Great Christian Music -- It Can Really Rock!

Here are some good tunes and Christian Rock groups. Very high quality music, not sappy or schmaltzy -- really worth listening to:

“Do You Dare” by Bree Noble
http://music.podshow.com/music/listeners/artistdetails.php?BandHash=c062150d3d8ee9075993ffb5d0e61500

”My Everything” by Jonathan Roberts
http://music.podshow.com/music/listeners/artistdetails.php?BandHash=29c00ef65a584fbcf8e0920dfeb6e822

O Come, O Come Emmanuel” by Karmen Tyler
http://music.podshow.com/music/listeners/artistdetails.php?BandHash=345cf5daf3fe2f6745d8d0e09e4b7d7b

“Jesus Is The Way” by John Polce
http://www.johnpolce.com/

“Everyday Eternity” by Take No Glory
http://music.podshow.com/music/listeners/artistdetails.php?BandHash=4d9980fda53ae46e6e7aac4bec70995f

“Power of One” by Arthur Pope
http://music.podshow.com/music/listeners/artistdetails.php?BandHash=48e0c9967371bea1b638c0e552a39ea5


I heard all of these songs on the iPadre Catholic Podcast which always starts with great Christian music that is really, really good -- creative and of high quality. iTunes Name: "iPadre Catholic Podcasting >> iPadre Podcast", http://www.ipadre.net/

Catholic Social Teaching: Life and Dignity of the Human Person

The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. -- from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/excerpt.shtml

Catholic Church's Social Teaching is a Treasure

"The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents. The depth and richness of this tradition can be understood best through a direct reading of these documents."

-- from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/excerpt.shtml

Following blogs will highlight several of the key themes that are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition.

Evolution and Christianity are Completely Compatible

Science can only ask the question: "How does nature function?"

Religion focuses on the question: "Why are we here?"


Christian writer, C. S. Lewis, and scientist, S. J. Gould, both explain the lack of contention between science and religion very clearly:


C.S. Lewis:

Science works by experiments. It watches how things behave. Every scientific statement in the long run, however complicated it looks, really means something like, "I pointed the telescope to such and such a part of the sky at 2:20 A.M. on January 15th and saw so-and-so," or, "I put some of this stuff in a pot and heated it to such-and-such a temperature and it did so-and-so." Do not think I am saying anything against science: I am only saying what its job is. And the more scientific a man is, the more (I believe) he would agree with me that this is the job of science - and a very useful and necessary job it is too. But why anything comes to be there at all, and whether there is anything behind the things science observes - something of a different kind - this is not a scientific question. If there is "Something Behind," then either it will have to remain altogether unknown to men or else make itself known in some different way. The statement that there is any such thing, and the statement that there is no such thing, are neither of them statements that science can make. And real scientists do not usually make them. It is usually the journalists and popular novelists who have picked up a few odds and ends of half-baked science from textbooks who go in for them. After all, it is really a matter of common sense. Supposing science ever became complete so that it knew every single thing in the whole universe. Is it not plain that the questions, "Why is there a universe?" "Why does it go on as it does?" "Has it any meaning?" would remain just as they were?

---CS Lewis, "Mere Christianity", Chapter 4, Paragraph 3 (http://lib.ru/LEWISCL/mere_engl.txt).


Scientist and evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould:

"To say it for all my colleagues and for the umpteenth millionth time: Science simply cannot by its legitimate methods adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature. We neither affirm nor deny it; we simply can't comment on it as scientists. If some of our crowd have made untoward statements claiming that Darwinism disproves God, then I will find Mrs. McInerney (Gould's third-grade teacher) and have their knuckles rapped for it . . . Science can work only with naturalistic explanations; it can neither affirm nor deny other types of actors (like God) in other spheres (the moral realm, for example). Forget philosophy for a moment; the simple empirics of the past hundred years should suffice. Darwin himself was agnostic (having lost his religious beliefs upon the tragic death of his favorite daughter), but the great American botanist Asa Gray, who favored natural selection and wrote a book entitled "Darwiniana", was a devout Christian. Move forward 50 years: Charles D. Walcott, discoverer of the Burgess Shale Fossils, was a convinced Darwinian and an equally firm Christian, who believed that God had ordained natural selection to construct the history of life according to His plans and purposes. Move on another 50 years to the two greatest evolutionists of our generation: G. G. Simpson was a humanistic agnostic, Theodosius Dobzhansky, a believing Russian Orthodox. Either half of my colleagues are enormously stupid, or else the science of Darwinism is fully compatible with conventional religious beliefs -- and equally compatible with atheism."

-- S. J. Gould, "Impeaching a Self-Appointed Judge" (review of Phillip Johnson's "Darwin on Trial", Scientific American 267 (1992):118-21.

A Family That Cooks Together Stays Together!

Our society tends to undermine the family, so we as Catholics need to encourage fellowship and strengthening of family bonds. What better place than around the dinner table?

1. "Cooking with the Saints" by Ernst Schuegraf is a fun book for whole family to learn about the Saints; teach your kids and make tasty food. I found the book in print on the webpages of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.

2. "Grace Before Meals" (http://www.gracebeforemeals.com) is a website by Father Leo who is dedicated to strengthening families through food and fellowship. Father Leo has videos of his cooking show, recipes, tips for conversation around the table, and much more! Cool!

An online video cooking show by a priest! What fun! See: http://www.gracebeforemeals.com/videos.php

3. "Healthy Catholic" is a Catholic video podcast to help us have a healthier lifestyle: http://sqpn.com/category/video/healthy-catholic/

Purchase Fair Trade Coffee & Tea: You Can Give Farmers a Chance

Give farmers and their families a way up (not a hand out).

The Coalition for Fair Trade in the Diocese of Oakland tells us that fair trade supports artisans and farmers around the world by promoting an alternative to business-as-usual. Through Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, and Work of Human Hands crafts programs, disadvantaged producers earn a fair price for their labor, get access to credit and training, and develop mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with organizations dedicated to the principles of human dignity and economic justice.

In my town, Fair Trade certified coffee and tea have been seen at Trader Joe’s, Costco, Safeway, and Target.

Next time you shop for coffee or tea, please take 2 extra minutes and look for the fair trade logo clearly printed on the front of the package.

For more information on fair trade products, what they look like, and where to buy them, see:

TransFair USA: http://www.transfairusa.org

Catholic Relief Services: http://www.crs.org

The Holy Bible Goes High Tech!

No Time to Read the Bible? Think Again!

Busy at work? Why not read the Gospel of the Day during lunch on your computer?

Running errands all over town? You can listen to all four Gospels in less than a week!

Kids claim to be bored by the Bible? Listen to a dramatic reading by professionals with sound effects and hear the New Testament come alive!

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Daily Readings from the New American Bible (www.usccb.org/nab)

• Read the daily readings (or the entire Bible, for that matter!)
• Listen to audio presentations of the daily readings (available for download to your mp3 player, e.g. iPod, or just click to listen on your computer)
• Watch and listen to a video by a priest or bishop reflecting on the day's readings.

Faith Comes By Hearing (www.faithcomesbyhearing.com), a ministry from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, providing audio Bibles to the world.

• Free New Testament to download to your computer or portable mp3 player (e.g. iPod)
• About $10 for the entire New Testament on a single mp3 format CD
• About $20 for the entire New Testament on 16 standard audio CDs
• 300 languages and several translations of the New Testament
• Choose either regular or dramatic readings (e.g. with a few sound effects for when Jesus and the disciples are in a storm at sea). Check out a sample of the "drama" style online -- really get your kids interested in listening to the Bible!

I took the Faith Comes By Hearing mp3 disk on a three-day business trip, and listened from 1 Corinthians clear to Revelation just driving around between airport, hotel, and the office. I listened to most of the Gospel of Luke just driving between home, the airport, and back again.

You can get through a tremendous amount of scripture just sitting stuck in traffic – try it!

What Have You Done For Your Marriage Today?

Our bishops have a wonderful website and You Tube video series to help us enrich our marriages, whether we are preparing for marriage or are old hands: http://www.foryourmarriage.org/

Money tight?

Check out ten inexpensive ways to share and celebrate your love, from picnics to an evening with no TV to midnight bowling.

Having some bumps in the road?

The website has resources for cultivating a healthy relationship, day by day.

Want to hear other people’s stories on You Tube?

The Bishop's popular media campaign simply asks the question, "What Have You Done For Your Marriage Today?" Think about it! The little things matter! We all have to work at it to give our spouse quality time and priority. On "You Tube", hear the honest responses of many real life couples -- very heart warming! http://www.youtube.com/user/foryourmarriage

"For Your Marriage" is an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

I heard about this initiative on Catholic Radio Weekly, a program of the Catholic Communication Campaign of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. http://www.usccb.org/ccc/crw.shtml

Going to the Movies? Check Out Christian Movie Reviews!

Before heading out to the movies, why not read a review from a Christian perspective? If you have older children and teens, why not have a discussion about why, or why not, you choose to view a particular movie? After viewing a movie, why not have a family discussion about moral values? Become an informed, thinking consumer of entertainment!

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Office for Film and Broadcasting (www.usccb.org/movies).

Check out the reviews for current movies, those new on DVD/Video, upcoming TV, and even the Vatican's Top 45 List! The reviews clearly explain the ratings so that you understand any potential issues with a particular movie.

Catholic Christian Movie Reviews (www.americancatholic.org/movies).

Catholic Movie Reviews offers Christian movie reviews and news with a Catholic perspective from St. Anthony Messenger magazine, Every Day Catholic and Catholic News Service. The reviews link to the USCCB rating, and also show the Motion Picture Association of America rating.

Decent Films Guide (www.decentfilms.com).

A site of film appreciation, information, and criticism informed by Christian faith. This site evaluates films for overall quality, artistic-entertainment value, moral-spiritual value, and age-appropriateness.

Liturgy of the Hours On the Internet!

Learn to pray the "other" prayer of the Church!

The Liturgy of the Hours (or Divine Office) is a treasure of the Church, and one of the official prayers for the Church as a community. The primary prayer of the Church is, of course, the Mass.

These online resources are recommended by Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio (www.dritaly.com); see his website for many other Catholic resources.

Liturgy of the Hours Apostolate (www.liturgyhours.org)
This website offers daily Liturgy of the Hours Night Prayer in various languages. The prayers are offered in Adobe Acrobat formats that print as booklets, display on PCs and mobile devices, and 'Read Out Loud' on PCs.

Universalis (www.universalis.com)
This website provides many formats of the day's Liturgy of the Hours: webpage, RSS feeds, automatic email, and WAP (webpage-lite to read on your mobile phone).

Catholic Priests Are Podcasting!

You just got music on that iPod? You're missin' out!

The Internet is full of excellent and FREE Catholic podcasts. Here are fantastic Catholic podcasts that you can locate through "iTunes" by searching on the title. The webpage of each podcast is also listed:

"Catholic:Under the Hood" (http://catholicunderthehood.com). Fr. Seraphim Beshoner, a Franciscan priest, podcasts about the Pope, the Bible, Catholic spirituality, theology, history, news and even the latest movies. Faithful as well as entertaining.

"Daily Breakfast with Fr. Roderick" (http://sqpn.com/category/talkshows/daily-breakfast-with-fr-roderick/). The best way to wake up in the morning with comments on news around the Catholic world, theology, a Catholic take on TV, movies and videogames, and just plain inspiration. This is the most popular Catholic podcast on the Internet.

"iPadre Catholic Podcasting >> iPadre Podcast" (http://www.ipadre.net/). Fr. Jay A. Finelli starts out with great Christian music, then dives into a solid Catholic discussion from saints to what are angels to theological challenges like excommunication. Very orthodox and informative.

"Daily Readings from the New American Bible" (http://www.usccb.org/nab) by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Hear the readings from our liturgical cycle every day!

What is a "podcast"? A "podcast" is just like a radio show, but is transmitted over the Internet. It is better, because you can listen whenever you want to, and you can get past episodes. You can start listening today right from your computer -- just click. WIth the investment of some time, you can copy the programs onto audio CDs. Or, download shows to a portable "mp3" player and take them with you! What is an "mp3" player? Ask the nearest teenager or the friendly folks at Radio Shack or go to http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts.

My Roman Catholic Twitter

About once a day, I send a tweet with information to help adult Catholics learn and grow in their faith, e.g. books, websites, Bible verses, reflections from the Saints, Catholic Social Teaching, podcasts, etc.

http://www.twitter.com/dspost

I expand on the Tweets here on Blogspot.

I do my best to review each of my recommendations for orthodoxy and solidarity with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

I am a catechist in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a committee member on our adult Faith Enrichment Team, chair of the Pastoral Council at my parish, a Eucharistic Minister, and member of our Social Concerns Committee.

I was initiated to the Roman Catholic Church about 12 years ago and have never looked back. The more I study the Church that Jesus Christ founded 2000 years ago, the better it gets!

Vatican Channel on You Tube

The newest star on You Tube is none other than His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican Channel opened its digital door today on You Tube, offering Papal speeches and event coverage to the world: http://www.youtube.com/vatican

The channel is part of a Vatican-Google partnership. You can now use a Google search engine on the Vatican's website: http://www.vatican.va. Along with the usual Google search results page, the State of Vatican City Coat of Arms appears in the corner.

In his letter for World Communications Day (http://www.pccs.it/Doc_GMCS_eng.htm), the Pope urged young people to use the new technology to develop true friendship and evangelize, just like the Apostles. "It falls, in particular, to young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this "digital continent". Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm. You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments: the greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the "Good News" of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people," he wrote.

Contact Steve Pehanich, spehanich@cacatholic.org, for more information.

Source: Catholic Legislative Network “Public Policy Insights” from the Diocese of Oakland and the California Catholic Conference.