When I was young I had an odd, somewhat unconscious anxious habit. Someone would say, “It’s like in that movie _______, ya know?” and I would say, “Yeah,” and they’d continue with their story. The conversation kept flowing, the other thought I was in tune with them, and all was well. Except that I had… [Read More]
#CatholicConvo Through the Eyes of an Texan
“Uplifting, motivating, challenging, community, transformative.” That’s how Theresa Prudhomme, a mid 20s young professional from Katy, describes her experience of #CatholicConvo in 5 words or less. The weekend before last, while we were all firing up the grill and making July 4th plans, Theresa joined thousands of lay leaders, religious, priests and bishops from across… [Read More]
Catholic Life Online Today Panel
This audio is from the second panel at the ATX Catholic Day of Reflection 2016 at Our Lady of Schoenstatt Shrine in Austin, TX on April 30, 2016. Moderator: Brandon Kraft Panelist: Laura Gonzales, Cristina Almanza, and Steve Scott Panel 2 – Catholic Life Online Today St. John Paul II called us to propose anew the same… [Read More]
Mercy and Technology Panel
This audio is from the first panel at the ATX Catholic Day of Reflection 2016 at Our Lady of Schoenstatt Shrine in Austin, TX on April 30, 2016. Moderator: Rachel Gardner Panelist: Trenton Hendrichson, Lindsay Wilcox, and Brandon Kraft Panel 1 – Mercy and Technology What does the Jubilee of Mercy mean to you?… [Read More]
For Catholic Bloggers (ATX Catholic Reflection Day Quick Takes)
For bloggers, as people who are often plugged in, absorbing information, writing and interacting online, etc – how blessed a day of reflection can be! I think this was a common sentiment for all of us that attended the ATX Catholic Day of Reflection last weekend. Speaking for myself, it was a great gift to… [Read More]
When Your Significant Other is Addicted to Porn: A Practical Guide
If you don’t know someone who is or has struggled with viewing pornography, then you are in the minority. Unfortunately – due to crazy-easy access, increased social acceptance, and the high chance of getting hooked – pornography habits or full-blown addiction, is something more and more Americans (Catholic and otherwise) are experiencing. For recent stats,… [Read More]
Formed.org Review: How This Website Can Aid Your Faith
Recently I had the honor to try out a new subscription service at formed.org, that my parish has chosen to participate in. I have been using it for a week now, and I would like to share my review. Let me start by saying that this service is just beginning so its content selection is still… [Read More]
Need a Break? Top 3 Sites for Relaxation
Are you overwhelmed by work? Exhausted from life’s demands? Maybe you feel frenzied by your list of to-do’s, or super-anxious about an upcoming event. Maybe you’ve just watched/read the news and now you’re in a funk. Sometimes (a lot of times) you need a break. I’d venture to guess that you need more breaks than… [Read More]
See No Evil: Reflections on Laudato Si’ Part II
This is my second reflection on Pope Francis’ new Encyclical Laudato Si addressed to every person living on this planet and added to the official Catholic doctrine. I hope my reflection is beneficial to you, but I (and Austin CNM) encourage you to read the document yourself here. Last year my family found a great… [Read More]
Confessions of a Technocrat: Reflections on Laudato Si, Part I
This is a reflection on Pope Francis’ new Encyclical Laudato Si addressed to every person living on this planet and added to the official Catholic doctrine. I hope my reflection is beneficial to you, but I (and the Austin CNM) encourage you to read the document yourself here. I was seduced by technology in high… [Read More]
God always wins.
“If you are what you should be, you would set the whole world on fire.” – St. Catherine of Siena By now we are all quite aware of the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. I think this is the first time in my life that I’ve been nervous about being Catholic (I am so blessed because… [Read More]
A Mexican Demon Named Charlie
The recent trending hashtag #charliecharliechallenge has been shown to a lot of teens and tweens recently through social media like Twitter and YouTube videos. In this game, you cross two pencils and put yes and no on a paper, then ask “Charlie” a question and wait to see if the pencil moves to yes or… [Read More]
Copyright and the Ease of Stealing
Did you know there is a commandment that is considered ethical to break in very select situations? The seventh commandment, “You Shall Not Steal” is just as important as any of the other commandments, and it would compromise the whole set to say that 10% of the whole does not hold any weight. In almost… [Read More]
Don’t Read This Blog: Enjoy Labor Day Unplugged
We live in an overstimulated society. Between TV screens, phone screens, computer screens, tablet screens, phablet screens, laptop screens, and movie screens, are brains are just plain ol’ overloaded. Just for fun, think back to your last work day. How many hours were spent looking at a screen? What about when you got home? If… [Read More]
Breaking the Girl, Part Two: The Hype of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and Why Slavery Isn’t Love
Let me start off by admitting that when I was in college I was addicted to romance novels. I would binge-read stacks of them in bed while eating my way through a roll of cookie dough. Healthy, right? It started out as a means of escape from my seemingly soul-crushing breakup with my boyfriend of… [Read More]
Struggling with Instagram Envy
It’s easy to become convinced that many of your friends and acquaintances live more exciting lives when we see filtered and carefully selected shots from their life on social media. There is a growing trend with heavy users of social media that shows Instagram comparison causing and rooting envy in the hearts of users. Suddenly… [Read More]
Relationships 101: The #1 Way the Internet is Messing Up Your Love Life
Part Four of “Relationships 101”. See part three here. We left off the last post with the number one way the Internet is messing up your love life. Remember what it was? It has become so pervasive that about 30,000 people use it EVERY SECOND (Daily Infographic, 2013). It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that has been around… [Read More]
Relationships 101: 3 Ways The Internet is Messing Up Your Love Life
Part three of “Relationship 101” Series. See part two here. According to research done by Kathryn Zickuhr and Aaron Smith of Pew Internet Research, a whopping 70% of Americans have internet, compared to ten years ago, when only 16% of Americans had home internet. Additionally, in 2013 56% of Americans have smart phones with Internet access, and 46%… [Read More]
GODS: The Good Old Days Syndrome
This week, I’ve decided to take a brief side route away from my posts about the Theology of Sound to raise public awareness of a particular disease. It’s an old disease – very old, in fact – and it has never been cured, nor will it ever be. It is not a bacteria, and hence… [Read More]
Catholic on Instagram
About 521 images are uploaded to Instagram every second from all over the world. That equals about 45 million photos a day. That’s a superabundance of images. Many of us not only have Instagram on our phones, we also have additional companion apps to help us take image customization to another level. I’ve been fascinated… [Read More]
The Theology of Sound Part II: The Key to Beauty
For Part I, click here. In Part I, we talked briefly about how we are part of creation, yet we are set apart from it, and that there is something, some quality about us that the all rest of the universe does not possess. As it turns out, there are many different ways to talk about… [Read More]
Fighting for LIFE on Facebook
We’re touted as the pro-life generation. I have no doubt of that, but how are we still losing to a popular culture of death? Let me give you some background information. I attended a Christian university in Texas with deep roots to Baptist traditions. Last week, I was on Facebook and looked at a page… [Read More]
Tech Disconnect and World Communications Day 2013
I’m becoming increasingly convinced that our world has left a generation feeling isolated through its attempts to connect everyone and everything through technology. Sure, we see each other’s tweets and see our loved one’s experiences on Instagram, but I’m not convinced that I’ve grown closer to those friends through that. I’ve noticed that I make… [Read More]
Brandon Vogt’s Strange Notions Launches Today!
Strange Notions, a site designed to be a central place of dialogue online between Catholics and atheists, will go live TODAY at 8 a.m. CST. The site include intelligent articles, compelling video and rich discussion through its comment box. Brandon Vogt, a Catholic speaker, blogger and writer, is behind project and has a group of… [Read More]
How Serious Are We About The New Evangelization?
Last week over at my Being Saint Joseph Podcast I talked about Zach Braff’s new Kickstarter to support “Wish I Was Here” his follow-up to “Garden State”, which is billed as a sequel in tone but not story. In a little over three days Zach managed to raise over 2 million dollars and is still… [Read More]
How to keep your tween a child for just a little while longer
Tween. Tween? Such a strange word. When I was growing up, we didn’t call ourselves that. We were either kids, or teens. There was no in beTWEEN. But, as weird as the word is, there might be some good in setting this stage of childhood off as its own separate category. There’s a lot going… [Read More]
Liveblog: ACNM at SXSW 2013
Thanks for joining us!
Conclave? There’s an app for that! (and Twitter, Email, etc)
The eight general congregation of the College of Cardinals announced last week that the conclave to select the next Pope will begin on tomorrow on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. The cardinals will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in the morning and then enter into the conclave that afternoon. If you’re not planning on waiting… [Read More]
Interview with Sr. Helena Burns, FSP
David Casper recently got the chance to sit down with Sister Helena Burns of the Daughters of St. Paul to talk about being a media nun, zombie rom-coms and the upcoming Papal Conclave. Sister Helena Burns belong to the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of religious women dedicated to spreading God’s Word through the… [Read More]
Join ACNM for SXSW… Unofficially
Last Friday Cristobal talked about ACNM’s continued growth and expansion. Today I’m thrilled to announce the next phase in our mission. Last year during SXSW we held an expanded Q1 meetup to coincide with the Interactive Festival. This year we are taking it to the next level. Pope Benedict XVI calls the world of social media a… [Read More]
2013 Statesman Social Media Awards
Hi everyone! It’s that time of year again and we’ve been nominated for the “Statesman Social Media Awards”. Here’s a little about the award. Do you know a social media rock star living in Central Texas? Who do you follow? Where do you turn for your social media socializations? Whose updates make you want to… [Read More]
Is Facebook Making You Depressed?
Two-thirds of American adults are on Facebook. 69% of adults in this country find themselves updating their statuses, changing their profile pictures and adding photos and videos to share with family and friends. And according to the PEW Research Center, between Feb. 2005 and August 2006 the use of social networking sites among adult internet… [Read More]
Vatican II & Social Communication
So I’ve been studying Vatican II lately (the Second Vatican Council) – not formally or anything, just reading up on it for fun (yes, for fun!). It IS the 50th anniversary of the opening Vat II after all – which is, of course, a fundamental part of the spirit/reason behind the Year of Faith. And… [Read More]
ACNM Year in Review
As the year quickly comes to an end I wanted to use this time to say “thank you” to all of our wonderful contributors and our audience. We’ve grown a lot over the past year, adding a number of great contributors and syndicated blogs. With each contributor we add a new voice and perspective to… [Read More]
What Should We Call It? Catholic GIFS and Advent Challenges
I believe that sometimes you just have to be a little bit silly. There are a ton of these things on the Internet called gifs, so here I present to you a fun little set of Catholic themed gifs. My friends and I when it comes time to exchange the sign of peace… [Read More]
Authenticity & the Year of Faith
I have to be honest. When I heard that the Catholic Church had declared this year the “Year of Faith”, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. Maybe it’s my ‘convert’ status rising up again, but while those around me were excited about the upcoming Year of Faith, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed… [Read More]
Pinterest: Welcome to the New Internet
Something has happened to the Internet realm this year that has altered what were once thought to be the norms. It’s called Pinterest. Launched a little over a year ago, it has since exploded into the social media market. Well, we here are at ACNM are in the business of New Evangelization and that includes utilizing new… [Read More]
I am not Brandon Vogt
I know you can’t hear me sigh when I type these words, so you’ll just have to imagine it. I am not Brandon Vogt. A couple of months back, I made the fortunate mistake of following Brandon Vogt on Facebook. For those who don’t know who Brandon is, he’s what I’d call a celebrity. Not… [Read More]
I Want To Speak Now
We have things to say. The Gospel of Christ is a powerful message that is transformative and needed to be proclaimed. The message needs to be heard, so that is can work with and in people to help them discover who they are and whose they are. Today’s social and political reality has plenty of people… [Read More]
Unplug and save your prayer life!
I love technology blogs. I’ve been following Engadget and Gizmodo for over 6 years now. It’s to the point that I have difficulty buying anything of the electronic persuasion that’s currently for sale, because I’m already vaguely aware of what the next generation will bring. And with E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) going on this week,… [Read More]
