3 Favorite Catholic Podcasts (SQPN)

• The Break with Father Roderick (website)|(rss)
• Catholic in a Small Town (website)|(rss)
• Catholic Weekend (website)|(rss)

3 Favorite Catholic Podcasts (Catholic Radio)

• Catholic Answers LIVE – This Week (website)|(rss)
• EWTN Audio Library (website)|(rss)
• The Catholics Next Door (website)|(rss)

3 Favorite Catholic Podcasts (Others)

• BustedHalo Cast (website)|(rss)
• pray-as-you-go (website)|(rss)
• Faith & Family Live! Podcast (website)|(rss)

3 Favorite Catholic Blogs

• JIMMY AKIN.ORG (website)|(rss)
• The Integrated Catholic Life (website)|(rss)
• Catholic Cartoon Blog (website)|(rss)

3 Favorite Catholic Apps (Android)

• Catholic One (AppBrain)|(Android Market)
• Evangelizo – Daily Gospel (AppBrain)|(Android Market)
• iBreviary (AppBrain)|(Android Market)

My current project is this blog, of course. I try to review podcasts, blogs, apps, etc, Catholic or otherwise, but I’m a little behind since work has been piling up. Still slowly trying to clean-up broken links and obsolete items.

This information is for Catholics only. It must not be divulged to non-Catholics. The less they know, the more fun this list is!

1. AMEN: The only part of a prayer that everyone knows.
2. BULLETIN: Your receipt for attending Mass.
3. CHOIR: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the Parish to lip-sync.
4. HYMN: A song of praise usually sung in a key three octaves higher than that of the congregation’s range.
5. RECESSIONAL HYMN: The last song at Mass often sung a little more quietly, since most of the people have already left.
6. JESUITS: An order of priests known for their ability to found colleges with good basketball teams.

Get the complete list here!

And that was for yesterday’s traffic! Even for today, I managed to hit 65 views! My record so far had only been 40.

I immediately checked the Referrer list, and noticed that the bulk of the new visitors were redirected from Patrick Madrid’s blog. It turned out that Patrick was kind enough to post an entry on his blog, referring his readers to my post on “25 Random Things About Me“. Thanks Patrick! In return, I’m going to ask all of you, my readers to please visit Patrick Madrid’s blog and say “Hi!” for me.

I also noticed that some of the traffic had come in through Google search. Seems that there were many searches for “25 things about me” or “25 random things about me” or something along that gist. It’s always interesting to see what others having been googling, and how they’ve somehow landed on my blog.

To all my readers (old and new), thanks for setting a record in my blog stats and for making history in the life of this wee little blog. I hope you liked what you read and will continue to enjoy reading this blog.

1). Do dogs go to heaven?

No.

2). Can I wear a black wedding dress?

Sure. Are you marrying Satan?

3). What’s the best way to get my pastor to stop abusing the liturgy?

Slip him a $50 and tell him there’s more where that came from if he behaves.

4). Can God create a rock so big that even He can’t move it?

Yes. We call it “Nancy Pelosi.”

5). Should we try to Christianize the middle-east?

Yes. At gunpoint. Or we could just send in more Starbucks franchises with WWJD mugs.

6). Can infinity can measured?

Yes. But it will take some time.

7). Will having Masses said for Obama’s conversion have any real affect?

No. But a good butt whopping would.

8). Who’s your fav political thinker?

In order: Ann Coulter, Mao Se-Tung, and Al Franken. What can I say? I like diversity.

9). How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Is this alleged woodchucking woodchuck Italian?

10). I’m going to buy you a book. Which one on your list do you need most?

The one with the most pictures.

For more of that snarky wit and humor, do check out Domine, da mihi hanc aquam…

Jeff Miller, a.k.a. the Curt Jester, is (obviously) the owner of this fantastic blog. If you’re looking for “Punditry, Prayer, Parody, Polemics, Puns from a Papist Perspective“, this is THE place to go. Jeff combines fun and humor (and sometimes, a touch of sarcasm) with everyday Catholic living and the teachings of the Catholic Church, while preserving the orthodoxy and respect due to the topics discussed.

The latest post (as at the time when I was typing this) on the blog titled “If the Catholic Church was a programming language” is simply outstanding! Jeff makes comparisons between the Catholic Church and various programming languages. As a programmer myself, this post was very much close to heart. I particularly love this piece of sample code:

Here is a sample “Hello World” program in C††

faith()
{
works()
{
print(“Let there be light ” ) ;
}
}

After all “Let there be light” was the original Hello World program by the Divine Programmer. Every C†† requires a “faith” method which is the main entry point to the program. Remember faith() without works() and your code is dead.

What can I say? Jeff, you’re a genius!

To the rest of you, hop on over to The Curt Jester blog NOW!!!

God’s Blog (rss) takes a humorous (and sarcastic) look at our world from God’s point of view. Although it’s not theologically sound in many ways, it sure provides a good laugh here and there. One post I particularly liked:

Why Didn’t I Create Money Trees?

You know, I’ve been getting a lot of prayers lately about money. A lot of people are asking me to help them get some so they can pay their bills and buy their kids Christmas presents and such.

I can sympathize with you guys, really. But I’m sorry to say there isn’t a whole lot I can do. I mean, seriously, I would just hand out money like free iPods to everybody who needed it if I could, but the truth is, I don’t have any. We don’t use money in Heaven.

Sometimes I wish we did. It’d be awesome if we had some kind of economic crisis so I’d have an excuse to lay off Moses. But unfortunately, I’m stuck with him forever. I knew I should have read his contract more carefully before I signed it.

Hat tip to The Ironic Catholic for pointing me to this blog!

Personal problems aside, I’ve also been busy with blog reading (and listening to podcasts, of course). Most of the blogs I’m reading (particularly Catholic ones) are written by Americans or Europeans. Seems that the general western community is more net-savvy and are more ready to share their thoughts with the rest of the world. Asians on the other hand, tend to be more “shy” or reserved. But still, if you really look hard enough, you do come across some gems along the way.

One such “gem” is Catholic Writings (rss) by Daniel Tay (a.k.a. Catholic Writer). Daniel is an author and a journalist for Catholic News (Singapore). He’s even written a book, Befriending Jesus. Daniel writes about life as a Catholic in Singapore (hurray!). He also posts some reviews of books, movies, hangouts and food. I’m particularly impressed by his latest 3-part series of questions and answers on the Eucharist:

• In what way is the Eucharist a sacrifice?
• In what way is the Eucharist a meal?
• In what way is the Eucharist a story?

If you’re curious about Catholics in Singapore, you’ll probably enjoy reading Catholic Writings.

For links to this and other blogs that I’m subscribed to, check out my Links page.

Patrick notes in his email newsletter (which you can subscribed to from PatrickMadrid.com), that he’ll be “regularly posting there, some things serious, some lighthearted, some theological, some non-theological, but hopefully, all of it interesting and thought-provoking. It will be another way for us to stay in touch.”

If you like Patrick’s frankness and sharpness in approaching sensitive yet important topics of the faith and the world, and have enjoyed what you’ve been seeing/reading/hearing from him all this while, this is one blog you’ll HAVE to keep a watch on!

For links to this and other blogs I like, please visit my Links page!

In the spotlight today are 2 blogs by Father Philip Neri Powell, OP. I first came across Father Powell’s writings via his blog Domine, da mihi hanc aquam… (rss). The title of the blog is Latin for “God, give me this water“, as according to the translation given by Patrick Madrid on his Thursday Open Line program on EWTN last week. On this blog, Father Powell shares his homilies as well as insightful stuff which he calls “the occasional cranky political rant“. If you’re looking for good solid Catholic analysis of the world around us, this is one blog that’s definitely worth reading!

Through a recent announcement on the Hanc Aquam blog, I discovered Father Powell’s other blog, suppl(e)mental (rss). This blog focus on philosophy, science and theology, and houses many of Father Powell’s very scholarly writings on these subjects. The suppl(e)mental blog also has tons of links to various sites related to faith and science. I’m a new subscriber, and I’m definitely gonna spend some time to read through the various posts there.

Well there, my humble take on 2 fantastic blogs. If you’re looking for more interesting blogs, check out my Links page, where these and other wonderful blogs are listed.

You shall not put your blog before your integrity

You shall not make an idol of your blog

You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin

Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog

Honour your fellow-bloggers above yourselves and do not give undue significance to their mistakes

You shall not murder someone else’s honour, reputation or feelings

You shall not use the web to commit or permit adultery in your mind

You shall not steal another person’s content

You shall not give false testimony against your fellow-blogger

You shall not covet your neighbour’s blog ranking. Be content with your own content

Originally posted on UK’s Times Online.