Spirit Juice Studios. They rock. Ever since I first saw their work I’ve been impressed. And they truly “get it” when it comes to using new media in the New Evangelization.

A bit about them from their website:

“Spirit Juice Studios is a multi-disciplinary design studio comprised of individuals working mainly in the fields of web, print, motion design, and audio production. Based on the same idea of contemporary design for sorely-lacking Catholic entities, the studio was founded by Rob Kaczmark and Bernie Czerwinski in the summer of 2007.”

It’s refreshing to find more and more media companies in the Catholic world doing truly professional work. As Catholics, we have the best subject...READ MORE

Today the Pope met with some bishops in Italy. Here is something he said that jumped out at me when I read it (emphasis mine):

“Frequent all areas of life, including those of the new communications technologies which now permeate culture in all its expressions. It is not a question of adapting the Gospel to the world, but of drawing from the Gospel that perennial novelty which, in all times, enables us to find the best way to announce the Word that does not fail, fecundating and serving human life. Let us, then, again present the young with the exalted and transcendent measure of life as vocation.” - Pope Benedict XVI

Fecundate: to make prolific or fruitful (for those of you, like me,...READ MORE

Blog comments are like the graffiti of the untamed digital continent.

Some are helpful, like the spray paint on the fence that says “beware of dog.” Others are very impressive, like a beautiful mural. Some obviously took a lot of time and thought. Others are done passionately and quickly. Some are for self-promotion, like a gang sign. Others are done simply to exercise our power to do harm and cause suffering. Many are angry. And still others leave us scratching our heads.

As bloggers and blog readers, it’s helpful to distinguish between the different types. Blog comment sections can be very powerful places to get unique perspectives on an issue, share helpful information, build people...READ MORE

Many people falsely believe there is some sort of inevitable conflict between their Catholic faith and science. They also buy into a common myth that the Catholic Church has been continually hostile to science throughout history. But any fair assessment will find this to not only be false, but that the Catholic Church has actually contributed to science in endless ways - some of them hugely significant.

In fact, from the very get-go, Christianity was a major force in promoting the idea that the world is intelligible. That it had meaning and made sense. And there was a desire to intimately comprehend creation in a way that brought us into closer communion with the Creator. This was in stark...READ MORE

Pope Benedict recently spoke to the bishops of Portugal. He had a really great point regarding something I wrote about back in March regarding the need for us to be personally present online - not just our stuff.

“When many people consider that the Catholic faith is no longer the common patrimony of society, and see it as a seed threatened and obscured by the ‘gods’ and masters of this world, only with great difficulty can the faith touch the hearts of people by simple speeches or moral appeals, and even less by a generic call to Christian values. The courageous and integral appeal to principles is essential and indispensable; yet simply proclaiming the message does not penetrate to the...READ MORE

A few weeks ago a man in the UK was arrested, charged and held in jail for seven hours all for allegedly saying something really offensive and horrible: That homosexual conduct is a sin.

Fortunately, weeks later, the charges have now been dropped. But talk about a stroll down dystopia lane. This is getting scary.

Reading the discussion surrounding this case takes me back - back to 1984. The important questions here for the UK prosecutors involve whether the man actually said the words “homosexuality” and that it was a “sin.”

Granted, he was preaching in public from on top of a ladder. And while I don’t think that’s normally an effective way to evangelize, I don’t think it’s a crime to...READ MORE

Catholic Quiz is the name. Games are the game. (CatholicQuiz.com‘s the domain.) And not just fun games, but educational and Catholic ones. And they’re all online.

Their mission: To provide online interactive learning games and quizzes that promote Catholic education for Catholic children and learners of all ages.

More from their website:

CatholicQuiz.com has the depth, breadth and balance of content to be an ideal learning companion that captivates interest, creates curiosity and advances faith knowledge.

  * A dozen games to choose
  * Play alone, with a partner or in teams
  * 10 Knowledge Categories with Micro-themes
  * 4 challenge levels
  * Personal, Family and Classroom...READ MORE

For a few months now, every Thursday I’ve been taking bits o’ wisdom from the Church regarding New Media and Social Communication. This one today is one of my favorite quotes from Pope Benedict XVI on the subject:

“The new technologies have also opened the way for dialogue between people from different countries, cultures and religions. The new digital arena, the so-called cyberspace, allows them to encounter and to know each other’s traditions and values. Such encounters, if they are to be fruitful, require honest and appropriate forms of expression together with attentive and respectful listening. The dialogue must be rooted in a genuine and mutual searching for truth if it is to...READ MORE