Manic Monday: Here, there, and everywhere

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I've been showing up on various blogs, on various topics, in various places these days. It's all good, although I feel pulled in a dozen directions. I thought I'd post links to my posts in case something strikes your fancy. Here we go...

Yesterday I was posting at Catholic Parent Network, a new website that serves up suggestions for parents trying to instill the faith in their children. I love the website's subtitle: "Making sure the apple stays close to the tree."

You'll find my post under "Building Blocks: Helping Children Understand Prayer." Click HERE to read that story, but be sure to check out the rest of CPN's offerings, including posts on Catholic apps, countering the culture, raising big families, and specific prayers for the season. CPN also has a Facebook page, so stop by and "like" it when you get a chance.

I'll be posting on CPN now and then, so check back often for other stories on Catholic parenting and more.

Last week, I also made an appearance at Catholic Moms Talk, a new blog featuring Catholic moms and the catechism. It's a special effort as part of the Year of Faith, and I'm honored to be included among a great group of Catholic writing moms. I talked about my experience with the catechism, how it influenced my own faith life, and how I use it in my family and faith formation classes. Click HERE to read "A Catechism on Every Shelf." I'll be over at CMT on a frequent basis throughout the Year of Faith.

And, if you missed my Huffington Post piece to kick off the Year of Faith, click HERE to read "It's Not Your Grandmother's Catechism." I'll be back over at HuffPo next month with a piece to help you navigate the chaotic holiday season, so stay tuned for that. 

Just a reminder: If you are on Facebook, click HERE and "like" my author page. If you are on Twitter, follow me at MaryDTP.

Finally, I will be disabling my "Networked Blogs" feature on Facebook, so if you read the blog through that portal, please be sure to become a "fan" of my author page so you don't miss any blog posts. For those of you who have emailed me to tell me you can't leave comments, that's a Networked Blogs issue, so this will rectify that. As long as you continue to come back through my regular blog address.

More big news to come about new books, new ventures, new speaking engagements, so check back early and often. Have a great week!

Four tips for adapting to the "new" Mass

We're going on a field trip again today, over to the Huffington Post. Do you have your signed slip permission slip? I'm over there trying to help people adapt to the new language of the Mass. I'll start you here and link you there:

By Mary DeTurris Poust
Having come of age in the years after Vatican II, I never knew the Catholic Mass in Latin. In fact, the only version I know is the one that's been celebrated for the past 40 years. So I didn't take too kindly to the idea that the words and responses of the Mass would be changing, and I'd have to look at a written guide to get me through the prayers that have rolled off my tongue since childhood.

The impending changes to the English translation of the universal Roman Missal have sparked controversy among Catholics, to be sure. Some wonder why we need a new translation when the old one seemed to be working just fine. They see the new language--which brings the English more closely in line with the original Latin--as a return to a harsher time, a past that no longer fits our modern way of thinking. Others see the changes as a long time coming, a correction of a translation that was always slightly "off." Whatever side of the fence you're on, the changes are less than one month away. It's time to adapt and move forward. The new translation of the Roman Missal will go into effect on the first Sunday of Advent, November 27, which is the beginning of the Church year for Catholics.

So what will these changes mean for you? They will probably feel somewhat strange at first, and no doubt there will be some things that may never feel right. I'm not going to try to convince anyone that referring to Jesus as "consubstantial with the Father" in the Nicene Creed where we once had the almost-lilting "one in being with the Father" is ever going to feel normal, let alone be an improvement. But, if we approach the changes with an open mind and, more importantly, an open heart, we just might find our connection to the Mass reinvigorated for the first time in years, something Catholics in this country could sorely use.

Here are four basic guidelines for making the new Mass your own:

Get to know the Scriptural references behind some of the changes. When I first heard that the short prayer said before Communion was changing, I balked. Continue reading HERE.

Come with me if you want to pray

We're going on a field trip today. Over to Huffington Post, where you'll find me writing about prayer. Just call me HuffPoust. Why the foray so far afield? Well, HuffPo invited me to write about prayer in connection with my newest book, The Essential Guide to Catholic Prayer and the Mass. So today I'm covering "What's the Point of Prayer?" I'll start you off here and let you continue over there:

By Mary DeTurris Poust

Most of us, at one time or another, send up a prayer and hope against hope for the answer we want. And more often than not, we wait and wonder, as we continually check our spiritual inbox for some sort of sign, if perhaps our prayer fell on deaf ears, or on any ears at all. Hello? Is this thing on?

Unfortunately, prayer is not like a gumball machine. We don't put our prayers in and then wait with cupped hands for the correct response to come pouring out.

Prayer can be a tricky thing, even for those who do it religiously, so to speak. We can get the feeling we're not doing it right or that we have to be holier in order to pray. Not the case. Blessed Pope John Paul II once said: "How to pray? This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any way you like so long as you pray."

So on that note, let's look at the five most common questions people ask me about prayer:

1. My life is already so jam-packed with responsibilities. How can I add daily prayer to the list?

Prayer is not meant to be a chore and certainly shouldn't become one more stress. Continue reading HERE.