Recently in catholic apostolates Category

Matt over at Fallible Blogma.com (love the name!) has a great project in the works called Support A Catholic Speaker Month. Bloggers participate by being assigned a speaker then making a post about them. My speaker is Mr. Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League.

Jim Sedlak is a Catholic, Pro-Life, inspirational speaker who has given hundreds of talks on three continents. A leader in the pro-life movement, he currently serves as vice president of American Life League and concentrates his efforts on fighting Planned Parenthood - the nation's largest abortion chain. A former Senior Engineer with the IBM Corporation, Jim has spent over 15 years working full time in the pro-life movement. His expertise comes from being in the streets in front of Planned Parenthood; addressing school boards, city councils, state legislators and members of Congress. He serves as an advisor to many local efforts against Planned Parenthood and belongs to Knights of Columbus Council 4034.

He will bring to your event a mixture of fact and wit, with a captivating speaking style that leaves audiences informed and motivated. His talks can best be summed up by the remark of a woman who heard Jim talk in Belfast, Northern Ireland: "This was the most inspirational talk I have heard in my life ."

Jim's talks include:

Planned Parenthood - the Problem, Not the Solution
Planned Parenthood's Health Care Hoax
The Dangers of Sex Education
Planned Parenthood Steals Souls
Parent Power - How parents can regain control of school systems
Taxpayer Funding of Planned Parenthood and How to Stop It
Planned Parenthood vs. John Paul II - a collision of cultures
Planned Parenthood vs. Pregnancy Care Centers
Matthew 10 - the Secret Weapon Against Planned Parenthood
Pro-Life and Personhood

Click here for Jim's contact info.

I was reading through my twitter feed and saw a post about Duff Goldman (from one of my fave Food Network shows Ace of Cakes) being on a Catholic radio show to talk about his baking, his book and his charity work. Then I found out that the "The Catholics Next Door" radio show is put together by Greg and Jennifer Willits from the Rosary Army. (I interviewed Rosary Army years ago at RoL - back when I was friends with a crazy thing called "spare time.") I am so happy to see what they are doing! If you don't have Sirius Radio, you can download their podcast from itunes or listen here.

Lisa at CatholicMom.com posted about a new magazine for Catholic singles called Tobias. (Where was this ten years ago??) Check it out and get a complimentary issue here.

Mystic Monk coffee is a regular item in our household and tonight on EWTN Live, Prior Fr. Daniel Mary and Br. Simon Mary talk to Fr. Mitch Pacwa about their monastic life and more. (See if you can spot Fr. Mitch Pacwa's Mystic Monk Coffee® mug! - Brian just ordered two. One for home and one for work!)

A friend of mine mentioned that she is reading the e-book Simplifying Your Domestic Church: A Spiritual Journal to Help Declutter, Organize and Systemize the Home. I was interested in it because with another little one coming into the house, I've been trying to declutter and make more room, but there is room for so much more improvement!

I downloaded the ebook this morning and have started reading it. Each chapter has pages of practical tips on different areas. (ie. organizing, managing your time, money budgeting etc.) There is a page of self-examining questions. (ie. Do I have a hard time detaching from this of this world?) Then there is a page of saint quotes/scripture for each day of the week and a blank page for your notes. Some of the tips are geared towards a homeschooling family but I was able to adjust them to our own schooling situation. The book totals 110 pages and you can print it out or just read from your computer.

To learn more about the book, the author and her apostolate Project Nazareth check out this article. You can order the book at Catholic Heritage Curricula.

A friend told me about this book and it looks great.

Fifth grader Olivia Thomas has moved to a new school in a new state, and is eager to make friends! Her best friend quickly becomes someone she has never seen -- St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

Follow Olivia's trials as she tries to fit in at St. Michael's School. With the help of her grandmother, she learns about the "Little Way" of serving God and how it can change everything!

Nancy Carabio Belanger's touching book, targeted toward girls and boys age 8-13, is beautifully illustrated by Sandra Casali LewAllen.

It was recommended by Rachel Watkins (of the Little Flowers Girls" Club) and it is worth checking out. It is avaiable at Amazon or directly from LittleFlowerBook.com.

This morning I came upon a new book called Catholic, Reluctant. It is the first book of the new Catholic teen fiction series John Paul 2 High. The author "Christian M.Frank" is actually a team of young Catholics writing the books together. How cool is that? Check out the website johnpaul2high.com and then order your copy at amazon!

There's a cool Catholic blog geared towards teens and the questions they have about life. Check it out at No Question Left Behind: Teens Helping Teens.

If you forgot to watch Danielle Bean on EWTN last Sunday (as I did,) you have another chance tonight. She'll be on at 8 pm (pacific time.)

Friends of ours are involved the local chapter of 40 Days for Life and they are doing great work. There will be a documentary on 40 Days on EWTN this Fri (7/24) at 3:30 PM Pacific Time. Here's an article with more info: New documentary to highlight 40 Days for Life pro-life campaign.

I'm happy to announce that my favorite Catholic mag (Faith & Family) now has their own blog at Faith and Family Live.com. There are some great posts so check it out!

I also want to welcome my friend Maria to the blogging world. Enjoy!

A friend was telling me about a Catholic CD of the Month Club and it sounds great! Each month you receive a CD from one of a number of Catholic speakers. Some of the CD’s sent out these past months include: The Face of God by Mother Teresa with bonus talk by Dr. Scott Hahn - Understanding the Eucharist (Jun 2008), The Seven Levels of Intimacy by Matthew Kelly (May 2008), and A Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids by Dr. Gregory Popcak & Lisa Popcak with bonus talk - Discipline That Lasts a Lifetime by Dr. Ray Guarendi (Apr 2008). That’s some good stuff! In fact, in the time it took to type this, I decided to join. The cost is $5 a month for one copy and or you can get discounted bulk prices to pass along to friends. Check it out at Lighthouse Catholic Media.

The way Brian loves books, I love magazines because at this point of my life, I don’t have the time to sit and read like I used to. At least with a magazine, I can take ten minutes to read a whole article before I have to stop and clean up the box of cheerios Andrew dumped on the floor. One of my favorite Catholic mags was Envoy. I loved its mix of solid Catholic teaching/apologetics and zany humor and I was bummed when they stopped publishing. Then out of the blue, I received a new issue with the notice that they are back up and running. I was happy to hear it! You can get your own free issue of Envoy Magazine here.

The other resurrected magazine is True Girl, now called TG Magazine. The mag is geared for Catholic teen girls and older. Although Bella was too young for it, I ordered a sub when it first came out to support them and pass on to friends. I thought it was well done and am happy to hear that it is around again! If you have a teen girl you should check it out at TGMagazine.net. (The new website is not as visually appealing as the old one, but it is still early in the game.)

Lastly, since we are on the topic of magazines, if you are a Catholic wife and mother (or husband/father) you absolutely MUST order Faith and Family Magazine! The quality, both in production and content, is excellent! It has practical and informative articles on living your Catholic faith in all aspects of family life and I have never been disappointed in an issue. I love it! Plus, now you can read a sample issue online at FaithandFamilyMag.com. (We are so excited to get others to read F&F that we started selling subs as a fundraiser for the RoL website. Just use promo code “Q91286” when ordering online. Thanks!)

A friend told me about a new Catholic magazine for kids that is trying to get started. There is definitely a need for one so show your support here: St. Mary's Messenger

Here is a cool pro-Catholic Church commerical put out by CatholicsComeHome.org

Give your phone a Catholic touch with one of the cool wallpapers offered at CM. Or have daily prayers or scriptures sent to your phone (for a fee.) Check it out at Catholic Mobile ｷ Want to try?

To accompany the last post, here is an excellent resource page for people, Catholics in particular, struggling with pornography.
Help for Those Struggling with Pornography

There's a great artilce linked at Being! Or Nothingness: "Mother Lillie and the Trinitarians of Mary". At my old parish (before I moved) there were frequent visits to Mother Lillie and her community. Friends of my family have helped build her convent and they have nothing but glowing words about the work of these nuns.

Mother Lillie is also known locally for her spiritual insight. A friend of my mom who was never able to conceive went to visit M.L. and as M.L. prayed over her she told her that she saw a �vision� of her walking on a hill pregnant with child. The friend told M.L. it could not be true because she has never been able to conceive and now at 40 yrs old, not likely too anyway. Fast forward a bit and now my mom�s friend is 8 mo pregnant with her first child. Pretty cool. But really what's most cool is the work Mother Lillie and the nuns are doing for the physically and spiritually poor.

Are you looking for a gift to give a Catholic girl? Check out the new True Girl Magazine. I read through their online about us section and it sounds pretty cool. (I'm tempted to buy a subscription myself to check it out, even though Bella has another decade to go until she's a teen. egads!)

I received an email regarding a past post about Mother Lillie. The woman asks,

"Can you please post a note that she will be in Oakland on October 8 at 6:00. At St. Margaret Marys Church in Oakland.
The dinner proceeds will go to her orphanage in Tecate, Mexico!"

Here's a cool new Catholic homepage to check out:

myCatholic.com is a customizable Catholic homepage that allows users to choose their own content, layout, and preferences. It offers daily Mass readings, reflections, news, the Catechism, tools, and more.

James Berkon has been working on his apostolate to reach out to people who have engaged in premarital sex in the past but are now trying to live a chaste life. Check out his website at SecondaryVirginity.com.

A few weeks ago I purchased the saint coloring books mentioned in the article below. The books are bilingual in English and Spanish and cost $5 each. (Proceeds help the excellent apostolate Catholic World Missions.) The titles available are:

Fresh Flowers in Winter: Story of St. Juan Diego (The one that started it all.)

Let the Children Come to Me: Blessed Imelda's First Communion Miracle (Also available in a special First Communion Packet.)

Viva Cristo Rey! The Courageous Saints of the Knights of Columbus (as mentioned in the article below.)

The Story of St. Faustina, Missionary of Divine Mercy (This one is tri-lingual in English, Spanish and Polish.)

God's Little Flower: The True Story of Saint Therese of Lisieux (This is a Co-promotion with Luke Films to aid the release of the motion picture THERESE.)

From an Angel in a Dream: The Story of St. Joseph, Mary's Husband (This one was illustrated by John Webber, formerly an animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation.)

And Coming Soon � Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

You can order the books individually here or get one of the package deals to save on S&H.

Also check out the Glory Stories Radio Dramas on CD/tape. (kids can read along with their coloring book.) We bought the grand-slam packet with all the books and CD's and we think they're great. Check it out!

Finally, some good news today! Remember the story of Ella Gunderson and her letter to Nordstrom about the lack of decent clothes for teens? Here's the video of her on the Today Show. I'm so proud of her! She can teach all of us a lesson.

And if you want to know more about the Challenge girls groups, visit Challenge Clubs.org.

Patty Bonds posts on the Envoy Blog about anti-Catholics who persecute members of their own family. She has started an apostolate called Mary's Mantle Ministries. Their mission is to offer support and encouragement to fellow Catholics who experience anti-Catholic persecution in their families. For more info log onto MarysMantle.org.