CatholicTV to Broadcast Mass of Ordination on May 22

Cardinal Sean O'Malley and Deacon Gregory Vozzo (photo: Gregory L. Tracy)

On May 22nd, CatholicTV will air the Mass of Ordination from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. The three men being ordained to the priesthood are Deacons Guy Sciacca, Daniel Moloney, and Gregory Vozzo.

Cardinal Seán O’Malley described the transitional deaconate ordination of the same 3 men in his blog saying, “Though every ordination is a great blessing, this was certainly [a] small class for us. It was a visible reminder of the situation the Church was in six years ago.

In fact, it is a testimony to the faith of these men that they had the courage to come forward, even at that very difficult time. As I often say, following the Gospel is the ultimate counter-cultural action.” The transitional deaconate Mass took place earlier this year and also aired at CatholicTV.com and CatholicTV.

The Ordination Mass on May 22nd will air at 9AM and will be rebroadcast at 8PM. It will be rebroadcast again on Sunday at 1PM.
Before attending the seminary, Deacon Daniel Moloney, attended Yale University and received his doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.

More information about Deacon Daniel Moloney can be found at http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Events-Calendar/Event-Detail.aspx?id=14734

Before attending seminary, Guy Sciacca was a Financial Administrator at Harvard University for more than 16 years. Deacon Sciacca is quoted on the Office of Vocations website as saying, “Prayer is the center of my life. If I do not pray then I don't consider my day to be complete. It is important for me to begin my day by getting on my knees and asking the Lord for the grace for what I may need for the day. Throughout the day, I call on the Lord often, when daily life seems to overwhelm me and I am brought back to what is really important.”

More information about Deacon Guy Sciacca can be found at http://www.vocationsboston.org/StandardProductCatalogue_ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=38

Deacon Gregory Vozzo said, “seminary life isn't as strict as I thought it might be. I'm not giving up being the person I was before; just becoming a better person - that is, more oriented toward Christ, more balanced and mature, and happier than I've ever been in my life.”

More information about Deacon Gregory Vozzo can be found at http://www.vocationsboston.org/StandardProductCatalogue_ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=51

California and New York Bishops to Be Interviewed Live on CatholicTV

On May 11^th, Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento California and Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, New York will be interviewed on the live CatholicTV talk show “This is the Day”.

In Rocco Palmo’s blog “Whispers in the Loggia” Palmo called Bishop Soto “the [Orange] auxiliary with an Ivy League pedigree, CNN face-time, a keen policy savvy and press-lauds for “tackling taboo topics”.

This is the Day airs at 10:30AM ET at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV. The show is rebroadcast at 7:30PM.

On October 11, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Jaime Soto as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento.While serving as Coadjutor Bishop, he served as Moderator of the Curia, Vicar for Hispanics and Other Ethnic Ministries, and represented many pastoral and civic groups. Bishop Soto will discuss the importance of youth gatherings and the National Catholic Youth Conference on This is the Day (the interview was pre-recorded in Washington, DC).

On November 29, 2008, Bishop Jaime Soto became the head of the diocese upon the retirement of the Most Reverend Bishop William K. Weigand.

Also, on This is the Day will be Bishop Gregory Mansour. In January 2004, Pope John Paul II named Gregory Mansour Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn.

Bishop Mansour currently serves on three committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Pro Life, Catechesis, and Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Dialogue. He serves as the Secretary for Christian Arab and Middle Eastern Churches Together (CAMECT). He is also a member of the Maronite Synod of Bishops that meets every year in Lebanon.

Fr. Larry Richards to Be Interviewed Live on CatholicTV

On May 7^th, Fr. Larry Richards will be interviewed on the live CatholicTV talk show “This is the Day”. Fr. Richards is a well-known speaker, author, retreat master, and radio show host.

Fr. Larry is a priest of the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania. He recently authored a book called “Be a Man”. In his book, he discusses masculinity and draws from his own experiences in ministry and his personal life. Fr. Larry will discuss some of the ideas from his book during his interview on This is the Day.

This is the Day airs at 10:30AM ET at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV. The show is rebroadcast at 7:30PM.

A Legacy of Courageous Love: 10th Anniversary Mass for Cardinal O'Connor

May we all join in prayer and humble gratidude for the life and ministry of John Cardinal O'Connor of New York.

On May 3rd, 10 years ago today, Cardinal O'Connor passed away. He will be remembered today with a Conference and Mass taking place at St. Patrick's Cathedral," A Legacy of Courageous Love " as the Sisters of Life celebrate their Founder’s entrance into Eternal Life.

His Excellency Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York Dolan is the principal celebrant and homilist, Cardinal Egan will preside, Archbishop O'Brien, many other bishops and priests will concelebrate.

National Prayer for Life Campaign will be launched during this 10th anniversary Mass of Cardinal O'Connor's death. Join with Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the Sisters of Life and the Knights of Columbus in raising up a great prayer for life across our Nation.

Join your prayers with those of many more people in support of the great gift of Life:


Eternal Father, Source of Life,strengthen us with your Holy Spirit to receive the abundance of life you have promised.Open our hearts to see and desire the beauty of your plan for life and love.Make our love generous and self-giving so that we may be blessed with joy.Grant us great trust in your mercy.Forgive us for not receiving your gift of lifeand heal us from the effects of the culture of death.Instill in us and all people reverence for every human life.Inspire and protect our efforts on behalf of those most vulnerable,especially the unborn, the sick and the elderly. We ask this in the Name of Jesus, who by His Cross makes all things new.

Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.

CatholicTV to Exhibit at L.A. Cable Show

From May 11-13, CatholicTV will exhibit at The Cable Show in Los Angeles. This is the third year that CatholicTV has exhibited at this industry gathering. The Cable Show 2010, is hosted by the National Cable & Telecommunication Association (NCTA).

CatholicTV will be in exhibit space 1709. The exhibit will offer samples of CatholicTV programs and services.

CatholicTV hopes to grow its presence on television around the nation in order to bring more religious, educational and entertaining programming to Catholics around the U.S.

Viewers who wish to support CatholicTV in spreading its programming across the country by contacting cable and satellite providers can help by visiting: www.CatholicTVeverywhere.com

To learn more about The Cable Show: http://2010.thecableshow.com/Attending/AboutUs

Father Reed on the Priesthood

The longer I remain a priest, the more I appreciate the priesthood and ironically not for all of the reasons I might have suspected years ago. As we conclude this Year for Priests, allow me to tell you a bit about my own experience as a way of revealing something most important about the Church to which we belong.

The fact is, I have grown into my vocation and, as the years have passed, I've come to find hidden riches. I suspect this phenomenon is true of marriage and religious life as well as priesthood. I do hope that, in 25 years or so, if I'm still around, I will have uncovered many more hidden treasures about being a disciple of Jesus, a Catholic and a priest. It is nice to be surprised by life and our God truly is a God of surprises!

How fortunate I consider myself and how excited I remain to be a priest. If you are reading these words and have ever considered whether God is calling you to be a priest, I definitely would give it a second and third thought. Honestly, many days I feel as if I was just ordained with new challenges always before me.

Actually, one of my favorite things to do as a priest is to distribute Holy Communion in the parish. It is for me a distinct honor to give such a great Gift to such good people and by the grace of God to make them rich! When people come up to Communion there is an amazing interaction. You can sense the struggle on people’s faces as well as the joy in this privileged moment of contact with the divine. From one poor person to another we share the living God and together we become even richer in Faith! Saint James in his letter asks: "Did not God choose the poor in this world to be rich in Faith?" It really is true: those who are rich in Faith are the richest people indeed!

It is one of the many incredible privileges of a priest to get to know many people at a very deep level, all the while remaining dedicated to all and no one person or small group in particular. In this capacity one sees the poverty of the human condition, the frailty that happily afflicts each one of us. And in this, one comes to recognize the need for God.

As we near the conclusion of this year honoring the Priesthood, what a distinct honor it is for you and me to know Jesus Christ. We know Him by Faith; not by sight. If we see Him with our human eyes anywhere, it is in one another. If you were asked Who Jesus is, you would hopefully respond with great enthusiasm: "He is the Christ, the Son of the living God." And that sure belief is what makes us blessed beyond belief!

God has given you and has given me many things and people and memories. But these pale in comparison next to our Faith in the One Who has saved us and called us to be everything that we were created to be.

Boston Globe Writes Front Page Story on CatholicTV

On Saturday, April 24, CatholicTV was featured in a front-page article by the Boston Globe. The article entitled “Ambition, Redemption and CatholicTV” was written by Lisa Wangsness. In early 2010 Lisa was named as the religion reporter for the Boston Globe.

The full article can be accessed using the following link:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/24/catholictv_network_is_stressing_outreach/

The story looks at CatholicTV from several perspectives, including input from CatholicTV viewer Mary Casey from Hanson, Massachusetts, Stewart Hoover, a professor from Boulder, Colorado, Michael Warsaw, Chief Executive at EWTN, Sister Mary Ann Walsh from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Fr. Robert Reed, Director of CatholicTV. The article begins with an overview of CatholicTV’s roots beginning with the broadcast of the Sunday Mass over a half-century ago.

CatholicTV also recently received national media coverage from National Public Radio and the Associated Press as well.

NPR story on CatholicTV: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126114974&ft=1&f=1003

Associated Press story posted at New York Post website http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/tvblog/catholictv_rolls_out_shows_in_to_pD1LYut91lYwHnzQdi55zO

Recent affiliation agreement between CatholicTV and Comcast

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36669838

President of RENEW International to Appear on CatholicTV Talk Show

On April 30^th, the live CatholicTV talk show “This is the Day” will include an interview with the President of RENEW International, Sr. Theresa Rickard.

RENEW international is an organization which helps parishes and dioceses with their ministry services. RENEW international offers popular services and materials for ministries such as RENEW Theology on Tap and ARISE together in Christ.

This is the Day airs at 10:30AM ET at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV. The show is rebroadcast at 7:30PM.

Sister Theresa Rickard, O.P., is a Blauvelt, New York Dominican Sister. She was appointed Executive Director of RENEW International in May of 2006 and President in December, 2009.

Before coming to RENEW, Sr. Theresa worked for many years in parish ministry in the South Bronx and was vocation and formation Director for her Dominican congregation. She has extensive experience presenting workshops, retreats, and parish missions. Sister Terry holds a MA in Religion from Fordham University, a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, Missouri. She is a contributing author to the book “Spiritual Manifestos”.

CatholicTV Named ‘Religious Television Station of the Year’

CatholicTV has been awarded a Gabriel Award for “Religious Television Station of the Year” by the Catholic Academy For Communications Arts Professionals (CACAP).

The CACAP has sponsored the Gabriel Awards for over 40 years. This year’s awards include among others NBC Nightly News’ "Making a Difference" Series, and "Interrupted Lives: Catholic Sisters Under European Communism" by NewGroup Media.

The Gabriel Awards will be presented at the Catholic Media Convention in New Orleans in early June 2010.

Father Robert Reed, Director of The CatholicTV Network, said of the award: “It is a tremendous honor for us to be given this prestigious Gabriel Award, not for a specific program, but rather for our entire network. I hold in deep esteem our team members and on-air personalities as well as the entire CatholicTV family of viewers who have sustained the network for some 56 years. This Gabriel Award is a tribute to their dedication and commitment to America’s Catholic Television Network.”

Jay Fadden, General Manager of the CatholicTV Network said, “This impressive award not only reflects the professional and hard work of our entire staff and the leadership of Cardinal Sean O’Malley, but is recognition of the faith of the many loyal viewers who have supported CatholicTV for over 55 years.”

Father Robert Reed Interviewed on NPR

Father Robert Reed Interviewed on NPR

On April 19, National Public Radio (NPR) aired an interview featuring Father Robert Reed, Director of CatholicTV during its program “All Things Considered”. The interview focused on CatholicTV’s recent announcement of the availability of 3-D videos on CatholicTV.com; and a 3-D edition of the CatholicTV monthly magazine which included 3-D glasses.

Father Reed discussed the use of the 3D technology to evangelize with NPR’s Art Silverman. Father Reed said that while it was a bit “gimmicky” the idea is to let people know that the Church makes use of current technologies to attract people to the core message of the Good News. Use of social media, high tech innovation, and a compelling message is essential to evangelization he said.

This edition of the All Things Considered program featured input from New York University Professor Angela Zito and Rabbi Mark Golub as well.

During the NPR interview, Art Silverman asked, “if 3-D technology can take us under the water, could it let us see someone special walk on water?”

A transcript and audio recording of this edition of All Things Considered is available at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126114974

CatholicTV recently received national attention following an Associated Press story about the launch of new 3-D programming by CatholicTV. CatholicTV’s 3-D programs can be viewed now at www.3DCatholicTV.com.