Please join me in thanking our Catholic Moments contributors by visiting their sites:  Deacon Tom Fox, Lisa Mladnich, Avery, Sarah Reinhard.

This episode of Catholic Moments is sponsored by CatholicMatch.com, the Leading Catholic Singles Community.  Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

Links for this Episode:

• Your Whole Life: The 3D Plan for Eating Right, Living Well, and Loving God
• The Gift of Tears by Deacon Tom Fox
• Tech Notes for Catholic Families
• SQPN Giving Campaign
• Catholic Moments Podcast Facebook Page
• Catholic Moments at SQPN
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• CatholicMom.com Book Club
• The Handbook for Catholic Moms:  The Catholic Company, Amazon, Aquinas and More or Barnes & Noble
• Lisa’s Facebook Profile, Twitter

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Etextbook Teaching Strategies from Ave Maria Press on Vimeo.

I’m still discovering all of the great resources contained within the iPieta app, but at the price of $2.99 I would say it’s a terrific resource for anyone looking for a quick and easy devotional tool and a resource for research.  I will say that I’d love to see an NAB version of the Bible, but that’s the only limitation I’ve seen for iPieta.

• To purchase iPieta English click here.
• To purchase Pieta Español click here.

Here are a few screenshots of this great tool in action:

• To purchase iPieta English click here.
• To purchase Pieta Español click here.

Josh writes:

In the heart of “1000 Journals” I’d like to send out 5 blank journals into the Catholic community. The holder of the journal has the special opportunity to share their faith with other Catholics in words, art, or whatever other way the spirit moves them. When the holder of the journal has created an entry page, he now has the obligation of passing it onto another faithful person, with the hopes that the journals will one day be completed and returned to me. When I have received a completed journal, I will share the journal pages, in both picture and video form, online so that others can enjoy. I have titled the project “One Voice, One Church.”

With the funds, I plan to purchase five really nice journals and items to make them unique and set them apart from just any ordinary journal. Each journal will have specific guidelines and directions on how the current holder can keep the community updated on the specific journal’s whereabouts. Also, some of the funds may go toward the shipping of the journals to different parts of the World (Japan, Canada, and opposite sides of the United States). Be assured that if we go above and beyond the goal of $125, that the extra funds will go towards better journals or perhaps we could up the number of journals that we send out. But, if we do not reach the goal, then the project fails and we all go back to our boring lives ; )

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/710603221/one-voice-one-church-5-journals

Ultimately, I hope that people have fun with this project and that we will be inspired by one another, and by the gifts that God has given us!

I’m so excited to share the good news that tomorrow, 9/9 at 3 pm CT I will be appearing on the brand new “Digital Ministry Podcast” being hosted by Sr. Julie and Sr. Maxine from the great “A Nun’s Life” ministry.  Please see the note below from Sr. Julie with all of the details – the show is recorded live and you’re welcome to call in with your questions and comments!

Digital Ministry Podcast – September 9, 2010
at 3:00 p.m. Central Time

Hi! This is Sister Julie and Sister Maxine from A Nun’s Life Ministry. Join us for the launch of The Digital Ministry Podcast on September 9, 2010, at 3 p.m. Central Time (UTC-5). The web event is free and open to the public. All you need is to be hooked up to the Internet. The event is broadcast live on our website at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE. You can listen in and, if you wish, you can interact with us, our guest, and other listeners via the chat room on that web page.

Featured Guest: Lisa M. Hendey is the founder and editor of CatholicMom.com, a web site focusing on the Catholic faith, Catholic parenting and family life, and Catholic cultural topics. Lisa launched the website in 1999, and it has built it into a dynamic website with many offerings including Lisa’s blog, articles by a variety of columnists, podcasts, videos, and many resources on Catholic life, family, faith formation, and more. Additionally, the website is home to a Catholic Book Club and Catholic Music Spotlights.

Topics: Here’s a flavor of some of the topics we’ll discuss with Lisa Hendey.

• How is digital ministry similar to and different from how we ordinarily think of “ministry”?
• What are the major pieces of the digital ministry mix at CatholicMom.com?
• “If you build it, will they come”? One thing is actually knowing what to get started (e.g. do a blog, get a Facebook account), another thing is actually getting people to come. What do you suggest?
• Strategically where should people start with getting into social media? — just do it? create a plan and gather a committee? hope and pray a lot?

Your Questions: What questions do you have for Lisa Hendey or for us? You can send them to us ahead of time by replying to this email or you can write them in the chat room during the live broadcast.

Digital Ministry Podcast is a new podcast on using Internet technologies and social media for ministry. The podcast is a mix of things covering techniques, technology, and theology in order to enhance one’s capacity to do ministry, to witness to the Gospel in every day life on the Internet. We  share our experience with blogs, podcasts, Facebook, Twitter, equipment, software, consultants and collaborators, books and resources, and interacting with people online. We also interview folks across the social media landscape who can provide expertise, insight, and concrete help on a variety of related topics.

Upcoming Episodes of “Digital Ministry” include guests Father Andy Alexander, SJ, and Ms. Maureen McCann Waldron, of Creighton University’s Online Ministries; Sister Christine Ereiser, OSB, the Twittering Nun; Avinash Kaushik, the ultimate guru of web analytics; and Father Robert Barron, a prominent theologian and podcasting priest.

More information at http://aNunsLife.org/digital-ministry.

If you have ideas for possible topics or persons to interview, let us know! If you’d like to be sponsor of this or any of our other podcasts, check out our sponsorship page.

Also, we have also created a discussion forum for you to interact with one another any time of the day or night! Visit our Community Forum and look for the topic “Digital Ministry Podcast Listeners.” The forum is available now for you to start the conversation!

While at the Catholic Writers Guild conference in August, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Craig Glantz, the owner of a great web design and photography company called E-Glantz.  Craig has created a business that is truly using his talents to serve our Church and help others to use technology to help spread the gospel message.  He’s shared the following information about their services:

E-Glantz, LLC is a start-up Catholic communications company (specializing in web development/design and photography) based in Philadelphia, Pa. Over the last year we have helped many Catholic organizations primarily on the East Coast with their web-based needs. Our portfolio includes sites for parishes, Catholic apostolates/businesses, and pro-life organizations. We are in the process of finishing sites for Fr. Stan Fortuna, CFR and the Kings’ Men. We have also done photo shoots for the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, the Kings’ Men, the Catholic Business Professionals of Greater Philadelphia (www.catholicpros.com whose website we also built) and several other individuals. We also manage close to 10 social media sites.

Our philosophy is simple, we offer affordable rates (at times free for those in need) for the Catholic community with the hope of promoting our Catholic faith via the World Wide Web. While we do create websites for people outside of our faith, our main focus and desire is to promote our Catholicism as Pope Benedict XVI urged us to do his 44th World Communications Letter. Check out our portfolio and feel free to contact us at info@eglantz.com if you are ever in need of our services. ‘E-Glantz, LLC serving the Catholic community and beyond’!

Visit E-Glantz to learn more.

Short film on Catholic Faith could win you big trip to World Youth Day 2011

Goodness Reigns sponsors film contest

LOUISVILLE, Aug. 17—One year from now, Goodness Reigns will send teen and young adult filmmakers to Madrid, Spain for World Youth Day 2011 as part of its “Share the Story” short film contest.

“Goodness Reigns: Share the Story” fuses the imagination of youth and young adults with the art of filmmaking to produce short films about the Catholic Faith. The organization is sponsoring a free short-film contest on the Catholic Faith that will award all-inclusive travel packages to 22 youths, young adults and adults.

Films should be no more than seven minutes in length and pertain to one of four categories:

• Church history (including Bible stories and lives of the saints);
• Sacraments of the Church;
• Church teachings;
• Present-day missionary spirit of an individual or ministry of the Church.

The global contest offers awards in three divisions.

Individual Category Awards (Open to anyone age 14 and up)

One winner will be selected from each of the above categories. The winner and one guest/parent will receive free travel packages to World Youth Day 2011; or winners unable to travel may choose to receive video equipment packages each valued at $4,000.

The High School Class or Youth Group Award

One group of teens and chaperones (up to 10 people) will be selected from all entrants to receive free travel packages to WYD 2011; or the group may select a video equipment package worth up to $15,000.

Young Adult Group Award (Ages 18-30)

One group of four young adults will be selected from all entrants to receive free travel packages to WYD 2011; or they may select a video equipment package worth up to $8,000.

Contest winners choosing to attend World Youth Day 2011 will travel with Youth in Europe (www.YouthInEurope.com).

Registration for the contest is free! To register and to find out about submission details, visit www.GoodnessReigns.com. The deadline for film submissions is Jan. 10, 2011.

Many of you might be familiar with Saint of the Day, which has been a popular feature on Catholic Radio and at the AmericanCatholic.org website for the past several years.  Now with your smartphone, you can tap into even more information about the saints.  The app has the following features:

• Audio option included – I have been listening to the daily saints in the car during my morning commute with Adam
• Saints for every day of the year – learn about someone new every day!
• Extensive searchable database (by saint or cause), List of patron saints – How many times have you wondered who the patron saint for a particular cause might be?  Now that information is readily searchable from your phone
• Interactive calendar – Looking for a saint six months from now?  You’ll find him with the calendar feature
• Convenient access to the St. Anthony Messenger Press site – The website features a host of other tools that will help you deepen your spiritual life.  The app also allows you to easily interact with the SAMP social networking tools.

Here’s a screenshot of the app in action:

In this video, you can watch an overview of the app in action:

Your purchase of Saint of the Day from St. Anthony Messenger Press through the iTunes store will help support CatholicMom.com in our mission to support families around the world.  I have great enjoyed Saint of the Day and hope you’ll consider making it one of your favorite Catholic iPhone apps.

Download Saint of the Day from St. Anthony Messenger Press and support CatholicMom.com with your purchase.

I feel so blessed to be able to access all of the terrific program from CatholicTV online through their website, and wanted to share with you the good news about some recent developments in their lineup.  This press release spells out a very interesting looking new program, aimed at college students (and those who love them!):

New CatholicTV Show Highlights Lives and Spirituality of Catholic College Students and a Unique Religious Order

BOSTON- Starting September 6th, CatholicTV will air a new program called “Hope on Campus”. Hope on Campus follows the relatively young religious order- (est. 1980) the Brotherhood of Hope (BOH).

BOH serves at large, secular universities, “trying to go where the Gospel is often ignored, into the thick of secular culture”.

The new 13-part series, Hope on Campus, explores the work of the Brotherhood of Hope.  Some of the amazing work they are known for include large retreats which often have more than 100 participants.

Each episode includes an on-site, student-produced video. Episode themes include:

Mission to Tanzania: Students volunteer to visit Tanzania and help the local community.

Sex and Life on Campus: BOH responds to “Sex Week” and gathers students from all four of their campuses for a trip to the March for Life in Washington, D.C.

Opening Week Evangelization: Shows how BOH and Catholic students welcome new students to campus and evangelize them.

CatholicTV broadcasts on various cable outlets in the U.S. and streams its broadcast 24/7 at CatholicTV.com.

The weekly schedule for Hope on Campus is as follows: Tuesday. 8:30 p.m., Friday. 6 p.m., Saturday. 11:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Each week, a new, full-length episode of Hope on Campus will be added to the CatholicTV.com website. Starting the week of September 6th, simply visit http://www.CatholicTV.com/campus-ministry.aspx

Write.

• Content Creation
  • Web writing
  • Blogging
  • Audio (voice over / podcasting)
  • Video
• Speaking
  • Teaching / Training (online, onsite, offsite)
  • Workshops
  • Seminars
  • Conferences – Keynote / breakout speaker

Design.

• Web Design
  • Customization of existing sites
  • e-Commerce
  • New site design
  • Website migration
  • Hosting / Domain name acquisition

Media.

• Social media integration
  • Brand development
  • Increase web traffic
  • Online / Offline application strategist
  • Increase personal & team productivity

Thanks to Rebecca Havens of the wonderful new site CultureGauge.com for providing me with a free preview of their services for parents.  I enjoyed poking around the website, taking a look at their very informative and faith-filled reviews on the latest new releases in secular media.  Rebecca has provided the following overview of the site.  I hope you’ll check it out at www.CultureGauge.com and consider subscribing to their Weekly Briefing.

CultureGauge.com is a membership website that serves Catholic parents by keeping them current on the popular media messages directed at their kids. Each Saturday, CultureGauge.com posts a new Weekly Briefing that provides intelligent analysis from a Catholic worldview on a popular song, television show, video game, a new movie at the theatre, and a new movie on DVD/Blu-ray. This Weekly Briefing keeps parents informed on what is happening in the youth culture and capable
of encouraging their children toward the good, and protecting their children from the bad. The Weekly Briefing also includes an artist profile (a biography of a popular recording artist) and a media recommendation to highlight a piece of positive media that is out there to help parents.

Along with the Weekly Briefing, members also receive a few bonus items: free access to exclusive audio interviews with some of the best Catholic speakers around (Fr. Corapi, Teresa Tomeo, Patrick Madrid, etc.), and free access to “Facing the Challenge: 12 Frequently Asked Questions About the Popular Media” and “Planning for Victory: 12 Practical Things You Can Do to Strengthen and Protect Your Kids Right Now.”

You might think that a membership to a site like this would be expensive, but it is actually very low cost: only $29.95 for a full year. Become a member today and you will soon find out what a tremendous value this is.

But we need your help – please visit the website and place your vote for the winner.  You’ll meet some incredible priests and may even want to share their stories on your blogs!  The voting deadline is July 15, so hear over now to cast your ballot.

Most of people who participated in the survey were effusive in their praise of the social connectivity already being leveraged globally online. They said humans’ use of the internet’s capabilities for communication – for creating, cultivating, and continuing social relationships – is undeniable. Many enthusiastically cited their personal experiences as examples, and several noted that they had met their spouse through internet-borne interaction.

They asked respondents to agree or disagree with statements such as:

“In 2020, when I look at the big picture and consider my personal friendships, marriage and other relationships, I see that the internet has mostly been a positive force on my social world. And this will only grow more true in the future.”

In trying to project forward ten years, I’m wondering how I would respond to that statement.  By that point, I’ll likely be an “empty nester” and could even potentially be a grandmother (CatholicGrandma.com anyone?).  Who knows what my little corner of the world will look like, and it’s hard to imagine that I could be any more wired than I am these days.  I will say that if I were to comment on the statement today, I would agree.  I look at the ways in which I use the Internet to communicate with family and friends and see many benefits.  I am also connected with countless friends around the world who bring me great joy and emotional support – I may never meet them in person, but their friendship feels like a real, tangible part of my life.

Will the Internet enhance or detract from communications in the future?  I guess the jury is still out, but in my book, the future looks bright.

Read the entire study here.

The basic blueprint for 10-20-30GO!: children spend 10 minutes each day in prayer and meditation; 20 minutes each day reading; and 30 minutes each day performing assigned chores.  The system helps you motivate your kids, keep on track, communicate prayer requests, and reward everyone at the end of a great week.

Having had time to study the facets of 10-20-30GO!, I’m very excited about implementing it this summer with my son Adam.  Honestly, around our home summer is the time when things begin to get a little lax and unstructured.  In many senses, it’s terrific to have a break from the rigorous schedule of the school year, but not when it comes to prayer life and reading.  At fifteen, Adam certainly isn’t too old for a system such as 10-20-30GO! which makes it easy to keep track of our family’s expectations, to quantify them, and to reward or discipline our sons appropriately.

Along with speaking about 10-20-30GO!, Bo and I shared a fascinating conversation about the Govea family’s personal faith journey.  I was so inspired by Bo and his wife’s ability to channel a tremendous health challenge their twins faced into a tremendous boost to their family’s spiritual life.  And now, they are taking steps to help draw other families closer to Christ and one another!

How does accountability work in your home?  Do you pay your children an allowance?  Are certain chores required and do you enforce daily reading time?  I’d love to hear what makes things tick around your home and hope you’ll check out 10-20-30GO! and support the great work being done by the Govea family with this cool system!

Mentioned in this week’s show:

• John Michael Talbot
• Illuminated Ink
• Wee Believers
• Vatican Library Collection
• Pauline Books and Media
• 10-20-30 Go!
• Bert Ghezzi
• The Word Among Us
• Paulist Press
• Ave Maria Press

This episode of Catholic Moments is sponsored by CatholicMatch.com, the Leading Catholic Singles Community.  Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

I questioned whether or not I really needed another Rosary app on my iPhone – I already had two but really wasn’t completely satisfied with either of them.  I’m so glad to have this new application, which seems absolutely perfect to me.  I have to preface my remarks by saying that I am a major fan of the Daughters of St. Paul and Pauline Media – they always seem to be on the forefront of media advances and continually deliver high quality products.

This Rosary Application is a continuation of that trend.  According to the iTunes store, the features for this app include:

• audio of the sisters praying the rosary: listen to the rosary or pray with the group
• never say the rosary alone again! Feel the comfort of praying with others.
• scripture introduction to each mystery with a meditative reflection.
• 18 sets of images to choose from for visual meditation while praying: vibrant photos, stained glass windows, icons, and religious art
• option to view images of the mysteries of the rosary or meaningful photos
• unique way to enter the rosary through the lens of your daily life, praying the needs of your heart
• scripture choices for each mystery for further reflection
• suggestions for prayer intentions for each mystery
• share miracles you receive and read those of others on associated website: rosarymiracleprayer.spruz.com.
• clear, easy to follow diagram for how to pray the rosary
• introduction to the praying of the rosary: meditation on the lives of Jesus and Mary, prayers of the rosary
• e-mail a friend or loved one that you have prayed for them
• hymns sung by the internationally acclaimed Daughters of St. Paul Choir

The cost of the application is $2.99.  Having seen many Catholic iPhone apps lately, I’d have to say that this one is my new favorite.  I hope it helps you draw closer to Jesus through His Mother Mary and that you enjoy it as much as I do!!

Video Link

Rosary Miracle Prayer by Pauline Books and Media

Church on the Ball from CatholicStudio on Vimeo.

“Our mission is to help you explain your Catholic Faith intelligently, defend it charitably, and share it more effectively. And we give you the tools you need to “speak the truth in love” to relativists, secularists, atheists and others who challenge believers. How? Through our life-changing summer leadership conferences where world-class Catholic experts show you how to take on today’s toughest issues, through Envoy Magazine (our award-winning quarterly journal), through our content-rich website, our inspirational Envoy of the Year events, and more.”

As a subscriber to Envoy Magazine and a major fan of Patrick Madrid’s work, I ask you today to join me in prayerfully considering membership in the Envoy Institute.  Your membership pledge comes with a variety of benefits, most importantly the opportunity to help spread our faith to others.  For more information on how you can support Envoy Institute and arm yourself to face the challenges present in today’s society, visit the Envoy Institute website.

Having personally reviewed the site and several of its games and interactive features for families and teachers, I found it engaging, challenging and faith-filled.  I wish I had enjoyed access to CatholicQuiz.com years ago when my children were younger, but will definitely be employing it along with my high school son Adam as a component of his preparation for Confirmation.  I also look forward to challenging my son Eric to duels of Sacred Songs (think “Name that Hymn”), or Prince of Peace and The Saints are Coming, which will show which one of us knows their bible and Church history facts best.

Learning our faith and sharing it with our children is a lifelong challenge for Catholic parents, but it’s also one that should be treasured, enjoyed and cherished.  Tools like CatholicQuiz.com make the process even more special when we enjoy them with our children and students.  I’m happy to highly recommend CatholicQuiz.com to the teachers, religious, priests and families who visit our site.

Founder Mary McKay has shared the following information, which will give you a complete overview of CatholicQuiz.com:

CatholicQuiz.com is a membership website featuring Catholic games and quizzes using thousands of Church-approved questions and answers in English and Spanish.

It’s probably one of the best things to happen to religious education for Catholics in years. The Pope has challenged the faithful to employ the latest tools when it comes to communications technology and the opportunities made available through the Internet.  Responding to the Holy Father’s encouragement, CatholicQuiz.com opens up the breadth and depth of the long history and tradition of the Church – from beliefs, to church to bible and saints; and now makes this more accessible to young people in a medium they understand.

Imagine an educational website that is attractive to explore, easy to use AND able to hold the interest of anyone from about 5 years old (with reading help from a parent) to adulthood.  Religious educators and parents alike know the challenges of attracting and developing the interest of youth in religious learning.  How many of us have sat around the kitchen table attempting to create a do-it-yourself quiz game because we’ve learned it is the best way to hold the attention of our faith formation students? This new website seems to create curiosity and excite real learning through ease-of-use and the game-like quality of the online learning experience.  The balance, breadth and depth of the 7,000 Q+A that populate 10 major religious knowledge categories alone is impressive to the new or advanced Catholic learner.

The site is loaded with features that keep you coming back.  There are a dozen games to choose from (including the demonstration saints game aptly titled, The Saints Are Coming!); a scoring system that allows you to earn CQ-IQ points for every game played and every question answered correctly; opportunities to focus on “fun” by racing the clock or surviving a content area; opportunities to focus on “learning” by clicking through to read the specific Catechism paragraph, Bible chapter and verse or other reference attached to most every question; the option to play alone or in teams; and the list goes on.  The Q+A are well written and thoughtful.  There are the expected multiple choice, true/false, yes/no, fill-in-the-blank, etc.  But, my favorites are found in the game, Sacred Songs. Select this game and each question loads a 30-second clip of liturgical music.  See how fast you can name that tune. It’s pretty darn fun, especially in a group.

Parents will love the Quizzle Me games. Choose from Quizzle Me too! (Catechism, Bible and saints for beginning learners), Quizzle Me First Holy Communion for anyone preparing to receive first Eucharist and Reconciliation, and Quizzle Me Confirmation for those preparing to face the Bishop each spring!  Helping your kids prepare for the sacraments just got a lot easier.

The Q+A go on forever – there are 7,000, most are also available in Spanish and most have already received the Imprimatur (Church approval).  You can choose what Knowledge Category interests you and select a Challenge Level that meets your needs.  The site is careful to state that the Challenge Levels are better associated with exposure to religious education and liturgy than grade level.  In other words, it’s OK for everyone to start at Level 1!

Teachers have their own membership type and it’s loaded with features developed to WOW at this price point ($49.95/annually).  A Teacher Membership on CatholicQuiz.com comes with a Classroom Scorekeeper.  This allows up to 35 students in one class to play and learn 24/7 for a full year, which is like 35 memberships rolled into the teacher’s account (less that $1.50 per student annually).  Other features of this membership include some that you would expect like a Teacher Bulletin Board designed for swapping ideas and best practices; and some that surprise – like a nifty feature called Build-A-Quiz that allows teachers to write their own Q+A to play on the CatholicQuiz.com game platform.  I can’t imagine a teacher wanting to write additional questions beyond the 7,000 that are already there, but for anyone out there who desires this kind of customization – you’re in luck!

Teachers and parents will probably like the fact that the CatholicQuiz.com Knowledge Categories are aligned to the ACRE domains (teacher-speak for curriculum content areas).  The Scorekeeping system makes it a snap for teachers and parents to track group progress across Knowledge Categories, Challenge Levels, games played, etc. With the newest Challenge feature, it is easy to imagine friendly competition in a classroom setting or between two or more classrooms or families.  For that matter, imagine a serious competition between two dioceses competing for the most CQ-IQ points in a specified time period (the annual Lenten Challenge!).  Really, the sky’s the limit with this dynamic learning site.

At a Glance – www.CatholicQuiz.com

Annual Membership Types – Individual (scoring for 1 for 19.95), Family (scoring for 8 family members for $39.95) and Teacher (scoring for 35 students for $49.95)

Content – Beliefs, Sacraments, Morality, Prayer, New Testament, Old Testament, Lives of the Saints, Church History, etc.

Challenge Levels – 1 through 4

Games – The Saints Are Coming!, Cardinal Challenge (Catechism game), Quizzle Me First Holy Communion, Quizzle Me Confirmation, Quizzle Me Too!, Jacob’s Ladder (Old Testament game), Prince of Peace (New Testament game), Race the Clock, Survival, How Random…, Open Wide the Gates and Sacred Songs

Works on PC, Mac, iPhone, iTouch

For more information contact Mary McKay, Ed.D. 858-229-7363, mary@catholicquiz.com

Subscribe to CatholicQuiz.com and support CatholicMom.com.

To offer your financial and spiritual support to these awesome sisters, visit their website.

Video Link