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In the Footsteps of Jesus - Power Point Presentations Online - Web Sites Worth Visiting - Featured in Previous Issues - Resources for Lent

Lectio Divina

The following sections have been updated:

The Latest Scoop: latest edition

See our "What's New" page for a listing all the new resources added on the Resources for Catholic educators Web site in June, July and August

Christian MP Free
Christian pop & rock music from The Grace Project
Fishers of Men - A film on vocation to the priesthood.
Time for your Daily Breakfast with Fr. Roderick

Who am I? Mission statement.

Capharnaum - the town of Jesus - "These pages aim at providing a short but reliable and up-to-date summary of nineteen seasons of excavations (1968-1986) conducted in Capharnaum by the late Fr. Virgilio C. Corbo ofm and Fr. Stanislao Loffereda ofm."

Archaeological Excavations at Cana of Galilee - Recent excavations carried out by Fr. Eugenio Alliata ofm

The Holy Sepulchre - “This Web site wants to be a "virtual visit" to this most sacred Christian site. We shall also review the twenty centuries of history of this unique monument.”

Map of Israel - Land of Israel in the first c. CE - with a few photos and background historical notes on cities and historical sites - by Mahlon H. Smith

Historic Jesus: Maps - 17 maps

The Western Wall - The Western Wall is the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, the one that was closest to the Holy of Holies when the Temple stood. This site offers facts and figures on the wall, animations showing how the wall was built, a tour along the wall in text and images and video clips, a live web cam.

Available on the Resources for Catholic Educators Web site:

	Directories of online resources: Lent - Liturgical Seasons: Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost - Holy Spirit - RCIA - Confirmation - Creed: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, Died and Was Buried - I Believe in the Holy Spirit - In the Resurrection of the Body
	Clipart: Lent Clipart - Palm Sunday Clipart - Holy Thursday Clipart - Good Friday Clipart
	Lesson Plans: Stations of the Cross Project - Bread or Stone: Penitential Preparation

I have been doing a bit of digging around to see what types of Power Point presentations were available online that could be useful for Catholic Faith education. Here are a few of the resources I have unearthed (In order to view these PPT files, you will need to download and install a PowerPoint Reader if you do not already have one. It is available as freeware on the Microsoft website) :

Lenten and Easter Season

Presentation of Easter: A presentation in four parts: origins of Easter; Easter Sunday; Readings; Summary. On the Web site of the Franciscan Friars - Province of the Holy Spirit

Other useful presentations

National Directory for Catechesis Symposium - "A symposium in anticipation of the publication of the National Directory for Catechesis was held on January 10, 2005 in Baltimore, MD. The following links will lead you to the presentations given on that day and to Power Point files that you can use to as part of any training you wish to do with these presentations."

Interreligious Dialogue and the Catholic Church - Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) by Willie Garcia-Tunon, S.J. at the Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Miami, Florida

Pope John Paul II: A Power Point Presentation with text and photos.

Butterfly: focuses on patience and hope - with beautiful images. Can be useful for prayer/meditation

The Passion of Christ: Bridget's Brigade, the website of an organization whose "mission is to promote (through a more active prayer life and meditations) an increased devotion to the passion and death of Our Lord, Jesus Christ." This website offers 14 Power Point presentations.

Bible Study - This is a series of power point presentations by Fr. John Morley, a Catholic priest. He provides a introduction to Catholic interpretation of the Bible, an overview of the historical background of the Bible in general and of the Book of Revelation in particular, and then introduces the Book of Revelation, the theological themes it contains, and provides a chapter by chapter commentary on it (incomplete).

The Canticle of Brother Sun - The text of the Canticle with breathtaking images in the background! Another presentation on the website of the Franciscan Friars - Province of the Holy Spirit.

Franciscan Radio has put together a Lenten Radio Retreat with audio files for music and the Lord’s Prayer, text for homilies given by U.S. Catholic bishops and links to weekly Scripture readings. The introduction to this "Radio Retreat" reads as follows:

Franciscan Radio and the U.S. Catholic bishops encourage you to put aside today’s cares and worries, and take a “Radio Retreat”—online. Using either the Windows Media Player, Real Player or any MP3 player, including Apple’s iPod, take this opportunity to focus clearly on what God is saying to you this Lent. Each week our group of bishops leads you, in English or in Spanish, through the Lenten Gospels.

Fr. Peter Scally, SJ, at Jesuit Media Initiatives in London is running a trial for the whole of Lent this year of a new project called pray-as-you-go. The idea is to provide daily prayer in the MP3 audio format for the many people who travel to and from work every day on bus, train, tube or subway - using music and scripture to guide them through a ten minute prayer session every day. It is downloadable for free from the internet, so that you can take it with you on your player, and pray on your way to work, or on your way home, or whenever you like! This is offered on the Sacred Space web site that also features a Retreat for Lent 2006. Another source of meditation and prayer online during Lent is the St. Elizabeth Parish (Melville, NY) Lenten Reflection page.

The Web site of Creighton University has a section of very good resources for Lent and Easter under the following headings: a Lenten Audio Retreat with Fr. Larry Gillick, S.J.; Printable two-sided handouts about Lent; Choosing Lent - Acting Lent; Holy Week Resources; Easter Resources. This is well worth a visit.

Year 12 retreat resources - Simon Keane from Corpus Christi, Broome, Western Australia - A series of downloadable Word documents outlining activities for a retreat to provide senior high students with "a discrete and unique programme of significant experiences that challenges students to integrate personal faith with their life and culture."

The Anglican parish church of St George the Martyr,Wash Common, a small suburb to the south of Newbury, Berkshire, England, offers evocative paintings by Ken Cooke depicting the XIV stations of the cross.

The UK Priest website provides a number of articles on the life of a priest and the challenges of the priesthood. Interesting for those who feel they may be called to the priesthood, but also for educators who would like to inform about the priesthood. There is even an interactive page where primary school children are invited to put on the vestments of the priest in the correct order.

Videos with Values, a Web site of Oblate Media and Communication offers a Lent & Easter Reflections written by Rev. Ron Rolheiser, OMI. There is one short reflection every day and they are read by professional actors and you can listen to them online or on your iPod. You can also subscribe to receive the reflections via email or listen to past reflections in the archive. The site also offers access to 60 second God Squad reflections by Father Harry Schlitt. These are punctuated with popular music. While you are on the site, you can glean through their Religious and Educational Resources pages. They have some interesting things there.

Jesus Christ: The Model for All Humanity by Jack Wintz, O.F.M. - From the Vatican 2 Today series published by St. Anthony Messenger Press

"The Second Vatican Council brought about new understanding of discipleship and what it means to imitate Jesus. Learn how to be a disciple in the modern world by being a servant to humanity, seeking union with Christ, showing concern for the poor, struggling to build peace and believing in God's love."

The Desert by Jeanne Heiberg - Catechist, February 2005,

"Most of us have desert times in our lives—times when we are tempted, when following Jesus is especially hard. These desert times teach us to rely more on God than on ourselves."

Forgiveness by Rev. Mark Connolly, Spirituality for Today, February 2006 - Volume 10, Issue 7

"What we have to learn in Christian theology is simply this, as long as you carry a grudge, you will never truly follow the Christ who carried His Cross and taught us the theology of forgiveness."

Letting God In: Daily Meditations for Lent by Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Catholic Update February©2005, St. Anthony Messenger Press

"When are we most willing to let God into our lives? Often it is when we are most broken, when we finally admit our inadequacy to “stand on our own.”

A Seed Alone – Mark 4:26-29 by Antoinette Collins, Echoing the Word, 06-02-2006

"There is a group of agricultural parables used in Mark chapter 4, which help to explain the presence, reign or milieu of God. The whole chapter is dominated by farming or agricultural images with no fewer than three parables about seeds – their sowing and their growing..."

Christian pop & rock music from The Grace Project - Another web site offering a handful of of free MP3 music downloads.

Fishers of Men, a film requested by the United States Council of Catholic Bishops. You can see a trailer on the Web site of GrassrootsFilms.com at http://www.grassrootsfilms.com/ . Click on "Projects" and then on the image above the title of the film. It documents the lives of some of the most influential and courageous men in history. This film on vocations to the priesthood has been described as the best vocational film ever produced for the Catholic Church.

I transmit the following request by the people at Grassroots Films: "We ask for your prayers that we may continue producing films for evangelization."

Time for your Daily Breakfast with fr. Roderick - This is a podcast by father Roderick Vonhögen, catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Utrecht, The Netherlands. Fr. Roderick is a dynamic young priest who combines music, interesting and solid commentaries on contemporary news, contemporary issues, entertainment, lifestyle, art, etc. This is a high quality daily program.

Resources for Catholic educators is happy to welcome Kim & Jason as a regular feature. The comic strip below is refreshed daily six times a week. Please to return to it often.

Kim & Jason® is a comic strip by author and national Catholic speaker, Jason Kotecki. The strip was created when Jason was in college and he met a girl named Kim. They realized they shared a childlike spirit and faith and were inspired by Jesus’ message, "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:3) To win her heart, Jason created homemade gifts for Kim, including cartoon drawings of each of them as children. These characters soon evolved into the internationally known comic strip, Kim & Jason®. Right after their wedding, using the Matt. 18:3 verse as their foundation, they launched their company and ministry, JBiRD iNK, Ltd.

Jason, now known as The Champion of Childhood, speaks nationally to a variety of groups, including Catholic churches in the areas of intergenerational and adult ministry. He invites people to laugh, be inspired, and, most importantly, open their hearts to a more childlike faith. Jason offers a unique program for ages 5-10 called, “Hide & Seek: Living and Loving with a Childlike Faith.” He masterfully combines hilarious anecdotes, uplifting stories, scriptural references, and a bit of cartooning, as he shares Biblically-based principles and real-world techniques helping others embrace the childlike faith to which Jesus has called us all.

Jason’s secret hideout is located in Madison, WI, where he lives and works with his wife Kim. For more information please visit: http://www.KimandJason.com, or contact Kim at: kim@jbirdink.com, p. 608-278-1880.

Many people who call themselves faithful Catholics only attend Mass once a year -- at Easter.
A priest preaching to an unusually large Easter congregation included a sly dig at the once-a-year crowd with these words:
"I'm very glad to see so many unfamiliar faces here on this Easter Sunday morning, and before closing, I'd like to take this opportunity of wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!"

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Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused his dentist's Novocain during root canal work?
He wanted to transcend dental medication.

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