A few weeks ago, three of my siblings and my mother made a reverse exodus from Texas to Oklahoma to visit me for a few days (and exhibit their dogs in a dog show – you know, purely coincidental). My youngest sister Aeren (who just turned 7) was one of the lucky three siblings that… [Read More]
Rosary lost, devotion found.
Are there any statistics on how often the average person loses things? Particularly small things? Because I’m pretty sure I’m double that. Just ask my mom. (Just kidding, Mom!) Speaking of, I don’t think I told her that I had lost my Rosary. Ok, I admit I have several rosaries (and more than enough twine… [Read More]
Review: “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
I love reading. These days, I read mostly blogs, but I do pick up the occasional magazines of my alma maters, and I usually get in some pleasure reading at lunch at work. I also find plane reading a lovely way to pass the time…especially when I sync my iPhone wrong and am therefore unable… [Read More]
What We Look For
There are many joys to working with new media, but perhaps none more so than all of the “Stats” and other metrics provided by even the most basic of new media platforms. I love the fact that everything is trackable because it not only gives me an idea of how people are responding to my… [Read More]
My Mexican Kids
Vanessa published a post yesterday on Busted Halo about her Mexican culture and some difficulties she is having in exposing the girls to it. This has been a well-discussed issue in our home, so Vanessa wrote nothing groundbreaking to me. One of the comments, though, I found quite interesting. “James” writes: Overall, I find this article offensively… [Read More]
Workout for Christ
“Every Christian is called to become a strong athlete of Christ, that is a faithful and courageous witness to His Gospel.” –Blessed Pope John Paul II When I was younger, working out and staying in shape was pretty easy. I danced and played organized sports throughout my childhood and in middle school. In high school… [Read More]
Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 15: God Bless the Magnited States of America
[powerpress] Segment #1 – Current Events – Court allows prayer at High School graduation in Castroville, Texas. – Cristina http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-03/us/texas.school.prayer_1_graduation-ceremony-appeals-court-emergency-appeal?_s=PM:US http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/03/texas-senator-blasts-judges-decision-to-forbid-public-prayer-at-high-school/?test=latestnews Man lashes out at girlfriend via billboard for aborting his child http://www.newser.com/story/120341/man-strikes-back-at-ex-girlfriend-with-abortion-billboard.htm http://abcnews.go.com/US/abortion-billboard-lands-mexico-man-court-girlfriend/story?id=13783668 Governor Perry’s Day of Prayer and Fasting — Jason http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/07/perrys-planned-prayer-event-draws-condemnation/ Segment #2 – Church News – The third annual Men’s Mass… [Read More]
1st Annual Children’s Corpus Christi Procession
On Sunday June 26, 2011, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Corpus Christi universally around the world. This year Saint Mary Cathedral plans to have the 1st Annual Children’s Corpus Christi Procession. It will be geared toward children and Catholic youth so that they will come to give witness to the world of their… [Read More]
Journey to the Center of Homeschooling
As I sit down to write this entry, I have Pandora going in the background, the teenager is informing that I need to go to the store {I just went two days ago – never mind I bought a week’s worth of groceries}, the three-year-old and six-year-old are complaining and whining about who gets to… [Read More]
Summer 2011 ACNM Update
Austin Catholic New Media is well into its first year as a group, and it has been an incredible start so far. When Jason, Chris, and I first started making a plan, there were a lot of unknowns about what would come out of this group. I think there are still many unknowns as to… [Read More]
Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 14: I Think You Have Something In Your Pepsi
[powerpress] Feedback: Segment #1 – Current Events – Apple today announced that Steve Jobs will indeed host the keynote for the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next Monday in San Francisco. Aside from the expected focus on iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion, Apple’s announcement also confirms that Jobs will introduce the company’s “iCloud”… [Read More]
Have You Prayed For Your Future Son Or Daughter-In-Law Today?
Today’s post was inspired by a pair of very unlikely sources. The first being MTV’s massively popular show “16 and Pregnant” and a personal favoriate podcast of mine called “The Catholic Laboratory“. Now you may be asking yourself what could these two shows possibly have in common that would inspired a blog post on Austin Catholic… [Read More]
Doubt as an Opportunity
Do you ever fear that doubt or anxiety about future events somehow means you doubt God? I have a friend who deals with this often and I find myself talking her through it every once in a while. All it takes on my part really is just reiterating things she already knows. Like to be… [Read More]
The Holy Father’s Intentions for June
Each month, the Pope asks the Catholic world to join him in a common prayer. This month, we pray that priests, united to the Heart of Christ, may always be true witnesses of the caring and merciful love of God. For our missionaries, we pray that the Holy Spirit may bring forth from our communities… [Read More]
Summer Movie Preview 2011
I used to be a movie buff. As a kid and young adult, I would watch almost anything. I knew my fascination with film had probably become an obsession when, after one particularly active movie-viewing summer, I received a letter from the president of Blockbuster Video, thanking me for renting more movies than 99% of… [Read More]
How Will They Know Who We Are?
Hello, ACNM readers! My name is Lindsay Wilcox; I’m the campus minister at the University Catholic Center over at UT, and I was recently invited to join the ACNM family. I’m very excited to share some of my perspectives on Catholicism in Austin with all of you. I am new to Austin, being from Maryland… [Read More]
I’ve Earned a Busy Badge!
Busy. We live in a world consumed with busyness. The question “Hey, how are you doing?” is frequently responded to with a “Busy, but _____ (good, bad, tired, etc).” Busy has become the new norm. Busy is beyond being socially acceptable. Busy is now socially expected. Busy is chic. Being busy can lead to debates… [Read More]
Our Faith walk: As unique as our DNA
As I work on mapping out common objections to the Faith that were outlined in my last post, My Priest, My Coach, I wanted to reflect on something that caught my attention. In my own faith walk, I’ve always been drawn to something we believe in, that we are all part of one Body. The… [Read More]
Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 13: Stephen Hawking vs. Macho Man Randy Savage
[powerpress] Segment #1 – Current Events – Joplin tornado, continued storms in the Midwest – Jason http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/25/8-dead-violent-weather-3-states/ Cardial Tarcisio Bertone releases A message from the Holy Father. Pope receives papers for the cause to support the Sainthood of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. http://www.catholicsun.org/2011/may/25/sheen-cause.html Rapture-mania… rescheduled for October 21 (Audio sound byte in story if interested) http://www.webpronews.com/harold-camping-rapture-rescheduled-for-october-21-twitter-laughs-on-2011-05… [Read More]
Death and the End of the World
Each day that passes means we are one day closer to the end of our lives on earth. It’s not the most pleasant of realities, so we often choose to not think about it much. So far this year, life has been filled with opportunities to reflect upon death. Natural disasters have been forcefully… [Read More]
Glee, Gaga and God
Hi my name is Jason and I watch too much trash TV. I know that I really should be spending more time in prayer and deepening my spiritual life. Unfortunately more often then not the spare time I do have usually consist of watching an hour or so of mindless TV. That being said I… [Read More]
The Road Goes Ever On
Apparently, I came into the Church just a few weeks too soon. According to some of my Protestant friends, the Rapture is going to occur on Saturday. Too bad I’ve already signed my deal with the Devil. It’s okay – I’ll be following my Rapture Ready friends around, waiting to scavenge any awesome clothes and/or… [Read More]
Mary, my (Grand)mother
May: Mary’s month. It wasn’t too long ago that this didn’t have any real meaning to me. When I was new to the church, despite how many times people tried to tell me about how Mary is my mother and loves me, I could never quite get my arms around it. I’d look at statues… [Read More]
Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 12: Looks Like That Rain Dance Worked
[powerpress] Feedback: Segment #1 – Current Events – Record Rain in Central Texas. http://www.kxan.com/dpp/weather/its-raining-its-pou ring Novena to St. Isidore the Farmer for more rain. The Texas House of Representatives approved a measure that would allow parents to opt their kids out of corporeal punishment if it’s allowed in their school district. (http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2011/05/12/spanking_bill_approved_on_seco.html) What do you… [Read More]
Chris Bartlett’s Notes From May’s Theology on Tap
Chris Bartlett is the director of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry for the Diocese of Austin. A graduate of Franciscan University, he is currently working on a master’s degree in theology at St. Mary’s San Antonio. He lives in Pflugerville with his wife, Kendra, and their two young daughters, and battles a crippling addiction… [Read More]
We Will Follow, Lord
There’s a song on the radio called “I Will Follow” by Chris Tomlin. The song is about following God no matter where he takes us. After listening to that song, I began to think about what it means to follow Jesus in our every day lives, which then got me thinking, what does it mean… [Read More]
My Priest, My Coach
Two years ago my husband made the decision to take control of his health by doing P90X, a ridiculously intense workout system that takes 90 days to complete. Instructor Tony Horton invaded our home for three rounds {9 months, give or take}. He then moved onto Insanity with Shaun T. and has recently started Insanity… [Read More]
Why Does the Media Not Support the Church?
It’s impossible not to have a bias. Whether it comes from language, culture, background, or faith, we all see the world differently. There is some real beauty in it, but at the same time it does present an interesting challenge for Christians. Whenever incorrect information about the faith or the Church is on the minds… [Read More]
Fatherhood in the Holy Spirit
“…fatherhood comes in an instance, but it takes a lifetime to grow into.”-Fr. Andrew Gawrych, C.S.C This past weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to experience and witness the priestly ordination of a great, holy and humble man of God, Paul M. Ybarra, C.S.C., a friend and a co-worker, and the deacon at my… [Read More]
Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 11: Relics, Pickup Lines and a Beautification
[powerpress] Segment #1 – Current Events – Cristina Blessed John Paul II’s coffin has been moved to his final resting place in St. Sebastian’s chapel in St. Paul’s Basilica. 400,000 people visited the Basilica to pray before his tomb. Osama Bin Ladan is dead details on raid. Is this something to celebrate? Or do we… [Read More]
How To Get Banned From Catholic Radio: Challenges and Opportunities in The New Evangelization
On April 28th, 2011 Austin Catholic New Media held their 2011 Q2 Meet-up. We were lucky enough to have Dan Sealana (@catholicdan) come out and speak to us about his experiences in Catholic radio. Dan also spoke about what we can do as digital missionaries to spread the good news of Jesus Christ in new… [Read More]
Microevangelization
I was ordering checkbooks last night when a little blank text box got me thinking. When I first thought about it, I thought I had a “chicken or the egg” paradox on my hands. I was thinking, what came first? My love for Christ, or my thirst for a relationship with Him? Combined, both have… [Read More]
Divine Mercy for Osama
In light of the killing of Osama bin Laden, it is difficult for many of us Catholic Christians to truly express and articulate how we feel. Yes, there is a definite sense or relief, and almost joy, in the fact that this man who killed & hated many, including Americans and Christians, can no longer… [Read More]
The Holy Father’s Intentions for May
Each month, the Pope asks the Catholic world to join him in a common prayer. This month, we pray that those who work in the media may always respect truth, solidarity and the dignity of each person. For our missionaries, we pray that the Lord may grant the Church in China the capacity to persevere… [Read More]
Throwing Stones at “The Church”
About two months ago, I wrote a post on my personal blog entitled, “Why is the Catholic Mass So Boring?” Now, let me offer this disclaimer: I do not find the Mass boring. The Mass is the intermingling of heaven and earth, where the body of Christ (both the heavenly and earthly Church) meet the… [Read More]
Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 10: We Hit Double Digits!
[powerpress] Feedback: A Very Happy Easter to all of our listeners… Segment #1 – Current Events – Chris There be Dragons Movie Trailer… releases May 6 President Obama Releases his official birth certificate What do you guys think, is this whole situation silly? Do you think it was necessary that President Obama release the certificate? Does… [Read More]
The Case for Homeschooling
Not once did I ever envision myself, our kids, or our family, as homeschooling material. It didn’t fit with my upbringing or my childhood experiences. I grew up in both South Austin and a small town in East Texas and went through public school, including a public university. I held many of the negative stereotypical… [Read More]
Face Time and Presence
The time has come for our second meet up of 2011. Last fall when we began trying to coordinate details for meet ups, we were unsure of how many people would be interested in getting together. Meet ups are very common these days, and it seems like you can find one for every niche discovered… [Read More]
The Great-Olivia! Be Gentle With Your Sister!-Silence
The Easter Triduum celebrations of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil of Holy Saturday are some of the most beautiful liturgies in the modern Roman Rite. After 40 long days of Lent preparing ourselves, the big dance is here. Not only Christ’s rising that we celebrate at Easter, but we relive the culmination… [Read More]
Donuts, Oral Roberts, and Mary Pt. 3
Continued from Here and Here I knew I wasn’t going to be able to enter the Church that Easter, but I still wanted to participate in Lent. Being the OH so brilliant person that I am (sarcasm), I decided that giving up caffeine and coffee for Lent would be an adequate sacrifice. Except I was… [Read More]
