The CatholicTV Network Launches New Website

The CatholicTV Network launches its new website, on January 15, 2014. The website has been designed using the latest technology with the user experience in mind.

The CatholicTV Network invites viewers to explore the new enhanced website with improved functionality, offering viewers worldwide a broad range of faith based programming available online as well as a 24/7 live stream.

“After two years of thought and work, the new web presence for The CatholicTV Network is live, said the network President, Father Robert Reed. “The site has been designed to target our growing viewership online and projects a clean and professional appearance which is dynamically elegant. Our focus is on image and video, telling the story of individual Catholics and the Church Universal.”

CatholicTV.com is designed to become the premier destination for Catholics, keeping viewers up-to-date with Vatican events and programming from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and parishes nationwide. The CatholicTV Network broadcasts programming relevant to Catholic viewers, including live religious services, talk shows, devotional programs, educational programming, entertainment, and children's programs.

New content is added to CatholicTV.com daily. The CatholicTV Network is also available on all mobile devices for iOS and Android.

Listen to “Children of the Sun” at fscc-calledtobe.org

Sean Michael Showalter’s “Children of The Sun” is the discerning Song of the Month, a free download at www.fscc-calledtobe.org.
Sean Michael Showalter
Sean Michael Showalter
Austin based Singer – Songwriter Sean Michael Showalter wrote “Children of the Sun”  “….to promote brotherly love and to look beyond the walls our egos have built up.  Even I, a reborn Christian, admit that my beliefs are a result of my collective life experience and my perception of reality. I hope my song will help us look beyond the differences in religions and ideologies that separate us; that it can help us practice love and tolerance for one another in-spite of our disagreements; that we are all God’s children, brothers and sisters, or Children of the Sun.”
Showalter was born with a gift of singing and was creating songs on the playground as early as he can remember. Earliest influences include the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Stevie Wonder. Currently he also plays with Red Street, a mix of Gospel, Blues, Funk, Soul, Rock & Jazz.  The band exists to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and to help heal the world through music.

In his recent Gospel of Joy, Pope Francis also invites “all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ.  No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since ‘no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord’. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms.”
Established in 1869, the Roman Catholic Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity serve in Catholic Health Care, Education and Parish-Community Service in the Midwest, Central and Southwest United States.
http://www.fscc-calledtobe.org
The World needs you. God Calls You. We Invite You. Catholic vocations.

Vatican Official Endorses Film: Gimme Shelter

His Excellency Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, provided his glowing endorsement of GIMME SHELTER, a forthcoming movie with a distinctly pro-life message.

Here is his full endorsement:

“The remarkable narrative of GIMME SHELTER expresses a powerful reality and the heroic love of a mother for her unborn child. Exploring the hard questions regarding the meaning of life, family, love and suffering, our heroine, “Apple,” fights against all odds and finds hope in the kindness of some key people, including a hospital chaplain who expresses the true nature of a priestly soul of service, guidance, and the deep Love of God for every single man, woman and child from the moment of conception. Out of rejection shines the courageous beauty of a mother’s love, and out of tragedy, shines hope!”



Based on the inspiring true events, GIMME SHELTER centers on the courageous story of Agnes “Apple” Bailey (Vanessa Hudgens) and her incredible path to motherhood as a pregnant, homeless teenager. Forced to flee her abusive mother (Rosario Dawson), and turned away by her Wall Street father (Brendan Fraser), Apple finds herself on a desperate and isolated journey of survival. In the depths of despair, she meets a compassionate stranger (James Earl Jones), who ultimately leads her to salvation and unprecedented support in a suburban shelter for homeless teenagers. With gained confidence, and the warmth of her new home, Apple breaks from her inhibiting past, embracing the future with clarity and hope.

The film is inspired by the David and Goliath true story of devout Catholic Kathy DiFiore and her founding of Several Sources Shelters – a maternity home for unwed mothers that has changed lives all across New Jersey. DiFiore has been lauded by presidents and worked hand-in hand with Mother Teresa to change shelter laws in New Jersey.
Check out the trailer: http://youtu.be/pE42YdC70E8.

Hudgens immersed herself in the character and delivers a transformative and stunning performance. To prepare, she lived for weeks in pregnancy shelters, interacting with the young, homeless mothers who also appear in the film, completely altering her appearance unrecognizable.

Written and directed by Ronald Krauss, GIMME SHELTER opens in theaters across the country on January 24, 2014.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha: New Cartoon for Kids

In an effort to help fill the void in quality media for Catholic children, GenOneArt.com launched a campaign to produce a saint inspired, Catholic cartoon utilizing Kickstarter.com to fund the production.

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The production will focus on the virtue of courage in the life of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, and her devotion to Jesus on the Cross as her source of strength in times of persecution.

Kickstarter.com is a crowd-funding platform where anyone can help support a project in exchange for incentives also known as “backer rewards.” The rewards for supporting the project include everything from a DVD of the finished cartoon, to original artwork from the development of the project. The goal is to raise at least $60,000 to finish production and to help launch a marketing campaign for the film.

Here is a link to the project page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/464375548/saint-kateri-tekakwitha-catholic-cartoon?ref=live