Politicians use their words strategically and intentionally (at least when they think the mic is on). And that’s got a lot of people worried about a recent trend in the language being used by the Obama Administration regarding our freedom of religion.

It seems that Obama and co. would much rather refer to your Constitutional right to freedom of religion as simply your right to “worship.”

“Freedom of worship” first appeared in President Obama’s November remarks at the memorial service for the victims of the Fort Hood shooting. Days later, he referred to worship rather than religion in speeches in Japan and China.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed the shift in language. In a...READ MORE

Jeff Geerling is the creator of LOLSaints, Open Source Catholic, LifeIsAPrayer.com (including some excellent photography) and Catholic News Live. He is also now officially the Director of the newly formed Office of Web Development for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

“The Office of Web Development works to help the Archdiocese of Saint Louis evangelize and proclaim the Gospel message of Jesus Christ through technological means, primarily via the Archdiocesan website, but also through social media and other means of the new evangelization. We exist to help other Archdiocesan agencies, parishes, organizations, and ministries be bold proclaimers of the Word through the Internet.”

I finally met...READ MORE

One of the challenges of sharing the Gospel is to actually share it with people who haven’t heard it yet. It’s easy to stay in our nice, safe bubbles and preach to the choir all day long. And pat each other on the back as we continually reaffirm our common beliefs.

But we are called to much more than that. There are some great adventures out there just waiting to be had. And one of the vehicles for such ventures is fast, free and at your fingertips.

New Media has made it easier than ever to step out of the choir and into the fire. And even the choirs are having more and more inadvertent seekers wander by and listen in.

Fr. Barron just released his latest video and he hits on precisely...READ MORE

I picked up this story from Thomas Peters this week:

“The Rev. Paolo Padrini, an Italian priest who consults with the Vatican, is launching a free iPad app that will contain the complete Roman missal—the book containing everything that is said and sung during Catholic Mass throughout the liturgical year.

It will be available in July, meaning iPads could start appearing on altars in the next few weeks. Future editions will feature audio as well as commentaries and suggestions for homilies, AP reports. [POPSCI]”

iPads to start appearing on altars in a few weeks!?  Yikes.

The topic of technology in the liturgy is a very interesting one. I know plenty of people who fight it at every...READ MORE

Maybe you’ve seen the commercials on TV in your area or online. Most people still haven’t. Everyone needs to.

“Catholics Come Home, Inc. is an independent, non-profit Catholic apostolate that creates effective and compassionate media messages and broadcasts them nationally and internationally, in order to inspire, educate and evangelize inactive Catholics and others, and invite them to live a deeper faith in Jesus Christ, in accord with the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. [...]

Each of our television commercials invites people to come to Catholics Come Home.org, where they are given the opportunity to learn (or relearn) the truth about the Catholic faith, find their local parish...READ MORE

Never call a man’s baby ugly. This is among the best advice I’ve ever received.

It was a few years ago. I was working as an electrical engineer at a large company and was on the usual project - underfunded, undermanned and behind schedule.  And it was especially bad for my task in particular. Long story short, I needed a whole lot more money to do what was required and necessary for the project.

They just didn’t get it - management, that is. Or at least I thought so. And since I’m not shy, I let them know it every chance I got!  In my gut I knew the best way to get them to “wake up” was to call attention, in front of everyone, to what a horrible job program management was doing. I was...READ MORE

Blessed Mother Teresa said that “peace begins with a smile.” And for one 84 year old Australian man, that rings especially true.

For most of his long life, Don Ritchie has lived directly across the street from Australia’s most popular suicide spot: The Gap - a rocky cliff on Sydney Harbor. During that time he has saved an estimated 160 people from jumping off.  A few times he had to put his own life at risk to do so. But most of the time all it took was a smile and a cup of tea.

Each morning, he climbs out of bed, pads over to the bedroom window of his modest, two-story home, and scans the cliff. If he spots anyone standing alone too close to the precipice, he hurries to their side. [full...READ MORE

Anybody who watches TV probably knows GoDaddy.com. Their advertisements lean heavily on (i.e. blatantly abuse) the old adage (and statistical fact) that “sex sells.” In the process they also objectify women, are an occasion of sin, indulge a sinful culture and totally disrespect the dignity of the human person. Unfortunately, they also happen to offer a very competitive product in their website hosting service. These factors have combined to give them lots of business. That’s a shame.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had Catholics and others ask what alternative options they have for hosting their website where, in the process, they aren’t complicit in promoting the filth that...READ MORE