Jesus Doesn't Need Your Cool

Jesus doesn't need your cool. Jesus didn't use videos. Or a stage with colored lights. Or worship music. Or graphic design. Or toilet paper.

Which is why I wipe with my hand.

Video Post

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Pope Francis to Charismatics

Wow please read this. Pope Francis to charismatics. Sorry if I'm behind but WOW. http://www.catholic.org/news/international/europe/story.php?id=55674

Happy Easter!

Make no mistake: if he rose at allIt was as His body; If the cell’s dissolution did not reverse, the molecule reknit, The amino acids rekindle, The Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers, Each soft spring recurrent; It was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled eyes of the Eleven apostles; It was as His flesh; ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes The same valved heart That-pierced-died, withered, paused, and then regathered Out of enduring Might New strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor, Analogy, sidestepping, transcendence, Making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded Credulity of earlier ages: Let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache, Not a stone in a story, But the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of Time will eclipse for each of us The wide light of day.

And if we have an angel at the tomb, Make it a real angel, Weighty with Max Planck’s quanta, vivid with hair, opaque in The dawn light, robed in real linen Spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous, For our own convenience, our own sense of beauty, Lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are embarrassed By the miracle, And crushed by remonstrance.

"Seven Stanzas at Easter" by John Updike

Why We Love the Catechism [Video Podcast]

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/89812204] Why is the Catechism important? Who should read it? Check out this new video/podcast with a familiar face....

LIVE Inside the Conclave

Watch on Salt+Light TV live coverage of the Papal Conclave to determine the next pope, as the Cardinals process into the Sistine Chapel and swear an oath to preserve the secrecy of the proceedings.

LIVE coverage here.

Keep an eye on that smoke stack!

Interdum

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Ownage In The Mountains

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Duis at purus ut est cursus imperdiet. Sed condimentum massa in enim cursus, sed mattis elit malesuada. Nunc tincidunt magna sit amet metus sagittis tempor. Maecenas lacinia condimentum ultricies. Sed et lacus nec augue venenatis interdum. Fusce sit amet luctus augue. Aenean scelerisque porttitor ultrices. Nulla dui tellus, egestas sit amet posuere sit amet, dictum tristique mauris. Praesent sed elementum mauris. Nullam et enim eget nisl eleifend auctor lobortis et dui. Curabitur at malesuada magna. Nunc nec tincidunt mauris, vitae tincidunt enim. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse ante leo, bibendum at metus in, dignissim sodales nisi. Curabitur id augue iaculis, elementum diam eget, ultrices massa. Fusce eleifend tincidunt neque, a porta nibh faucibus non.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Suspendisse diam

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7 Quick Takes Friday!

Jennifer Fulwiler hosts 7 Quick Takes every friday on her blog Conversion Diary, so this Friday I decided to get in on the fun and give you the 7 quick takes that were on my mind this week.  Enjoy!

--- 1 ---

My sister and her fiance came into town and I surprised my wife with a day of taking make-up "engagement" photos at an abandoned house and barn in the middle of nowhere.  We never got around to taking professional couple pictures when we got engaged, but my sister has a super sweet camera and some mad photo skills.  It was way more fun than I expected, and we definitely got a ton of laughs and a ton of unreal photos.

--- 2 ---

I'm impatiently waiting like a hungry chubby 5th grader at the back of a buffet line for my good friend Chris to finish the post production editing of a video project soon to be released on this blog.  *Hint Hint* It rhymes with "Support a Catholic Speaker Month".

Just wait...it'll be delicious.

--- 3 ---

I would like to also mention the unsung hero of our photo escapades, the set man Peter (my sister's fiance) who carried props, carted cribs, held our baby, and sat around watching us get our picture taken for an hour and a half.

--- 4 ---

I cringe a little bit (okay a lot) when I dabble in politics, and I certainly don't believe that Republicans have a monopoly on all that is good and true and Christian in the world.  But this video really showcases the blatant contradiction in today's popular idea of tolerance which is: Tolerate everyone, except those who don't tolerate everyone.  And by tolerate they mean, everyone has the right to believe they are right, and no one can prove anyone wrong.

Watch the video here.

"How open are you?" "Open enough to include everyone." "Who wouldn't you include?" "We wouldn't include those beer toting fakers down in Florida."(Republicans)

--- 5 ---

My sister's fiance told me about this site, CatholicIQ.com.  A fantastic 101 question quiz set to sacred music and breath taking works of art, this website is a really great idea.  I appreciated that it wasn't all random and useless Bible or Catholic trivia, but was all very practical and essential to the life of a Catholic (well okay, except a few questions, like "How many total verses are in the Bible?")  Apparently if you get a lower score they'll send you a free Catholic book to help boost your Catholic IQ.  Check it out, and see if you can score at least a 180!

--- 6 ---

I've really been digging the band The Head and the Heart recently (Can you say Fides et Ratio? I think I feel a blog post coming on...) and its a little because of this:

So many decisions in life and in the music we love can come down to a critical tug between the logic in our heads and the hot red blood beating through our hearts. Seattle’s The Head and the Heart live authentically in that crux, finding joy and beauty wedged there.

Right? And a lot because of this:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AclhwQKlgfw&w=560&h=315]

--- 7 ---

I want to try a free book giveaway.  Be on the lookout for a tasty Catholic book to chew on that I'll be mailing to one of you, free of charge, in the coming weeks.  Brandon Vogt has inspired me with this, and I think it's a great and charitable way to counterbalance the personal vice of my relentlessly expanding library....

My wife on a regular basis: "More books?" Me: "You can never have too many good books!"

Yeah yeah, I know, I know, just don't argue with me okay? :)

####Don't forget to subscribe so ya don't ever miss any Catholic goodness from this blog!  Do it here!

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Gotta give props to Jennifer Fulwiler @ Conversion Diary for all the great work she does, and for an inspiring blog.  Go check out her site and all the Catholic goodness to be had.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!