The BIG Unveiling - Check Out YOUCATholic.com

INTRODUCING

As many of you know, I experienced the bulk of my conversion as a middle school and high school student, so when I caught wind that author and blogger TJ Burdick was building a new website to act as a faith clearinghouse for youth, I offered to help in whatever way I could.  TJ generously allowed me to join his team of catechists and bloggers, and I am incredibly pumped up about sharing this site with you. Check out the description:

YOUCATholic.com is a community of like-minded, traditional Catholics that have been called to teach and learn the Gospel together using New Media. It consists of an open forum, a leveled series’ of nine-week courses that certified catechists have designed to feed you the meat of your Catholic faith and various other resources that can enhance your spiritual life. It is a formation program that allows you to get to know your faith independently using the YOUCAT, YouTube/Vimeo and blogging/vlogging to help guide you toward the profound truths that are found in the Catholic Church.

Is there a young person in your life who wants to understand their Faith better? Have you been looking for a resource that you and your kids can explore together? Or maybe you are a religion teacher looking for a way to spice up your lessons?  Visit YOUCATholic.com

I bet you are saying to yourself "YOUCAT, YOUCAT ... where have I heard that before?"    That's the title of the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. Written in a lively, more-youth-engaging style, YOUCAT uses creative, youth-oriented photos, graphics, and text to presents the Faith. Plus,YOUCAT is keyed to the Catechism, so it is easy for youth to go even deeper in their study of the faith.  Released last year, it could not have received a more stellar endorsement than the one given by Pope Benedict in its Foreword:

"I beg you: Study this Catechism with passion and perseverance.  Make a sacrifice of your time for it!  Study it in the quiet of your room; read it with a friend; form study groups and networks; share with each other on the Internet." 

(Maybe you have heard concern voiced regarding the YOUCAT; let me refer you to this post to try and put your mind at ease.)  The Church clearly has a lot of faith in this resource - she passed them out at World Youth Day in Madrid and plans to pass out over one million more at this year's event in Rio!

At YOUCATholic.com you can find exactly the kind of online community for growing in the Faith envisioned by Pope Benedict. Here's the list of topics in Course 101:  

1. Why did God create you? 
2. Does God Exist?
3. Was Jesus really God? 
4. Why are Mary and the Saints so important?
5. Are non-Catholics saved?
6. Why do Christians get baptized?
7. Why Confirmation?
8. Why is the Eucharist so important?
9. Final reflections

Click on any of those and you will find a story from real life, reflection questions, video, references to paragraphs in the YOUCAT with comprehension checks, and a final question for journaling.  (And I am honored to say that your's truly wrote Course 202.)  But don't be content with my measly explanation of the site - check it out for yourself!  YOUCATholic.com

Are the Spiritual Gifts Spoken of in the Bible Still Given to People Today?

With Pentecost just around the corner, it's a question that more of us ought to be asking ourselves.  Jesus is, after all, "the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Heb.13:8).  You know the gifts I am talking about:

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.   All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1 Cor. 12:7-11)

Far to often I encounter Catholics who disparage charisms - in particular the gift of tongues - as if it is something that "only those Pentecostals do," and it has no place in a "traditional" Catholic's spiritual life.  (Ha - as if you could get more "traditional" than the New Testament!)  It also shows a lack of knowledge regarding the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

"Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church."  (CCC 2003)

They also seem completely unaware of the Popes and Bishops' numerous endorsements of the Charismatic Renewal - a movment that has done much to reawaken today's Church to the reality of these charisms.  (Not that I am advocating every practice or prophetic message from someone identifying him or herself as "charismatic" - any more than I do strange practices or messages from people with strong devotions to the Blessed Mother, Vatican II, TOB, etc.)

God does continue to pour out these gifts - in abundance!  And being Catholic - meaning "universal, all-embracing," - we as a Church reach out to embrace all of God's truth and gifts.  As St. Paul wrote, the Lord has appointed shepherds over us to help us, "test everything and hold fast what is good" (1 Thess.5:12-21).

So this Pentecost, why don't we place ourselves before God and ask for the grace to receive whatever gifts the Holy Spirit wants to bestow upon us - even if they outside our comfort zone?  God knows what He is doing!

New Year's Resolutions for the "Year of Faith"

On Oct. 11, 2012, Pope Benedict initiated the “Year of Faith.” It will conclude on the Solemnity of Christ King in November, 2013.  This year is significant since it marks both the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II and the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Benedict wrote an apostolic letter, Porta Fidei, in which he invites all of us to make a concentrated effort toward renewing its Faith in the Lord Jesus - in terms of personal union with Him and knowledge of His person and the Faith He imparted to the Church.

Both the Pope and the CDF (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) made suggestions for how we can best take advantage of this year.  On "St. Joseph Radio Presents..." (airing on EWTN and Sirius Satellite at 1p.m. and 11p.m. ET on Saturday, 1/5/13) Dr. Kevin Vost and I shared their main points and offered practical New Year's Resolutions for how we can put them into practice.  See what you think:

So far as I can detect, a unifying principle that seems to run through Benedict and the CDF's suggestions is to renew the faith of the entire Church through the renewal and reinvigoration of each individual member's relationship with Christ Jesus and that means putting ourselves into direct contact with Him.  I would suggest making a resolution to place yourself before Jesus in prayer at the beginning, middle, and end of each day.  Everything thing else the Pope and Bishops, or Dr. Vost and I, suggest can be placed into that matrix of at least three times of daily prayer.

Feed ourselves on the Bread of Life, Jesus present in the Eucharist, and the Word of God, Scripture and Tradition. 

1. Make Mass the most important part of the weekend.  Resolve to speak about it as a privelege instead of a chore (this has a big impact on little ears). 
2. Resolve to unite yourself with Jesus in the Eucharist one additional day each week. (Look at your morning schedule, locate the day it would be easiest, and put it on your calendar.)
3. Make a visit to Jesus in the tabernacle or Eucharistic adoration chapel when you are out running errands or on the way home from work.

Read Scripture everyday by ...

1. Having the Gospel reading used at Mass delivered via email each morning.  (Sign up at Daily Gospel) 
2. Have the Bible waiting for you on either the breakfast table for when you get up, or your nightstand for when you go to bed, and spend five minutes reading from the Gospels.  It's a daily opportunity for you to see and hear Jesus.  (Might I suggest a Bible with excellent study notes, such as the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament
3. When you exercise, either read the Bible or listen to it read aloud on your iPod.
4. Listen to an audio version of the Bible as you drive.

Memorize the Creed and make its recitation part of how you begin each day.

1. Incorporate it into your morning workout, strengthening your soul and mind along with your body.
2. Make it part of your morning shower or dressing routine, getting "your head on straight" before you head out into the world

Study the Catechism of the Catholic Church this year.

1. Portions of the Catechism can be emailed to you each day (Sign up here)
2. As with the Bible, keep the Catechism on your breakfast table or nightstand.   (Just three pages a day and you should have it completed within the year!)
3. Read the Catechism online for free.  (Here it is, all indexed with hyperlinks.)

Be inspired by how the saints lived and explained the Faith (by reading books written either by, or about them).

1. There are hundreds of these books that you can read on the internet or download for free.  (Check out the Christian Classics Ethereal Library)
2. Join Dr. Vost and I for our "radio book club" over this next year as we pick a different Christian classic to read and then discuss on-air once a month.  Our first book will be St. Patrick's Confession, and you can call in to discuss it with us on-air March 16th at 1:30 p.m., ET - (855) 447-6000.

Cultivate a deeper relationship with Jesus by seeing him through the eyes and heart of His Mother, Mary.  Pray the Rosary (Creed & Scripture) daily.

1. Make it part of your morning drive to or from work.
2. Take 15 min. to pray it with your family after dinner.
3. Incorporate it into your workouts.  Peggy Bowes has developed an entire plan to help you - The Rosary Workout

Share the Faith with others!

When your co-workers ask you what you did last night or over the weekend, simply honestly share what you have been studying or what Christian activities you participated in.

Here's My Number, So Call Me Maybe

Toll free: 1-800-447-6000.  That's the number for the radio show (EWTN) that Dr. Kevin Vost and I will be doing this Saturday from 1-2 p.m. ET about the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  If you've never read the Catechism please tune in and give us a call with your questions.  (If you're well-versed in the Catechism, then we hope you will call too and share some of your insights.)  This is the first of several monthly shows where we plan to take you through the Catechism one section at a time.  In the first show we will give you a quick overview (paragraphs 1-25) and then jump into how God reveals Himself to man (paragraphs 26-143).  Why not give them a read over the next couple of days and be ready to jump into the discussion?  Click here to access the material online.