Catholic Christmas present ideas

It’s barely November, but two potential Christmas gifts came to my attention today.

Father Robert Barron’s series on the Catholic faith, Catholicism, is set for release in the Netherlands, with Dutch subtitles. Originally released in the United States several years ago, the series appears to be a wonderful tool for catechesis, but also an interesting look at the great variety of our worldwide Church, as well as the heart of the faith.

The 500-minute DVD series is available for the price of €39,90 from the Catholic Alpha Centre and Publisher Betsaida, which is connected to the St. John’s Centre seminary of the Diocese of ‘s Hertogenbosch.

Also from ‘s Hertogenbosch comes the second book, this time for adults, from the pen of Bishop Rob Mutsaerts, auxiliary bishop of that diocese (and at the moment filling in for ordinary Bishop Antoon Hurkmans who is taking his rest for medical reasons – prayers for him). In it, the bishop aims to correct all sorts of misconceptions about the Church and her faith. He writes:

“This is no scientific book. I don’t pretend to be a theologian, I’m no cultural sociologist or scientist. In order to explain things to non-experts, a pragmatic and sober approach by someone who knows the topic well is often more effective than a highly scientific approach.”

The book, titled Gewoon over Geloof (a play on words which means both “simply about faith” and “acting or talking normally about faith”), aims to correct an image of the Church in modern secular society, which consider the Catholic faith to be “backwards, irrational, medieval, illiberal, unreasonable, misogynistic, homophobic and brainwashed”.

Bishop Mutsaerts has one previous book on his name, a children’s book titled Jezus kan niet voetballen (“Jesus can’t play football”).

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The final hours… some impressions

Not being there it is not possible to get a true sense of the anticipation in Rome for tomorrow’s historic event, but I find that the various people I follow via Twitter allow me to get at least some taste. Sharing just some examples that appeared in my timeline in the past hours:

Streams of pilgrims from Germany making their way through the Roman subway, which runs all through the night. Photo courtesy of Fr. George Mabura:

Dutch journalist Stijn Fens shares this photo of people queueing to get onto St. Peter’s Square, five hours before it opens:

People asleep in Santo Spirito Church, again courtesy of Fr. Mabura:

Stijn Fens reports that the general atmosphere is similar to when Pope John Paul II died.

Journalist Peter Smith shares this photo of seminarian Tom Schluep and Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, ready for the canonisations:

Salt + Light offers another look at pilgrims waiting in the Via Della Conciliazione as night falls over Rome:

The streets were no less crowded earlier in the day, as this photo by Michael Kelly shows:

A refuge for rainsoaked people, the Church of the Frisians, in this photo by Fr. Michel Remery:

An empty St. Peter’s Square, cleared for the final preparations, in this photo by Fr. Manuel Dorantes:

Also, make sure to follow Father Roderick’s Youtube channel for short videos from Rome in the last days before the canonisations, and Fr. Robert Barron’s Word From Rome videos.

Fr. Barron’s seven points for the evangelisation

I’ve been keeping an eye out for Father Robert Barron’s keynote address at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, which was held last weekend. While the Congress itself has been criticised, especially when it comes to the liturgy on display there, Fr. Barron’s address is almost universally lauded.

I found a recording of the address here, so go over there, sit down and take it in. At 45 minutes or so it may seem long, but it is well worth the effort.

In our daily prayer moment, my fiancée and I have been using Fr. Barron’s Lent Reflections, which you can subscribe to here.

The Catholicism Project

I’ve been watching some videos of the Catholicism Project, Fr. Robert Barron’s 10-part documentary series on the Catholic faith. In the trailer, he says that the Catholic story is being told, but by the wrong people an in the wrong way. Hence this project, which Fr. Barron wrote and hosts, and which took him across the world to delve into the essential parts of the Catholic faith.

As the video below highlights, the topics that are featured are very diverse, just as the Catholic faith, and it is also a very human story.

It seems to me that this is a great educational tool, for Catholic and non-Catholics alike. Wouldn’t it be great if, for example, Dutch Catholic TV would buy it and broadcast the series? Just a thought…