  All of this will be experienced in time, but for Christmas morning’s ecstasy, one must first simply shout “Christmas Gift”!

Over the last 10 weeks, we have presented the case that it is the duty of all Catholics to evangelize their family, friends, and neighbors, especially reaching out to former Catholics who no longer are practicing their faith.  What is it exactly that we are offering them? What is our message?

As evangelists, our first message is the Kerygma.  This is our first announcement that we deliver to those who have drifted away. It is the Good News, which springs forth from our lips as though it were Christmas morning.  Kerygma is a term that is largely unfamiliar to most Catholics. It is a Greek word meaning “proclamation”. Kerygma refers to the initial and essential proclamation of the gospel message.  It is designed to introduce a person to Christ and to appeal to conversion.  As the apostles began the work of preaching and proclaiming Christ, their message was rather basic and simple.  It was distinct from “didache”, another Greek term referring to teaching, instruction, or doctrine (what we now call catechesis).  This more expansive teaching would come after baptism.  But the initial proclamation of Christ was simple, and to the point.

In 1979, Blessed John Paul II described how catechesis builds upon the Kerygma:  “Thus through catechesis the Gospel Kerygma (the initial ardent proclamation by which a person is one day overwhelmed and brought to the decision to entrust himself to Jesus Christ by faith) is gradually deepened, developed in its implicit consequences, explained in language that includes an appeal to reason, and channeled towards Christian practice in the Church and the world”. (Catechesi Tradendae)

Next week, we will present more on the Kerygma, and present it in its basic form, one that can easily be easily committed to memory.

What Does the Bible Say?

“But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent?”  

— Romans 10: 14-15

 

“But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.”

— Psalm 73:28

Evangelizing Challenge This Week
Catholic Apps

 
VerseWise Bible Revised Standard Edition (RSV) – The entire Old and New Testament is now available to you at your fingertips while sitting in the doctor’s waiting room. One can easily scroll to the book, chapter, and verse one desires in only seconds. Easy to highlight and / or bookmark favorite passages. Footnotes are easily accessible. Search by word with an interactive concordance. Perhaps the best Bible app available.

 

Word on Fire – This app mirrors the website (www.WorkOnFire.org) of acclaimed author, theologian, and speaker Father Robert Barron. Fr. Barron is the creator and host of the groundbreaking, global ten-part documentary series called “Catholicism”. One can follow Fr Barron’s blog, watch one of his popular youtube videos, and read his homilies. Browse through his videos for commentaries on recent movie releases.

Totally Catholic Trivia, Full Version – This app is just for fun. It follows television’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” format, but all of the questions are related to the faith. You will learn things about your faith without even trying.