New Season of "We've Got To Talk"

Starting in March, we will air a new season of the show “We’ve Got To Talk” starring Fr. Dan O’Connell. Fr. Dan O’Connell is known for his energetic and creative preaching, his sweater-wearing during the summer, and his preaching in front of incredible backgrounds.

The new episodes of “We’ve Got to Talk” will start airing in March. Themes from a few of these episodes are listed below:

LOVE IS FREE: This episode begins with a story of how Fr. Dan was approached by a high-priced fortune teller on the street who wanted to sell her services to Fr. Dan. Fr. Dan takes this experience and uses it to explain how God’s love is free and how we shouldn’t spend our time or money on things which fail to satisfy.

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE: Fr. Dan notices a puppy that is overjoyed at seeing his friend, a 12-year girl at the airport. The occurrence reminds Fr. Dan about the unconditional love of the Lord. Fr. Dan talks about how St. Paul was able to love the Lord even though St. Paul’s preaching had sent him to prison.

HIS YOKE OUR SALVATION: Fr. Dan talks about how God is always with us. He remembers how one of his splashguards came loose from his car and was dragging on the highway, and a couple of motorists got his attention and warned him by pointing at the front of his car. Fr. Dan likens this situation to God’s desire to constantly be there for us and to help us.

“We’ve Got to Talk” can be seen each week at the following times: Monday- 5PM; Tuesday- 11PM; Wednesday- 12:30PM; Thursday- 10:30AM; Friday- 8:30PM; Saturday- 12:30PM; Sunday- 2PM. All times are Eastern Standard.

The show is viewable on CatholicTV where available and is also streamed live (simultaneously) at www.CatholicTV.com. Shows are currently offered in the archives and are viewable full-screen now for free. Click here or post this URL into your browser to view archived episodes. http://www.catholictv.org/shows/default.aspx?seriesID=77.

CatholicTV To Air New Episodes of "The Future Depends on Love"

Starting in March, CatholicTV will air new episodes of the show on marriage called “The Future Depends on Love.” The new episodes will feature a variety of guests.


Here is a list of the guests and themes of the new episodes which will start in March.

March 2- Erika Bachiochi: Marriage and Social Justice
March 9- Father Mark O’Connell: The Metropolitan Tribunal and Annulments
March 16- Katie Dardis: Healthy Marriage Begins with Chastity
March 23- Bishop Robert Hennessey: Marriage and Immigrant Vitality
March 30- Marianne Luthin and Allison LeDoux: Project Rachel - Healing Families After the Trauma of Abortion

The show is hosted by Dr. David and Dr. Angela Franks who are both professors at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, MA. With divorce statistics higher than ever and teenage pregnancy rates up for the first time in 15 years (source:CNN.COM), Catholic parents and young people are concerned about the messages that Catholics receive from the media and their friends regarding sexuality and marriage.

In response, the Catholic bishops of Massachusetts, being well aware of the rise in divorce, sexual immorality, adultery, and abortion began a new initiative from which this television show sprung forth.

The show is viewable each week on Monday-5:30P.M., Tuesday-1:30P.M., Wednesday-3:30A.M., Thursday 11:30A.M., 8:00P.M., and Sunday-3:30P.M.

“The Future Depends on Love” show can also be seen at the same times online at www.CatholicTV.com. The show can be viewed on the website full-screen. Paste this into your browser to view past episodes. http://www.catholictv.org/shows/default.aspx?seriesID=74

Watch "This is the Day" live on Friday!

Watch "This is the Day" live on Friday at 10:30 AM at Your Catholic Broadband Network: CatholicTV.com

Archbishop Wuerl Takes to YouTube to welcome Catholics back!

The Archdiocese of Washington is kicking off a major initiative this Lent to invite back those who have drifted away from the church, with a YouTube video invitation from Archbishop Wuerl plus 50,000 invitations available at all 140 parishes for parishioners to give to friends, neighbors or others who may miss being part of the Catholic community.



“Lent, as we prepare for Easter and reflect on what our faith means to us, is a time to invite others who are not at Mass any more to rejoin our Church family,” Archbishop Wuerl said in explaining the initiative.

The “Longing for Something? Maybe it’s God” campaign is being promoted through the video invitation recorded by Archbishop Wuerl (see above), a website (www.Maybe-its-God.org), blog about faith (to launch on Ash Wednesday), hundreds of Metro ads, radio ads, a billboard and more. Ads are running in 220 Metro cars and over 125 buses in Washington, DC and Maryland starting the week of March 1, along with radio ads and a huge billboard on Route 301 in Charles County. The ads read, “Longing for Something? Maybe it’s God” and encourage Catholics to find out more at www.Maybe-its-God.org.

The www.Maybe-its-God.org website includes the video and printable invitation (in English and Spanish), blog and a pastoral letter by Archbishop Wuerl, Belonging to God’s Family. In it he tells Catholics “Each one of us knows someone, perhaps many, who have simply drifted away from the practice of the faith…To be a Catholic is to share the joy of our faith with them by inviting them once again to reconnect with their Church and with the life-giving sacraments.”
Lent, the 40-day penitential period before Easter (April 12 this year) and the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, was chosen for the campaign because it is a time when Catholics place an extra focus on reflecting on what their faith means to them. The initiative follows a highly successful campaign in past years to invite people back to confession, which now is being replicated in dioceses across the nation.

The Archdiocese of Washington is home to 580,000 Catholics living in Washington, DC and five Maryland counties: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s.

Ash Wednesday Mass from Rome

CatholicTV is presently broadcasting the Ash Wednesday Mass from Rome this Ash Wednesday. The procession will begin at the Basilica of San Anselmo and will conclude at Rome’s Basilica of Santa Sabina.

Prior to Mass, the Holy Father presided at brief prayer in the nearby Church of San Anselmo on Rome’s Aventine Hill. This is also where the ashes are blessed.

During the Mass at Santa Sabina, the Pope will also preside over the traditional rite of blessing and imposition of ashes.

The Vatican pointed out in a communiqué that the day’s activity will continue an ancient Lenten tradition, long held by the Church in Rome of celebrating Mass in designated "station" or churches, which change each year.

All of this is airing on CatholicTV and a live stream at CatholicTV.com on Wednesday, Feb 25th and will include English translation. The airtimes will be 12:30PM and an encore presentation at 8:00PM.

Mothers are a gift

I had just hung up the phone with my mother and went to sit down and watch some television. I began to think of what it must have been like for her to watch her children grow and struggle through the challenges and embrace the joins that come with being a parent. I know now how quickly time goes by when you have children and how your life becomes wrapped up in your children’s needs. Everyday I think about Amelia, James and Ethan and hope that the other children were kind to them, that they had fun at school, and that they are enjoying life. I love when they laugh and am hurt when they cry. They and Shirley are my life and I am so happy to be with them. After I got off the phone it finally hit me that my mother feels the same way about my sisters and me. She was there for our first steps, first day of school, the proms, weddings, and the birth of our children. She was beside us for both the good times and the bad. She had to bury her oldest daughter which I cannot fathom. I had forgotten getting the care packages while at college filled with food. How I looked forward to receiving them. Not just because of the content but because of what they signified. My mother loved me and cared about me. Put this is perspective of what Jesus mother Mary endured. She stood beside Him when almost all others hid. She watched people hurt and kill him, the little boy she loved. She never abandoned Him! I would like to wish all mothers and especially my mom a happy mother’s day this month. What a gift mothers are! Jay

Father Reed on The Catholics Next Door on Monday 2-23

On Monday, February 23rd, the Director of Catholic TV, Father Robert Reed, will appear on The Catholic Channel show "The Catholics Next Door" Jennifer and Greg Willits are the hosts of the show. Also, they are the producers of That Catholic Show which airs on CatholicTV.

Join us for Mardi Gras in the CatholicTV livingroom, this Tuesday LIVE on CatholicTV.com

We all hope you can join us for Mardi Gras in the CatholicTV livingroom, this Tuesday LIVE at 10:30 AM on CatholicTV.com

New Show Featuring Ordinary Catholics To Air During Lent

CatholicTV will begin airing a new series entitled “ARISE Together in Christ” (ARISE) starting March 2nd. The show is based on a Catholic program of the same name created by Renew International. The show features ordinary Catholics discussing their faith and making a commitment each week to put their faith into action.

ARISE is a parish program which consists of weekly meetings of small groups of parishioners (3-8 normally) to discuss, and grow in their faith. Each meeting is centered around a bible passage and a theme. Every week, participants make plans to put what they have learned in their meeting into action.

The television program is a look into these meetings that take place amongst ARISE members. Although normal ARISE meetings last 90 minutes, the television show on CatholicTV compacts ARISE meetings into a TV-friendly 28 minutes. Each episode consists of a reading from the Bible, a very brief talk about the reading by a clergy member, and finally, the discussion featuring the small group. During this discussion, the group members talk about what the Bible reading means to them. The last portion is called “Invitation to Act” where small group members talk about what action they will take during the upcoming week to live out what they learned from the reading and discussion.

For instance, session 4 for the 2009 Lenten season has the theme “Darkness to Light”. It revolves around the Gospel of John Chapter 3:1-21. After reading the passage and discussing it, participants are then asked to think of a difficult situation in the family, workplace, parish, or neighborhood and to commit to an action that will help to improve the situation. The following week, members discuss what actions they took and what the results were.

The show will air each week at these times (EST) Monday 12:30PM; Friday 11:30PM, and Saturday 10:30AM.

Not just a tree

There was once a tree that distributed seeds. Some were eaten by animals. Other landed upon rocks and could not take root. Some were washed away or scorched by the sun. But from these thousands of seeds, one found fertile ground. Early in this seedling’s life there were constant threats to its existence. Many of the other seedlings succumbed, but this particular tree continued to grow into a small tree. Nutrients from the soil fed the tree. Its roots ran deep and every year it became sturdier. This tree supplied shade for those who would sit underneath it and was a home for birds. People passed by and admired its beauty. For generations the tree stood firm. It survived against all odds when so many others had not. But it was not the environment that killed the tree. Men came one day and began to look at all the trees in the orchard. With an axe they began to chop the sturdy trunk of the tree. Each swing made the tree weaker. The wood crackled as the weight of the tree began to betray it. It violently fell to the ground. The branches were cut off and the tree was sent to be modified. The only reminder of the tree was a stump. It was dragged from the orchard. This tree could have become a piece of fine furniture. However, it found itself in the hands of a laborer. He began to chop. Woodchips flew as he carved up the tree. Sweat dripped off his brow as he planed the wood. When he had finished, it was taken from his workshop. It was no longer a tree. When it arrived at its destination, it was put on the back of a carpenter to be carried through the streets of Jerusalem. The tree had become the cross that Jesus would hang upon. - Jay