Fr. Robert Barron: The "Barry Sanders" of Catholic Social Media

Some of the biggest buzz in Catholic circles is Fr. Robert Barron's new series, Catholicism. Portions of it will be debuting on PBS in Chicago on October 13th and it sounds like there will be other cities in the mix.  Detroit will be among the cities offering it, starting on October 30th at 6 pm.  See if it will be available in your area here. 

From a must-read interview with the National Catholic Register on this:

In March 2010, you questioned PBS’ decision to not air religious programming and used examples to demonstrate that they exclude one type of evangelization but allow another type. Now it turns out that PBS has agreed to air your series on more than 80 public-television stations this fall. How did that come about?

We approached WTTW over a year ago in Chicago with the documentary. I was aware that I had done this piece on YouTube, and I stand by it. I wasn’t expecting much from PBS, but they called us down, and we met with their people. To my infinite delight and surprise, they said they thought it was well done, that it was visually compelling, that it would be interesting to non-Catholics and any religious seekers, and that they loved it. We went to lunch afterwards and wondered, How did that happen?


They watched all 10 episodes and chose four — the first episode on Jesus, the episode on the mystery of God, the episode on Mary, and the one on Peter and Paul and the missionary outreach of the Church. It will begin airing during prime time in Chicago on Oct. 13 and will air in successive three Thursday evenings. PBS Chicago marketed around the country, and they’ll be airing it on just over 80 stations.


The other episodes we sent to EWTN, and they’ll be playing them starting in the beginning of November. We’re thrilled.

This looks quite exciting.  Here is a webpage dedicated to the series with a lot more info. I never understood why educational channels do not permit people of certain faiths to tell their own story. 

There is much more to read about this, and of course, I recommend Father Barron's website, Word on Fire, and social media he engages in, which you can pick up from there.   He has his own YouTube channel for Word on Fire which I also recommend visiting.   Follow Fr. Robert Barron on Twitter, as well.


The "Barry Sanders" of Catholic Social Media
I find myself gravitating more and more to Fr. Barron's material.  You can try drive change by negative means (i.e., angry complaints, too much emphasis on what is not being done or focusig on things going wrong, etc.);  or, you can try to win hearts through postiive means (i.e., appealing to people's sense of reason with intellectual discourse devoid of anger, acknowledging what is wrong without over-emphasizing it, and offering hope).  In my humble opinion, Fr. Robert Barron has mastered the latter.  Some may be perplexed as to why he may choose certain topics in his Word on Fire videos.  This is a man who is not just going after fallen away Catholics and non-Catholic christians.  He's engaging atheists, agnostics and other non-Christians, and he is taking the high-road, completely unphased by some of the nastiness that can be out there. 

Fr. Barron is to Catholic social media what former Detroit Lions running back, Barry Sanders was to football.  Sanders, with his small stature against the many giant men he played against was unphased by the odds against him.  He weaved in and out, dodging the multitudes, throwing them into confusion as to where he was going next.   Sanders could make a good run, take a beating and come out of the pile trotting to the next play, repeating it over again until he punched through to the end zone.  Then he would get up and just hand the ball over to the referee like it was no big deal. He never trash-talked that I recall and was very restrained in how he talked about others.  This is how I see Fr. Barron taking on this culture of secularism, relativism, subjectivism, etc.  It is with this lack of emotionalism and hyperbole that Barron teaches.  his positive approach is working and what he teaches goes deep, not just on the surface.  When some of them see he's interested in dialogue, they let go of the edge and get down to talking.   You can see where things like philosophy, history, anthropology, literature and other subjects all come in to play.  It is wise for seminarians, consecrated persons, and lay people to study up if they want to win souls.  Fr. Barron shows how well such seemingly benign things are needed to understand others.  This is what is needed to have intelligent discourse.

You can buy the entire series on DVD.  Father also has a book by the same name, and a study guide.  Find a few other interesting items by him in below.

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Barry Sanders fans can take a moment to smell the roses...

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EWTN announces plans to acquire National Catholic Register

On January 15th, Patrick Madrid posted  that the "About Us" section of the National Catholic Register was soon to change.

Please don't confuse this with the dissident National Catholic Reporter which is it's own "magisterium" (though it would be nice if EWTN did purchase the N.C. Reporter just to have it duly liquidated).  I digress.

Yesterday, it happened: EWTN announced it was in the process of acquiring the ailing National Catholic Register, which also has a popular website.

The Register has been run by the Legion of Christ, which saved it back in the 90's.  In addition to facing the same economic challenges that all print papers are going through with the emergence of instant web-news and declining subscriptions, there is fallout from the Macial scandal. 

Here is the press release by EWTN:

EWTN Acquires National Catholic Register

World’s Largest Catholic Media Network Acquires 83-Year-Old Newspaper

Irondale, AL (EWTN) – EWTN Global Catholic Network has signed a letter of intent to acquire the National Catholic Register, the nation’s leading Catholic newspaper.

“I am very pleased and excited that the Register will now be a part of the EWTN family,” said Michael P. Warsaw, the Network’s president and chief executive officer. “All of us at EWTN have great respect for the Register and the role it has played throughout its history. It’s a tremendous legacy that deserves to not only be preserved, but also to grow and to flourish.”

“I believe that EWTN will be able to provide the stability that the Register needs at this time as well as to give it a platform for its growth in the years ahead. We’re proud to be able to step in and carry on both the Register’s name and its tradition of faithful Catholic reporting on the issues of the day,” noted Warsaw.

Under the terms of the transaction, no cash will be exchanged between the parties. EWTN will take over the ongoing operational expenses of the Register and will assume the paper’s future subscription liabilities.

The acquisition of the Register is the latest in EWTN’s efforts to expand its news presence in the global Catholic digital and multimedia market. At the start of 2010, EWTN entered into a partnership with the Catholic News Agency (CNA), a Denver-based independent Catholic news media outlet with bureaus in North and South America and Europe. Under that agreement, EWTN and CNA are sharing news resources and have created a joint news service found at http://www.ewtnnews.com/. That arrangement was recently expanded to include a new original Spanish-language news service, EWTN Noticias, (http://www.ewtnnoticias.com/) launched in January 2011.

EWTN Global Catholic Network provides multimedia services to more than 140 countries and territories. The Network transmits nine separate television channels in several languages to audiences around the world. It also operates multiple radio services including a network of hundreds of AM and FM stations, a Sirius satellite radio channel, and a global shortwave radio service. EWTN’s main website, www.ewtn.com, draws more than 20 million unique visitors annually.

The National Catholic Register grew out of Denver’s Catholic Register, which began on Aug. 11, 1905. Under the leadership of Msgr. Matthew Smith, the Register System of Newspapers was developed, with the first national edition appearing on Nov. 8, 1927. It was acquired by the Legion of Christ in 1995.

You can also read an entry by Tim Drake at the National Catholic Register.   In it, he quotes Archbishop Charles Chaput:

“The service and the history of the paper are too important to simply abandon,” said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, where the newspaper originated. “The Church needs more tools of faithful communication, not fewer.” [Amen!]


Archbishop Chaput said that he doesn’t feel that the Register’s basic mission of “reporting the news and analyzing trends that are important for Catholics, from a Catholic perspective,” will change. “The means of accomplishing that mission may change quite a lot over time, but the Register’s fidelity to the Church will not.”

Finally, check out the "About Us" page.

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Real Catholic TV gets a Green Rating from Catholic Culture

One particular site that has been very useful to me is Catholic Culture. I regularly consult their site reviews. Here, explained at the site:

The Catholic Culture staff assigns grades to each web site it reviews. Individual grades are given in three distinct areas: Fidelity (to the Magisterium), Resources(Quality and Quantity), and Usability.

Please continue reading to find out more! (Click here to read about the ratings system in detail).

Today, I learned in the broadcast below, that Real Catholic TV has earned a green rating at Catholic Culture which means it meets all criteria favorably.

You can watch several things free each day. I use the "full screen mode" and let it run. Here is the news for today with Vic Faust. I encourage you to watch the whole clip as there are several stories in here that I wanted to cover, but just don't have time. That is the benefit of watching the news each day at Real Catholic TV is you pick up several Catholic and culture of life stories in a matter of minutes. You can also watch Michael Voris' brief commentaries in the Vortex, as well as watch a clip about the saint of the day, and what took place on this day. There are also video clip messages coming in from Bishops that you can watch for free. Real Catholic TV has many premium options too for $10.00 monthly - unique programming.

[Note: Embedded video removed due to problems with a particular virus software which sees certain parts of embed code as malware. All videos were removed from my front page for the time being to spare people panic from this false virus]

I don't embed as many samples from Real Catholic TV as I would like because they seem to make the loading of my homepage buggy. I've reported it previously and don't know if it's unique to blogger or not. Drop me an email at TeDeumBlog@gmail.com if you experience any problems with my homepage stalling to load with this video embedded. It seems I can only work with it in HTML mode once I have pasted in the code (things freeze up in "compose" mode as the video attempts to start playing, then shuts off).

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Audio: Excellent Post-Election Interview with Janet Morana and Fr. Joseph Fessio

I was going through the the Ave Maria Radio archive of Teresa Tomeo's, Catholic Connection and stopped to listen to the November 7th, 2008 show There are multiple segments. The first part is Janet Morana. Following her is Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ, originally brought on to talk about a new book, the The Book of All Saints by Adrienne von Speyr at Ignatius Press.

Prior to getting into the discussion of the book, they entered a pretty good talk about the Election results.

Fr. Fessio's comes on probably half way through this hour, but the whole thing is worth listening to.



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Real Catholic TV featured in the Detroit Free Press

Ferndale-based, Real Catholic TV - a new Catholic internet "station" is seen globally. It has daily items that are free, such as the weekday Catholic news segment hosted by Vic Faust, and the daily commentary by Michael Voris. There is also a video short of the "Saint o the Day" and a brief historical note about the date.

It doesn't stop there, Real Catholic TV has unique programming for just $10 monthly. Real TV has, "The View". Real Catholic TV has, "The Other View".

Here is an article in today's Detroit Free Press about them:

Balling his right hand into a fist, producer Michael Voris leans into a TV camera inside a Ferndale studio to slam home his point:

Why do young adults stay from mass in droves?" Voris asked while delivering a taped commentary. "What's missing is bold preaching that challenges young adults. ... The beauty and truth of the Catholic faith has been denied this generation by an older generation ... of hedonistic, immoral egomaniacs with no moral compass."

Strong words, but ones that the producers of a new Catholic TV station -- billed as the first one to air solely online -- hope will connect with an audience they say is starved for fresh religious programming with an edge. Called Real Catholic TV, the new station is based in Ferndale and aims to reach a global audience with news, features and commentary that pushes a decidedly traditional viewpoint.

There already are religious media outlets aimed at southeastern Michigan's 1.5 million Catholics -- a couple of radio stations and a TV station produced with the cooperation of the Archdiocese of Detroit -- but Real Catholic TV says it will fill a void because of its independence.

Launched last month, the station comes at a time of intense debate within the Catholic church about how to stem the growing numbers leaving the faith. A major survey by the Pew Forum released earlier this year found that one of every three Americans who were raised Catholic have left the church.

That has concerned many Catholics, but there are disagreements about how to best stem that loss and attract newcomers to the faith. To some, the problem is that the church may be too rigid on certain issues: contraception, divorce, abortion, male-only priests.

But Voris -- a veteran TV reporter who's the main producer behind Real Catholic TV -- believes the opposite is true. To conservatives like him, the church has been watered down over the past 40 years by liberal reforms that started with Vatican II. And it lacks, he says, dynamic teachers who preach the faith with passion.

"People respond to the truth, not pablum," Voris said, banging his pencil on the desk. "And for decades, that's all young adults have been given.

"They've been fed gallons of innocuous, ethereal, kumbaya, arts-and-craft making, God is a rainbow, let's-hold-hands spiritually vacuous nonsense. "Don't believe me? Start counting young adults at mass the next time you're there."

Another point of contention is presentation: compared to the showmanship of some Protestant TV preachers and megachurches -- which have soared in popularity in recent years -- Catholic services and clerics can come off to some as too dowdy or reserved. In a media-saturated world of video games and YouTube clips, Sunday mass just doesn't cut it anymore.

"Why on earth are they going to listen to Father-Bore-You-to-Death prattle on?" Voris said.

And so the 47-year-old Ferndale man is trying to attract those looking for vigor in their message.

But some local Catholics view Voris as a renegade unwilling to work within the system: The archdiocese has not endorsed his new station, nor a TV program Voris started in 2006, "The One True Faith."

Usually, there's a protocol that media outlets calling themselves Catholic go through to make sure their teachings are accurate, said Ned McGrath, a spokesman for the diocese. Voris and Real Catholic TV have not done that.

Still, Real Catholic TV has its fans.

"Finally, something that excites me," said Kevin Karwowicz, 38, of Macomb Township. "People want that firmness. ... It's good to hear positive people talking with leadership qualities."

Karwowicz grew up in the Catholic church and went to a Catholic high school, "but I felt like the archdiocese just kind of lost touch."

A couple of years ago, Karwowicz attended Kensington Community Church, an evangelical nondenominational megachurch in Troy known for its multimedia presentations on large video screens, coffee bar and athletic swagger that has drawn ethnic Catholics from across the region looking for a change.

He said he was bored by the routine of the Catholic liturgy.

"It's come in, stand up, sit down, receive communion, put money in the basket and come home," Karwowicz said. In the end, he came back to the Catholic Church, bouncing between parishes to hear priests he feels "get it."

Career change for Voris
A graduate of Notre Dame, Voris was a TV reporter for two decades, working as a national political correspondent during the 1984 presidential race.

He moved in 1990 to Detroit, where he worked for the local CBS and Fox affiliates, earning a few Emmys for his work. But over the years, Voris says he became increasingly disenchanted with what he saw as the mainstream media's immoral values.

The breaking point came when he was once asked to do a story about Madonna's bra.

"To do a meaningful story that spoke to the soul became more and more difficult," he said.

And Voris was fed up with his own un-Catholic behavior.

"I had essentially led an empty life," said the never-married man.

A couple of deaths in the family -- his brother suddenly of heart failure in 2003 and his mother of stomach cancer in 2004 -- added to his spiritual turmoil.

And so in 2006, he established St. Michael's Media and established the Ferndale studio, where a sword of St. Michael sits in a holder as a prop.

He produced some TV programs for cable stations, but seeing the future was on the Internet, started work on Real Catholic TV earlier this year. Financial help came from Marc Brammer of South Bend, Ind., a director at Moody's Corp.

Daily devotional
Every morning, the producers and editors at Real Catholic TV gather for Catholic prayers in a makeshift chapel tucked in a corner of the studio.

Putting in long hours, they shoot and produce several programs, including a daily Catholic news report by WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) sports reporter Vic Faust, a short daily clip dubbed "Today's Saint," and a women's show called "The Other View" that's loosely based on the morning talk show, "The View."

"I never hear my Catholic viewpoint coming across, especially in the area of abortion," said the women show's producer, Susan Vance. "All I ever hear is pro-choice this, pro-choice that, especially with the stars and the TV show people, and the gay agenda.

"We want to show our Catholic view."

On the first show, the five women railed against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, liberals and media bias.

Voris has his share of critics -- he said he's been called a "Catholic jihadist" -- but argues his show is needed more than ever.

"There's some timeless, ageless truths" in Catholicism, Voris says. "But the church has done a pretty poor job ... of making people understand why religion is relevant to them."

The archdiocese disagrees, saying that it and other parts of the church have long understood "the influence and power of television, radio and Internet-based media outlets in spreading the gospel," spokesman McGrath said.

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Video: Catholic Election News and Commentary from Real Catholic TV

This is from Friday, but it is very good. Watch these two videos out of Real Catholic TV, which is based in metro Detroit. Vic Faust has a great newscast (as always), and in the second video, Michael Voris talks about the need for prayer for this election, using the Battle of Lepanto as an example. Michael explains the similarities of 1571 and how the Christians who were outnumbered, won in the end.





For more, go to RealCatholicTV.com

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Our Lady of the Rosary

I'm posting this late in the day so many of you will not see it until tomorrow.

Each day I try to get to Real Catholic TV and go through their free material. I really enjoy the news roundup with Vic Faust and I check in on the vortex. I don't always check the Saint of the Day or the historical video, but did today. All were interesting.

I'm going to embed the short video on the Rosary. You can see this and more at Real Catholic TV!




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Real Catholic TV - Premium Services Open Today!

Real Catholic TV has many free videos online each day, including a popular news cast and commentary - the Vortex, by Michael Voris. Now, the $10 monthly Premium channels are now available. If you wonder why everything is not free, all if it, including the free things, cost money to produce. The premium shows especially require more. You can see previews of the shows at Real Catholic TV. Here is the lineup:

New programs launched in October include:
SHADOW PRIEST (Oct 1, 19)
THE COST OF ABORTION (Oct 1)
PRAYER KIDS (Oct 1, 5, 12, 19, 26)
THE OTHER VIEW (Oct 5, 12)
CATHOLIC CRITIC (Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26)
THE ONE TRUE FAITH SEASON 1 (Oct 5, 12, 19, 26)
GOD’S GREEN EARTH (Oct 5, 19)
BASIC TRAINING: APOLOGETICS; SCRIPTURE (Oct 5)
MORAL COMPASS (Oct 12)
BASIC TRAINING: EUCHARIST (Oct 12)
BASIC TRAINING: PAPACY (Oct 19)
BASIC TRAINING: MARY (Oct 26)


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Headline Bistro: A cafeteria for faithful Catholics

I have been tipped off by several sources to a new website that launched. It is a service of the Knights of Columbus in the form of a website called, Headline Bistro. In one ad I saw, it bills itself as "A Cafeteria for Faithful Catholics". I love it!!! Bookmark this site and check it frequently. There are many wonderful resources, videos, podcasts, news headlines and.....it's all solid.



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Real Catholic TV - Now it's Official.....Launched!!!

View the above news on the site of Real Catholic TV. It's about a 6-7 minute clip and contains many shots from Assumption Grotto taken during the Mass presided by Bishop John M. Quinn, which preceded the burial of 7 aborted babies in our cemetary found in a dumpster. Some 500-600 people were in attendance on that weekday.

If the embedded version is not working, go to their main site, register and click "Today's News". This will change tomorrow and I'm not sure how archiving will work. I can't get the embedded video to actually function on my blog and have reported it to them. It's a new site so bugs should be expected, and reported using their "Conact us" button at the bottom of the site.

There's other great stuff there. All you have to do is go through the free registration to be able to view much of the content which will be changing daily.

Awesome! Awesome! Spread the word.

Previous Post: Real Catholic TV has Launched! Go Check it Out! (Note: this was the launch of a beta version)

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Real Catholic TV has Launched! Go Check it Out!

UPDATE Aug, 31, 2008, at 2:06pm: The site has not yet officially launched. That happens tomorrow. I am told that the news and other things labeled, "Today", will indeed be a daily thing.

Real Catholic TV is launching tomorrow - an internet Catholic "television" station. Below, I'm embedding a few samples. (Please let me know if you have difficulty viewing them - they are not playing on my laptop, but worked for me at the originating site). Please be patient with anything not working right. You can test for bugs all you want, but the real test happens when something is released.

I just went through the registration for the free section in about 60 seconds and was in. There is a premium section. Incredible amount of money is being poured into the making of this site and it's exclusive programs, involving solid Catholic bishops, priests, religious, and lay people. Sign up for the premium section if you can because those exlusive programs look promising. You can watch free previews of some of these programs. I can't wait to see "The Other View", a program which looks like, "The View" on network television, a cleaned up version. The first taping of, The Other View, has just been completed.


In the free section are many choices, including "The Shepherd's Corner" - a section where short (3-8 minute) videotaped messages by bishops will be shared. I viewed all four including teachings from Archbishop Chaput of Denver, Bishop Choby of Nashville, and Bishop Vasa of Baker, Oregon. They appear to be exclusive videos. The one embedded below is that of Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC apparently taped during his recent visit to Metro Detroit. In it, he speaks of reverent reception of Holy Communion.




There is a news section anchored by Vic Faust, and two brief videos for "Today's Saint" and "Today's History". I watched each short clip. I'm wondering if the news will cycle daily or if it will be at certain intervals more like a news magazine that compiles things over time. We will find out soon. Either way, it is refreshing to see a news broadcast with issues of importance to faithful Catholics.



Michael Voris has his own section called, "Today's Vortex" in which he offers a commentary. In the August 28th, 2008 segment, he talks about Oprah Winfrey. The caption reads,

"...Michael talks about Oprah Winfrey and her new guru, the author of A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle"

Don't forget to visit the Real Catholic TV blog for updates and communications.

Support Real Catholic TV with your participation, by signing up for premium service if you can (the $10.00 is a real value, imho, if you are not cash-strapped), and by donating.



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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Update: Real Catholic TV soon to launch

I'm told that Real Catholic TV, which I talked about in a recent post, is just a week away from it's launch.

Take a peak at the Real Catholic TV blog where you will see some photo-journal entries from the set and discussions about some of the programs they will be featuring.

This is internet TV, so no matter where you are in the world, you'll be able to watch with a decent connection speed.

Here are some recent blogposts you will want to check out:

• First Taping of The Other View Finished! (I love this idea!)
• The Producer's View of . . . The Other View!
• Behind the Scenes At RealCatholicTV
• Father Joseph Marquis interview
• Shadow Priest

I really like this feature of The Shepherd's Voice. They will be featuring videos of bishops and cardinals speaking the truths of the faith.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Real Catholic TV - On the Internet!

Fantastic news.... I'm more excited about this than ever after seeing the preview....read on!

Those locally in Detroit and some other areas who had exposure to the works of St. Michael's Media will enjoy something new upon which they are embarking that will not limit their audience. They have recognized that many people, especially young people, spend more hours on the internet than watching TV. And, that an internet TV station reaches anyone, anywhere, anytime. The audience is global and is only limited by language barrier and internet connection.

Hence, they have created an internet TV "station", called Real Catholic TV, that is still in development, but looks interesting and will be a great spiritual watering hole for people of all ages.

Visit and bookmark and check back at the Real Catholic TV blog for updates and news...

Click the snapshot below and it will take you to a "development page" which gives you some idea of what is coming. Michael Voris gives an overview of Real Catholic TV. I love the fact that there is a place for bishops and cardinals to be seen and heard easily by anyone, anwhere, anytime.









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Michael Voris of the One True Faith to Speak at Grotto on Sunday

Fr. Perrone and Michael Voris in a discussion on Assumption Day 2007 just before the evening, outdoor Mass

I'm still running very short on time, thus little blogging of late. My mother has not been well and a number of other things are going on, but I want to pass this piece of news along to you for this Sunday.

Michael Voris, President of St. Michael's Media and host of the One True Faith TV will be speaking at Assumption Grotto this Sunday after both the 9:30, and Noon Masses.

Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis blessed the studio when he visited in 2006, and Fr. Pablo Straub has also been supportive of St. Michael's Media.

Fr. Perrone wrote in last week's bulletin:

Next Sunday, Dec. 2, Michael Voris
of ST. MICHAEL MEDIA will speak
on Fighting the Good Fight (an
appropriate title when invoking the
patronage of Saint Michael the
Archangel!). Many of you have seen
Michael’s clear, hardhitting and
unabashedly Catholic TV series
given before a live audience at his
Fernadale studio. There’s no cost for
his talk here next Sunday, and he’s
agreed to give it twice, after both the
9:30 and the noon Masses. These
will be in our gym where you still
may, if you wish, have your
hamburger, sausage or hotdog, as is
usual for our parish socials. Please
do come and hear Michael. He’s an
unusually gifted and dedicated
Catholic man. I have a hunch that
what he will tell you will swell your
Catholic pride.

Just a note about the Sunday socials: They happen each and every Sunday with only a few exceptions per year so if you ever drop in for Mass, follow the crowd over to the gym for a bite to eat, something hot to drink, and conversation.

We socialize in the parish hall, not in church - especially during the Mass.
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Imagine: A Church so Silent Before Mass it is Deafening

"The silence before Mass at Assumption Grotto Church is deafening!"

That is what I told reporter Bob Delaney of the Michigan Catholic who wrote a nice piece about Assumption Grotto's 175th Anniversary, and our upcoming Assumption Day feast.

The article is in this past weekend's Michigan Catholic, and it can be read online. Bob also talks about the Te Deum blog in the article. If the link to the article becomes broken, email me at TeDeumBlog@aol.com and I will fix it.

THE MASS EXODUS

In the half hour before Mass, and after, it is not uncommon in this era for a church to have decibels rivaling what you can encounter at any mall on Saturday afternoon. Well, perhaps the "after" may only last about 5 minutes because half the church likely emptied out mid-Communion as people tripped over each other to get out the door and to the local diner, the store, back home to a sporting event on TV or other such things. I should know, I was one of those people not long ago and I'm guilty of having left early for every one of those things, and more before I found Grotto. This is one parish where time seems to stand still and if one is in the right disposition, worldly thoughts fade in the background and the desire to rush out is replaced with a desire for the Mass to never end.

This phenomena gives new meaning to "Mass exodus." I've seen many a priest attempt to change it all the way back to the 70's. However, it just seems to fall on deaf ears right along with the message to not to come to Mass in shorts or half-exposed in such a way as to not lead others into temptation. The tops some people of my gender wear would likely challenge a saint to not fall into lustful thoughts while trying to worship!

Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do. Such is the attitude we should take because it is amazing how many people truly don't "see" how their dress or behavior affects others. I spent serious time being angry about these things without thinking that it took me 40 years to learn the value of saving shorts for workouts and saving conversation for the church hall after Mass.


DEAFENING SILENCE AT CHURCH

Bob chuckled at the oxymoron. It does sound funny and I laughed too. How can silence be deafening? I had to think about that for a time and came to this conclusion.

Maintaining silence while in church is deafening in that we learn to deaden the senses - those things that are constantly self-seeking and craving attention. Talking in church is defended by some as being charitable to neighbor. What is missing is charity toward's God in what little time is spent in church. If our neighbor is slighted because we are not speaking to them in God's house, then perhaps the problem is with the neighbor's desire for attention while in the presence of our Eucharistic Lord. By engaging in "charitable discussion" with them, we enable them in their lack of virtue in this regard. The more charitable path is to encourage them to spend time conversing with God in his own language - the language of silence.

Hence, when we enter church before Mass we are hopefully getting there early to spend time with God. The priests at Grotto are always reminding us that we should spend 10-15 minutes following Mass in thanksgiving, as well. Here too, those who cannot stay, should exit the church silently and speak outside so that those who remain in prayer are not distracted.

Fr. William Wagner, ORC writes this in the article, "The Practice of Silence and Solitutde". While it is in the context of a religious community, it is very much applicable to a parish community before and after Mass in the church.

Silence, therefore, has always been highly regarded by the saints and holy people. Once Mother Teresa was asked, "Mother what do you consider the most important thing in the training of your sisters?" And she answered, "Silence. Interior and exterior silence. Silence is essential in a religious house. The silence of humility, of charity, the silence of the eyes, of the ears, of the tongue. There is no life of prayer without silence." And then at another time she expanded on her philosophy of silence. She explained that "we need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. See how nature, the trees, the flowers and the grass grow in perfect silence." Finally, she added that without doubt "God is the friend of silence. His language is silence. And he requires us to be silent to discover him. We need, therefore, silence to be alone with God, to speak to him, to listen to him and to ponder his words deep in our hearts. We need to be alone with God in silence to be renewed and to be transformed. For silence can give us a new outlook on life. In it we are filled with the grace of God, which makes us do all things with joy."

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Detroit Free Press: A sword for the Catholic faith

An article appears in today's Detroit Free Press about Michael Voris and his local television show, the The One True Faith.

A sword for the Catholic faith
Former WJBK-TV reporter explains it all on his syndicated program


July 28, 2007
BY DAVID CRUMM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

Last week in Ferndale, Michael Voris closed his nationally syndicated Catholic TV show by grasping the hilt of a gleaming gladiator's sword to show the seriousness of his faith. Slowly moving the heavy blade through the air, he warned his audience:

"This life is about spiritual warfare -- every single moment of our lives here. Sometimes the battle is fierce and raging, sometimes it subsides, but we are always -- always -- in spiritual battle."

Continue reading A Sword for the Catholic Faith at the Detroit Free Press

You need to really "mine" The One True Faith website for all that is has in terms of avenues to learning about the Catholic faith. This page may be easiest to load if you are on slower connections.

There are podcasts available for the show for online listening, or downloading to an MP3 player, or to which you can subscribe for regular downloading on iTunes.

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Excellent Podcast: St. Thomas Aquinas on the Eucharist; Mass in Heaven?

I regret not having time to post more Corpus Christi photos today, but things are hectic at work and at home. Hopefully, I'll be able to post more tomorrow.

In the meanwhile, I would urge everyone to listen to this "Podcazt" by Fr .Z at his site. You don't need an IPOD and can listen to it right on your computer - even if you have dialup. Granted, you will need to download it at a time that you can just let it run - like overnight. They only come out once or twice weekly. Once you download it you could burn it to a CD if you have that capability so you can listen to it in the car while commuting.

I've listened to three thus far while working and th is particular one, I have already listened to twice, and will probably do so a third time with a notebook.

This particular topic and the way in which Fr. Zuhlsdorf covers it is intellectually stimulating while spiritually uplifting. Later in the segment Fr. Z addresses the question of whether we will have Mass in Heaven. The answer may surprise you.

Once you get to his post, you have several options from playing it in a popup window on your computer, to downloading it, or if you have an ipod, I strongly encourage you to subscribe to his "Podcazts"

It runs about 40-45 minutes which makes it perfect to listen to while you are doing something. If you actually have the time to just sit and listen, that is so much better. I've done it while driving with my iPod.

Here is a direct link to his post.




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The Wanderer Online Edition: Article on Assumption Grotto in May 31, 2007 Edition

2007 Photo of Assumption Grotto by Jay McNally

Assumption Grotto is on the front page of the May 31, 2007 print edition of The Wanderer with an article written by Jay McNally about our 175th anniversary and festivities. It also has a photo of the front of Assumption Grotto (above) taken by Jay recently (click here where you can see the front page photo for a few more days). He explains very well the culture of Grotto when it comes to our big celebrations, which are days of devotion.

The Grotto has been a very pop­ular pilgrimage site for 125 years, with stories being told of very long lines of visitors on feast days de­cades ago, and of some miraculous cures. Many colorful ceremonies, especially on Marian feast days are held at the grotto.

The parish celebrates its feast day on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, with a full day of de­votions, hourly Masses, and won­derful meals and social activities. Needless to say, there are no beer tents, bingo tables, and carnival rides at Assumption Grotto’s annu­al festival. The feast- day ceremo­nies at the outdoor Grotto are a major attraction, with usually more than 1,000 attending both outdoor Masses, at noon and at 7 p. m. The evening Mass is followed by a sol­emn candlelight procession around the cemetery and parish grounds. Attendance some years has topped 20,000.

For those familiar with The Wanderer, and those not familiar, they have finally dropped into the 21st century and are now providing the full weekly edition in their brand new website. You can read this, and many other articles, including an online archive.

However, it requires a paid subscription. You can get credit for 3 free online issues (including this May 31, 2007 edition) to see if it is of interest to you. You can apply the credits against any current issue, or from several past issues. All you do is sign up with an email address and password - no credit card is required for the 3 credits. Just follow the link below to the homepage and then click the link in the left sidebar for the "E-Edition" to try it out.

Veteran Catholic Journalist, Jay McNally at the 2007 Call to Holiness,

where he served as MC at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Wyanodotte) site

If you want to keep the subscription, it is $50.00 yearly. This may seem steep, but consider that you are getting a reading load comparable to a weekly magazine for around $1.00 weekly. I am also assuming you will have access to those back issues and archives. They often have guest writers of good stature.

Home page for The Wanderer

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Fr. Zuhlsdorf - aka "Fr. Z" has been writing the column "What Does the Prayer Really Say?" for many years now in that small Catholic newspaper. He later took his articles to the internet via Catholic Online forums, and then it gave birth to his blog of the same name.

Go read Fr. Z's introduction to The Wanderer Online-Edition

Teresa Tomeo Blogs Issues about Media

For those who listen to Ave Maria Radio locally (or on the web), or to EWTN Radio via satellite or internet in the AM, you probably know Teresa Tomeo as host of Catholic Connection.

Teresa has finally made it to blog-dom with her new blog, "Noise". In it, she takes on media-related issues. While she may be looking at them from a Catholic perspective, the points she raises should be the concern of anyone in a decent, civilized society.

Do me a favor and go visit her blog - give it the traffic it needs and let others know about it. There are only a few posts up as it is new, so I'll lead you right into the the home page. Right now she has an excellent post about the Don Imus mess, she calls the I-mess.

Noise (Catholic Media Alert) - Blog of Teresa Tomeo