Tag: Video

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Jack the Depressed Pumpkin – A Halloween Video

Where did the tradition of carving pumpkins come from? That is the question that haunts Jack, a pumpkin in need of psychiatric help. In the following video by Fr. Roderick Vonhögen of SQPN, Jack learns the legend behind this practice and comes to terms with his own insecurities.

Here’s another account of the legend, courtesy of Wikipedia:

An old Irish folk tale tells of Stingy Jack, a lazy yet shrewd farmer who uses a cross to trap the Devil. One story says that Jack tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree, and once he was up there Jack quickly placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that the Devil couldn’t get down. Another myth says that Jack put a key in the Devil’s pocket while he was suspended upside-down.

Another version of the myth says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen, when he met the Devil, who claimed it was time for him to die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting the Devil with a chance to bedevil the church-going villagers chasing him. Jack told the Devil to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods (the Devil could take on any shape he wanted); later, when the coin/Devil disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who Friendly Pumpkinhad stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack’s wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack had closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped. In both myths, Jack only lets the Devil go when he agrees never to take his soul. After a while the thief died, as all living things do. Of course, his life had been too sinful for Jack to go to heaven; however, the Devil had promised not to take his soul, and so he was barred from hell as well. Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and the Devil mockingly tossed him an ember that would never burn out from the flames of hell. Jack carved out one of his turnips (which was his favourite food), put the ember inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. He became known as “Jack of the Lantern”, or Jack-o’-Lantern.

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Archbishop Gregory on the Transforming Grace of Catholic Education

Catholic Classroom“It would be impossible to imagine our American society today without the transforming grace of Catholic school graduates.” – Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, October 18, 2010

In the following video from last week, Archbishop Gregory explains the mission and value of Catholic schools, and points out three qualities that make them unique:

  • Well defined curriculum
  • Parental involvement and support
  • Teachers, staff members and administrators who witness a sense of calling to assist students’ spiritual, academic, developmental and physical growth

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Catholic Educators, You Deserve This Video!

Smiling BoyCatholic educators, you are awesome! You work tirelessly, sacrificing yourself for the good of the gospel. Your commitment to sharing your faith and building up the kingdom is amazing! Don’t lose hope, don’t give up. Your life is truly inspirational. You deserve the following video to make you smile at the end of the week. Kick back, grab a glass of something soothing, and enjoy. And if you like it, share it with someone else who needs it:

A very special thank you to Joyce at Liturgy & Catechesis Shall Kiss, where I first saw Validation. Be sure to visit her site to see how she uses it with Confirmation students.

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What Catholic Teachers Can Learn from Guitarist Phil Keaggy

Phil KeaggyPhil Keaggy is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Regularly listed at the top of Guitar Player Magazine polls, he also has a voice as honey smooth as Paul McCartney’s. His musical style runs the gamut: solo acoustic, electric blues, melodious pop, classic rock, you name it. And since the mid-1970s, he has used his considerable talent to spread the Gospel.

As one of Christian music’s pioneers, Phil Keaggy has inspired hundreds of thousands of people, especially those fortunate enough to have seen him perform live. I count myself among the lucky, having seen him in concert several times. After each concert, I left with the desire to inspire my students the way Phil Keaggy inspires his audience.

What can a Catholic teacher learn from a musician like Phil Keaggy? I invite you to ponder that question as you watch an amazing performance of “Salvation Army Band.” Phil Keaggy performs the song with a single guitar and a device called a JamMan, which allows him to create several loops with the guitar and layer them over each other by using foot switches.

What are the lessons we can learn from Phil Keaggy?

Know your stuff: In order to inspire, we must first perspire. No doubt some of us are born with a natural ability to teach, as Phil was born with a natural ability to play the guitar. But that ability must be nurtured and developed through constant practice.

Innovate: Phil plays guitar like no one else, always pushing the creative envelope. Do we sit back and reuse our lesson plans year after year, or do we look for more effective, creative ways to bring the gospel message to our students?

Make technology work for you: As talented as Phil is, he also knows how to use the latest technology to be even more entertaining and expressive. Are we taking advantage of educational technology to be more efficient, interesting and relevant?

Enjoy what you do: There is a joy that radiates from Phil’s face as he plays. What radiates from our faces as we teach?

Give it all to God: Finally, Phil understands the source of his gifts, and is living a life of gratitude by offering those gifts back to God. We, too, have the opportunity to make our work a living offering to the great God of the universe.

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The Chicken Runs at Midnight – Catholics and Baseball

Champions of Faith DVD“The Chicken runs at midnight.” Stranger words were never spoken. But if you know the story of Major League Baseball coach Rich Donnelly, then you also know that more beautiful words have never been spoken. I first heard about Rich’s story through an amazing DVD called Champions of Faith. If baseball is your second religion after Catholicism, then you have to watch Champions of Faith. Some of the game’s biggest stars give witness to their Catholic faith: Mike Piazza, Mike Sweeney, David Eckstein, Sean Casey, Jim Leyland, Juan Pierre, Mike Scioscia…the list goes on.

The DVD is beautiful in every respect–gorgeous camera shots, poignant stories, inspiring music. With the baseball post-season just beginning, Champions of Faith might be a way to get your students more in touch with their own faith lives. The Champions of Faith website has resources for father/son retreats, youth ministry nights, and mini lessons for children. Take a look at the extended trailer:

For me, the most memorable part of the DVD is Rich Donnelly’s story about the origin of the phrase “The Chicken runs at midnight.” Here’s a low-quality video of Rich telling his story in a Lifetime channel special. You might want to get some tissue before you watch:

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The Glorious Month of October

October is my favorite month. In what other month of the year can you kick through leaves, watch post-season baseball and cheer high school football? October is glorious. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Ray Bradbury has to say about October:

First of all, it was October, a rare month for boys. Not that all months aren’t rare. But there be good and October Leavesbad, as the pirates say. Take September, a bad month: school begins. Consider August, a good month: school hasn’t begun yet. July, well July’s really fine: there’s no chance in the world for school. June, no doubting it, June’s best of all, for the school doors spring wide and September’s a billion years away.

But you take October, now. School’s been on a month and you’re riding easier in the reins, jogging along. You got time to think of the garbage you’ll dump on Old Man Prickett’s portch, or the hairy-ape costume you’ll wear to the YMCA the last night of the month. And if it’s around October twentieth and everything smoky-smelling and the sky orange and ash gray at twilight, it seems Halloween will never come in a fall of broomsticks and a soft flap of bedsheets around corners. — Something Wicked This Way Comes

In addition to beautiful autumn leaves, moderate temperatures, and baseball playoffs, October brings with it some towering models of faith for us to contemplate. If there’s a month with more outstanding saints than October, then I’d be mighty surprised. October celebrates some of the greatest saints in Catholic history, which is another reason it’s my favorite month of the year:

  • St. Therese of Lisieux – the Little Flower, whose simple piety influenced so many that she was named a Doctor of the Church; October 1
  • The Guardian Angels – “to light and guard, rule and guide;” October 2
  • St. Francis of Assisi – perhaps the most beloved saint in the world; October 4
  • St. Faustina – the mystic whose devotion to divine mercy led to Divine Mercy Sunday
  • Our Lady of the Rosary – commemorating perhaps the most widespread Catholic devotion; October 7
  • St. Teresa of Avila – Spanish mystic, author of The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection, another Doctor of the Church; October 15
  • St. Luke – author of the longest gospel and Acts of the Apostles; his gospel emphasizes prayer and the caring for the poor; October 18
  • St. John of Capistrano – the saint whose namesake mission church in California receives the cliff swallows back from migration each year; October 23
  • Sts. Jude and Simon – two of the Twelve, apostles of Jesus; October 28

Which feast is your favorite? I’ve set up a poll in the left sidebar, so be sure to cast your vote.

October has also inspired some magnificent poems:

Finally, here’s a beautiful video set to U2’s “October”: