On March 19th, Catholic comedian and musician Nick Alexander will appear on the CatholicTV talk show “This is the Day”.
Nick is a dynamic Catholic-Charismatic-Christian comedian/worship-leader/speaker. He has three comedy albums out and also approaches his audience in a way that is engaging, funny, heartfelt, and effective.
This is the Day airs at 10:30AM ET at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV. The show is rebroadcast at 7:30PM. The show is hosted by the Director of the CatholicTV Network, Father Robert Reed, and General Manager,Jay Fadden.
Nick’s career began in college when he began writing and performing worship songs with a college ministry group. Out of the blue, Nick was inspired to write a parody to Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll," influenced, no doubt, by his teen fascination with Weird Al Yankovic. "It wasn’t meant to be recorded," Nick says, "it was meant as a joke.” Nick continued to write comical tunes when he had the time. His focus, however, was still on serving in various worship settings.
Late one night, he played some of his parody tunes for some other musicians and was caught completely off guard by their reaction. "The response to these parodies was so over and beyond what I had initially expected," he remembers. "It was as if the entire group literally forced me to reckon with this talent that I had very comfortably buried. And right away I saw the possibilities of standing out in a crowd, and of finding comedy that uplifts, teaches, and is respectful of our faith.”
Author Kerry Weber will also be interviewed on This is the Day. Kerry wrote the book “Keeping the Faith: Prayers For College Students”, which she plans to talk about on the show. Kerry was Associate Editor of Catholic Digest magazine for three years before she began her present graduate studies at the School of Journalism,ColumbiaUniversity.
An excerpt from the beginning of her book says: “Here, in this chapel, in the presence of God, I was no longer a nameless freshman, walking in a wandering herd. I bore no label. I was still scared, unsure, and looking for the place where I fit in; but I was no longer alone. God knew me, knew why I was here, and felt no need to make small talk about my major or my hometown.”
So begins this book of very realistic prayers about college life. Kerry expresses all the familiar emotions, all the highs and lows, all the fears and dreams that every college student experiences. She learned early on in her own college life that she couldn’t cope without God’s guidance and she clung to her faith to see her through. She makes a compelling case for staying close to God from the first unfamiliar days on campus, to the moment of graduation.
On March 26, the Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project (DMWST project) will be discussed on the CatholicTV talk show “This is the Day”. The DMWST Project works with high schools and colleges to produce the play “Dead Man Walking” which was written by actor Tim Robbins and is based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean which was also made into a film starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon. This is the 6th season that the play has been presented as part of academic and theater curriculums in schools.
Sister Helen’s books are accounts of her friendship with 2 death-row inmates and her call to end capital punishment. Sister Helen commits herself to the protection of life, both innocent and guilty.
This is the Day airs at 10:30AM ET at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV. This is the Day is hosted by the Director of the CatholicTV Network, Father Robert Reed, and General Manager,Jay Fadden.
Steven Crimaldi (pictured above) will be interviewed on This is the Day. Steven is National Coordinator of The Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project. Steve is currently working on the award-winning Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break. The specific purpose of the Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break is to bring students together for five days of anti-death penalty activism, education and fun. This is the place to be if you want to become a part of the next generation of human rights leaders. The 2010 event features six innocent death row exonerees: Shujaa Graham, Curtis McCarty, Ron Keine, Derrick Jamison, Perry Cobb and Juan Melendez. They are attending alternative spring break to speak with participants about how innocent people can end up on death row. Altogether, the six exonerees attending the alternative spring break spent a total of about 65 years on death row for crimes they did not commit.
World Youth Day Turns 25, Benedict XVI Lauds "Abundant Fruits"
In 1986 Pope John Paul II established World Youth Day. Since then, every Palm Sunday our Church celebrates World Youth Day (WYD)at the diocesan level. Every 3 years a week long international gathering and pilgrimage takes place at different locations. In 2011 WYD will be celebrated in Madrid.
CatholicTV exhibited at the Diocese of Springfield (MA) Men's Conference. What a great day! I'll be posting some pictures of Bishop McDonnell with our colleague, Mark Dupont of Catholic Communications .
During the week of March 15th, “The Commons”, a Catholic music show which airs on CatholicTV, will feature musicians Matt Maher, and Trevor Thomson. Matt will sing and discuss the song “Lay it Down”. Trevor will sing and discuss the song “We Belong To You”.
The Commons airs each week at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV at the following times (Eastern): Monday 6AM and 9:30PM, Thursday 2AM and 5PM, Saturday, 11:30AM and 9:30PM.
Matthew "Matt" Maher is a music artist, songwriter, and worship leader originally from Newfoundland, Canada, who later relocated to Tempe, Arizona. He has written and produced five solo albums to date. His most well-known song is "Your Grace is Enough."
Trevor Thomas gained national recognition with the release of In This Place, an album of original music. He then began performing at events all over the United States. His sophomore album, Before You, followed in 2000. The release of Trevor’s third album, Eyes to You, marks a significant advance in a career that began over 12 years ago in Southern California. A Los Angeles native, Trevor has a special partiality for the L.A. music sound.
“The Commons”, is a coffee house-styled music show which includes performances by Catholic musicians such as Jesse Manibusan, Matt Maher, Sarah Hart, and others. The show also includes interviews of the musicians in which viewers can get a glimpse into the lives and spirituality of the musicians.
Whether you’re a fan of milk, dark, mint, toffee, nuts or another favorite chocolate flavor, you’ll find what you’re looking for from Catholic Relief Services partners. Fair Trade isn’t only about paying a fair price to producers; it’s also about honoring the care they put into their crops by producing high quality products. So let that chocolate melt in your mouth and savor the flavor of the fine results of their hard work! Get those Easter baskets ready!
Support CRS Fair Trade when you place your order with Divine Chocolate or Equal Exchange and a percentage of your purchase will be donated to the CRS Fair Trade Fund.
On Tuesday, March 9th, CatholicTV will air a special program called “The Heart of Haiti”. The Heart of Haiti was filmed during the first week of March when a committee of Catholic Bishops and one priest travelled to Haiti to assess the needs of the Church there.
The Heart of Haiti features detailed footage and imagery of Haiti, including the ruins of the Cathedral, where Archbishop Serge Miot and many others died during the earthquake of January 12th. More people died during the Haiti earthquake than at Hiroshima.
The Heart of Haiti will air at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV on March 9th at 11:30AM ET and again at 8:30PM.
The Heart of Haiti also includes footage of Catholic Relief Services’ efforts and interviews of local people, doctors, volunteers, and numerous thoughts and reactions from Cardinal Séan O’Malley Archbishop of Boston and other clergy.
The committee of clergy asked to go to Haiti to access the needs of the Church there include: Archbishop José Gomez of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Bishop Guy Sansaricq, the only Haitian-born U.S. Bishop, Bishop Tom Wenski of Orlando, Cardinal Séan O’Malley, and Fr. Andrew Small of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
On March 16, “Healing Power” a film about Fr. Patrick Power will be discussed on the CatholicTV talk show “This is the Day”. Fr. Patrick Power was a priest who died in 1869 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Since his death, over a million people have visited his grave. Hundreds have attributed healings to visiting his grave, or from rain water collected near his grave in Malden, Massachusetts.
Producers Vic Jenacaro, and Larry Cappetto, of the film Healing Power will be interviewed on This is the Day. Mr. Cappetto also served as Director on the project. They will discuss Fr. Patrick Power and the film. To learn more about the production and view a trailer, visit http://veteranshistory.org/power3.wmv
This is the Day airs at 10:30AM ET at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV.
Fr. Wayne Belschner will also appear on This is the Day. He will discuss a vocations fair which will take place at his local parish. Fr. Belschner is Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in East Boston. The vocations fair will take place on Saturday, April 10th at the parish which is located on 303 Paris Street. For more information visit the parish website http://www.rc.net/boston/sacredhearteast/index.htm
On March 13, CatholicTV will exhibit at the Rhode Island Catholic Men’s Conference, the Rhode Island Diocesan Faith Formation Workshop Day and Men’s Conference, as well as the Springfield Men’s Conference in Springfield,Massachusetts.
The Rhode Island conferences will include Mass with Cardinal Sean O’Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston, while the Springfield Men’s Conference will feature keynote speakers, Raymond Arroyo, Francisco “Paco” Gavrilides, Patrick McCaskey, Michael Preisler and Father Warren Savage.
For the Diocese of Springfield, it is the Eighth Annual gathering; the 2010 theme is “GROW IN HOLINESS”. The day is hosted by Bishop Timothy McDonnell, Bishop of Springfield; facilitator for the day is Catholic evangelist and singer Sean Forrest.
The Diocese of Providence is host to two conferences on the campus of BryantUniversity: the 43rd Annual Diocesan Religious Education Workshop Day and the Rhode Island Men of St. Joseph Diocesan Conference. The theme is focused on the diocesan mission of a Year of Evangelization.
CatholicTV will be attending both conferences in support of the events and also to spread the good news about CatholicTV and its programming.
At a recent conference where CatholicTV was also an exhibitor, conference attendees decided to support CatholicTV by writing letters to their local cable carrier asking them to add CatholicTV to their channel lineup. These letters were a significant factor in the cable carrier’s decision to add CatholicTV to its channel lineup.
CatholicTV will also be attending the upcoming Worcester Men’s Conference, the Springfield Women’s Conference, and the Cable Show in Los Angeles,California to promote CatholicTV in the furthest reaches of the country.
The Religious Education Congress, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Office of Religious Education, is the nation's largest annual gathering of Roman Catholics. The theme this year is "Incredible Abundance"
During this gathering attendees can also look forward to outstanding musical performances by top OCP and spiritandsong.com artists.
If you cannot attend the Congress and hear the great OCP/spiritandsong.com musicians then watch The Commons which is a spiritandsong production featuring your favorite Catholic artists airs on CatholicTV.
The Commons broadcasts each week at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV at the following times (ET): Monday 6AM and 9:30PM, Thursday 2AM and 5PM.
