USHispanicMinistry.com

I recently met Patty Jimenez and her husband Vince Olea at the Diocese of Boise Convocation. They are the founders of ushispanicministry.com. Below is information about their mission and website.

Accompanying the Diverse Hispanic Reality in the U.S.
We are just like you, co-workers in the vineyard, living our Catholic faith by walking alongside others. Over the years we have dreamed of a gathering place where we can meet and hear from those doing similar work. From leaders in the fields to theologians, we all experience the grace-filled mixture of blessings and challenges within the diverse realities of Hispanics in the U.S. In support of these voices, we also dreamed of a place that supplies access to a variety of resources and facilitates a network for the benefit of all of us serving Hispanic ministry in the U.S. We are pleased to offer U.S. Hispanic Ministry as that place.

Our Mission
U.S. Hispanic Ministry believes that Hispanic ministry serves the entire Church and accompanies all Hispanics in their lived contexts and languages. Contributing to this mission, we offer three means of interaction.

1. Unique and Diverse Voices. From recent immigrants who may only speak Spanish, to Hispanics who are bilingual and bicultural, to 3rd and 4th generation U.S. born Hispanics who may only speak English, U.S. Hispanic Ministry is committed to promoting a dialogue around the diverse and unique communities within the U.S. Hispanic population. In order to generate these discussions, we offer a rotation of lively contributors, each giving voice to her/his community and prompting questions, insights and challenges. Articles, Facebook interaction, Twitter discussions, and other exciting social gathering vehicles will help build community at a local and national level.
2. Resources. U.S. Hispanic Ministry is dedicated to gathering quality resources and highlighting established and new ministerial models, services, and offerings. U.S. Hispanic Ministry invites all ministries, educational institutions, organizations, catechetical publishers, and service providers working with and for Hispanic communities to join us by providing a summary of who you are, your logo, and a link to your website.
3. Networking. Networking at U.S. Hispanic Ministry may happen organically through your participation in Facebook and Twitter, or commenting on our posts. U.S. Hispanic Ministry will create secure and purposeful ways to network with and accompany one another.

By providing a comprehensive central website, we believe U.S. Hispanic Ministry contributes to the forward moving efforts needed to accompany the growing diversity of Catholic Hispanics in the U.S.

Light of Love by Imagine Sisters

Have you ever met a religious sister? They tend to be the happiest women on Earth. They pray, they sacrifice their lives in love and service to those in need, they live in community–and in many ways they’re just like you! Whether you’ve been taught by sisters or you’ve never experienced their joy in person, Imagine Sisters passionately proposes the possibility of becoming a sister in the world today.

The Mission of Imagine Sisters is to inspire and support vocations to Catholic women’s religious life. Our hope is to help the world meet sisters on fire for their faith. Through online resources and media, Imagine Sisters works to ignite the conversation of vocational discernment.

Jim Gaffigan

Comedian Jim Gaffigan has 5 children; here's how he answers the "Why so many?!" question:

“Well, why not? I guess the reasons against having more children always seem uninspiring and superficial. What exactly am I missing out on? Money? A few more hours of sleep? A more peaceful meal? More hair? These are nothing compared to what I get from these five monsters who rule my life. I believe each of my five children has made me a better man. So I figure I only need another thirty-four kids to be a pretty decent guy."

Check out Jim Daly's blog - http://bit.ly/1mCXxFi
Photo by www.CoreyMelton.com

The Butterfly Circus

At the height of the Great Depression, the showman of a renowned circus discovers a man without limbs being exploited at a carnival sideshow, but after an intriguing encounter with the showman he becomes driven to hope against everything he has ever believed.

Fishers of Men

Fishers of Men is a film requested by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This fast-paced film on vocations to the priesthood has been described as the best vocational film ever produced for the Catholic Church. 8 out of 10 seminarians in the United States own a copy of the film.

Order Fishers of Men from Grassroots Films.

Jeopardy PowerPoint

Answer: A well-crafted presentation for evaluating participant learning in a rapid, informative, fun way using one of America's foremost gameshows.

Question: What is a Jeopardy PowerPoint?

You can adapt the content on this PowerPoint with your own set of questions. The PowerPoint has particular features you will find useful:

• Allows contestants to choose any question on the board and return to the home screen.
• Includes two rounds with Double Jeopardy amounts in the second.
• Only needs to have questions and answers copied and pasted. Animation should not change.
• Stock content already in the presentation may be useable in many ministry settings for various ages.

Pit parents versus teens for Confirmation, quiz your RCIA class before they enter into the Triduum, pose the presentation as a review for students in schools, and use it as you please.

Download Jeopardy PowerPoint.

Fr. Chase Hilgenbrinck

Today in the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, Deacon Chase Hilgenbrinck will be ordained a priest of Jesus Christ for the Roman Catholic Church. As a former professional soccer player, his story is compelling and has received much coverage. Below is an article from ESPN and a video from his diocese chronicling his decision to leave the soccer pitch for a life in the church.

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"For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." -- Ecclesiastes 3:1

EMMITSBURG, Md. -- Chase Hilgenbrinck is alone in the middle of the field, just outside the goal box, with his back to it. He's facing his teammates, who are standing several yards away, split into two lines for pregame warm-ups. One by one -- left, then right -- they kick a soccer ball his way, and start jogging in his direction. Chase deftly deflects each ball off to the side with a flick of his foot, setting up each teammate to launch a shot on goal.

It's been a couple months since he last put on a uniform. But it still feels comfortable. Natural. His mind drifts back to the last time he suited up: Sunday, July 13, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. He was a member of Major League Soccer's New England Revolution, facing Mexican club Santos Laguna in a SuperLiga game. Now, on the final weekend of September, he's preparing to play against a team from St. Joseph's.

St. Joseph's Seminary.

My, how things have changed.

We all have grand dreams when we're growing up. We don't just want to do something with our lives -- we want to be great at it. And for many of us, the ultimate dream was to be a professional athlete.

Chase Hilgenbrinck dreamed that dream. Three months ago, he was playing professional soccer, in his native country. He had reached the end of the rainbow. Only, at the end of the rainbow, he discovered another path he felt compelled to follow. So he gave it all up, at the very moment he had strived for his entire life.

Ironically, Chase never made national headlines during his pro soccer career. But he made headlines around the world when he ended it.

From the Associated Press, July 14, 2008:

"Hilgenbrinck accepted the calling on Monday when he left the New England Revolution and retired from professional soccer to enter a seminary, where he will spend the next six years studying theology and philosophy so he can be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest."

Click here to continue reading.