Resources for "Mary"

Published here with the kind permission of Intercom (subscribe today!!)

In honour of the Feast of the Assumption on August 15^th it is useful to look at some websites that offer helpful resources on Mariology and the various feast days associated with the Mother of Jesus.

The BBC website is always an excellent starting point for any theme which you wish to explore. The website here gives the history of the Feast of the Assumption and the teachings of the Vatican on the Assumption. The layout and text is simple and straightforward and would be a useful teaching tool and basis for further inquiry and study, which can be found on the various articles on the Feast of the Assumption and Mary on the website of the Catholic Encyclopaedia.

The website of the The MarianLibrary/International Marian Research Institute in Ohio and this Mary Page offers resources covering a wide range of materials.  Information is provided on recent bibliography, references to Mary on magisterial documents, and gives access to the data files of the Institute on all aspects of Marian studies, such as Scripture, the Liturgy, Mary through History, the special relationship between Mary and women, Mary in ecumenism and World Religions such as Asian religions and Marian devotions. Make sure to have a look at the contemplation on a fifteenth-century Greek Orthodox icon as a reflection on the Feast of the Assumption.

The website of Loyola Press, the Jesuit publishing company provides excellent resources on various Marian themes and is a great starting point for anyone who wishes to increase their understanding and prayer life. The site provides a downloadable PDF book on the life of Mary, information on Marian Celebrations and Feast Days, guidance on praying the Rosary and some meditations on the Rosary itself. There are also various Marian prayers and some helpful articles on Mary in Scripture, the Holiness of Mary and the Immaculate Conception. There are also links to the large variety of books the publishers have available, from those which would be helpful to younger children, to those who wish to follow a more in-depth study.

The website of the publication Scripturefrom Scratch hosts an article by Daniel W. Casey, Jr., is Professor of Biblical Interpretation at the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies. It is a very accessible piece on the “Magnificat" and would be an excellent resource for either personal information or for use in the classroom.

Intercom Website Reviews

My June website reviews for the ever awesome Intercom (subscribe today!!!)

The official website of the Catholic Bishops has been revamped and is well worth visiting and bookmarking if you have not done so already. The site is very user friendly and easy to navigate which is useful as the site contains a huge amount of information and resources. Use the tabs at the top of the page to navigate the main sections of the site; news, features, publications, multimedia and the calendar. The multimedia section is excellent and contains audio and video files on important developments in the Catholic Church which are hosted on YouTube and therefore easily shared on social media and parish website. Particularly noteworthy are the new resources on the New Missal, including videos and resources from the National Centre for Liturgy.

The new Vatican news website is an excellent website featuring rich audio-visual media that can be easily shared on social networks. According to the Vatican, the website was ultimately created to ‘dialogue with the world.’ The site aims to gather news from all parts of the Catholic world and make it easy to absorb and discuss it. Since ‘dialogue’ is the ground of the modern communication revolution, this new site is bound to please the online Catholic community. The site also appears to have embraced a recurring criticism of previous Vatican websites that they tended to be quite drab. The site is colourful and contains content that changes quickly, surely a sign that the Vatican is embracing the fast paced, information hungry Internet. It includes Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter integration, streaming video, blogs, and a full archive of media. And mobile fans need not worry: everything on the site is fully accessible through iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. the news portal will offer live-streaming of papal events, audio clips from the Vatican Radio, pictures from the newspaper L’Osservatore Romano and printed transcripts of papal homilies, statements and speeches. Each of the Vatican media represented on the portal, including the Vatican Television Centre and the Vatican press office and information service, will retain their independent websites.
While the portal will initially offer two languages, English and Italian, the Vatican plans to add German, French, Spanish and Portuguese versions to the website over time. The Vatican may also add a search function and a distinct link to the Vatican homepage.  And yes, I am jealous of the fact the Pope has an iPad :)

The website of the Pontifical Council for the Laity was updated recently and now is split into four main sections-associations and movements, youth, women, and the Church and Sport. The website is a good source of resources for those who would like to know more about the role of the laity in the Church. The site has yet to embrace the design of more modern sites but is worth taking the time to navigate and see what is available.

Lastly for those who have embrace Twitter make sure to follow the Intercom magazine @IntercomJournal and give your feedback on content as well as what you would like to see included in future features!

Website Reviews

A selection of website reviews reprinted with kind permission from the ever awesome Intercom. First published in June 2011.

The website for the Eucharistic Congress 2012 is fully up and running and if you have not viewed it for a while it is worth checking back to see how it has been updated. There is a countdown clock and the latest news now works on RSS feeds so you can easily be updated with the most up to date information. There are more videos (including Fr. Kevin Doran’s interview on EWTN regarding the preparations for the Congress) and an excellent event guide where you can search the events by each diocese. Registration for pilgrims to attend the conference opens in June and the website offers very accessible information on the different types of accommodation available, travel arrangements and information on the various programmes of Congress Week. There is also information on the Theological Symposium to be held in Maynooth, the speakers of Congress Week and an excellent “FAQ” section. The Congress Prayer and Hymn are illustrated with excellent videos and make sure to sign up for information and the e-zine. The website really contributes to both informing the public of the preparations involved in the Congress, and to raising interest and excitement in this special event.

Preparations for World Youth Day 2011 are well under way and information can be found on the official website. The website gives plenty of colourful information on the preparations in Madrid and worldwide for the event in August. The multimedia section is particulary useful, with videos, audio clips and photographs of everything from the WYD Hymn, to the stations of the Cross, to a day in the life of the diocese preparing for the influx of pilgrims. The site, taking its target audience into account, makes full use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter(@madrid11_en), XT3 and Flickr which makes for a fun and exuberant website with lots of information to explore. The website also gives the current location of the WYD Cross and Icon as it makes its own journey to the Madrid and the handy “ABC Guide” to WYD covers all practicalities that a pilgrim or an interested party may require.

FaithConenct Website Review-for Second Level Teachers

Review of FaithConnect website for second level RE teachers in Ireland as published in the ever brilliant Intercom :)

The FaithConnect website is an interactive website for second level Senior Cycle non-exam Religious Education which was developed by a team from Mater Dei and Veritas, lead by Enda Donlon and Orla Walsh. The website centres on the ‘Search for Meaning’ segment of the curriculum framework for the subject, and the topic is presented in three separate sections that can be used with Transition Year, Fifth Year and/or Sixth Year students. These sections are A) Searching, B) Symbol and C) Religious Faith – a response to life’s search for meaning. One section is ample to make up an entire Senior Cycle Module or a full TY RE programme.

FaithConnect is an interactive website so each student needs to have their own personal account and an individual computer in front of them to use this resource successfully. A student licence provides access to the FaithConnect body of content, a personal profile page, online workbook, journal and blog (an option that the teacher must turn on). This licence is valid for the school year and the website can be accessed as many times as a student wishes from any computer. Student work can be downloaded and saved at the end of the year. For every 25 student licences purchased a school is entitled to receive a complimentary teacher licence (minimum purchase of 10 is required). This features all the management tools and support they will need to use this resource with your class. It is easy to set up and use. The teacher site also includes access to the virtual staffroom where teacher can ‘connect’ with other teachers to discuss and share ideas. The price for the school year is €10.00 per student per section.

Each theme is presented in three sections that are divided into three stages, for example Section A is “Searching” and is split into “The Search for Meaning in Today’s World”, “Sources for Meaningless” and “Questioning as part of the Search for Meaning”. Each section has three set Outcomes for the students to complete and it is here that the pedagogical benefits can shine.

Outcome One is presented in a creative web format that will enable the students to complete an online workbook, journal and blog. For students who are so familiar with these forms of communication and self expression in a more secular setting, it is fantastic to see these media being used to aid their religious and spiritual growth. This outcome also contains a variety of interactive content, which includes online texts, images, streamed videos and “just for fun” exercises. There are also lots of links to external websites for more information and additional material for debate.

Outcome Two empowers the students to take responsibility for the content explored in the first outcome of each section. This is achieved by students creating digital resources that may be shared with their own school community and uploaded to the FaithConnect website for use with the FaithConnect online community. The students develop their filming, editing, and production skills within this section, as well as expanding their own individual understanding of the importance of the search for meaning in their lives.

Outcome Three is parish based and proves that a good online resource does not mean that you are stuck in front of a glowing computer screen all day. This section requires the students to choose a specific topic from the sections studied and then to connect with people in their local area in order to explore how such an issue has affected, impacted upon, or transformed these people’s lives in various ways. The interview is recorded and uploaded to FaithConnect as a podcast.

In addition to these sections, there are also a number of features and resources which enhance the interactive learning experience for students and teachers. Each student can create their own “Profile”, working in much the same way as a social networking site such as Facebook. “Moments of Prayer” invite students to take time out of their day, either alone, or within their own class group, to establish an online prayer routine. There is a huge library of prayers that both teachers and pupils can use. The Words of Wisdom section contains inspirational and motivational quotations which can serve as a link between different sections, or allowing the student to engage at a more thoughtful level with the material discussed. There is also a workbook and a blog, where students can answer specific questions relating to the outcomes above. The student Journal is an online resource whereby they can record their thoughts and answers in relation to the different outcomes. Very usefully, teachers can view these journal entries and leave comments for the students.

For further information please contact Ailís Travers.

Website Reviews: Bible Study Group Resources

Published with kind permission of the Editor of Intercom.

Many parishes are setting up Bible study groups for interested parishioners. There are plenty of general resources for Bible study on the Internet but here are some that are specific to Catholic group work.
The Scripture School site has been developed to help make resources better known, both to individual Catholics and to diocesan and parish staff involved in adult faith formation. The site contains descriptions and evaluations of Bible study resources of various types and levels (from the complete beginner to those who wish to consult more advanced material. Advice on when to use each resource, depending on where you are in your knowledge of the Bible and ideas for parish (or other) study groups for each level of Bible study that is discussed. There are also links and information about Catholic publishers with a range of books for all levels of study.

The website of the Catholic Biblical Association of Canada offers a wealth of resources for setting up a bible study group and for beginning personal study. The link from the home page to resources includes plenty of resources to begin explorations of the sacred texts. There are links to online bibles (Word on Web), information on biblical archeology and video resources. The sections on “Jewish roots” and “Greek language” offer fantastic insights on biblical themes from the area of their original contexts and language. Lots of the resources are by Fr Murray Watson who recently graduated with his PhD from Trinity College, Dublin.

The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology is a non-profit research and educational institute that promotes life-transforming Scripture study in the Catholic tradition. The Centre serves clergy and laity, students and scholars, with research and study tools, from books and publications to multimedia and on-line programming. The site contains some excellent resources such as podcasts, reflections on the readings from Sunday Mass, audio resources, “homily helps”, and study aids. There are endless PDF files on various biblical topics and will offer information and inspiration to any size and level of group. Registration is needed for Bible Study notes but this is free, secure and well worth doing.

Bibledex is a project by the University of Nottingham’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies in conjunction with video journalist Brady Haran. These video resources (hosted on YouTube) make an excellent starting point for any group discussion as they give a broad and informative guide to each book of the Bible with excellent commentaries from biblical theologians.

Website Reviews

As printed in the Intercom and republished with kind permission. As always if you have any suggestiong sor website reviews, let me know!

The diocese of Down & Connor has re-launched their website and the site is a fine example of lots of information readily available and easy to find on a colourful and accessible site. Several sections of the site are still being developed, but it will be very interesting to see how the FAQ section is developed. The sections on “I wish to become a Catholic,” “What Catholics Believe” and information on getting Baptised, married or organising a funeral are important points of information to have on a website, within easy reach of people who are searching for information. With this in mind, the section on Mass times (to be searchable by Map/ Postcode/Mass Times and confession in other languages is a worthwhile addition. In the age of “sat navs” and Google maps, looking up the location of a Church should be quick and easy on a well developed website like this.
The official website of the papal visit to the United Kingdom  is worth checking out as it is an excellent site with lots of information. The site includes a full and very detailed itinerary with lots of details and pictures of the various places that Pope Benedict XVI will visit. There are many resources for use in parishes, including prayer, ideas for a Journey of Faith Witness and promotion, and a practical section on guidelines for those organising events. The spirit of excitement and anticipation comes across very well through the site particularly through the resources and graphics

For teachers and those involved in the back-to-school process, do have a look at some websites to ease you back into the school year!  The website of the Religious Education support service and is an admirable source of information and resources for teachers and parish educators or even parents who would like to see how much has changed since they sat in the classroom! There is a very informative PowerPoint presentation on Religious Education as a Leaving Certificate exam subject that may be easily downloaded. The Journal of Religious Education that is available online via this site is packed with useful ideas for use in the classroom.
Elsewhere, the website for Religious Education in the Cork & Ross Diocese is very well maintained by Marie Murphy, the DA for Religious Education and contains plenty of links and resources to provide inspiration for the coming academic year!

Book Review:

This was published by the great and mighty Intercom and is republished here with kind permission. Subscription to Intercom is as always heartily encouraged by this blog! I really like this book and intend to use it frequently this year.

All Together: Creative Prayer with Children makes it clear from the outset that it is not a “last minute” resource that should be dipped into to help facilitate last minute prayer groups or assemblies, rather it seeks to nurture and deepen the prayer life of the adults involved with children and facilitating their prayer. While it is primarily aimed at those working in an educational environment, it is extremely useful for anyone involved in a parish situation and appeals to a wide variety of age groups and abilities that may participate in the increasingly popular children’s Liturgy of the Word.

If we as adults consider how we worship, it is often a linear practice-we do the same things at the same time, following instructions such as “Let us pray together” or “now we shall stand and sing”. This is the outer symbolism of how we as a community come together to worship God. Anyone who has worked with children of a primary school age knows that children seldom operate in this way. They are used to fulfilling individual tasks, often several at a time, or working in small groups. It is always recognised that children present with different abilities and levels of participation and the often packed schedule of a children’s Liturgy of the Word can often struggle to accommodate their individual needs. This book, written by experienced catechists encourages you in a friendly and supportive way to engage with the children in your group so that the prayer is their prayer and in turn, it is their hearts and mind that are raised to God. The group exercises and methods of prayer detailed under various themes lend themselves well to the interactive classroom and curriculum or to the group format most commonly adopted during a children’s Liturgy of the Word. The authors strive to highlight that “prayer can never fully be taught” (93). Those who engage with younger children need to understand that it is much more than a technique, or a time when we ask God for favours but rather a conversation we have with God, not just using words, but engaging our hearts and minds. Children embrace change and can easily bore of the same format and this book promotes the need to make prayer accessible for all children. Formats of prayer discussed include dialogue, litany and eye-witness accounts, examples of which are all provided.

The book is clearly divided into sections and it is fruitful to read them in sequence, as the initial section on the Foundations of Creative Prayer with Children underlines the basis for the entire book, including an explanation of the keeping prayer with children “real”, namely that prayer must emanate from their concerns and express these concerns so that it truly is their prayer to God. The text allows for excellent guidelines and principles for the adult to begin the positive, creative and engaging liturgy, encouraging a rooting of the prayer in scripture and to provide a respect for Tradition.

Section two contains insights, explanations and creative resources for various liturgical seasons and occasions such as Advent and Lent as well as foundations, ideas and resources for celebrating Mary and the Saints. These three chapters focus on praying together in a group situation such as class or an assembly time. The fifth and final chapter focuses on creative ideas for individual prayer and is appropriate for group and individual use. All of the exercises are adaptable to a variety of situations, as well as ages and abilities. Each exercise is clearly laid out with foundations for the prayer subject, for example the exercise on Sorrow and renewal of life (105) explains how prayer is a movement from us to God and from God to us and how this explanation can be illustrated with the image of a bridge. The children write on one half of a piece of paper how things are now and on the other half how they would wish god to make things. They can then make a simple (depending on skill levels) Lego bridge and imagine in prayer the crossing from one side to another. Due to time constraints, a children’s Liturgy of the Word cannot always be completed in the church and therefore some of the prayer activities described can be adapted for home use, possibly involving parents and other family members.

Main points for the religious educator to communicate with the children are clearly laid out at the beginning of each prayer theme. It is imperative that the educator fully comprehends the liturgical basis for the activities also allowing for their prayer. Children can adopt what they have heard in the children’s Liturgy and apply it to their own life, facilitating Christian practice into their everyday being. Activities such as Sin Bin and Sorry beads are eminently suitable for this purpose.

New Media-Intercom Article-World Day for Social Communications 2010

The article below was just published in the May 2010 issue of the Intercom magazine and is posted here with the kind permission of the editor. Do feel free to take out a subscription!

In his message launching the focus for the 2010 World Day for Social Communications, Pope Benedict XVI called on the clergy to use the latest technologies, such as websites and blogs, to preach the gospel and encourage a discourse with all users of these “new media”, not just practicing Catholics. In an age when the Internet has surpassed all other media except television as the principal source of national and international news, the Church could not ignore communications developments, or allow itself to fall out of touch with them.

Pope Benedict underlined the fact that Church communities have traditionally relied on modern media to open the lines of communication. As the culture changes, the Church needs to use the latest technologies, especially if it wants to reach younger people who are increasingly feeling isolated from the community of the Church, many even believing that the Catholic Church makes no real effort to keep in tune with the increasing range of helpful and readily accessible forms of communications. Jesus used every forum of communication available to him during his earthly ministry; he preached to large groups of people in public places, as well as to small groups of disciples in quieter spaces. He spoke in the Temple and travelled great distances to tell people of the wonder of God. His dedication to this would not leave us with any doubt that had the power and means to access a large audience been available to him, Jesus would have been an avid user of the Internet to spread his Word.

Quick to explain the idea of New Media, especially in relation to its use in this, the Year of the Priest’, the Pontiff notes that, “Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, Web sites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization, and catechesis”.

The Pontiff acknowledged that new technologies call on priests to become savvier in their use recognising that these technologies can promote deeper types of relationships even across vast distances and will “enliven their pastoral outreach, but also will give a “soul” to the fabric of communications that makes up the Web.” He also urged those involved in ministry to not forget its primary obligation and message.

The Vatican has already made its own forays into cyberspace. In addition to its main website, the Vatican last year launched Pope2you, where users can access a papal Facebook application, see the Vatican on YouTube, and even download the Church’s iPhone application. At Easter 2009, the Holy See broadcast the Pope’s message with subtitles in 27 different languages - a YouTube record.

Interestingly one of the principal suggestions is that greater use should be made of images, videos, animated features, blogs, and Web sites and that those engaged in formation in a seminary environment should become familiar with new media. It is not difficult for a short course on information technology and Internet safety to be delivered in a manner that encourages, rather than prohibits clergy from engaging with these new media. Some religious groups in Ireland have already begun to positively engage with the papal sentiments by drawing up a list of guidelines for their members using the Internet-making sure it is done in an encouraging manner rather than a list of off-putting warnings.

It is vital to highlight that this mission to engage with New Media does not mean that every priest or nun must now start blogging, tweeting, or set up and maintain their own webpage. One problem that seems to have surfaced from initial reactions to the pronouncement, is that clergy are already busy, without the added work of updating your blog or emailing. However this misses a crucial point of New Media; it is designed for those who do not have much time to devote to it. Twitter uses posts of 140 characters and can be updated from most mobile phones (even without Internet connection). RSS feeds and customisable homepages such as igoogle make access to blogs and websites instantaneous.

If even all this seems too much you should take the spirit of involvement to heart and assess where you can improve and engage further with New Media. For example have a look at your parish’s website-is it updated as often as it could be? Is it accessible and easy to use? Websites are usually very easy to update and all parishes have at least one person who is skilled at web design and up-keep who is only too willing to help-often with only the expectation of a recommendation for future work. Why not collect some email addresses of parishioners and send around a weekly or monthly version of the parish newsletter? You could always include some relevant websites for people to explore while they browse the Net, for example the websites of the Vatican or a Bible Study website. Try asking a tech-savvy member of your congregation to give you a few pointers with how to improve your own use of the Internet or ask them to address your Parish Pastoral Council. Could you set up your own Facebook page to communicate with members of your parish? None of these ideas require a huge time outlay and will start you confidently on your journey of spreading the Good News to as wide a possible an audience.

Book Review: All Together: Creative Prayer with Children

This book review appeared in Intercom magazine (October 2009) and is reproduced here with the kind permssion of the editor.

Luke 11:1-“Lord teach us how to pray”

All Together: Creative Prayer with Children makes it clear from the outset that it is not a “last minute” resource that should be dipped into to help facilitate last minute prayer groups or assemblies, rather it seeks to nurture and deepen the prayer life of the adults involved with children and facilitating their prayer. While it is primarily aimed at those working in an educational environment, it is extremely useful for anyone involved in a parish situation and appeals to a wide variety of age groups and abilities that may participate in the increasingly popular children’s Liturgy of the Word.

If we as adults consider how we worship, it is often a linear practice-we do the same things at the same time, following instructions such as “Let us pray together” or “now we shall stand and sing”. This is the outer symbolism of how we as a community come together to worship God. Anyone who has worked with children of a primary school age knows that children seldom operate in this way. They are used to fulfilling individual tasks, often several at a time, or working in small groups. It is always recognised that children present with different abilities and levels of participation and the often packed schedule of a children’s Liturgy of the Word can often struggle to accommodate their individual needs. This book, written by experienced catechists encourages you in a friendly and supportive way to engage with the children in your group so that the prayer is their prayer and in turn, it is their hearts and mind that are raised to God. The group exercises and methods of prayer detailed under various themes lend themselves well to the interactive classroom and curriculum or to the group format most commonly adopted during a children’s Liturgy of the Word. The authors strive to highlight that “prayer can never fully be taught” (93). Those who engage with younger children need to understand that it is much more than a technique, or a time when we ask God for favours but rather a conversation we have with God, not just using words, but engaging our hearts and minds. Children embrace change and can easily bore of the same format and this book promotes the need to make prayer accessible for all children. Formats of prayer discussed include dialogue, litany and eye-witness accounts, examples of which are all provided.

The book is clearly divided into sections and it is fruitful to read them in sequence, as the initial section on the Foundations of Creative Prayer with Children underlines the basis for the entire book, including an explanation of the keeping prayer with children “real”, namely that prayer must emanate from their concerns and express these concerns so that it truly is their prayer to God. The text allows for excellent guidelines and principles for the adult to begin the positive, creative and engaging liturgy, encouraging a rooting of the prayer in scripture and to provide a respect for Tradition.

Section two contains insights, explanations and creative resources for various liturgical seasons and occasions such as Advent and Lent as well as foundations, ideas and resources for celebrating Mary and the Saints. These three chapters focus on praying together in a group situation such as class or an assembly time. The fifth and final chapter focuses on creative ideas for individual prayer and is appropriate for group and individual use. All of the exercises are adaptable to a variety of situations, as well as ages and abilities. Each exercise is clearly laid out with foundations for the prayer subject, for example the exercise on Sorrow and renewal of life (105) explains how prayer is a movement from us to God and from God to us and how this explanation can be illustrated with the image of a bridge. The children write on one half of a piece of paper how things are now and on the other half how they would wish god to make things. They can then make a simple (depending on skill levels) Lego bridge and imagine in prayer the crossing from one side to another. Due to time constraints, a children’s Liturgy of the Word cannot always be completed in the church and therefore some of the prayer activities described can be adapted for home use, possibly involving parents and other family members.

Main points for the religious educator to communicate with the children are clearly laid out at the beginning of each prayer theme. It is imperative that the educator fully comprehend the liturgical basis for the activities also allowing for their prayer. Children can adopt what they have heard in the children’s Liturgy and apply it to their own life, facilitating Christian practice into their everyday being. Activities such as Sin Bin and Sorry beads are eminently suitable for this purpose.

Website Reviews-Miscellaneous

I've had a bit of a back-log for sometime on websites that I've reviewed for Intercom but not yet published as they don't seem to come under any particular heading so hopefully these will give you something new to look at! Do let me know if you have any other suggestions.

As always, much thanks to Intercom for letting me reprint the reviews here!

The website of the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin was updated in Autumn 2009 and the result is a slick and accessible site. The changes have meant that an already successful site with a wealth of resources now is very easy to navigate with the help of clear menu bars and a permanent footer. The site intends to be outward looking and open to church news and faith stories from around the world. To this end, the site uses a daily email, links to Facebook and Twitter pages, Flickr (a website that hosts photographs), an RSS feed and a webcam at Portlaoise Church to keep users up-to-date and to expand the outreach capabilities of the site and the work of the diocese. News is also included from the Vatican and around the world. One of the stronger elements of the site is the excellent graphics that are used both to illustrate international stories of interest and also local reports.

The site’s vision and reasoning for the development of the site should provide encouragement for those who are about to develop their own parish sites. Taking inspiration from Matthew’s Gospel that states, “a city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden.” With this, the Church is always called to publicly witness to the faith, to go beyond the familiar. The Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin believe that we cannot hide from this challenge and can take comport from the fact that we are not alone in this task and can be enlightened by the online commitment of our fellow believers from near and far.

The Proclaim website is run by the Irish Redemptorists who announce the Word of God in many languages. This website is well maintained and bright and colourful, using plenty of apt images to illustrate the three main sections that information is divided into. Word Acclaimed contains links the texts from the current day’s Liturgy of the Word alongside links to the Liturgy of the Hours from Universalis, podcasts from the New American Bible and Papal messages on youtube.com. The Word Proclaimed section is particularly innovative contains a video (hosted by YouTube) of the homily of the previous Sunday from the Redemptorist community in Clonard; the Liturgy can also be viewed live from Clonard and Limerick. The third section, the Word Inspired contains valuable information and resources for both clergy and laity on the biblical prophets, the Gospel of Mark and The Eucharist in the Gospel of Luke.

Websites on Mission:

The website for the Ceifin Centre for Values-led Change is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in finding out more about mission from the Internet. The website is very easy to navigate and remains uncluttered despite having ample information regarding upcoming events of the organization on the home page. It also allows users to purchase publications and reports of the group and access the proceedings of its various conferences and provides a “media update”. The Links page is particularly useful, providing access to both government and voluntary agencies’ websites.

Times have moved on when the main way on contributing to “foreign” missionary work of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart was through dropping some coins into the “missionaries of the Sacred Heart” boxes that are still to be found in many shops throughout the country. Now there is also the opportunity to contribute to the work of the group through the suggestions on their “Support Us” page. The site is very informative, particularly in relation to their News sections and the information on missions both in Ireland and in more exotic climes. Those involved in education will find the sections on the groups work with those suffering from HIV and AIDS particularly useful with the use of visual aids of videos and graphics.

The IMU (Irish Missionary Union) website offers a variety of resources and information for those interested in the impact of Irish missionaries both at home and abroad including the link to the “Justice Desk” providing links and press releases on issues effecting missionary work throughout the world. The Mission Alive website is a sub-site of the Irish Missionary Union and a colourful and informative resource, especially for educational resources for Mission Month. There is an entire page devoted to various activities that individuals and groups such as prayer groups and schools could undertake to increase their participation in Mission Month. One small but helpful application of the website that others would do well to follow is the facility for displaying pages in a printable format, saving on paper and allowing for clearer printouts. The site also gives details of “Missionaries with Messages” competition for second level students as well as links to videos on the YouTube website and various audioclips.

Some of the better Parish websites I've come across:


Many Irish parishes are turning to the Internet to share information on their work and for those who are not familiar with the parish to find out more information.

The website of Longford parish in the Diocese of Ardagh & Clonmacnois is a well designed site with clear and accessible menus that make any information on Mass times, parish resources or groups easy to locate. The site is also well worth a visit for pictures of St Mel’s cathedral in Longford, both before the tragic fire on Christmas Day and during the emergency itself. The site offers full details of how you can donate to the rebuilding of this beautiful place of worship as well as details of how the community are coping with loss.

The website of the Ballygall parish, Dublin 11 is a good example of a parish that is keen to explore all avenues of engaging people in the parish, in this case by using the “cyber door” to get a taste of the life in their parish. Going from the aims of the site on its homepage, it succeeds in being both informative and friendly as it is about the people of the parish who journey in faith together and who try to live by gospel values. The parish is obviously proud of its role as a 21st century parish and has embraced the technology that is now becoming popular whereby Mass and other liturgical celebrations can be broadcast live to the house bound and to residents of nursing homes, as well as to those who for reasons of distance cannot attend a particular Church ceremony, such as a funeral liturgy. This service is called “MyBallygallTV” and thoroughly embraces the idea of spreading the message of the gospel to all.

The parish of Our Lady and St. John in Carrigaline in the Diocese of Cork and Ross is an excellent example of how a website can be set up, in this case by the parish’s communication sub-committee to provide a simple yet efficient information site. While the site does not indulge in multimedia links and feeds, the information on the site is kept up-to-date and relevant for both parishioners and for those who wish to find out more information on the parish and the services it offers. The layout of the site is fresh and uncluttered and includes plenty of graphics to break up the text, including a link to the parish’s Flickr (photo sharing website) page.

Social Networking

My website reviews for Intercom for February were based on my favourite hobby horse of the moment, social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Bebo. Many people (Ryan Tubridy I'm looking at you) think that they're the the detriment of modern society and the root cause of all the world's problems from family breakdown to poor spelling. I managed to get most of the rant out in the 400 words allocated to the website reviews but I've reprinted a longer version here with the generous permission of my most wonderful editor, Francis.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph in August 2009, the Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols voiced his concerns that social networking websites such as Facebook and Bebo encourage teenagers to build “transient relationships” that can leave them traumatised and even suicidal if they collapse. Nichols said that the sites encouraged young people to put too much emphasis on the number of friends they had rather than on the quality of their relationships. His comments follow an inquest into the death of 15-year-old Megan Gillan, from Macclesfield, England, who took a fatal overdose after being bullied on the social networking site Bebo. Nichols claimed that the Internet and mobile phones were “dehumanising” community life, and relationships had been weakened by the decline in face-to-face meetings.

“I think there's a worry that an excessive use or an almost exclusive use of text and emails means that as a society we're losing some of the ability to build interpersonal communication that's necessary for living together and building a community.”

Does the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales have a point or is his view of social networking sites outdated? A social network focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. The websites normally provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as email and instant messaging. As a subscriber and regular user of several social networking websites, I have found that using them actually helps me keep in touch with friends both from the past and to keep in touch with new people I meet either through work or socially. At a recent party, my group of friends laughed as we realised we did not have to spend time catching up on what had happened to us since we had last met as we can easily keep tabs on each others lives through out Facebook accounts. Reaching out to a friend now can be done instantly and a short message can brighten up a day and remind someone that you are thinking of them. Naturally this system is open to abuse, especially in the perilous social world of a teenager. Bullying started in the real, not virtual world and just as we have to teach out children the social skills and self confidence to face the taunts that they might face in every day human interactions, we need to do the same with online activity.


At the moment social networking sites that cater to a majority of Catholic users are small in number, but growing daily in their users and the resources that each site offers. There are five clear leaders in this area:

Flocknote caters for two types of users. If you are a Church or community leader the site facilitates the sending notes to the entire congregation or just a specific group without the frustrating job of managing multiple mailing lists by email. As a member of the site, you can get the latest news and information from the groups (e.g. Liturgy, PPC, Readers of the Word) you wish to subscribe to; through the website, email, text messages, and more.

The Catholic Community website is helpful if you run a group, organization or parish as this community enables to promote your aims as well as your news and events. When people link to your group you can not only keep them up to date, but they can meet other people who share a passion for your work. One of the fastest growing elements of the site is the section on sharing your skills and opportunities for volunteer work.

While 4marks is still a small community, the website grows daily and if you run a group, organization or parish you can use this community to promote your aims or your news and events. The website has weekly trivia, daily lessons, information on the Saints, and other interactive features as well as the usual platform for establishing networking with other Catholics. The site is very family friendly and very heavily moderated so that you can be guaranteed that the content is suitable for all ages.

This website MyCatholicVillage is quite small in terms of the amount of registered users it has but it is relatively new and the number grows quite rapidly. The majority of registered users are based in the US but this is slowly expanding. One of the benefits about the site is that it follows the outline of social networking sites such as MySpace which mean that it is very user friendly and efficient.

Xt3 which stands for Christ in the third millennium was launched for World Youth Day in Australia in July 2008. Since then, more than 35,000 people from 170 countries have signed up to the site. I feel the jury is still out on the "coolness" of a site that has as it's tag line "So good even the Pope uses it". It has the functionalities of the most common social networks, but with a broad resource base of the latest media that relates to the Catholic faith. Xt3 is a site to help you connect with others interested in the Catholic faith. The site is open to everyone, not just Catholics and provides a good list of Internet resources, a prayer wall and daily updates on the Vatican. One negative about the site is that it makes quite a song and dance about inputting your religious “status” in order that your correct ecclesial title can be used. This leaves lay users as myself, feeling as if the site offers a hierarchical structure, perhaps in the virtual Catholic community such vestiges of formality should not be given such emphasis.

Websire Reviews: Catholics and the Environment

Originally Published in the Septermber 2009 issue of Intercom.

Reproduced with kind permission.

Catholics are increasingly being called to respect God’s creation and deal with environmental issues, particularly as they affect the poor. Various statements from the Vatican have highlighted the moral imperative for Catholics to care for God’s creation and its impact on those least able to respond. The Internet is increasingly becoming the global forum for discussions based on making climate change such an urgent moral imperative.

The Education section of the Catholic and Climate website allows you to search for information on climate change in general as well as curricula, articles, FAQs, and PowerPoint presentations to assist those working in schools and parishes to inform others about the growing concern of climate change on a global scale. This website is run by the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, a membership organization consisting of twelve national Catholic organizations, launched in 2006 to help the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to offer advice and assistance in implementing its programs.
The site is particularly beneficial in terms of demonstrating how Catholic principles and teachings such as prudence, poverty and the common good may be applied to climate change. The sections on News and current resources would be particularly useful to those involved in education.

The site also links to the Climate Covenant website which builds on the steady progress of the Church’s efforts to embrace an ethic of environmental stewardship by highlighting the themes of “covenant, creation, and poverty” by encouraging and assisting Catholic institutions, organisations, parishes and individuals to join the Covenant by taking the St. Francis Pledge (available on the website), a response to climate-change impacts on creation and people in poverty and sharing good news about the ongoing and impressive ways in which the Catholic community is carrying out the Catholic Climate Covenant to honour our obligations toward God’s gift of creation.

Catholic Earthcare Australia was established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference in May, 2002 and received its present Mandate in May, 2003. As an agency of the Catholic Bishops Commission for Justice and Service, Catholic Earthcare Australia's mission is to help promote understanding among people that Creation is sacred and endangered, and must be protected and sustained for present and future generations. This website is an excellent example of the theories behind the focus on climate change becoming practical issues. The site shows how the imperatives affect schools and parishes and how you can audit your own environment with practical measures to include in your daily life to help protect the environment.

Intercom Article-Blogging

Published in the July/August 2009 edition of Intercom magazine.

Reproduced by kind permission.

Even those who do not regularly surf the Internet would be aware of the recent rise in popularity of “blogs” or “weblogs”. A blog is very much like a personal diary or journal that is posted regularly online to be shared with friends or the “blogosphere” in general. Some describe the method of communication as a daily pulpit or your own memo to the world. Blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others. One of the main benefits of this phenomenon is that as there are literally millions of blogs in cyberspace, there are no real rules for running your own; anyone with anything to say or share is able to let their opinion be heard. So while blogs are certainly an excellent way of learning what other people and parishes are doing to improve their parish life or get people involved in their Liturgy why not take the plunge and visit a website and set up your own for yourself or for your parish group? I have recently set up my own blog through this site so feel free to visit the site and pose any questions you may have about the very simple process.

If you would rather see what others have to offer rather than publish your own thoughts, The Deacon's Bench is an excellent site to start with. Written and maintained by a Catholic deacon, the benefit of blogs may be instantly seen. The writer posts on current events both in the Church and the world in general and offers links and information on a wide variety of current subjects. For a more general selection, Catholic Blogs offers updated articles daily from over a thousand Catholic blogs and is a good site to get a general overview of what blogs have to offer. More specifically, the London Times blog on Religion and Faith written by Libby Purves and Bess Twiston Davies  is an excellent source of current information on world religions and trends. The blog is updated at least daily and often features superb pictures and links. Most blogs follow the same format of indexing their subject matter under “categories” so that you can easily search for a topic of your choice and this blog offers a very wide range. Closer to home, the blogs on Catholic Ireland are run by Sacred Space and features nine bloggers, giving a wide range of focus and opinions about current affairs. It also gives very helpful information on RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. This system of subscription features on most blogs and means that you can link the blog to your homepage (for example) with just a few simple clicks and get an instant update when a new post on your favourite blog is published.

Websites for Parish Pastoral Councils

The website run by the Office of Pastoral Renewal and Family Ministry (OPRFM) in the Archdiocese of Armagh, whose aims are to promote pastoral initiatives and family ministry within the diocese. The website is bright and kept well updated with links to catholicireland.net resources, allowing for daily news updates and Mass readings. There is even a poll on the homepage which allows the user to interact with the site and not merely feel as if they are absorbing information. The site aims to inform with clear and precise information as to what the OPRFM does and who is involved. Many websites rely too heavily on written content, but this site strikes the perfect balance between written information and visual aids. The main menu on the home page allows for simple navigation of the site and the “Parish” link leads to ample information on pastoral renewal. Any resources on the site may be easily saved as a PDF file, printed or emailed, and the monthly newsletter of the Parish Evaluation Project is an excellent resource for any Parish Pastoral Council.


The website of St Patrick’s parish of Esker, Dodsboro, and Adamstown, Co. Dublin is an excellent example of a parish facilitating the changing needs of its parishioners in a world where information is so readily available on the Internet. The site is colourful and most importantly kept up-to-date with links to the readings of the particular day and easily accessible contact details for both the priests of the parish and those involved in administration. Some of the more laudable features of the site are the manner in which the site gives directions to the parish with a link through Google maps and the translation of the parish’s “Welcome Message” into ten languages. The details of the Parish Pastoral Council are easily accessed through the “Parish Groups” link and should be used as template for any PPCs who wish to post information on the Internet. The page clearly outlines the aims and objectives of the PPC in a logical and clear manner with contact information and minutes of the meetings included. The progress report of the Council is linked on the Homepage and the overall content gives the impression of an involved, easily accessible, hardworking PPC.

Internet Resources for Funeral Liturgies

Not the most light hearted of topics admittedly but one that I think needs further resources. My grandmother died in August 2008 and in preparing for her funeral Mass I was asked to collect some readings and a reflection piece. While my parish priest did have a "folder" of resources, I know that not all clergy do. People are becoming more and more attuned to getting information quickly and easily from the Internet (especially in making a booklet for the ceremony or having copies to distribute quickly and easily to readers-what is handier than "cut and paste"?) so I found it very frustrating when there was no website where I could easily access this information. This stuck with me and I attempted to assemble the good and the bad examples of websites for a column that was published in Intercom and has been adopted below:

Dealing with immediate aftermath of the death of a loved one is undeniably arduous. Aside from the emotional turmoil, the “practicalities” of death are thankfully unfamiliar motions for the majority of us, and are normally dealt with by a capable funeral director. The Irish Association of Funeral Directors has a well run website which offers links to its members’ websites and contact information’ as well as detailed information on the Code of Practice that all funeral directors should follow. Bereavement in Ireland has begun to feature more on the Internet, mainly because people have become used to retrieving information from the web and at times of loss this does not change. One of the more positive developments of this has been the setting up of RIP.ie as a considerable source of information on “end of life matters”. It features searchable death notices that are supplied by funeral directors, meaning that it considerably easier than newspaper notices to find out information about the funeral. The website also provides practical data on local and practical services. You can also send a handwritten sympathy card directly from the website. Whether this practice will prove popular in Ireland is another matter.

The majority of websites deal with the practicalities of arranging a funeral, but only a few deal with arranging a funeral Liturgy. Many priests use a folder of gathered readings and prayers to assist family members in preparing for the Requiem service, but this is not always the case and those who turn to the Internet for help may find it difficult to find suitable resources, especially when time and concentration may be constrained. One of the first websites the bereaved may turn to is catholicireland.net’s sub-site “Requiem” page, accessible from the main menu on their home page. This site is more suited to those in the midst of the grieving process, rather than those arranging a funeral. The section on the Liturgy only contains a booklet that is customisable, but no links to readings or prayers that may be copied and pasted to the document.

One website  gives a list of readings and links to the text (though the text is the New American Bible). Several sites only give scriptural reference numbers which would only add to the workload of preparing the Liturgy. Obe website has a searchable New Jerusalem Bible (use the links to the individual books rather than the search engine), from which the text can be copied to a booklet.

An Irish website that deserves a mention for its clarity and convenience is that of Navan Parish, which provides PDF files of suitable readings, prayers of the faithful, and reflections. The first and second readings are helpfully grouped by theme, for example, “Trust in God” and “A Person of Faith”. Perhaps other parishes may find this website a helpful template for increasing the information available on their own webpages or as a supplement (or foundation) for their own Resources Folder.

Since this article was published, I have heard more and more people referring to RIP.ie in particular as the source for information on recent deaths, rather than death notices published in a newspaper.