Turning Toward Mom and Mary, Pentecost, and Two-Question Survey
by John Feister

(If you don’t have time to read this now, please take note of the buttons on the right. They are free for the taking, for you to use on your Web site. Click on a button to pick up the html code.)

Q U I C K S C A N

Parish Site of the Month
Worth a Click

We are approaching May, a month for mothers. (Mother’s Day is May 13 this year.) Catholics worldwide also observe May as the month of Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mother of the Church.

AmericanCatholic.org has a number of Mother’s Day resources, which you can link to with code from our Webmaster’s page. It’s our way of helping spread the Good News from our Franciscan ministry to your parish or diocesan Web site.

The Mother’s Day feature includes a quick, free way to send Mother’s Day e-cards from Catholic Greetings. There are a number of articles from St. Anthony Messenger magazine, including Susan Hines Brigger’s popular entry “What Does Mother’s Day Mean?” It’s a heartwarming look at how a faith-filled woman made the connection between her faith journey and her own motherhood. You’ll also find other reflections, a Mother’s Day prayer for children (“I love you, Mom. I love your aliveness,
your joy in living, your understanding…”) and a few gift ideas from our many books that can help nurture a mother ’s faith.

Then there’s the Marian dimension! Our feature “Learning About Mary,” which also can be put on your Web site using code from our Webmaster’s page, has the basics for your Web-searching audience: What do Catholics believe about Mary? What are some of the many ways that the Church has understood her? New this year is a link to the May cover story of St. Anthony Messenger, an article about a new film depicting Marian art from several continents.

By the way, we are in the Easter season until Pentecost Sunday, May 27! Our “From Easter to Pentecost” feature changes every day and will help your visitors make the connection. We have Pope Benedict’s Easter message, weekly Sunday Soundbites from Father Greg Friedman, and a collection of weekly and daily thoughts.

Finally, I have a question for you: Web Catholic is developing a blog about being a Catholic Webmaster. Would you be interested in commenting and  participating at such a blog community? It will be a place where webmasters can exchange ideas. Answer our two-question survey!

Happy Easter, still!

John Feister
Editor, AmericanCatholic.org

Parish Site of the Month

Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Diocese of Arlington)
Here’s an example of a parish site that does a good job keeping its visitors informed about current and upcoming events. On the homepage, there’s a mini-calendar that you can easily scroll through. Also, there’s a link to a full-sized Web calendar (provided by MyChurchEvents.com), where you can browse and search events and even download calendar information into a program like Outlook or Lotus Notes. While visiting the site, make sure to check out the parish’s history, the “Electronic Giving Program” and the weekly bulletin.

Worth a Click

Daily Prayer Online
Daily Prayer Online is a great spot on the Web for those looking for a variety of prayer resources. If you're looking for simple meditations, check out the "Quiet Space," which offers a collection of brief reflections and prayers. There are also prayer resources for students, Scripture reflections for your iPod and a "Thought for Today." Also, you can subscribe to receive a daily prayer, contact one of the site's online guides and submit and read prayers online.

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