After a week of losing sleep over the suffering of little children taken from their parents at the border, many days of speaking out and also of sending what money I could to organizations trying to help these separated families, I texted to one of my sisters in Carmel, still feeling very sad. I asked… [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]
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]
The Radio-Man, New Media & The New Man (Vatican II & Social Communication, Part II)
Social media & technology have been coming up recently in several conversations with friends of mine. The other night at a group of us were talking about youth and smart phones. I mentioned I’d been doing some substitute teaching lately, and experienced a little culture shock in seeing how nearly every high school student and… [Read More]
Do You “Like” God?
What’s the last thing you do as your head hits the pillow at night or the first thing you do at the moment you wake up in the morning? In this age of constant connectedness, many of us take one last look at our email or social media before hitting the sack and another quick… [Read More]
New Media and the Family: Pope Francis speaking on Covenant Culture
Just moments after the Pope’s audience with the Schoenstatt Movement in Rome, his words were reverberating in twitter and in blogs. Which words? The Pope’s strong words about the state of marriage today. These clear and straightforward words were picked up quickly and passed on. The world of the media heard them. “Marriage has never… [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]
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]
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]
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]
The 10 Commandments of Social Media use for Teens
Every kid does it. No matter how straight the A’s, smart the brain, talented the athlete or pious the altar server—at some point in life, your child is going to lie to you. A few weeks ago our 11-year-old did just that. He opened an Instagram account even though we expressly told him not to… [Read More]
Pope Benedict XVI – Words you might’ve missed
Last weekend as I planned my post, I was thinking of sharing some words from Pope Benedict that didn’t get much social media/blog attention, words that most people weren’t talking about – his homily on February 2nd at mass for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and the 17th year of celebrating the… [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]
A New Media Guide for the New Evangelization (Review: “The Church and New Media”)
Here at Austin Catholic New Media, we strive to harness the most popular social technologies of the day to aid in the New Evangelization. In other words, since everyone and his grandma is on Facebook, can we share our Catholic lives in photos and status updates? Can we use YouTube to teach people about Catholicism?… [Read More]
Unliking Facebook
Friendster, MySpace, Facebook? While the numbers on usage continue to impress, is Facebook on the decline? Facebook used to be the cool social network. Not only did you need an .edu e-mail address to sign-up, initially, you had to wait until your school was cool enough to join the Facebook ranks. Then it opened to all… [Read More]
Social Media and the Full Impact of the Gospel
Technology. The definition from the Dictionary (as cited from http://www.dictionary.com) tech·nol·o·gy [tek-nol-uh-jee] noun: 1. the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science. Everywhere we look at any time throughout the… [Read More]
Children, The First Teachers of Faith?
Children get it. We can learn much about faith from listening to the words of toddlers. Last weekend, my mother-in-law was in town and went to Mass with us. During one of the readings, she whispered into my two-year-old Olivia’s ear, “I love you.” Olivia turned, put her mouth to my mother-in-law’s ear and went… [Read More]
