Blog Archives

December Women's Group

11/30/2014

Join us this Thursday, December 4, for a Holy Hour of Adoration led by Fr. Jeff Paveglio. This is a wonderful way to begin the Advent season, to be one with the Lord, and to reflect--with fellow women--on the gifts our Lord has bestowed upon us.

Adoration will begin at 7pm in Sacred Heart Church. Light refreshments will follow in the OLG Conference Center.

Learn to Use Youtube

11/28/2014

Ministry Tip of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

What if a book came to life, and the excitement and passion of the author could be experienced? What if his facial expressions were manifested and the spirit of his inflection was clear as he spoke? I may be a product of this generation but I know that, for me, it's a far more engaging experience, and it opens me up to go deeper, when I see someone's face and hear their voice as I learn.

The internet is available to everyone. It can be used for any number of purposes. And it is being used, by everyone and for every purpose. The Church must use it as well. And she does! We have at our finger tips a resource like the world of evangelization has never known. Through digital resources like Youtube, the message and power of the Gospel can be transmitted with near-unlimited expressions and (literally) to the ends of the earth. Even more impressively, this is done at a moment's notice - instantly - and then is stored for anyone and everyone to encounter for years to come at any time. To top it off, we can be anywhere when we access it.

For better or worse, through iphones and the like, the Church can now communicate at any moment; yep, a small pocket device keeps the world in constant communication. A world antagonistic to the Gospel is taking full advantage of this, right now in fact. But so too are many, many faithful men and women of the Church.

And we must as well.

It's simple. Start connecting people to the abundance of powerful resources available to us. Spread them to friends and families. Get them up on Facebook pages, websites, via email, and by any other means you might have at your disposal. Below is a digital list of ten different Youtube "ideas" to wet your appetite.

Struggling to convince a teen to go to mass? Chris Stefanic has a gift for reaching the youth:

Father Stan's eccentric rapping has had great success evangelizing. This one's on chastity:

Audrey Assad has a Youtube channel with wonderful recordings of her songs.

Chris Padgett uses his strange and quirky humor to open people up to the Gospel.

Mark Hart tells the history of Salvation...in pop music! A great tool when teaching Scripture.

Steubenville Conference talks are now available in groves. This one's phenomenal!

Jason Evert is also a chastity "specialist" for the modern culture. He has a Youtube channel.

Spirit Juice Studios is making waves on Youtube. This one's about finding your vocation.

For powerful pro-life materials, Students for Life has dynamic and engaging videos.

Father Robert Barron has a Youtube channel that engages the culture on it's own terms.

The Gospel message can and will be heard by this generation, if we but learn how to express it in a way that they can understand, and through methods that take advantage of the communication channels at work in this culture.

The youth are plugged in. The adults are just as mesmerized by the new technologies. The world is listening. Let's start speaking their language, and let's take advantage of the many gifts and talents available to us as the Body of Christ.

"I can't explain such and such very well...but this guy can. Here, watch this video and tell me what you think!"

We're a "Sesame Street" culture, which means we learn through entertainment. Our goal, of course, is to lead people deeper and out of that world. Silence and reflection, prayerful experience of God's loving presence and a transformed life. These are the goal. But Youtube is one of many channels of evangelization now available to us as Church, and it's a tool that helps us effectively engage people where they're at.

I've included here a few of the many ways men and women of the Church are already using Youtube to do this. But this is just a small glimpse of what's available. Some videos are better than others, but the sheer volume of options means that there's something for everyone. It's up to us then to pay prayerful attention to what the people in our life need to hear, and then find creative ways (such as Youtube) to get them to listen.

Video is a powerful tool. We all remember Bishop Fulton Sheen. Just think what he would have done with this kind of unlimited, world-wide access literally at his fingertips!

If you don't already, use fun and engaging Youtube clips when you teach (if you can), and think about sharing them with your friends and family.

"Let us remember that faith is not something we possess, but something we share. Every Christian is an apostle." (Pope Francis)

Arguably, the best Nutcracker Fair ever! (...in Laconia)

11/25/2014

by Seth Evangelho

The reviews are raving about this year's Nutcracker Fair. Everyone I talk to about it has nothing but praise for the event, as well as for all the team members who made it such a success. My wife, Christine, was particularly impressed by the Kids' "playland" that spanned the entire upstairs of the gym. Our kiddos were gleefully entertained (under very trustworthy supervision) for hours up there while Christine was able to visit with friends and browse the vast selection of Christmas gifts, baked goods, and baskets. Thank you to ALL the hardworking SAB Parishioners who helped out in big and small ways!!

Recapture the Enchantment

11/21/2014

Ministry Tip of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

Secularism refers to a culture that has placed a roof on the universe. If there is a God, he remains distant and uninterested in the affairs of men. And the secularist would like to keep it that way. "We're perfectly capable of getting on without divine assistance," he reassures us.

At best, this attitude compartmentalizes religious belief - placing God in a carefully unobtrusive box - and robs faith of it's power to transform lives. At worst, it denies God's existence altogether and, along with him, all objective meaning and purpose to our own existence.

Why are people bored at mass? For the same reason they're bored at school. We don't really understand why we're there. The only meaning we find in anything anymore is the meaning we project into it. As soon as our personal preferences change and our emotional attachments simmer down to a lukewarm complacency (and they always do!), nothing remains to call us onward. We have no reason to persevere. We never think to endure the trial for the sake of the glory.

Instead, the secular mind moves on. It continues to search for the definitive fulfillment of a self-made reality that has no footing in reality. Again and again, it comes up empty. And eventually the jaded self settles for base pleasure and second-rate comforts.

The "roof" on his universe keeps him searching for the heavens in the disenchanted material of earth, until he gives up.

Oh, but how blind he is. Every nook and cranny in the vast, material expanse of human discovery is rich with meaning, and glorifies God if we but let it. Within everything we can experience stands a signpost designed to communicate to us the Creator. Can we see it? Romans 1 tells us the power and majesty of God is seen in the things he has created, and that it was all meant to be reminders of him.

He made us with a desire to worship (ultimately with the gift of our whole life by living for him) but, St. Paul also tells us, the entire history of human idolatry has been about our choice to worship the creature instead; and God gives us over to our base desires. Love will not force itself.

How beautiful is the enchanted world! Around every corner is a reminder of the Lord. In the midst of every joy is a glimpse of heaven. Through every trial is the light of resurrection. Death becomes the most enchanted moment of all and, paradoxically, the reason to live.

Life is full of meaning. The universe, as it turns out, has no roof. And living this way, we never settle for complacency. It all becomes a journey of unending transformation. Everything is new because we're never the same. We are becoming like him. The material world is alive with the playful sparkle of heaven, and behind it all is the God of love.

He is speaking to you right now.

The WIIFM Principle

11/14/2014

Ministry Tip of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

I love truth. I love everything about it. But I still have a hard time embracing it - or really understanding it - unless I see it's relevance for my life. I don't mean to do it, but I'm constantly asking the question, "What's in it for me?" It's due in part to my sinful inclinations (pride and selfishness, ugh!), but I think some of it's just natural to the human quest as well.

This doesn't mean truth should be reduced to utility (i.e. only good if it's useful). But look at the implications of what Jesus said: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." HOW will it set me free? That's what I need to know! "What's in it for me?"

And that's what people want to know when we share with them the Gospel. Our audience may not be asking this question consciously, but they are asking it. We long for freedom and happiness. And that makes us long for truth, often not even realizing that it's the truth we're after.

So if we are to speak the truth in love...

Why is Praying the Rosary Manly?

11/11/2014

The parish Men's Group home page has just added a new feature: each week, we will highlight a new article from various online Catholic hubs and blog sites. The goal is to give the men in our parish a diverse selection of great articles on manhood, a selection specifically designed to develop and cultivate the four areas of formation: spiritual, intellectual, pastoral, and human. A new article will be posted every Tuesday.

This week's article answers the question,
"Why is the Rosary a Manly Devotion?"
Read all about it at the Men's Group homepage:

http://www.standrebessette.org/mens-group.html

Without having read the article yet, does anyone have an answer to this question? Do YOU find praying the Rosary to be a manly devotion? If so, why?

New SAB Pro-Life page and Weekly Article!

11/10/2014

We're excited to introduce a developing online presence for our parish Pro-Life ministry. The page is up and running, complete with some great videos and an "Article of the Week." This week's article is an unwed, teenage mother who chose life:

"Life is God's. It is not ours. No matter the circumstances," she explains.

Read this inspirational article and check out our new page at the following link:

http://www.standrebessette.org/pro-life.html

Kristen Nederveld

Give us some feedback! How can we make it better? What would you like to see on this page?

The Topic is Always Jesus

11/7/2014

Ministry Tip of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

If you ever come across a book or curriculum that covers "Jesus" in chapter two, and then moves on to other topics, set it down gently and slowly step away. The topic is always Jesus.

Evangelization is about encountering Jesus Christ. And so is catechesis. Church teaching is truth. And Jesus Christ is the Truth. When we share the faith, therefore, we share Christ. So whatever the topic might be, the goal is for students to connect it to their living, personal relationship with Jesus. If we can't understand how purgatory, for example, fits into our relationship with Christ, we'll be hard-pressed to truly understand it's importance. The same goes for any topic: the sacraments, prayer, vocation, sin, death, virtue, grace, social justice, heaven, hell, or any other tenant of faith. If it isn't understood and taught in relation to the Person of Jesus Christ, it's being "suffocated" and, most likely, we'll never encounter him through the teaching.

The CCC puts it this way:
"At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father…who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living forever…Catechesis aims at putting “people…in communion…with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity (CCC 426). In catechesis “Christ, the Incarnate Word and Son of God,…is taught – everything else is taught with reference to him (CCC 427).

When we do begin to see the organic harmony of the faith, a new world opens up before us. It's the Holy Spirit, I'm sure, but something begins to happen. We become hungry for more, because we realize we're not just learning facts or bits of intriguing statements about God. We become "sponges" for the knowledge that faith offers us because we realize every new ray of light is a refraction of his infinite beauty. This knowledge is a Person. And he is risen and present in every morsel of truth we receive.

As we learn to see these connections and to encounter Christ in the doctrines of the Church, not only does our own faith grow but so too does the faith of those around us as we share it.

This Weekend: There's Something for Everyone of All Ages at the Annual St. Andre Bessette Parish Nutcracker Fair!

11/3/2014

Don't miss the festivities this weekend at St. Andre Bessette Parish!

Friday, Nov 7th, 5pm-8:30pm - Saturday, Nov 8th, 9am-2:30pm

Father Marc's famous pork pies, Spectacular Themed Raffle, Cookie Walk, St. Nicholas, Kid's Room, great Christmas Gifts and more!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO!

Subscribe to The Upper Room by Email

Why follow our parish blog?

Share our vision for discipleship, be enriched by helpful tips, share your thoughts, and stay up-to-date on the latest happenings around the parish!

Main Contributors

Fr. Marc Drouin

Cory
Johnson

Seth Evangelho

Caitlin
Sica

Archives

August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014

Categories