I will not recap the events of the event.  Many others have done that already and are much better at that sort of thing then I am.  I will highlight a few things that were most powerful for me.  First, I met people … a lot of people.  Many of these individuals I know from Twitter, Facebook as well as the podcasts and blogs that I follow.  I was amazing to talk to these individuals in person and to witness their drive and energy first hand.  People like Barb Gilman (a.k.a. Barb in Nebraska), a 3rd grade teacher in a Catholic school who has so much energy that she probably puts her 3rd graders to shame; and Maria “Bego” Johnson from another cup of coffee, who is the classic Cubanita and a hoot to be around.

There were so many others that I met and had the opportunity to chat with, including Pat and Brian Padley from In Between Sundays, Dr. Paul Camarata from The SaintCast, Fr. Jay Finelli from iPadre, Fr. Jim Tucker from The Catholic Creativity Community and even Dane Falkner who leads the team at DivineOffice.org.  I even made some new local friends while I was there too.

The highlight for me was being able to chat briefly with His Eminence, Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, the “Blogging Cardinal” and who happens to be the shepherd of my Church.  He is such a humble man!  The Archdiocese of Boston is truly blessed to have him. His blog , Cardinal Seán’s Blog, gives you a peek into the life of a bishop and is a great way to stay on top of all the good work happening across our diocese.

Reflecting on the events and speakers of the CNMC, I have decided to add a new segment to my blog that will focus on catechesis.  I will select a topic monthly and write a reflection on the catechesis behind that topic.  Ultimately, I would not be using this blog to it’s fullest potential if I did not use it to share the Gospels in some way.  I hope this proves helpful to those that have questions about the faith and the Church’s teachings.

For those interested, you can view recording of the various sessions at SQPN’s uStream Archive and you can see pictures at the Archdiocese’s Flickr Page

Until next time, keep sharing the faith!

The Catholic New Media Celebration is an annual gathering of podcaters and bloggers where ideas are shared, newbies are inspired, and old friends (whether virtual or physical) get together.  This year, the CNMC will be happening in Boston, right in my neck of the woods.  I decided that I just could not pass up this opportunity, not only to meet the people behind the voices and the text, but to learn a thing or two from those in attendance.

The CNMC MMX (i.e. Catholic New Media Celebration 2010) will be happening on August 7th at the Pastoral Center for the Archdiocese of Boston.  Will you be there?

For more information, watch the video below or go to http://www.celebration.sqpn.com.

Until next time, keep sharing the faith!

All that being said, I have been busy. Not spectacular busy, but more like boring, every day busy. It’s time, however, to refocus on sharing my experiences with you — experiences of catechizing, experiences of personal spiritual growth and experiences of sharing the faith to all. Stay tuned for more regular updates and thanks for sticking with me!

In looking over his list of over 100 speakers, I came upon Matthew Pinto. Much of Matt’s work focuses around Catholic youth, young adults and family life. As a Catechist, that resonated loudly with me because I constantly see the influence that family has, both positive and negative, on the faith development of today’s youth and young adults.

As part of his ministry, Matt has spoken on a number of television and radio shows, including Life on the Rock, Mother Angelica Live!, and Living His Life Abundantly, both explaining and defending our faith.  He has also participated in a number of seminars across the country covering a wide variety of topics that are important to having a fruitful Catholic life and he continues to speak on many important Catholic issues.

Prior to starting his ministry of evangelization and apologetics, Matt ran a successful advertising business. After heeding God’s call, Matt sold his business and began his work with youth and young adults through the Diocese of San Diego.  Over the years Matt has authored or co-authored a number of works, including “Did Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons? and 199 Other Questions from Catholic Teenagers”, “Did Jesus Have a Last Name? and 199 Other Questions from Catholic Teenagers” and “Friendly Defenders Catholic Flash Cards”.

In addition to his writing, Matt is also a co-founder of CatholicExchange.com and in 1996 he teamed up with Patrick Madrid to co-found Envoy Magazine, which Matt was also formerly the president of.  Currently, he is the president as well as founder of Ascension Press and lives with his wife and five children in Pennsylvania.

I’ve been fortunate to have had this opportunity to profile Matt.  Learning about all of his work and accomplishments has been inspirational.  He has strengthened my own belief of just how important it is for us to continue to guide our youth to a fruitful life with and in Christ.

Until next time, keep sharing the faith!!

I’ve registered for my first class, Catholic Beliefs, at the VLCFF as part of the Catechist Certification program for the Archdiocese of Boston.  The online class begins on July 12th and goes for 6 weeks.  I also received my book for the class, Being Catholic by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, which I look forward to diving into.

Additionally, I got confirmation this week that I will, in fact, be teaching 6th Grade again next year.  I had told our CRE that I could be flexible if she had a greater need for another grade, but the 6th Grade is where I will remain.  I’m excited about this because I think the more you work with a grade level, the more you grow in understanding, appreciating and delivering the material.

Lastly, I’ve started to notice a pickup in SPAM hitting the blog these past few weeks, which means one of two things.  Either (1) the blog is getting more popular, or (2) I’m an easy target.  I hope it’s 1, but just in case it’s 2, I’ve added CAPTCHA to the comment box to help fend off the spammers.

Well, that’s it.  Short and sweet.  See you guys soon, either here or at the Online Retreat for Catechists at Catechist’s Journey.  ;)

To help share these resources, I’ve created a Tools page on the blog.  On this page, I will link to the various tools that I have used or intend to use in the future.  I hope other Catechists find some value in them as I have.  To access the page, go to the Menu Bar above and click on “Tools“.

While sharing this journey with you, I hope to post my challenges and my successes, my good days and bad days.  I hope to post some of my ideas on running a Religious Education class as well as some of the topics that I cover in class.  Sometimes I will succeed and sometimes I will fail, but I will do it all with Christ as my guide.

Please come on this journey with me.