There are many good new evangelization online and digital resources that you can use. Here are a few of our favourites:
Busted Halo – An Online Magazine for Spiritual Seekers
We live in an age filled with seekers 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. 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. Busted Halo is committed to creating a forum that is: open, informed, unexpected, unpredictable, balanced, and thought-provoking.
Catholicism (Word on Fire)
CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization is a new documentary and multi-media formation program that explores the Church’s mission within the challenges of contemporary culture. Hosted by Father Robert Barron, the documentary focuses on the cultural challenges the Church faces today, such as the emergence of “the new atheism” and relativistic attitudes toward questions of faith and morality. In classic documentary style, Fr. Barron is joined by a large group of Catholics, both well-known and ordinary. Many leading commentators on faith and culture are interviewed. Fr. Barron also showcases numerous examples of individuals and groups proclaiming the Gospel with creativity and innovation. Whether it’s in the United States, England or Australia, we see the Church alive with a renewed spirit, talking about the Lord with new expressions, and reaching out globally with new communication tools, such as Facebook. “CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization” is accompanied by a study program for adult and mature teen faith formation. The Study Program can be presented in six, 90-minute sessions.
Lighthouse Catholic Media
Lighthouse Catholic Media offers professionally recorded presentations for parishioners from leading Catholic clergy, theologians, and lay speakers on high-quality audio CDs. Lighthouse also provides books and booklets so all parishioners can grow in their faith and have a tool to share it with others! They also have a “Catholic CD-of-the-Month” club.
New Catholics Generation
New Catholic Generation is an organization composed of all Catholic Teenagers on YouTube testifying to their faith in Jesus Christ.Publicly demonstrating their lives as Catholic teens by way of a video blog, those of NCG hope to show their own upcoming generation that if one knows the truth, they should live by it and further pursue it today, not tomorrow or in ten years. Its base in the universal network of YouTube allows New Catholic Generation to reach the minds of young adults all over the globe. By this way young believers can be encouraged by the fact that they are not alone in their love of God.
Outside da Box – Catholic Evangelization Videos for Teens (and Adults)
Outside da Box exists to bring Jesus Christ to the young church through digital media. We create short films that help teens know, love, and serve the Lord. They are producing the VCat series (Video Catechism for Teens) for the Diocese of Wheeling Charleston. The video below, Sharing the Gospel, explore how it’s routine for us to talk about so many different things – movies, concerts, people, food, weather, but how often do we share the message of Jesus Christ with those around us? This short film was produced by Outside da Box (www.outsidedabox.com) for Paulist Evangelization Ministries’ Living the Eucharist Lenten series for teens (https://www.pemdc.org/). (Spanish subtitles: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRbc8Y.)
Parent Faith Formation Videos: First Eucharist and First Reconciliation
Thomas Quinlan, Diocese of Joliet
These videos by Tom Quinlan can be used in a variety of ways. He suggests that leaders can listen to the sessions and draw any material they wish from them to use in your own parent sessions. The primary goal in these sessions is to foster conversion in the hearts and minds of our parents. Leaders can use a portion or portions of these videos to support your parent sacrament prep formation. This could mean in actual sessions with the parents gathered, as part of make-up sessions or as a supplemental resource for parents to view on their own.
Paulist Evangelization Webinars
These webinars provide a thorough training in Catholic evangelization – from the theory to its various modes of practice. They will help Catholics understand fundamental Catholic ideas of evangelization and, as importantly, grapple with the particular dimensions of evangelizing action for parishes today. Using the videos will allow a committed believer to explore, at his or her own pace, dimensions of Catholic evangelization. It will allow teams to learn together, share perspectives, and develop practical actions that bring a strong Catholic invitation to people today. Beginning with an overview of Catholic ideas about evangelization, the course proceeds to aspects of planning, parish renewal, invitation and welcome, on to planning outreach to inactive Catholics and to seekers. Realistic and concrete, the presenters help you reflect on what is possible in your parish, and how to go about organizing evangelization initiatives.
Rediscovering the Faith
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
This website contains resources – print and video – to help people rediscover the faith and answer questions about the Church and Church teachings.
SPARCS – Spiritual Program for All Returning Catholics
Saint Bede Roman Catholic Church, Williamsburg, VA
SPARCS (Spiritual Program for All Returning Catholics) is a dynamic and accessible audio-visual study designed to help people understand the Catholic faith. This series of brief sessions explores the ins and outs of the Mass, Vatican II, and Reconciliation; gives an in-depth look at the Church’s process of marriage, divorce, and annulment; and provides first-hand accounts from newly returned Catholics. Showing the depth of God’s abundant mercy, SPARCS invites people to develop an integrated relationship with Christ. Offered as online sessions, SPARCS is a great map for those who are on-the-go. The content of SPARCS is Christ-centered – answering the call for outreach in the New Evangelization initiatives created by Pope Francis. SPARCS focuses on those individuals who have been inspired by the Holy Spirit to take the first step toward a return to the Church. Perhaps they are fearful, do not have a plan of how to make the return, or are just curious as to the steps that need to be taken – culminating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Ten Things You Need to Know about the Catholic Faith
Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Website: www.archindy.org/yearoffaith/resources.html
Document (English & Spanish): www.archindy.org/yearoffaith/10things.html
Video: www.archindy.org/yearoffaith/10things-video.html
VCat – Video Catechism for Teens
Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
VCat, developed by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and produced by Outside da Box, is a video catechism of youth and young-adult videos about Catholic beliefs, correlated with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The videos use cultural analogies, creativity, humor, and seek to answer the question, “Why should a teenager care about this?” At the heart of each video is a point (or points) articulated by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In addition to the videos is a discussion guide for Catechetical leaders, teachers, and youth ministers; and a family discussion guide.
