Links

Check these resources out!

Below is a list of resources for you as you try to 'live the Catholic life and still have a life.' I highly encourage you to check out the various links, and use these varied sites to help you. St. Mark's is not responsible for the content on the linked websites.

OTHER YOUTH MINISTRIES

Charlotte Diocese Youth Ministry Office

Life Teen

Charlotte Diocese Campus & Young Adult Ministry

IMPORTANT RESOURCE SITES

The Holy See; The Vatican

Diocese of Charlotte

Diocese of Charlotte Catholic Education Office

THE NEW TRANSLATION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL

U.S. Bishop's: The New Roman Missal

And With Your Spirit (Great article on the reason we are changing back to this response, instead of 'And also with you')

Fr. Peter Stravinskas on the New Translation

Joy and Hope

A Continuum in the Great Tradition

Recovery of the Sacred; Liturgy and the Loss of History

The Chimera of Relevance

Dynamics of Liturgical Reform; What Happens When Sacred Ritual Is Subjected to Contemporary Inculturation

The High Cost of Ignoring Beauty (Great article!)

NUTS & BOLTS

The Catechism

Holy Bible – New American Version

VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND/OR RELIGIOUS LIFE

Diocese of Charlotte

Men’s Religious Communities

Community of St. John

Companions of the Cross

Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception

Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate

Franciscan Friars of the Renewal

Order of Preachers (The Dominicans)

Society of our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity

Women’s Religious Communities

Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist

Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation (Nashville Dominicans)

Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate

Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal

Missionaries of Charity

Sisters of Life

Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara

CATHOLIC WEBSITE RATINGS (Not all websites that call themselves Catholic truly are. This site is a great resource to make sure that a site is truly faithful to the Church)

Catholic Culture Website Ratings

MOVIE REVIEWS

Screenit

The U.S. Bishops' website has movie reviews, but they are done by a layman with very questionable formation and understanding of how being a Catholic and Christian colors our entertainment choices. His ratings are thus pretty off the mark.

So what's a good Catholic to do? Use Screenit! Screenit, unlike most movie rating services, has reviews, which, to be quite honest, are not even needed. The most useful thing about the site is that it breaks out, in great detail, everything that is in a movie, and categorizes everything according to language, sexuality, violence, imitative behavior, and so forth. This put the responsibility back in the hands of us a Catholics to find out what is in a movie ahead of time, and takes away our excuse that we didn't know it was going to have inappropriate content. For example, under language, it will tell you exactly how many times a particular movie takes our Lord's name in vain, how many times various curse words are used, etc. Under sexuality, and this is a warning, it will tell you exactly what is in the movie, and this can be shocking, and even inappropriate to read about. Please take this to heart, and make sure if your teens use the site that it is with your supervision, and our guidance! Warning: Very often what is described in terms of content can be scandalous, and even potentially harmful to those trying to make an informed decision. Be cautious in your use of this. It is a safe bet that if Screenit rates the Sexuality Content as anything more than Minor, it will have enough inappropriate sexual content to at least warrant asking yourself if you should really even be supporting it with your money, publicly as a Catholic going to see it or renting it, or supporting it in any other way.

But for a Catholic to knowingly go to a movie that has content that is inappropriate under the rationale that they didn't know it was going to be is no longer an excuse. It is possible to make an informed, mature, Catholic choice in your movie viewing habits.

Plugged In (*Note – Not a Catholic site, but there reviews tend to be sounder than the USCCB)

LITURGY

Liturgical Calendar Mass readings, Saints feasts, and more!

Meditations Before Holy Mass

Sacred Sign & Gestures

Mass Readings Podcast

RC Net - Charlotte Find local parishes & Mass times

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY

Christopher West

Jason Evert

Rock For Life

Theology of the Body For Teens

HELPING THE POOR

Food For The Poor

Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Social Services – Charlotte Diocese

Aid To The Church In Need

CATHOLIC COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

Ave Maria University

Belmont Abbey College

Catholic Distance University

Christendom College

Franciscan University of Steubenville

John Paul the Great Catholic University

Our Lady of Corpus Christ College

Southern Catholic College

Thomas Aquinas College

The College of St. Thomas More

Wyoming Catholic College

Cardinal Newman Society

SAINTS

Patron Saints

The Saints and Doctrine

CATHOLIC ART

Maria Rangel

"In public discussions of the papacy, in a culture where even church-members are religiously illiterate, it seems almost impossible to get beyond the 'bottom lines' - will the pope agree to ordain women, rescind the teaching on birth control, accept homosexuality? Advice as to what the new pope 'must' do is often proffered by people who have scarcely an elementary knowledge of Catholic doctrine, and who in fact cannot understand why we should have a pope at all. Critics of the new pope (as well as the previous one) in effect demand that he simply conform the church to modern culture.

Pope Benedict XVI, one of the most important Catholic theologians of the late 20th century, was intellectually the best qualified man to be pope, and he defines his role in a way exactly opposite to that of his critics - a confrontation with modern culture in order to assert the primacy of the Gospel in all aspects of human affairs. Such a confrontation need not be abrasive, although it may often have to be, but it does recognize that the values of the world are in many ways in fundamental conflict with the Gospel and that the world always needs redemption." James Hitchcock

"Friends, again I ask you, what about today? What are you seeking? What is God whispering to you? The hope which never disappoints is Jesus Christ. The saints show us the selfless love of His way. As disciples of Christ, their extraordinary journeys unfolded within the community of hope, which is the Church. It is from within the Church that you too will find the courage and support to walk the way of the Lord. Nourished by personal prayer, prompted in silence, shaped by the Church's liturgy you will discover the particular vocation God has for you. Embrace it with joy. You are Christ's disciples today. Shine His light upon this great city and beyond. Show the world the reason for the hope that resonates within you. Tell others about the truth that sets you free." Holy Father Benedict XVI

"Only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him." Holy Father Benedict XVI

"Godhead here in hiding, Whom I do adore Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more, See Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart Lost, all lost in wonder at the God Thou art!" St. Thomas Aquinas

"Form a beautiful and rich tabernacle for our Lord within your heart, and then do not let Him go. In that way, you will always have Him with you. Enter within yourself, and meeting Him, tell Him all your experiences." Mother Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Foundress of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles

"Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth... which every man's heart desires." J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings, in a letter to his son