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Pictorial
Library of Bible Lands — This Web site contains a large
number of pictures with short descriptive texts for each. The intent
of the Web site is of a commercial nature, but the freely accessible
resources in this online version of the Pictorial
Library of Bible Lands make of it a useful reference tool. Look
under the heading "The Sites" in the navigation menu for pictures,
commentaries and listing of other Web sites on dozens of places mentioned
in the Bible.
The
lastest edition of the The
Latest Scoop is now online - This is a regularly-updated column
with the latest information on textbooks and their revisions gleaned
from the publishers. It is compiled by Deb, the religion product specialist
from Communication enter, a full-service distributor of textbooks
and Bibles to Catholic churches and schools around the country.
Annotated
Bibliography
The diocesan resource center of the Diocese of Reno has over 4000
books and 500
videos. Their Web site has made available a commented bibliography
of all of these resources providing a short description for each of
them. This online reference is organized by topics and provides a
valuable tool to help you discover useful resources.
Catholic
Wiki is a Wiki for Catholic Apologetics, Theology, Evangelization,
and Catechetics.
"If you have ever heard of the popular "Wikipedia" you are probably
familiar with the basic concept of a Wiki. A wiki website allows anyone
who visits and signs up for a username to make new pages, edit pages,
and change the content of existing pages. Catholic Wiki is, as such,
a wiki dedicated to all things Catholic. You are welcome to become
a part of our growing community and contribute to the website."
A
Day in the Life of a Trappist Monk is a beautifully made Web site
offering a glimpse of the daily activities of a monk and the spirit
behind it. The introduction to the site reads as follows:
The monks of the Abbey of Our Lady of the Prairies have welcomed artists
from the St. Norbert Arts Centre into their archival history. Here
we have found a story of peace, a community of love and devotion,
an ancient way of life guided by the principles of simplicity, self-sufficiency
and prayer. Join us as we discover a spiritual journey through the
humble daily life of a 21st Century monk.
Catechist’s
Journey is a new blog maintained by Joe Paprocki who was a religion
teacher at a high school seminary, a director of religious education
and a pastoral associate at a parish, the consultant for catechist
formation on to the Office for Catechesis of the Archdiocese of Chicago,
and is now working for Loyola Press.
"Catechist's Journey is the place for
conversations about teaching the Catholic faith. I'll talk about my
experiences as a catechist, and together we can explore ideas to meet
the challenges and rewards of this ministry in which we are privileged
to serve."
The blog has been in existence for just over a month and already
contains much that is of interest to catechists. This is one new resource
to bookmark and to visit regularly!
CRS Education: Going
Global with Youth is a gateway to lesson plans, simulation activities,
prayer services, stories, web links and opportunities that looks at
global issues through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching. Use this
resource to invite young people to see the world with new eyes and
to challenge them to respond to our faith call to global solidarity.
Peter Li Education
Group has just published a useful Lent
and Easter Resource Guide for Catechists and Parents on their Web
site, a sampling of print materials,
videos, music, and Internet resources to enrich your journey to Easter
Life. Here is the table of content: Books/Pamphlets/Print
Media DVDs/Audios
Music
Internet
Links Personal
Enrichment Podcast
Here is a listing of some of the RCIA resources that
can be found online:
The Web site of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA also
offers an excellent RCIA
Manual called Crossing
the Threshold of Faith. This manual is very well done and is
well worth exploring. The introduction to this manual states:
The RCIA Manual offers a systematic presentation of the content
of faith as summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a
sequence of segments that may be used by pastors and RCIA leaders over
the course of an RCIA program. The overall goal of these segments is
to provide RCIA participants with a substantial introduction to the
tradition of the Church’s teachings and beliefs. The goal of this Resource
is to inspire a “living, conscious and active faith” in the lives of
RCIA participants. Each segment is designed to invite participants to
a personal encounter with Jesus Christ in and through their study, reflection
and discussion of the teachings of the Catholic Church. Pastors and
RCIA leaders are offered a content-based pastoral resource to assist
in their proclamation of the mystery of Christ to inquirers and catechumens
making their RCIA journeys of faith and conversion towards the sacraments
of initiation.
The americancatholic.org
Web site contains two articles of interest on the RCIA:
About Art and
the Bible — This Web site offers pictures of hundreds of famous
paintings linked to their corresponding Bible passage - the passage
the artist may have read. Also provided is information on the paintings
themselves.
"How
to Reach Inactive Catholics" is a Pastoral Statement written by
Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli of the Diocese of Wilmington in 2000. Bishop
Saltarelli cites 9 of the reasons diagnosed by the Bishops' Evangelization
Committee on why Catholics become inactive. He reflects on how the Church
can respond to each of these.
BustedHalo.com
— The "About Us" page on this Web site describes its mission as
follows:
We live in an age filled with seekers in their twenties and
thirties who are desperately trying to find deeper meaning in their
lives but whose journey has little to do with traditional religious
institutions. BustedHalo.com
believes that the experiences of these pilgrims and the questions they
ask are inherently spiritual. Based in wisdom from the Catholic tradition,
we believe that the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties
of the people of this age are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties
of all God’s people. Nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo
in their hearts. BustedHalo.com strives to reveal this spiritual dimension
of our lives through feature stories, reviews, interviews, faith guides,
commentaries, audio clips, discussions and connections to retreat, worship
and service opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else.
There is much to explore in this Web site, but I want to point out the
following excellent features that can be found in the Faith Guides section:
- Bible
Boot Camp contains a brief synopsis for each of the books in the
Bible;
- Mass Class
discusses the meaning and importance of the Eucharist;
- How to
Pray explores various forms of prayer.
The blog described below and found at http://godzdogz.op.org/
was launched at the beginning of this month (december 3, 2006). I find
it to be an exciting and rich new resource. This is certainly partly
because my studies in philosophy and theology at a Dominican college
have given me an awareness and appreciation of the rich tradition handed
down by the Dominicans. It is also because the blog, even after so short
a lifespan, is already rich in beautiful images, Gregorian chant sound
files, solid commentaries on daily scriptures, inspiring meditations...
I highly recommend you take time to explore this blog!
"'Godzdogz'
is an internet-based project of the student-brothers of the
English Dominican Province. On
this site you will find four main sections which are based upon the
main features of Dominican life:
1) Preaching:
As brothers (friars) of the Order of Preachers, this is why we exist!
From the earliest days of the Order, we preached the truth of Jesus
Christ to the world, bringing the light of faith in Him, to all who
seek truth and long for God. This
section will contain preaching by the students and other Dominican
friars in written and audio-visual media.
2) Prayer:
The Dominican life considers preaching as handing on the fruit of
our contemplation. Prayer and contemplation, particularly in the solemn
celebration of the Liturgy, is a focal point in the day of a Dominican
friar. This section will offer prayerful
reflections and writings on Dominican spirituality.
3) Study:
Assiduous attention to the Word of God, by which we are enabled to
preach Christ and through which we contemplate Him, is a vital part
of the Dominican life. This section
will have articles related to our study, as well as give you a chance
to ask questions of our friars, in a virtual 'Quodlibeta'!
4) Community:
We live in priories - there are seven such houses of Dominican friars
in Britain. Community life is the rich soil in which all the above
take place; it helps to keep our feet on the ground and inspires us
to be brothers to one another. Together, we praise, bless and preach
Jesus Christ. This section will
share with you events, news and photos of the Studentate. "
The online version of Religion
Teacher's Journal from Twenty-Third Publications offers free articles
from the current issue as well as a selection of features from past
issue, plays for your classroom, stories and teen topics.
Compendium
of the Social Doctrine of the Church
The Vatican Web site now has the complete version of the Compendium
of the Social Doctrine of the Church, that "has been drawn up in
order to give a concise but complete overview of the Church's social
teaching."
The presentation at the head of important this document states:
"The reading of these pages is suggested above all in order
to sustain and foster the activity of Christians in the social sector,
especially the activity of the lay faithful to whom this area belongs
in a particular way; the whole of their lives must be seen as a work
of evangelization that produces fruit. Every believer must learn first
of all to obey the Lord with the strength of faith, following the
example of Saint Peter: “Master, we toiled all night and took
nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets” (Lk 5:5).
Every reader of “good will” will be able to understand
the motives that prompt the Church to intervene with her doctrine
in the social sector, an area which, at first glance, does not belong
to the Church's competence, and these same readers will see the reasons
for an encounter, for dialogue, for cooperation in serving the common
good."
The Center for Ministry Development
"The Center for Ministry Development is an independent,
non-profit organization whose core purpose is to bring the Good News
in new ways to the people of God. Our mission is to empower faith communities
and their leaders for effective ministry with adolescents, young adults,
and families through ministry education for leaders, ministry development
training and resources, programs, and publications. The Center is funded
through a combination of fees for services, publication sales, and foundation
grants."
The Center's Web site
offers training programs, publications and resources for various areas
of ministry:
Youth Ministry Young Adult Ministry Family and Intergenerational Ministry
Although most of the resources are for a fee, there are quite a number
of free resources that can be downloaded in PDF format. You do need
to provide your name and email address to access these free documents,
but the Center does have a clear privacy policy.
Fostering a Faith That
Does Justice - Faith Doing Justice
This web resource is a partnership between Church Resources and the
Loyola Institute to provide resources fostering a faith that does justice.
Church History
Timeline — The Evangelist, the official publication of the
Diocese of Albany, has a section called Countdown to 2000 that offers
a brief history of the Catholic Church. The six web pages (approximately
20 printed pages) offer a good brief overview of Church history in simple
language.
This
page on the Web site of the Archdiocese of Toronto offers a large
selection of useful resources. The introduction to this page reads as
follows: "We express our faith through public worship in the liturgy
of the Word and Eucharist, song, prayer, devotions, sacred rites and
the Sacraments. The resources below help tell the story of our sacred
traditions."
Pause for Prayer is the Web
site of Sr. Janet Fearns. She is a Franciscan Missionary of the Divine
Motherhood originally from Liverpool, and then Burscough, Lancashire,
England. She entered the Congregation in 1973 and since then has spent
her Religious life between England, Nigeria, Australia, Zambia and Rome.
She now works with the English Programme of Vatican Radio.
The Web site offers a beautifully illustrated selection of prayers,
reflections, and mediations.
Catholic Digital Images
- ChantArt now offers its extensive collection of Catholic digital Images
free of cost. The site contains 5296 images in 129 categories. Below
are two graphics gleaned from one of the categories available on the
site.
If you have not already done so, you will need to open an account.
The process to download one or several images is simple. When you find
an image you would like to download, click on it. Then click on the
button "Add to cart". Repeat this process as often as you
like. When you have selected all of the images you are interested in
downloading in a specific session, click on "Shopping Cart"
in the menu bar near the top of the page. Cost will indicate $0.00.
You will then be able to download the entire selection of images you
chose in a zip file and these will be in large format that you can then
format for your needs.
The Web site relies completely on revenues from Google sponsors to
survive so I would encourage you to click on one or two Google ads when
you visit the site to support the efforts of webmaster Julie Ann Brown.
You might also want to write to her at catholicdigitalimages@gmail.com
as well to let her know how you are using the images.
Dappled Things
is, according to the "About" page on the Web site,
"...a new literary magazine dedicated to providing a space
for young writers to engage the literary world from a Catholic perspective.
The magazine is committed to quality writing that takes advantage
of the religious, theological, philosophical, artistic, cultural,
and literary heritage of the Catholic Church in order to inform and
enrich contemporary literary culture. Dappled Things pledges complete
faithfulness to the teachings of the Catholic Church as expressed
by the Bishop of Rome and the Church's Magisterium."
I find the wonderful mix of fiction, poetry, essays, art, and photography
make of this magazine a delightful place to visit and rest a while...
And the quality of the works presented is indeed high.
|
Read
a Catholic Christian history of Halloween (All Hallows Eve), learn
the legend of the jack o'lantern and discover what Catholics believe
about witches, ghosts and magic. |
This is part of the the intro to the section called All
Hallows Eve, All Souls and All Saints Day on the AmericanCatholic.org
Web site. Articles featured are listed below:
When you think of Halloween, what comes to mind?
For a lot of people, Halloween has become synonymous with candy, costumes,
scary stuff, witches, ghosts and pumpkins. But do you know the Christian
connection to the holiday?
Catholics
and Halloween
How can Catholics take back “holy” Halloween and use the holiday
as a time for evangelization? Listen to American Catholic Radio
to find out.
Why do we carve pumpkins for Halloween? Read a story
from Catholic Update that explains the origin of this yearly
tradition.
Witches,
Ghosts and Magic: What Catholics Believe
What are Catholics to think about the devil, exorcism, psychic
hotlines, fortune tellers, ESP, ghosts and magic in the light of current
Church teaching? Curiosity about the supernatural is normal especially
for teenagers during Halloween but is it “of the devil” as some Christians
claim?
How can Catholics keep All Hallows Eve from becoming
“hollow”? Celebrate Halloween and All Saints Day while remembering both
the Christian connection to Halloween and the positive messages that
stem from the holiday.
Why
Pray for the Dead?
What is the basis for the Catholic Church’s teaching about purgatory
and praying for the dead? Why do Catholics pray for the dead?
Visit
Our Saints Section! Who are the saints? Who
decides who is and is not a saint? How many are there? Are saints’ names
required for Baptism? Find the answers to these questions on Catholic
saints and more.
 |
ChristArt offers free Christian
clipart and art for Web sites and for print material. There are
certain conditions so read the terms of use. |
One of the features on the site is quite innovative and and could be
fun to use in creating resources for your students. Under the Clip
Art section of the site, there is a page called "My
Name". On that page you can write the name of one your students
in a form and simply click on "Create Image" and the name
you have written will be integrated in a graphic that says "Name"
loves Jesus. I have done this with my first name in the graphic above.
You could do that for all of your students, and save the images to use
on individualised worksheets or any handout for that matter.
 |
interparole-catholique-yvelines.cef.fr
- This French Web site has all you need to build a beautifully illustrated
yearly liturgical calendar to color, cut ut and assemble with your
students. If you cannot read French, it would still be worthwhile
to use a translator such as Babel
Fish to make out the meaning of the sections "Pourquoi
un calendrier liturgique ?" (Why a liturgical calendar)
and Tableau
récapitulatif de l'année liturgique (Summary table
of the liturgical year). Both of these provide useful and interesting
background information on how to help children understand the different
liturgical seasons and feast days and their meanings. |
More resources on the Liturgical Season
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