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Computer ‘podcast’ connects with Catholic men
archived from: 2007-05-21
by: Chuck Moody

The diocesan Department for Evangelization and the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh have joined together to create a weekly audio podcast reflection that is specifically geared toward men on the upcoming Sunday Scripture readings.

A podcast is a digital media file, or a series of such files, that is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers.

The weekly podcast also is a partnership between the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh and the National Fellowship of Catholic Men, said Jeff Ludwikowski, co-executive director of the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh.

“It comes from their desire to respond to (Pope) John Paul II’s call for a new evangelization by utilizing new technologies to reach men who may not be tied into traditional methods of faith formation,” Ludwikowski said. “The podcasts will serve as a launch pad for men to begin to deepen their faith in a more meaningful spiritual way, initially in Pittsburgh, and then nationally through the National Fellowship of Catholic Men.”

The podcast is presently available every week through the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh Web site at www.cmfpitt.org. It will become available nationally on Father’s Day (June 17) through the National Fellowship of Catholic Men Web site at www.catholicmensresources.org.

Pat Molyneaux, co-executive director, has been investigating methods to reach out to men using the latest technology for some time, Ludwikowski said.

“In fact, he mentioned a Web-based facet of this ministry to me virtually on the day the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh was founded,” he said. “Through his efforts and his investigation into various means of using the Web, our hope is that these podcasts are a ‘first step’ in reaching Catholic men across the United States for Jesus Christ.”

The mission of Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh is a response to the call made by the late Holy Father for a new evangelization, particularly the reinvigoration of faith among Catholics.

“The purpose of the podcasts is to reach men who might be too busy to access, or simply not aware of, existing faith formation opportunities, such as lectures, talks, men’s groups or Bible studies at the parish or diocesan level,” Ludwikowski said.

“Additionally, we wanted to make formation enjoyable, easy, accessible and liturgically based. The podcasts, which are reflections on each upcoming Sunday’s Mass readings, plus questions for reflection, fulfill all of these factors.”

Father James Wehner, director of the Department for Evangelization, is the “voice” of the podcasts.

“Father Jim, both individually and as director of the Department of Evangelization for the diocese, has been a tremendous asset for the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh,” Ludwikowski said. “He sits on our board and has been part of our efforts from the beginning. He is also an excellent homilist. He has often preached at our periodic holy hours and has demonstrated a real gift for connecting to men at their level. He really ‘took the bull by the horns’ and agreed to be the ‘voice’ of the podcast” in its kick-off phase.

“We, along with Father Jim, have reached out to other priests and deacons to begin to do the talks on a periodic and regular basis when the podcasts are available on a national basis. Many of these speakers are known both locally and nationally.”

In a general sense, the target audience is that group of computer-savvy men who spend much of their day on, and get much of their information from, computer-based and/or Web-based sources, he said.

“In a more specific sense, these men tend to be very busy with work, family and other commitments, are probably a little younger than the average Catholic, and probably don’t have time do as much spiritual reading as our parents used to do,” he said.

“To our great surprise, however, the audience is much broader than we anticipated. Even at this early stage, we are getting over 200 ‘hits’ per week on the podcasts and have been contacted by men who are utilizing the podcasts for various ‘faith growth’ opportunities, including using it as the basis for a weekly men’s group meeting or for a family prayer session.”

Brian Hathaway is the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh project manager for the podcast effort.

“Picture a man living in North Carolina listening to Father Wehner talk about Sunday’s readings over the Internet,” Hathaway said. “While he’s listening, he is also reading Sunday’s Scripture passages in another window on his computer. Then there’s another man listening with his son, starting a new family tradition and passing on the faith to the next generation. Now add to this the men who download the talk to their portable audio players and take them to fellowship meetings in their parishes to discuss them with other men. Now you have one tiny slice of the effect this podcast is having.”

When Father Wehner records his weekly message, the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh posts a link to it on its Web site. At the same time, a link is added to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Web site, www.usccb.org, which lists the Scripture readings for that Sunday.

“Together this gives the men a ‘one-stop shop’ to prepare themselves before going to Mass,” Hathaway said.

The faithful also can sign up at the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh Web site to receive an e-mail reminder when the podcast is updated.

Father Wehner began doing the podcasts for Palm Sunday’s readings.

“The new evangelization is something that was strongly emphasized by Pope John Paul II and has been referenced on numerous occasions by Pope Benedict XVI,” Father Wehner said. “The dynamism of the new evangelization is when the church continually finds ways to preach the Gospel in a language that is accessible to all people, both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.”

Father Wehner said he attempts to reflect on the readings from a theological standpoint that corresponds to the life situation of Catholic men.

“When the church proclaims the sacred Scriptures during the celebration of Mass, the minds and hearts of believers are opened in such a way that allows us to receive the holy Eucharist with a faith that has been formed and prepared,” he said. “Just a couple of weeks ago, it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI has selected ‘The Word of God’ as the topic for the next assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The working document released by the Holy See already indicates the need for Catholics to further and deepen their understanding of the word of God as contained in the sacred Scriptures.

“The weekly podcast is one small way among so many opportunities whereby the faithful can prepare for Sunday worship. The fathers of the Second Vatican Council emphasized the full, active and conscious participation of the faithful in the celebration of Mass as a priority for liturgical renewal and the evangelization of the leaders. Hopefully the podcasts can contribute to the worship of Catholic men.”

The podcasts hopefully serve as a launch pad for men to begin to re-engage in their faith in a more meaningful and spiritual way, Ludwikowski said.

“If it is God’s will that this aspect of the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh succeed, we are confident that the Holy Spirit will bless our efforts,” he said.

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