Last Wednesday I flew to Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC. I returned on Friday. On Thursday and Friday I recorded twelve 25 minute audio and video programs designed to lead people through a "heart-centered" approach to the "Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius." I recorded four talks each morning and two each afternoon. It was a bit of a work-out but the material is so familiar to me that it went smoothly and easily. It is a bit odd to present retreat material to a camera but knowing how people have reacted to it in the past helped. The one problem was when I told humorous stories or jokes. With no laughter, canned or live, I wasn't able to judge how long to wait before proceeding to the next point.
The company for which I made these recordings is "Now You Know Media, Inc." and their catalog of lecture and retreat series is truly amazing. They even have recordings of talks and conferences of Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton. I'm not sure when my talks will be edited, packaged, and available but I'm glad to be able to offer to more people the opportunity to grow in their spiritual lives by means of both the "Spiritual Exercises" and Sacred Heart spirituality.
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Monday, July 30, 2012
Friday, July 29, 2011
Mass Media in Missouri
I'm in St. Louis giving a retreat to 84 men at the White House Jesuit Retreat House. I came a day early to do some video-taping at St. Joseph Radio in St. Charles, Missouri. I met this group in California last year and have begun to collaborate with them in producing CD's of talks and interviews as well as original DVD's. Lu Cortese is the woman of vision who began all this and the studios in St. Charles include a bookstore and even a coffee house known as St. Joe's Java.
Yesterday I went to their TV studio, IHS Productions, and after taping a one hour interview about the Sacred Heart and the Apostleship of Prayer with a local priest, Fr. Noah Waldman, I tried my hand at taping a show. We're hoping that it can become part of a series that would be offered to Catholic TV stations. I was a bit nervous because the sample show that I'd seen had the presenter seated in a chair talking to the camera. Thankfully the set in the studio had me behind a table where I could place my Bible, some notes, and my hands which tend to wander all over the place when I'm talking. I'm used to speaking to groups at a podium and this was a bit tricky because I spoke to a couple cameras which lit up, telling me when I should move my attention to one or the other of them. The talk I gave is one I often use on retreats--the Sacrament of Reconciliation from Jesus' Perspective--and so it flowed quite well and the technical people behind the scenes were happy with the way it turned out.
As I drove out to St. Charles yesterday morning I played a musical CD with which I prayed, offering praise to God for this opportunity and asking His help. I offered the coming hours up to God and prayed that all of them might be for His greater honor and glory and not mine. This is one of the beauties of "offering it up." In offering to God our day with its activities, we pray that His will be done and that as it is accomplished all praise and glory will go to Him.
Yesterday I went to their TV studio, IHS Productions, and after taping a one hour interview about the Sacred Heart and the Apostleship of Prayer with a local priest, Fr. Noah Waldman, I tried my hand at taping a show. We're hoping that it can become part of a series that would be offered to Catholic TV stations. I was a bit nervous because the sample show that I'd seen had the presenter seated in a chair talking to the camera. Thankfully the set in the studio had me behind a table where I could place my Bible, some notes, and my hands which tend to wander all over the place when I'm talking. I'm used to speaking to groups at a podium and this was a bit tricky because I spoke to a couple cameras which lit up, telling me when I should move my attention to one or the other of them. The talk I gave is one I often use on retreats--the Sacrament of Reconciliation from Jesus' Perspective--and so it flowed quite well and the technical people behind the scenes were happy with the way it turned out.
As I drove out to St. Charles yesterday morning I played a musical CD with which I prayed, offering praise to God for this opportunity and asking His help. I offered the coming hours up to God and prayed that all of them might be for His greater honor and glory and not mine. This is one of the beauties of "offering it up." In offering to God our day with its activities, we pray that His will be done and that as it is accomplished all praise and glory will go to Him.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Communications
Pope Benedict's General Prayer Intention this month is for all those working in communication media: that they may respect the truth, solidarity, and dignity of people. The Message he wrote for the 45th annual World Communications Day, which will be celebrated on June 5, is also timely: "Truth, Proclamation, and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age." This past weekend I participated in the annual conference of the Institute on Religious Life and the theme was "Go Make Disciples: Utilizing the New Media for the New Evangelization." In one workshop I learned that 50% of Americans have a Facebook account and 1/12th of the human race has one, making Facebook users the third largest nation in the world, after China and India. And then, on May 2, 150 Catholic bloggers gathered in Rome at the invitation of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and the Pontifical Council for Culture. Communication certainly seems to be on every one's mind these days.
The Internet has been a blessing for the Apostleship of Prayer. We've been able to get information out to people much more quickly than in pre-Internet days. When the Holy Father has an urgent prayer request, we can join him more easily in that prayer by sending an email out to all our members inviting them to pray with him.
I'll be honest: I know how to use some of the media but not much of it. I call myself a "techno-weenie." I really don't know what MP3 files are, I don't have an iPod, and I've never listened to a Podcast. Or have I?
Recently the National Jesuit News blog interviewed me via telephone and posted nine minutes of the interview as a Podcast on its site. In the interview I talked about my Jesuit vocation, how I came to know about the Apostleship of Prayer, and some of the exciting things we are doing these days.
One of those exciting things involves World Youth Day. On Sunday the logo of the Apostleship of Prayer was flashed on the giant screens in St. Peter's Square before the beatification ceremony. We are one of the sponsors of the "Love and Life" site for English-speaking pilgrims at World Youth Day next August in Madrid. You can see the video at the "Firm in the Faith with Mary" Facebook page.
I don't know if I'll ever catch up with all the communications technology out there, but it's good to work with others who know how to use it. Let's pray with Pope Benedict that we all make good use of the media.
The Internet has been a blessing for the Apostleship of Prayer. We've been able to get information out to people much more quickly than in pre-Internet days. When the Holy Father has an urgent prayer request, we can join him more easily in that prayer by sending an email out to all our members inviting them to pray with him.
I'll be honest: I know how to use some of the media but not much of it. I call myself a "techno-weenie." I really don't know what MP3 files are, I don't have an iPod, and I've never listened to a Podcast. Or have I?
Recently the National Jesuit News blog interviewed me via telephone and posted nine minutes of the interview as a Podcast on its site. In the interview I talked about my Jesuit vocation, how I came to know about the Apostleship of Prayer, and some of the exciting things we are doing these days.
One of those exciting things involves World Youth Day. On Sunday the logo of the Apostleship of Prayer was flashed on the giant screens in St. Peter's Square before the beatification ceremony. We are one of the sponsors of the "Love and Life" site for English-speaking pilgrims at World Youth Day next August in Madrid. You can see the video at the "Firm in the Faith with Mary" Facebook page.
I don't know if I'll ever catch up with all the communications technology out there, but it's good to work with others who know how to use it. Let's pray with Pope Benedict that we all make good use of the media.
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