I was a nerd, not a jock, a little flabby but not obese, interested in the brain more than the body, catching my breath after a few flights of stairs, thinking this was the way to live Catholicism. I saw the problem with society’s ideal model: a self-starvation woman with liposuction, plastic surgery, a facelift, make up …
Category: Personal Experiences
Nov 08
This blog is moving
A few months ago, I heard about this great new initiative to combine a bunch of Catholic youth ministry blogs under one roof. Well the launch was Thursday November 7th, yesterday. I usually blog once a week near the beginning of the week but I delayed a great post I already wrote to appear right …
Oct 23
Are Publicly-Funded Catholic Schools a Good Thing?
How often do we wish that Catholic schools got funding like public schools? How often do we see parents struggle to pay for a Catholic education? There are a few places that Catholic schools are publicly funded. Now I want to use my experience of both realities to present the advantages and disadvantages. I grew …
Oct 01
My Twitter Account Was Suspended
I just got my twitter account back after it was suspended about a week. The biggest thing I’ve learned is humility: life can go on without me and I can go on without twitter. Or maybe I didn’t learn the 2nd half; I started a new account since I was suspended. (You can now also …
Aug 12
Arcatheos – Why It’s a Top Catholic Camp
I just got back from Arcatheos. It may just be the best summer camp in North America. It was recently rated the 2nd coolest in the world on Cracked.com. The number 1 camp cost $10,000, and includes supersonic flights and close in encounters with African wildlife. Coming second to that is impressive, especially considering it …
Jul 24
Using Twitter in Catholic Ministry
If social media is like the town square, Twitter is the center of the square while other social media is the restaurants and shops around the edge. Being a super-public forum, it is a great place to engage culture beyond your real-life friends. On twitter connecting to thousands or sending tons of messages is acceptable …
Jun 19
7 Social Media Secrets in Catholic Youth Ministry
The goal of Catholic Youth Ministry is to help teens know and experience Christ. To do this we need to reach teens. But where are teens? Today many are on social media. Yet social media can seem daunting to those of us just a few years older. I figured I could offer some things that …
Jun 04
Twitterstorm 3pm Friday, #ITrustinU for the Feast of the Sacred Heart
We all trust Jesus. Yet so many in the world fail to do so. This Friday is the Feast of the Sacred Heart, it’s a first Friday, and 3pm is the Great Hour of Mercy (according to St. Faustina). I noticed that the Sacred Heart and the Divine Mercy have a common root, they end …
May 23
Accompaniment from Top to Bottom and Bottom to Top
What does it feel like to be in front of a group and have open questions? Just imagine when you know they have tough questions; when they are going to question what you do. How does everyone look at you? Let me describe a question session and then how it changed my look. On Thursday …
May 21
Leaving Myself to Reach Teens
It’s so easy to put up a wall and hide. We can easily present our perfect face. It feels good to be in control and to appear that we aren’t affected by the little problems of the day. Who doesn’t want to seem like the good guy? Yet, if we are like this, are we …
May 09
Tweet #PrayTheRosary this Saturday at 1pm EST
On May 3rd, Pope Francis tweeted: “It would be a good idea, during May, for families to say the Rosary together. Prayer strengthens family life.” When I read it, I said to myself, “I can promote the rosary, but how?” Since we organized the #ThanksPontifex twitterstorm a few months back, I figured we could try again. …
Mar 16
#ThanksPontifex in the Media
I usually put more thought into my posts than this one. I figure this may interest some of you who were part of #ThanksPontifex. I just did a search of media and blog coverage and it seemed pretty wide. The Huffington Post has a great gallery. I put these in no particular order. Thanks for …
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