Tech Tips for Catholics

In a fairly recent article, written by William J. Doherty, Ph.D., he points out the importance of eating meals as a family.  He says, “Research has continually confirmed that eating meals as a family affects nearly every area of a child’s life.  Kids who eat regular family meals get better school grades, are better off psychologically, receive better nutrition, don’t smoke as much or do drugs, and are less sexually active as teens.”  He goes on to say, “… it’s not only the quantity of family meals that contributes to their life satisfaction, but also the quality of meals. For years, experts on family meals have preached turning off the TV — but now texting, iPhones, and video game consoles also compete with family dinner.

Tom McGrath and Bret Nicholaus have teamed up to improve our “quality of meals” with The Meal Box.  The Meal Box contains 54 cards, each one featuring a creative question guaranteed to spark fun family conversation during family meals.  The questions, such as If you could have the voice of any famous person, whose voice would you have?, are sure to engage everyone in the family.  The reverse side of each card features a quick “Food for Family Thought” tip from family expert Tom McGrath.

“The Meal Box” card game would make a great expansion pack for the “Loaded Questions” or “Loaded Questions Junior Edition” Board Games!

And now, you can Get The Meal Box on your Kindle! This would be great for long, family road-trips.

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Over at UniversityParent.com, there is a terrific article entitled Social Media Do’s and Don’ts for College Students.  The facts and ideas presented in this column are important to review with your children of any age who may be using Social Media.  Around our house, my kids are constantly reminded that their Facebook pages are their “online resumes” — future college choices, employers, and even their own parents will be closely watching their online activities and judging their characters as a result.

The information in this article is also pertinent to adults of any age who are active online.  Think twice before you type, post a photo or video, or hit “send”.

This post is courtesy of the Productivity @ Home Blog.

This Saturday (June 27, 2009) is the second annual Catholic New Media Celebration! This year the celebration is being held in San Antonia, Texas.

In case you missed last night’s San Antonio radio interviews about the Catholic New Media Celebration Click Here.

So whether you are attending or not, here are some great sites to follow the festivities, speakers, musicians, and anything else going on at CNMC 2009:

SQPN.com will be the headquarters for streaming video, live tweets, and a place to virtually hang out during the celebration.

TweetGrid.com is a great way to follow multiple #hashtags during an event such as #cnmc09.  If you post any pictures with the according #hashtag via TwitPic, TweetPhoto, yFrog, or the such, a thumbnail of the image will appear within TweetGrid.  Pretty cool!

HashTags.org is a great way to see stats on a particular #hashtag.  Though it does not post all tweets relating to a particular #hashtag, it is a neat way to find other people who are tweeting about specific hash-tags.

Of course there is TweetDeck and other sites that may also be useful to follow live events — What are you using?  Let us know.

You gotta check out the great new series by Busted Halo! It is called “The Princess, The Priest and the War for the Perfect Wedding” and it features Dr. Christine Whelan, author of the Pure Sex, Pure Love column and Father Eric Andrews, a Paulist priest with more than 15 years of wedding experience.

They do such a good job of sharing the faith, and in a lighthearted way.

Some of the topics include:
Why Can’t We Get Married On The Beach?
“The Jerky Priest!”
What Does a Celibate Priest Know About Sex?
How Can We Keep Our Wedding Simple?
Why Can’t We Get Married To The Beatles?
& More!

From over-the-top registries to destination weddings, the American wedding industrial complex is a $161 billion consumer bonanza. But a wedding is more than just a party: It’s the beginning of a life-long marriage, an important sacrament in the Catholic Church. Brides want everything to be to their specifications — and priests bristle at being treated like hired help. Friends and family ask about color themes for the reception, and the priest plies pre-Cana compatibility quizzes. It’s a cultural war, and engaged couples are on the front lines.

What happens when the princess planning her “one perfect day” clashes with the priest who would rather preside over a dozen funerals than one wedding?

Find out in the new BustedHalo.com series, “The Princess, The Priest and the War for the Perfect Wedding.”

If you have a question for the Princes or the Priest, e-mail them and who knows, you might start the next battle.

December 5th is the official day of the Ninja!  So in honer of this day, you should read this awesome blogpost titled “The Only Thing We Now Lack are Vatican Ninjas!” Then, create your own Wee Ninjatron! And most importantly, show off your ninja moves throughout the day!  Your co-workers will think you are weird, but who cares, It’s National be like a Ninja Day!

Now, if only I could remember how to make those paper throwing stars that I used to make as a kid!

Here are some cool Ninja stuff that every Catholic Ninja should have in his arsenal:

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“Henry the Ninja” by Popple (MP3 Download) – Every Ninja needs a theme song. Popple is a Christian band (for those of you who have not heard of Popple).  Click here to view more details

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“Catholic Ninja” (T-Shirt from PhatMass.com) – The perfect t-shirt for ninjas in training. If you’re Catholic, a Ninja, or both, then this shirt is for you. Click her to view more details

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“Essential Catholic Survival Guide” (Book) – This book can be used by anyone (especially Ninjas ; ), anytime, anywhere to defend the Catholic faith. It is indexed according to topic in a unique question-and-answer format that allows the reader to find the right answer to any question instantly. It covers the questions and misconceptions people have about the Catholic faith on a variety of topics, including: The Church and the papacy, Scripture and Tradition, Mary and the saints, The sacraments, Salvation, Last things, Morality and science, Anti-Catholicism, Non-Catholic churches and movements, Practical apologetics, and more! Click here to view more details

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“Guerrilla Apologetics for Catholics” (Autographed Book by Author) – A guide to Catholic Apologetics that uses a conversational, questioning style that puts the reader on the offensive, instead of the defensive, but in a charitable way that will foster discussion of faith — instead of quarrels or shouting matches. After all, talking about your faith shouldn’t mean losing friends. Click here to view more details

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“Good Soil” (DVD) – Starring Shin Koyamada (The Last Samurai, Wendy Wu Homecoming Warrior)
Written and Directed by Craig Shimahara

Ships from Europe brought Christianity to the shores of Japan in 1549. For nearly 100 years the seeds of faith grew under the watchful gaze of the shogun. But the fear of foreign influence eventually gave rise to persecution. By 1624 Japanese Christians had only a few more years of peace.

Masuda Jinbei, a Japanese Christian of the samurai class, draws his strength from his faith, family, and fencing. Life is good, until the shogun decrees a brutal policy of religious cleansing. Now Jinbei must choose between his family and his faith.

This short film (Running Time: 22 minutes) combines a retelling of the parable of the sower with a glimpse of the plight of the Japanese converts to Christianity under the shogunate. Click here to view more details

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“The Way of the Christian Samurai” (Autographed Book by Author) As Christians, we are called to be both servants and warriors for Jesus Christ.  The samurai, whose very title means “one who serves,” were skillful warriors of feudal Japan who devoted themselves fully to the service of their masters, willing even to sacrifice their lives in service to their lord. Christians are also called by their Lord, Jesus, to take up their cross and follow Him, and to seek to lose their life for His sake (Matthew 16:24-25). Click here to view more details

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Have any other suggestions? Leave us a comment.

Do not be led astray: “Bad company corrupts good character.” – 1 Corinthians 15:33

I came across Thomas Lickona’s blogpost titled “Teach Manners,” which is written for parents and mentors, but I wanted to share one part of it with you here.  It is called Alphabet Manners.  If it sounds a little childish, it is because it is used by Susan Skinner, a kindergarten teacher in Columbia, South Carolina.

So here they are:

A — Accept a compliment graciously.
B — Be on time.
C — Clean your hands.
D — Do chew with your mouth closed.
E — Elbows off the table.
F — Friendliness to others.
G — Good grooming shows self-respect.
H — Hang up your clothes.
I — Interrupt only for a very important reason.
J — Join in and include everybody.
K — Kindness to all living things.
L — Lend a helping hand.
M — Magic words: “Please” and “Thank you.”
N — Never point or laugh at others.
O — Obey the rules.
P — Pleasant tone of voice is a plus.
Q — Quiet when others are working or sleeping.
R — Remember others on special occasions.
S — Sit up straight.
T — Thank the host or hostess.
U — Use your beautiful smile.
V — Visit a friend who is lonely or sick.
W — Watch out for little ones.
X — “X” out bad habits.
Y — Yawn if you must but cover your mouth.
Z — Zip your zipper.

Okay, now go grab a book and take a seat over on the carpeted area ; )

Last week, I worked my annual stint at our local county college fair, representing my alma mater as an alumni representative.

In the process, I met countless kids and parents, giving away close to 500 brochures and flyers.  The night was a whirlwind, with the majority of the kids (and several parents too), cruising by looking for freebies.

I can count on two hands the number of student who took the process seriously enough to leave a lasting impression.  They were the ones who stopped squarely in front of me, introduced themselves, shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and listened attentively when I answered their questions.

Two students stood out above the crowd.  One handed me a meticulously prepared resume as she expressed her strong interest in our University.  She had clearly done her homework and left me with something to remember her by.

The second student had prepared a series of hand written index cards, each containing a question about the school.  She cautiously advanced through each question, clearly looking to garner enough information to make a truly informed decision.

Both young ladies taught me a lesson Wednesday night.  It’s one that I already know, but that can’t be reiterated often enough – first impressions count.

As people who are looking to make the most productive use of our time, their lesson is valuable for all of us.  We never know when we are going to have the opportunity to make an important contact, obtain crucial information, or leave a lasting impression.

We need to be mentally and physically prepared, every day, to make the most of even the most chance meetings that arise.

Maybe we don’t need to constantly carry a resume, but we do need to always have business cards on hand and not be afraid to hand them out.  More importantly, we need to remember that through the course of every day the people we meet have importance and meaning.  Let’s remember to address them with professionalism, compassion and an open mind and heart.

On the Bookshelf:
When the Little Things Count . . . and They Always Count: 601 Essential Things That Everyone In Business Needs to Know

This post is courtesy of the Productivity @ Home Blog.

“The priesthood is a very fulfilling life.  But it’s not an ego trip. There are sacrifices in this life.” – Fr. James Cassidy

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Verse 1:
Love. What is it? A solid or a liquid?
The question resonates from inner space to outer limits
Outer space to inner city dwellers timid, not committed
Love just isn’t built on child support and weekend visits
You kill it like strychnine when you treat it like a cancer
You don’t feel it so you spend time seek pleasure, not the answer
In clubs peeping dancers in a jacked-up type of manner
Stuffing g-strings with dollars that should buy your baby’s Pampers
Love’s not waking up with different women every morning
Love’s not beating her down at nine months, with child forming
Love’s not leaving your wife and your seed with no warning
Love’s not, and when it’s raining its pouring
Scoring no points you smoke joints, and toke your life away
You might have another year or two but you really die today
Display respect for yourself, or you can’t love nobody else
The hand you’re dealt requires action, not just something you felt

Chorus:
I know what love is and it just don’t stop
but I can explain it better when I say what love’s not.
Yeah I know what love is, and it just don’t stop
But I explain it better when I can say what love’s not.

Verse 2:
A house divided against itself is prone to utter desolation
So for this generation on the brink of extermination
I pour out a libation, a lyrical libation
In observation of the annihilation of the moral foundation
The desperation of the situation was clearly foretold
That in these last days the love of many would grow stone cold
And if hell is without love
Then all hell has broke loose in this culture
Feel the negativity circling overhead like a vulture?
The inverted priority of the majority, squander the sacred
To give what’s profane seniority
And incredibly we fail to see collectively
The reasons why things fall apart like leprosy
Passion is the fashion taboos are taboo
Do you see through this voodoo
Cause it stinks like doodoo
Yo it’s sad but too true how many don’t have a clue
To the fact we’ll be judged for all we think say and do
From east to west coast and all areas in between
Real love is like a ghost — talked about but rarely seen
Except on TV screens where they flash these caricatures
That on the down low are meant to influence our characters
But love is not love if it’s manufactured for the moment
That makes it more than the physical between a man and a woman
Wisdom is justified by her children in the end
And real love is being willing to lay down your life for a friend

(Chorus)

Verse 3:
Love’s not caught in mug shots or seen in drug spots
Love’s not sex or who you do next Love’s not
Road rage, porno pages in the eyes of a racist
Loves not whoring and love’s not abortion
Of course then love doesn’t bomb clinics to make it finish
Love’s not hate and love’s not a cynic
Love’s not seen on Jerry Springer or expressed by middle finger
And love is rarely captured in the words of any singer
Love’s not domestic violence saying shut up or be silent
And love’s not represented in the way of the police sirens
Abandoned children in abandon buildings
Random killings, love’s not slow to help you, love is ready and willing
Love is patient and kind, love is sight for the blind
Love was borne before the morning, love’s transforming your mind
Love is body and blood, bread and wine, remember the time
Love is God divine, crucified for mankind

(Chorus)

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