Tonight, at the NCCL conference, I attended a preview of Fr. Bob Barron’s exciting new Catholicism Project. Fr. Bob was a teacher of mine in my Doctor of Ministry program and is one of the most brilliant minds in Catholic thought today. His Catholicism Project is a multi-textured introduction and explanation of the depths of the Catholic faith. What sets Fr. Bob apart from other Catholic “personas” is his ability to speak intelligently about the Catholic faith while also speaking like a regular guy. No false pomposity or overly pious airs about him as is found in too many priests who appear on various Catholic TV programs. Some segments of this program are set to air on Public Television this Fall. I think it will make us proud! Here’s what his project is all about…I encourage you to look into it.
Books
Check Out a New Online Course on Bible Basics!
I was honored to write a new course for the University of Dayton Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF). It is called Bible Basics and the required text for the course is my book, The Bible Blueprint: A Catholic’s Guide to Understanding and Embracing God’s Word. Thanks to Richard Drabick, the Assistant Director of the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives for inviting me to write the course and to Sr. Angela Ann Zukowski, MHSH, the Director […]
Liturgy and Sacraments
What’s Up with the Cup?
There seems to be what I consider to be a disturbing, albeit minor, trend of dioceses eliminating receiving from the Cup during Holy Communion. First, the Diocese of Phoenix and now the Diocese of Madison. This is an important issue for catechists to stay on top of. For the past quarter of a century or so, many of us have been working very hard to encourage people to receive Holy Communion under both species. Now, we’re […]
Comings & Goings
Heading to Philly!
I’m off to Philadelphia for a few days! Friday, I’ll be with the DREs and CREs of the IHM parishes in Philly and on Saturday, I’ll be delivering the keynote at the Philadelphia Catholic Life Congress! Pray that God puts the words in my mouth that people need to hear! I’ll be back in time to teach my class on Monday night and I’ll blog about my lesson plan earlier in the day on Monday. […]
Joe,
Fr. Barron did such a wonderful job on this and I’m so excited to see it when it comes out in August!
William, I have no doubt you’ll find a creative way to put it to use in your parish too!
I’m excited to see this as well. I have some of Father Barron’s other DVDs. I see on Catholicismproject.org that you can pre-order. Based on what you saw at the Conference, Joe, do you think this could be used for 9th or 10th grade? There are too many DVDs to show the program in its entirety to the teens but I assume each DVD stands alone and that one or two could be selected if indeed a teen audience would like it?
Hi Mary. Yes, I think this would be good for 9th or 10th grade because it is visually captivating and the study guide will help the teacher to guide the students. Yes, each appears to be stand alone. Best wishes with this and all your catechetical efforts!
We have so many heroes out there, it s time to let the world know our own story as the video trailer says, let us continue building the body of Christ and spread the love of his word.
Looking forward to see the full video…
Again, greetings from Tijuana Mexico…
How true, Susana.
Talking about our unknown heroes, I will ask you all to pray for the soul of one of our priests in Tijuana that was brutally murdered this week, his name was father Salvador Ruiz.
Let us pray for OUR CHURCH AND OUR PRIESTS.
So sorry to hear about this Susana. Prayers are assured.