SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM states in paragraph 10, “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed.”  In order for the full effects of the liturgy to take hold in our hearts we must be properly disposed.  We become open to the graces being poured out by uniting our minds to our voices so we can cooperate with divine grace.  Helping our minds understand what we are saying and doing in the liturgy is important.

Msgr. Michael Magee, Chair of the Systematic Theology Department of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Pennsylvania, easily explains the Roman Missal.  Orthodox and clear teachings will help any parish, youth group, or family make sense of the new translations occurring this advent.

Published by Now You Know Media, the series cost $50, but is well worth the price tag.  The following Youtube sample alone will give you a wealth of information.

Ways To Use New Translation Series

• Have Four Youth Group Meetings Dedicated to Learning About the New Translation
• Host Viewings after Daily Mass
• Develop a Traveling Family Kit and Invite Families to View the Videos Together
• Use It in Any Catholic High School or 8th Grade
• Catholic College Centers
• Parish Liturgy Meetings

In case you missed it, the official United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Home Page on the New Translation.

Other Catholic Tools to Understand the Liturgy

• General Instruction on the Roman Missal
• Well Spring of Worship by Jean Corbon
• The Spirit of the Liturgy by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

The Catholic Kindle Option

Amazon’s Kindle is a great option.  (But I have to spend money on books!)  Hold on, This is the best feature for Catholics wanting to use the Kindle.  Kindle’s free converting service. Ok not converts to the faith, but the ability to convert your documents into Kindle format.

On my kindle I have all of John Paul II’s Papal Encyclicals, Thomas Aquinas Summa, Ignatius Press Bible, Baltimore Catechism, The General Instruction on the Roman Missal, Vatican II documents and much more.  Now during a holy hour I can pray lectio divina, reference a papal document, or read St. Thomas.

Many of us read the most recent pop culture Catholic books, but how many of us have referenced the documents from Vatican II?  Or one of John Paul II’s encyclicals.  There is a wealth of free Catholic classic material waiting to be read and with the Kindle you don’t have to sit in front of your computer.

Simple Steps to Finding Catholic Material

Let’s first read the instructions from Amazon.

1. Find your Catholic Content.  Here is a site organizing all the Papal Encyclicals
2. Copy the Content into a Word Document.
3. Email the Word Document to your Kindle Email Address
4. Amazon Automatically Converts the Content and Sends it Back to Your Kindle
5. Start Reading

A Few Ideas of Catholic Content

• Council Documents
• Papal Encyclicals
• Magisterial Writings
• Writings of the Saints
• Church Fathers like Augustine
• Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Articles from Catholictools.com or Spirit Daily or any Catholic Site.

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• Excellent Source of Evangelization for the next generation of Catholics
• Young couples preparing for marriage
• Potential Candidates for religious or priestly vocations!
• Teachers for Religious Prep or Catechist Programs

How to Plan a Catholic College Event

Well, at Catholic Tools, we like to think even bigger.  Why not create a one day event for your entire state, region, or community specifically for Catholic college students?  Wow, how do I plan a catholic young adult event like that?  You start with some prayer and this simple schedule.

Receiving and Responding to God’s Call

Morning Session: Receiving God’s Call

7:00 Registration/Doors Open
8:00 Opening Music/Welcome
9:00 Official Welcome featuring a popular music group (Righteous B)
9:30 Main Speaker (Father Croppi or another Big Name)
11:00 Mass with local Bishop
12:00 Lunch/Pizza

Afternoon Session – Responding to God’s Call

Session One: Reclaiming Intimacy (Contact a Theology of the Body Speaker) A.K.A. Christopher West
1:30-3:00pm

Session Two: Developing Catholic Communities in College (Maybe a Focus Speaker)
1:30-3:00pm

3:00pm Living Authentic Catholic Lives – Father Croppi
4:30pm Closing Remarks
4:45 – Closing Music by Rightious B (just a suggestions)

The Break Down

Now I know this looks like one big Catholic party, but college students like Catholic events that are fun.  The day is divided up into receiving the Lord’s call in the morning and then responding to what the Lord has called you to do.

I would host this in a big convention center or retreat center.  In addition I would provide plenty of priest for the sacrament of  penance.

Time
I think a Sunday in September would be best, because it wouldn’t interfere with college sports programs.

Feedback

What do you think?  Have any suggestions?

Fatima

Hey, I am not Spirit Daily, but you can’t deny that Spirit Daily articles get the blood moving and the spirits lifted up.  With the recent deaths of the Polish government officials, the riots in Kyrgyzstan, the current Russians president was Putin’s lawyer?, and signing of nuclear arms treaty (who signed first), all bringing back memories of the Fatima promise.

Many follow the messages of Fatima, but have become depressed and lost hope in her message.

Here is a great article from EWTN outlining the consecration of Russia in 1984 and what followed.  It is very inspiring and may lend a hand to uplift spirits and show the power of God in creating peace.  Also what does it mean to the current climate in the East?  Some speculate the consecration was not made properly?  Hard to believe when it is often stated John Paul II was Mary’s Pope.

Our Lady in the messages to Father Gobbie speaks about true peace only coming from God.  Dated October 27, 1986

“The more you want to build peace through human discussions and reciprocal agreements, the more it will remove itself from you….Only Jesus Christ can bring you to peace.” – To the Priest

I believe this to be a strong reminder of the power of the rosary and the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Especially when we believe the storm of sin has passed us, only to realize we might be in the eye of the storm…

Rome Sweet Rome

There are many articles and tutorials concerning web design, strategy, and marketing, but very few focus on the niche of Catholic evangelization.  In this post, I am going to outline the strategy I used (and use) to develop, publish, market, and analyze content for CatholicTools. With using these simple techniques I have built a large Catholic blog in 3 months that attracts readers from across the country (and even the world).

As with all CatholicTools articles, this will give a good outline; however, feel free to customize each step for yourself.  I am going to use resources from other websites that I find very helpful.  Take note:  “Don’t get overwhelmed.” Read the article, bookmark it, and come back.

Develop an Idea

Ask your self 3 questions:

1. Why do I want to use the Internet to evangelize?
2. What unique niche or field could I develop or write about?
3. What are my goals?

Get a piece of paper and start brainstorming.  For CatholicTools, I originally wanted to test if I could develop something to be at the top of Google’s search results.  Well, I did that.  Now my unique niche is tools that help Catholic Parishes.  Specifically Catholic youth and young adult ministry.  I enjoy writing about my own past experiences and sharing ideas that could help spread the Gospel.

Try to think what keeps my readers up at night?  Why should a reader take the time to read my article?

More Resources

How to Choose a Niche Topic for Your Blog

Pope Suggests Blogging

Write Exciting Content

Love

But, Jason I want to buy a domain name.   Before a site can be launched it needs content.  Content that will be worth reading.  Now, I am a horrible speller, so I try and make up for it by writing awesome Catholic content.

1. Keep article length to 300-500 words (yes you can bend the rules)
2. Paragraphs should be no more than 3-5 sentences.  Short is GOOD!
3. Use beautiful pictures (make sure they are optimized)  How to Optimize a Picture for the Internet
4. Make the content personal and meaningful.
5. Develop 10 articles/post and write 10 more that are scheduled to publish once a week for the next 10 weeks.
6. Use headings, bullets, numbers, bold, italics, and underline.
7. Find someone to guest post and write some content for your site.
8. Follow simple Search Engine Optimization Techniques.
9. Don’t even dare worry about making money.  It will distract you.
10. Read other blogs/sites and mimic their style.

When I was first starting out I subscribed for 4 weeks to Copyblogger’s daily RSS feeds and Problogger.  They filled my inbox with quality articles, but over time I unsubscribed because I didn’t need them anymore.  However, I would suggest subscribing for the first 4-6 weeks.

5 years ago I did some work for a popular Catholic author.  I suggested he give his stuff away on his blog so his blog would be the hub of information regarding this Catholic topic.  The strategy worked extremely well.  Many people came to read his articles, hear talks, and see pictures from events.  People would leave comment, after comment on all postings.  Because of this strategey he further achieved the rank of guru of his field.

This technique is call Content Marketing or becoming the Authority in your field.  This is the way you should write.  Give away your tips, advice, and good thoughts.  Here is an excellent article on the subject.  Content Marketing 101

More Resources

Learn How to Copywrite – Great Articles!

Basic HTML Tags

Using Titles Effectively

WordPress Your Publishing Platform

Mary

WordPress is a free platform that runs on a web server (we will cover later), which publishes content to the internet.  Content is edited through a web browser.

I like WordPress.Org to publish my content into a website because it is free, accessible anywhere, and expandable. This tutorial is designed to show you how to set up your own web site on your own server; however you could use WordPress.Com or Blogger.

A little Homework

Learn About WordPress

Download and Install

Learn All About WordPress

It is important to read the documentation if you want to learn how to use it…Or you need to hire someone to install, setup, and teach you how.  It is very easy once running, but it will require a little work.

Why is it important to learn about WordPress?  It’s like reading the owners manual on your new car.

Buying a Domain Name

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In the past I would buy .com .org .net and Dot everything else for any project I was working on.  Now I just buy what I need.  However, at only 10 bucks each you can easily secure yourself.

I buy domain names at GoDaddy.com.  I don’t like their advertising, but they are cheap, reliable, and easy to work with.

1. Always use a promo code.  Google “Godaddy promo code.”
2. Never buy anything else they are selling.  “Just say No.”
3. Ask for help and be patient.

Hosting Company

Adoration

Now you need a home for your WordPress install and domain name.  Where to go?  I like www.site5.com.  I have used them for over 6 years and only once had a problem (which they fixed).  They answer your emails, plenty of space, and low cost.

Finding a Beautiful WordPress Theme

Now the search begins for an awesome site theme.  Since you probably read the documentation on WordPress you realize it’s pretty easy to add a new design to your site.

I use Mystique (I have customized my installation).  Preview Here Download Here

More Themes

• WordPress Themes
• 100 Free Themes
• 40 Themes

Search Engine Optimization

Rome is Home

Go to Google Adwords Search and search the word “Catholic” or any word pertaining to your Catholic faith.  The numbers are HUGE and give a solid example of why Catholics must be on the internet.

1. Register your website with Google Webmaster Tools.
2. Read about Search Engine Optimization
3. Track How People Find Your Content using Google Analytics.
4. Install the Google Sitemap Plugin.
5. Keep writing Content regularly.

These steps actually work.  If what you write is worthless and nobody reads it, your ministry isn’t working.  It needs to be improved.  In addition it takes time.  Yes, weeks, months, sometimes years.

RSS and Email Newsletters

An RSS feed is automatically generated from your site with your current publications and either emailed or downloaded to the person’s computer.  It is so your audience can receive your new updates with out always checking your site.

This is important to grow, because it ensures a regular audience of readers.  If you look around CatholicTools you can find strategically placed links asking readers to “Sign Up”

FeedBurner is the company that manages this service for free.

Another retention tools is an Email Newsletter.  The company I like the best is iContact.com.

More on Emailing

Emailing with Audacity

Email Newsletters for Catholic Parishes

Examples

As you look around CatholicTools.com take notice of all the listed practices in place.  Everything is place for a purpose.  Copy it (don’t copy my content and paste it on your site, but copy it’s style).

A few more good examples of sites practicing these techniques:

Signs of Contradiction

Janice Buck Design

Spirit Daily – Great content and Great niche

Divine Mercy

This is something that I have thought about for a year!  I haven’t seen it done, but I have a feeling that it would be excellent.  (not because I thought it up)  Stay with me.

Many city Catholic Churches have low attendance rates.  However, they are beautiful big old churches with houses and people surrounding them.  Most times they have high crime rates and poverty problems abound.

They also have high bell towers that can be seen up and down the street.

Those bell towers make a perfect spot to hang a divine mercy laminated picture.  Read about the promises of the image.

If the tower doesn’t work, what about the rectory?  What about anywhere?

Where do I buy a Huge Divine Mercy Image?

Head on over to Mercy Images.  Enough said.

Want some more Divine Mercy ideas?

• Magnets for the backs of cars
• t-shirts
• Door nob stuffer for a foot evangelization project
• Business cards with the image on it (Just the image)
• Get 4×6 photos made at the store and give them to everyone with information on the back
• Posters in your school
• Pamphlets on Divine Mercy

Jesus Christ

Update:  The Intercessors of the Lamb have been suppressed.  This origination is no longer authorized by the Catholic Church.

Have you ever need prayers?  Those types of prayers for deliverance, healing, or discernment.  The kind that need to heal the wounds and hurt inside of your heart.

You may want to look to visit the Intercessors of the Lamb. They list themselves as  a Roman Catholic community of Priests, Brothers, Sisters and Laity in full obedience to the Holy Father and to the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church.

It doesn’t sound like anything out of the ordinary; however, with a closer look spiritual warfare, healing, and spiritual direction are part of their core mission.  Read more about their history.

Why are they listed as a Catholic Tool?

I thought you would never ask.  Because they have incredible prayer and formation tools for any parish, youth group, young adult group, or retreat program.

• 25 Week Family Formation
• Teaching on Faith
• Talks on Spiritual Insights
• Prayer Request
• Start a Prayer Group

Need someone to lead a retreat?  Contact Them!

Address – 11811 Calhoun Rd., Omaha, Nebraska 68152
Telephone - 402.455.5262
Fax -  402.455.1323

Need Spiritual Direction

Is your group or organization at a crossroads?  Are you experiencing gifts of the Holy Spirit?  This community is ideal for helping with both of those situations.  I have heard plenty of good priest and friends give excellent reports about their spirituality.  Yes, they are charismatic and Marian.

7:00-7:15pm  Arrival
7:15-7:20pm Prayer
7:20-7:30pm Welcome
7:30-7:45pm St. Patricks Day Music/Band
7:45-8:00pm St. Patrick Presentation
8:05-8:25pm Pizza, Drinks, and Irish Treats
8:25-8:55pm Adoration
9:00pm Complete

7:00-7:15pm  Arrival
7:15-7:20pm Prayer
7:20-7:30pm Welcome
7:30-7:45pmPictionary
7:45-8:05pm Confession Explanation
8:05-8:25pm Pizza and Drinks
8:25-8:55pm Adoration and Confession
9:00pm Complete

Holy Thursday

Ask the pastor to include the Youth group for getting their feet washed.  Afterwards go out and visit other Churches or take them out for pizza.

Good Friday

Organize a trip to the seminary for Stations of the Cross.

More Catholic Tips

St. Patrick

Most people think of St. Patrick’s day as a day to party, however St. Patrick is an incredible saint and role model for young people.  Dive into his life because the teens will benefit greatly.

Confession

Like St. John Bosco said, “The three spiritual fountains are the Eucharist, Mary, and frequent confession.

Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday was tough to plan, but after it was done I was glad I did it.  The teens and parish really benefited from the participation.

Vatican

Ever begin planning a talk for your Catholic parish school, but quickly stop because it’s too hard?  Those talks with so many facts, theories, and well language that’s hard to even pronounce?

Here’s the Remedy

Turn your talk into a short 3-7 minute length DVD.  Young people are trained to glue themselves to the projection.  Yes, a quite room attentively listening to your presentation.  All the plans and preparation are done prior to the presentation.  The best part is…you can go from classroom to classroom giving the same talk.

How to Make the Video

More resources are below (this is just the plan).  These steps are for a movie using photos, youtube, and voice. It’s simple!

1. Brainstorm and collect ideas/facts.  PRAY to JESUS.
2. Begin using google image search to collect photos
3. Using iMovie (Yea I love Macs!) start placing the pictures together (Don’t forget about Transitions)
4. Write Your Script
5. Record Your Audio – Make it Sharp, Clean, Fast.  Added Bonus: Dramatic Voice
6. Now place the audio and video together.
7. Fix the pictures/video to go along with the audio
8. Leave a 15 second intro and exit
9. Place music in background, and fade it turning your audio
10. Add Transitions
11. Burn your semi-professional DVD

But your missing so many little steps.  Well, part of the fun is experimenting…and praying to the Holy Spirit.

Also make sure your movie is at a good fast pace.  Nobody likes distorted slow transitions or lousy voice-overs.

Resources Needed to Make Video

• Digital Camera or Camcorder – I like to use one with a firewire cable if I am importing video
• Google Image Search
• Audacity Audio Recorder
• iMovie This site includes “How To” videos
• How to take video off of YouTube for Mac and How to Convert it from FLV to MOV for iMovie use
• How to Turn it into a DVD – Mac

How to Present Your Movie

• Open with a Prayer
• Give an introduction to the topic, maybe a quick story and things to watch for in the movie.
• Play Movie
• Give a little followup and answer any questions
• End with a Prayer

Yea, its that simple.  This is an excellent way to teach and evangelize if you are nervous on a topic or make your life easier.  In addition, many Catholic topics are hard to explain without a picture.  It’s a lot easier to show a picture of a Eucharistic miracle, than to just talk about it.

More Articles on Technology

Video Conferencing for the Catholic Church

Email Newsletters for Catholic Parishes

10 Internet Tools Priest Should Use

The Hour of Power – Listening to the Holy Spirit

Social Networking Success for the Catholic Parish

How to Quickly Increase Donations at a Homeless Shelter

Logo for Pint Glass

Catholic Young Adult ministry is often held in a local pub.  For good reason!  Here is an example of a pub logo you could use for pint glasses, napkins, coasters, etc.

Brand pint glasses and sell them as a fundraiser to raise money or to create an identity for your group.

There are plenty of sites online that will print on-demand for your needs.  Hopefully, I will get the photoshop file up soon, so you can customize this one.