The Other 6

Need to find God today? Who knows where, who knows when? -- The Other 6  is an internet community dedicated 24/7 to helping people find the love of the Creator (and each other) in all places and in all things. Visit today.

http://www.other6.com/home.aspx

Pondering the Mystery of God

No thing, no person, and no cause will ever exhaust our human comprehension of the Mystery of the Creator!


Here's an invitation to take a few moments for reflection today about God, Ignatian spirituality style:

Click here  ---> http://ignatianspirituality.com/9879/finding-god-in-all-things-4/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dotMagis+%28dotMagis+-+Ignatian+Spirituality%29

Free Webinar -- The Changing Catholic Parish

The Changing Face of Catholic Parishes

Tuesday, May 17, 2011                    3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT

Presenters:  Neil A. Parent and Mark M. Gray

According to the first major comprehensive study of Catholic parish life in 30 years, changes are occurring that are impacting the shape of pastoral leadership, ministry, and sacramental life. The research, conducted by CARA, is part of the Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership Project with funding from the Lilly Endowment. The webinar will describe the nature of the research and present the data most likely to affect pastoral leaders as they seek to remain relevant and effective in their respective roles. The presentation will draw on the first phase of research including survey responses from 850 randomly selected parishes in the United States.  

Mark M. Gray is the director of CARA Catholic Polls and a senior research associate at CARA. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science and a M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of California, Irvine. He has been a primary investigator for 13 national surveys of adult Catholics at CARA ranging from media use to sacramental practice.  

Neil A. Parent is director of Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership, a national project funded by the Lilly Endowment. Previously, he served as executive director of the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership and as representative for adult education at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In the latter capacity, Parent edited ten books on adult catechesis, all published by the USCCB. He is also the author of the book A Concise Guide to Adult Faith Formation, published by Ave Maria Press.

Register for this free webinar here:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/796535480

This free event is sponsored by Ave Maria Press – in partnership with the National Association for Lay Ministry (http://www.nalm.org/) and the National Conference of Catechetical Directors (http://www.nccl.org/).

Vatican Extols the Import of Catholic Bloggers

On Monday, May 2, 150 bloggers, who were chosen from hundreds of applicants, participated in a meeting, at the Vatican, that was organized by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and the Pontifical Council for Culture. As soon as all were seated, virtually every attendee opened their laptops or took out their mobile phones to connect to the internet. During the meeting, the discussions transmitted on Facebook and Twitter were very intense. Hence, it was both a physical and virtual meeting, allowing 750  registered bloggers "on the outside," who were unable to participate in person, to follow the proceedings closely.

The meeting was to be extremely open, as the said at the beginning of the session. Archbishop

Claudio Maria Celli, president of Pontifical Council for Social Communications, specified that it

was not "a meeting of Catholic bloggers, even though many of you are inspired by the values of

the Gospel, but will attempt to be above all -- and Pope Benedict invites us respectfully to this -- a

respectful dialogue: respectful of the truths of others as well as aware of what we bear in our hearts, in convinced and passionate adherence to Christ the Lord."

During the first round table discussion, a number of these bloggers stressed the importance of this type of communication on the Internet. Participants underlined the way in which faith can be transmitted through blogs and discussions.

Quoting the words of John Paul II, Andrés Beltramo, author of the Sacro y Profano [Sacred and

Profane] blog, and the Roman correspondent for Notimex agency, urged the Church not to fear these

debates. Mattia Marasco, an Italian blogger, also invited the Church to "dare more" in this field.

Five speakers stressed the missionary aspect of the blogs -- like the birth of a new pastoral presence on the internet. Father Marco Sanavio said today the figure of the "web-pastor" is necessary.

François Jeanne-Beylot stated, "If Christ came to preach today, he would not go up a mountain

or get into a boat, but he would go to Twitter or open a blog." Archbishop Celli stated that the May 2 meeting would be the start of other possible initiatives of greater scope. It has helped the Holy See, he acknowledged, to be officially conscious "of the existence and importance of the 'blogosphere'" today.

Wow. These people seem happy. Very much so. Why are they smiling?

Hint: It has to do with Why Catholic?

Between Seasons -- Let's Stay Together (Virtually)

We're officially between seasons in the Why Catholic? process. But don't go away till Fall. We're still active here on the blog, and want you to participate too! -- Our Facebook page will remain active too.

So, please, today, "Like" us on Facebook. Tell your small group members to do so too. -- Go to www.facebook.com, sign in, and in the Search box, type:  Louisville Why Catholic.