Watermark Youth Group » interesting

A Rapping Priest

Pat — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:16:44 +0000

For those of you who enjoy listening to hip-hop, at times you may have struggled with the intersection of this genre of music with your faith.

Apparently, there is a Catholic rap world and leading the way in getting the word out is phatmass.com. Among other things, phatmass strives to (from their website):

Produce authentic hip-hop with a strong Catholic message as a method of creative communication. *Phatmass is strongly opposed to using any form of hip-hop in the liturgy.

One of their artists is a Catholic priest, Fr. Claude Burns, who goes by the stage name: Fr. Pontifex. You can read more about him in this interview. One of his songs, Perceptions, tells the story of being ridiculed by an attendee of an album release party, who suggested he was a pedophile because he was a priest. I enjoyed the raw nature of the lyrics. Check it out below (click track 6):

Ordained by Fr Pontifex

Did you know that one of our own priests has some rapping skills?
If you’re really nice to him, you might convince Fr. Mariani to bust a flow.

Why are Boys Struggling?

Pat — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:07:05 +0000

Psychologist Phillip Zimbardo (whom some of you may recognize from AP Psychology) gives this brief (5 minute) TED talk discussing the state of boys in our society and why they are struggling. Like he says at the end of the video, he’s not there to offer solutions, but to raise the alarm.

My thoughts after watching this video are:

I’m very thankful for Pope John Paul II and his Theology of the Body which gives us a beatific vision of gender (among other things). For an overview, you can watch this video of Jason Evert speaking about masculinity through the lens of TOB.

I’ve also always been disappointed by the lack of male initiation into adulthood in western cultures. I’m not saying that it’s absolutely necessary as some initiation rituals are quite gruesome (warning: don’t read if you’re squeamish). However, without it, our culture can tend to keep males boys for a long time; either that or what it means to be a man starts to become really skewed.

Anyone interested in a Watermark Men’s Retreat?

A Catholic Response to Osama Bin Laden’s Death

Pat — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:13:28 +0000

At the time of the September 11th attacks, current high schoolers were between four and eight years old. So understandably, reaction to OBL’s death might range from not being sure who he is to extreme jubilation.

What should a Catholic reaction to this news be? This is the official statement released by the Vatican per the Director of the Holy See Press Office, P. Federico Lombardi:

Osama Bin Laden – as everyone knows – has had the gravest responsibility for spreading hatred and division among people, causing the deaths of countless people, and exploiting religion for this purpose.

Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of everyone before God and man, and hopes and pledges that every event is not an opportunity for a further growth of hatred, but of peace.

Another good read is Fr. James Martin’s response.

China’s Unlikely Pop Star

Pat — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:50:50 +0000

Wow, this guy’s Chinese is way better than mine.

The best part of the video is when he imitates how he’d like to sing versus how the Chinese producers prefer him to sing.

Why did I post this to the Watermark blog? Because it’s about Chinese culture … and since he’s from Nigeria, chances are he’s Catholic =P.

The Known Universe

Pat — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:16:30 +0000

Here’s a cool video from the American Museum of Natural History. It shows the current (scientifically) known universe starting at the Himalayas, pulling back slowly through space to the extent of what we’ve mapped. According to the video, “Every satellite, moon, planet, star and galaxy is represented to scale and in its correct, measured location according to the best scientific research to-date.” It’s pretty jaw dropping to reflect on where God fits into all of that. I know atheists would have a field day with that comment, but for now, let’s just enjoy the video.

The Known Universe from AMNH on Vimeo.

Socialite to Nun?

Pat — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:54:44 +0000

Many of you probably grew up reading Roald Dahl books like James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches, The Big Friendly Giant, etc. His daughter, Tessa Dahl, grew up in a life of privilege though marred by some tragedy, and lived as a socialite. She was named one of the five most beautiful women in the world by Time magazine earlier in her life, but ended up with a couple of broken marriages and has struggled through alcoholism and a cocaine habit.

More recently, she has been living at the Regina Laudis Abbey in Bethlehem, Connecticut, which is home to a Benedictine order of nuns, and she is now in the process of entering.

This article tells the Tale of the Unexpected.

And you know what’s funny? While I was reading the article, this song came up on my youtube playlist in the background. Prophecy? We will see.

Our Family

Andrea — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:28:30 +0000

Catholics Come Home

Thought I’d share this with you guys! I’m not sure how many of you patrol through the comments, but Sandy posted a link to this video awhile ago. I know some of you have been listening to Catholic radio during Lent, so you might have heard the audio version of this commercial. I was SO EXCITED when I found out there was a video version. It kind of gives me chills every time I watch it… makes you proud (prouder…?) to be a Catholic!

Future Transportation

Pat — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:35:03 +0000

Sometimes I’m surprised by how many of the 16+ year old Watermarkers don’t have a strong desire to get their license. I couldn’t wait to drive. Maybe if they were getting their license for this, it’d be different?

I can only imagine how road rage would evolve into air rage. *sigh* another thing to confess.