Can You Help??

Reader Phylis shares the following question - I would love your suggestions and recommendations if you have anything to share with Phylis. Feel free to comment here or email me at lisa@catholicmom.com with your recommendations. Thanks!

First, I love your website! I am trying to locate some materials and was hoping you might be able to help. Do you know where to find any religious education material to help teach children with special needs? This would include weekly religious education classes and Sacramental preparation. Any direction you can give will be appreciated.

Podcast Award Nominations

It's that time of the year - time to nominate your favorite podcasts for the Annual Podcast Awards. The awards are a secular endeavor, but nominating your favorite Catholic podcasts in a variety of categories helps to bring added exposure to our shows amidst a broader audience.

Today on the Daily Breakfast, Fr. Roderick offered the following suggestions for nominating your favorite podcast. It would be great if you could take time today to go over to the Podcast Awards and nominate a show or two (or ten!).

Just in case you want to nominate Catholic Moments, here is the information you need:

Podcast Name - Catholic Moments
Podcast URL - http://feeds.feedburner.com/CatholicMoments

Your nominations would be greatly appreciated and will go a long way towards helping us spread the word about Catholic podcasting.

Here are Fr. Roderick's recommendations:

Peoples Choice:
Whichever show you like most

Best Produced:
That Catholic Show
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThatCatholicShow

Best Video Podcast:
That Catholic Show
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThatCatholicShow

Comedy:
Catholic in a Small Town
http://feeds.feedburner.com/catholicinasmalltown

Cultural/Arts:
Secrets of Harry Potter
http://feeds.feedburner.com/secretsofharrypotter

Education:
Catholic Under the Hood
http://feeds.feedburner.com/CatholicunderTheHood

Catholic Hack
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheCatholicHack

Saintcast
http://feeds.feedburner.com/saintcast

Catholic Family Podcast
http://catholicfamilypodcast.com/goto/episodes/feed/

on the U
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ontheu

Entertainment:
Hands and Feet
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheHandsAndFeetPodcast

Food and Drink:
Grace before Meals
http://feeds.feedburner.com/gracebeforemeals

Gaming:
Secrets of the Lord of the Rings
http://feeds.feedburner.com/secretsoflotr

General:
Rosary Army
http://feeds.feedburner.com/rosaryarmy

Catholic Moments
http://feeds.feedburner.com/CatholicMoments

iPadre
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ipadrepodcast

Health/Fitness:
Healthy Catholic
http://feeds.feedburner.com/healthycatholic

Movies/Films:
Secrets of Battlestar Galactica
http://feeds.feedburner.com/battlestargalactica

PodSafe Music:
Catholic Rockers
http://feeds.feedburner.com/catholicrockers

Religion/Inspiration:
Daily Breakfast
http://feeds.feedburner.com/dailybreakfast

Sports:
Phedippidations
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Phedippidations

Technology/Science:
Technopriest
http://feeds.feedburner.com/technopriest

CatholicUnderground.com
http://feeds.feedburner.com/catholicundergroundpodcast

Travel:
Godspeed!
http://feeds.feedburner.com/godspeedcast

Congratulations to the Antonetti Family!

Congratulations to the family of CatholicMom.com columnist Sherry Antonetti, who welcomed their newest family member Paul to the family this week.  Paul was born on Wednesday, September 17 at 7:28 pm.  Many of you have read about and prayed for the Antonetti family who were lovingly preparing for Paul's birth following his prenatal diagnosis with Down's Syndrome. 

At her blog, Sherry shares a lovely column written to celebrate Paul's birth - please take a moment to read it and to keep this precious little boy (and his mom) in your prayers.

CHOCOLATE FOR YOUR BRAIN!: Welcome Baby Paul! 

Catholic Moments #70 - Barbara Bartocci

This week, I'm thrilled to share my interview with inspirational Catholic author and speaker Barbara Bartocci, author of Grace on the Go: Quick Prayers for Determined Dieters, and Grace on the Go: Quick Prayers for New Moms. Deacon Tom Fox reminds us of the tremendous impact just a little bit of gossip can have on lives. Be sure to enter for your chance to win the Faith Database - send your email to lisa@catholicmom.com by September 30, 2008 with the subject line "Faith Database Giveaway" and your complete mailing address in the body of the email. Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

Links for This Episode:
Barbara Bartocci
Barbara's Books : Grace on the Go: Quick Prayers for Determined Dieters and Grace on the Go: Quick Prayers for New Moms.
Faith Database
Faith and Family Live
Fireproof the Movie
The Catholic Company
Lisa's Facebook Profile, Plurk, Twitter
Catholic Mom Logo Store

Click here to listen to Catholic Moments #70

Subscribe to the feed | Subscribe with iTunes

Have You Made These Food Mistakes?

HT to BarbaraKB for sharing this great article from the New York Times examining common meal time mistakes made by parents who are desperate to get their kids to eat something. Who among us hasn't tried the "Just one bite..." strategy?

In our house, the episode of our coaxing Eric to eat six kernels of corn on his sixth birthday has reached legendary status. He succumbed to the "big boy" pressure and promptly repaid us by getting sick all over the kitchen.

As my kids age, I continually find that the best strategy for getting them to try new foods is to involve them in the cooking. Both are becoming great chefs and enjoy trying new ideas and seasonings.

6 Food Mistakes Parents Make - NYTimes.com

Sunday Gospel Activities

Every Sunday, over at CatholicMom.com, we offer fun activities related to the Sunday liturgy of the word. For the next few weeks, as a means of reminding you about them, I'm going to post the links here for you. A special thanks to Laura and Elyse, two special angels, who help me to compile these resources!

• Readings for Sunday, September 21 - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
  
• Religious Education Lesson Plan
• Coloring Page
• Word Search
• Crossword Puzzle
• Mass Worksheet - ages 7 - 10, ages 11 - 14
  

How We Spent Saturday

Eric and Adam had a blast this weekend jamming with the guys from Molly's Revenge. You can find some of the videos on Eric's YouTube profile, but here's one to give you a taste of the music.

Mid Life Vocations

Hat tip to Fr. Roderick for sharing this interesting article on the phenomenon of more men becoming priests at mid-life.  The article isn't only about Catholic priests, but presents some interesting thoughts on people of various religions pursuing a calling regardless of their age.

Pantagraph.com | News | Men becoming priests at mid-life

Congrats Scott and Christine!

Congrats to my SQPN buddies Scott and Christine on the latest addition to their family - Boris, the dromedary camel.  This guy is just too cute not to be shared!!  I can't wait to meet him and their other family members in person!

Christine gets an A+ in my book for following her dream!!

Boris, our Dromedary Camel - a set on Flickr

Who Do You See in Your Mirror?

This article from my great coach Greg Cheney is a keeper - I'll admit to still seeing a size fourteen in the mirror, even though I have been out of double digit clothing for over five years now. 

I love Greg's "three legged stool" approach to leading a balanced life!  Check it out for yourself...

Faith First Fitness Programs

Relish Reading

I loved this article today from Jenny over at Wishpot Baby Blog about reading with siblings.  It makes me miss those wonderful evenings when Eric, Adam and I used to sit for an hour reading before bedtime. 

The good news is that both of my kids are still huge readers, which means that now we simply discuss great books together rather than me reading aloud to them.  My kids weren't early readers, but they developed a love for reading that will likely accompany them into adulthood.

Wishpot Baby Blog: Reading with Siblings: Wishpot Mom Expert Jenny Guest Blogs Today

Download 5 Free Catholic Songs

Thanks to Susan Bailey of Grapevine for sharing the great news that we can all download five wonderful Catholic Songs free of charge over at SpiritandSong.com for five hours on October 7. Read all the details here and take this opportunity to learn more about a terrific Catholic recording artist, Jackie Francois.

Chore Wars

I'll admit to the fact that I'm a chump when it comes to chores. But I blame it on my mom. I was raised by the world's best Catholic Mom in a home where we didn't do "chores". I never washed dishes or did laundry until I moved out of my parents home, and even then, I tried to avoid it if I could!

My mom had (and still has) a certain way of loading the dishwasher and and doing laundry that worked for her and kept her household filled with five kids running well. I fear I've inherited my mom's propensity for wanting to do these tasks myself, and thus my kids don't wash dishes or do laundry either.

They do help out quite a lot in other ways, and have actually become some of the major cooks in our home. But I'll admit that they are likely very spoiled when it comes to chores.

That's why I was very interested in this article from the Wall Street Journal about the virtues attached to making kids do chores. The article's emphasis on housework as a teaching tool and as a means of serving others has me rethinking my boys' lack of chores.

I'll report back on whether or not this new found knowledge results in someone else getting to load the dishwasher in the Hendey household. My guess is, it's doubtful!

Our Lady of Coromoto

Thanks to RealCatholicTV.com, I learned today about the Patroness of Venezuela and thought you might enjoy learning a bit about her too!

Prayer to Our Lady of Coromoto

Beautiful Lady Mary, Virgin Mother of the Redeemer, with you we praise and glorify the Father in the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. We beseech you that, just as in Coromoto you guided the steps of the Indians towards the baptismal grace, you may now capture the heart of the Venezuelans, and bring them to the renewal of their faith.

Virgin of Coromoto, patron of Venezuela, bless the evangelistic action of the Church in our Country so that she might be fortress and defense of the faith of your children, and beginning of a renewal of the Christian customs. (Source)

Remembering 9/11

Today, at Faith and Family Live, we are remembering those whose lives were impacted by the tragedies of September 11, 2001. Danielle's post recalls the prayers of Pope Benedict XVI during his recent visit to Ground Zero in New York City and I posted about our experience the day the world changed forever.

All over the country, people are pausing today to remember lives lost and families impacted. Our family will be praying today for the souls of those departed and for peace in our world.

Travel to Portugal!

Thanks to our good friend Fr. Roderick, you and I can travel virtually to Portugal for a little pilgrimage. Father recently returned from his Portuguese sojourn and has begun posting his travel videos. I'm hoping to share them with you here as he puts them online.

I love Fr. Roderick's sense of humor, his eye for detail, the way he compliments his videos with music, and the "real world" feel that you get when you watch his films.

So today, come with me to Portugal for a little while and enjoy!

Charity Water

Thanks to Shannon Swenson for the heads up on Charity:Water, a non profit organization looking to bring clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Since both of my boys have September birthdays, I was drawn to their concept of launching a September birthday initiative to bring clean water to Ethiopia.

Learn more about Charity:Water here and consider supporting their work this month! If you take a few minutes to watch their videos, you can't help but be moved by the work being done.

Happy 17th Eric

Attend a Theology of the Body Lecture Online

Thanks to Pauline Sister Anne for sharing the great news about a monthly streaming video lecture series on the Theology of the Body. The recommended text is Pope John Paul II's Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology Of The Body.

The next lecture is being held tonight, Wednesday, September 10th at 7:30 pm EST here at Ustream.

If you miss the live presentation or want to catch up on previous conversations, visit the Ustream channel for recordings.

Rosary for the Unborn

Patrick Benedict wrote this weekend to share information about the following event which is being planned:

OCTOBER 18th WORLDWIDE ROSARY FOR UNBORN BABIES GAINS SUPPORT MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE (September 4th, 2008) - The WORLDWIDE ROSARY FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event, initiated by the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 18th. Support has come in from various places, including Lithuania, Czech Republic and India. Information about the pro-life prayer event is available in 9 languages(English, French, Italian, Korean, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Tagalog) at the website www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization was contacted about the October 18th Rosary prayer event by Rev. Prof. R. C. Wanjohi of Kenya, who said: "Human Life International Kenya will participate in the Worldwide Rosary for Unborn Babies prayer event." Another person to contact the Organization was Clare Tallon of England who wrote: "I am glad such an event for innocent unborn babies is being held and hope that everyone who can, will take part." Participants in the WORLDWIDE ROSARY FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event will pray the Rosary during the 9:00 a.m. hour on October 18th. The Rosary will be prayed for the following intention: For an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn babies. (If necessary, one may pray the Rosary at another time on October 18th.) "In addition to participating, people are encouraged to ask others to be participants," said Patrick Benedict, President of the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization and a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee. " The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization needs much help so people throughout the world will know about this pro-life prayer event," concluded Benedict. The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization's website is: www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org. The mailing address is: P. O. Box 41257; Memphis, Tennessee 38174; U.S.A. (If a person needs a response, it is asked that a stamped, self-addressed envelope be included).