Where I've Spent My Time Online

Honestly, I never thought it would happen. I never thought I would become a blog reader, yet I have fallen head over heels. To view a growing, yet already very comprehensive list of Catholic Bloggers, visit my Catholic Blogs Pinterest board! In this week’s column I would like to highlight a few I’ve spent just a little more time visiting this past month:

Created for Greatness - Scott M. Anthony

Scott is a gifted and incredibly energetic speaker and retreat leader (and I’m sure from his blog posts he is probably a pretty fantabulous youth minister too!). There are a few good reasons I like Scott’s blog but what compels me continue to visit his blog is the great insight he gives me for communicating the faith to my teenage sons.

While I never regretted waiting to be older to have children, there is a significant difference in how I view the world at the age of 45, and how my kids process the same things at ages 18 and 14. Scott, who I am blessed to have met at a Youth Rally a few years ago, is also a father of a plethora of kids, which also adds to his insightful posts.

The other point his blog illuminated for me was the importance of reading past posts (aka archives). There is such a push for fresh and frequent content that sometimes I think we forget the great posts already out there. Just because someone doesn’t have time to post daily or even weekly does not make their blog ineffective. Enlightened by this revelation, I have been on Created for Greatness perusing through not only the newest but also delving way back into the archives and popular posts to gleam as much as I can to help me be the best Catholic parent of teens I can be!

Catholic Spirituality Blogs Network - various

Sometimes the best blogs to get lost sifting through are the ones featuring many different writers. Catholic Spirituality was a gem I stumbled across the Catholic Bloggers Google+ group. This hub of spiritually rich writers was a jewel to locate, and even more fulfilling to read (and share of course)! This site was partially responsible for my creating the Pinterest filing system of Catholic Blogs in the first place: there were just too many I wanted to follow or read to adequately keep track in my ‘favorites’. Blogs like the Catholic Spirituality Blog Network are a fantastic place for someone who is unsure what they are even looking in a blog, to begin. There are SO many to choose from regardless of your spiritual interests!

Word on Fire Blog – Fr. Robert Barron

If there was a 12-step program for someone addicted to all things Fr. Robert Barron, I’d be there every week, not necessarily to shed the addiction, but primarily to pump the others for even more Word on Fire (WoF) resources and Fr. Barron wisdom! I began using Fr. Barron’s materials (books, videos, workbooks), in the Bible studies I facilitated MANY years ago. I have run Catholicism Series viewing/discussion groups several times, love his numerous YouTube videos, and find his blog one of the most thought-provoking, challenging, and (when I’m not looking up the big words in a dictionary) contemplative on the internet. The WoF blog is actually a team effort and used as the ministry’s online magazine – with entries from many fabulous contributors (that I do also read), however sometimes I forget that and hone in on Fr. Barron’s posts – perhaps I need that group more than I know!

Your turn: What are your favorite blogs?

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