Below is a list of resources for you as you try to 'live the Catholic life and still have a life.' I highly encourage you to check out the various links, and use these varied sites to help you. St. Mark's is not responsible for the content on the linked websites.
OTHER YOUTH MINISTRIES
Charlotte Diocese Youth Ministry Office
Charlotte Diocese Campus & Young Adult Ministry
IMPORTANT RESOURCE SITES
Diocese of Charlotte Catholic Education Office
THE NEW TRANSLATION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL
The Rubrics of Coffee
Getting Active Participation Right
A Guide For The Perplexed On The New Translation Of The Mass
And With Your Spirit (Great article - why we are returning to this response, instead of 'And also with you')
Evangelization and the Renewal of the Liturgy
The Rise of Cross-less Catholicism
What's Wrong With The Church?
Fr. Peter Stravinskas on the New Translation
A Continuum in the Great Tradition
Recovery of the Sacred; Liturgy and the Loss of History
The High Cost of Ignoring Beauty (Great article!)
The Perils of Hipster Christianity
What Should Sunday Morning Look Like?
U.S. Bishop's: The New Roman Missal
Changes in the People's Parts at Mass
NUTS & BOLTS
Holy Bible – New American Version
VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND/OR RELIGIOUS LIFE
Men’s Religious Communities
Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception
Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
Order of Preachers (The Dominicans)
Society of our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity
Women’s Religious Communities
Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist
Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation (Nashville Dominicans)
Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate
Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal
Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Los Angeles
Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara
CATHOLIC WEBSITE RATINGS (Not all websites that call themselves Catholic truly are. This site is a great resource to make sure that a site is truly faithful to the Church)
MEDIA, MOVIES & TELEVISION: For a proper Catholic understanding of media habits, please listen to the sermon at the following link. The priest who provides these online audio talks, also available for download, asks for either a small fee or that you pray a decade of the Rosary or perform some act of penance for his intentions (A small price to pay because he is a very gifted preacher). The talk concerning media is the first one, entitled Movies.
The U.S. Bishops' website has movie reviews, but they are done by a layman with very questionable formation and understanding of how being a Catholic and Christian colors our entertainment choices. His ratings are thus pretty off the mark.
So what's a good Catholic to do? Use Screenit! Screenit, unlike most movie rating services, has reviews, which, to be quite honest, are not even needed. The most useful thing about the site is that it breaks out, in great detail, everything that is in a movie, and categorizes everything according to language, sexuality, violence, imitative behavior, and so forth. This put the responsibility back in the hands of us a Catholics to find out what is in a movie ahead of time, and takes away our excuse that we didn't know it was going to have inappropriate content. For example, under language, it will tell you exactly how many times a particular movie takes our Lord's name in vain, how many times various curse words are used, etc. Under sexuality, and this is a warning, it will tell you exactly what is in the movie, and this can be shocking, and even inappropriate to read about. Please take this to heart, and make sure if your teens use the site that it is with your supervision, and our guidance! Warning: Very often what is described in terms of content can be scandalous, and even potentially harmful to those trying to make an informed decision. Be cautious in your use of this. It is a safe bet that if Screenit rates the Sexuality Content as anything more than Minor, it will have enough inappropriate sexual content to at least warrant asking yourself if you should really even be supporting it with your money, publicly as a Catholic going to see it or renting it, or supporting it in any other way.
But for a Catholic to knowingly go to a movie that has content that is inappropriate under the rationale that they didn't know it was going to be is no longer an excuse. It is possible to make an informed, mature, Catholic choice in your movie viewing habits.
LITURGY
Liturgical Calendar Mass readings, Saints feasts, and more!
RC Net - Charlotte Find local parishes & Mass times
THEOLOGY OF THE BODY
Theology of the Body For Teens
HELPING THE POOR
Catholic Social Services – Charlotte Diocese
CATHOLIC COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
Franciscan University of Steubenville
John Paul the Great Catholic University
Our Lady of Corpus Christ College
The College of St. Thomas More
SAINTS
CATHOLIC ART
