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Music Can Help Teach the Faith

By Justin Combs

 

The Jacob's Well ExperienceMusic is a medium that can help to mold a mind and soul. We see how music affects our culture, drives fashion and other fads, and influences our thoughts and speech. You are tapping into this powerful medium while you are passing on the faith right? If you are great, I’m going to help strengthen your use of music and broaden your view of the great music that is at our disposal. If you aren’t using music to help teach the faith there is no better time to start than now.

I have found in a lot of classrooms, formation offices, and youth group functions there is either music missing, or good music missing. As a teenager the CD that was always played at youth group functions was “Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits.” Granted, I am now a Steve Miller Band fan but I don’t think listening to him in the background helped to strengthen my faith or understanding of Catholic teaching. Sometimes I notice some of today’s top Christian artists playing like Third Day, Relient K, Michael W. Smith, etc. All of these artists are fine and great. They bring a good solid Christian message in their music and they can certainly have their place, but we are missing a large market of great music made by Catholic musicians that bring strong catechesis and great passion. Other times I hear chant and other styles of sacred music playing. Don’t get me wrong, this has its place and is important. All Catholics should be introduced to chant and other kinds of sacred music. I want you to think of this though. What kind of music are your students listening to when they are with their friends, at home, at school, in the car? What would you think if I told you there were Catholic artists that your students would want to listen to at these places? This may surprise you, but there are many great Catholic artists making great music that rival the popular artists of today. Unfortunately the market and venues for this great Catholic music is very small so your chance of stumbling upon it is slim. Great news, I have done the hard work for you.

Over the last couple of years I have been working on finding some great Catholic musicians that produce high quality music with great foundations in the Catholic faith. There is no reason we shouldn’t be using this music to help strengthen our teaching. Here are some of the fruits of my labor. Browse through these artists and enjoy their music. After the list I will have some ways you can use this music in your classroom, home, lessons, etc.

First, the artists you may have already heard of:

  •  Matt Maher – He has played music at World Youth Day, has toured with Jars of Clay and Mercy Me, and has his music played on top Christian radio stations around the country.
  • Audrey Assad – A friend of Matt Maher, she was on a top Christian label but is now an independent artists. She has a wonderful voice and a great songwriting style.
  • Jackie Francois – A speaker/musician that speaks a lot on chastity, purity, modesty, and relationships.
  • Bob Rice – Bob is a professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville as well a musician/speaker. He plays accordion and is often leading praise and worship at the Steubenville youth conference in Ohio.
  • Chris Padgett – Chris is also a professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is a very funny and faith filled musician/speaker.

Here are some artists that are often at nation Catholic youth functions:

  • Popple – An acoustic humor rock duo. They have a strong faith and can relate to a younger audience. They use humor in their music to help bring Christ’s message.
  • Michael James Mette – A father that tours a lot to help raise his family. He has a pretty rocking sound to his music.
  • Josh Blakesley – An artist from OCP (They have many great artists) with a great voice and a strong story.
  • Jacob and Matthew Band – A duo that travels with their band. They recently played in Rio for World Youth Day.
  • Lee Roessler – A strong Catholic rock sound with some great lyrics.

Lastly here are some artist that you probably have never heard of or seen:

  • The Thirsting – A rocking group from California that plays edgier music with well thought out Catholic lyrics.
  • Clap For Poland – A group with a very unique sound.
  • Joia Farmer – A mother and wife who works with her husband as a youth minister. She has a very soulful voice.
  • Fr. Rob Galea – A Catholic priest in Australia that makes some great, relevant music.
  • Righteous B – Bob Lesnefsky is a Catholic hip hop artists with a great inner city ministry in Steubenville, OH.
  • Chris Bray – He’s from Canada, but he spend quite a bit of time in the US lugging his guitar around and leading worship. He is a husband and father as well.

Here are some more resources where you can find and listen to more Catholic music:

  • Catholic Music Express
  • Spirit and Song (Part of OCP)
  • World Library Publications (WLP)

Now that you found some great Catholic music, how do you use it? Here are some ideas.

  1. Simply have it playing in the background.
  2. Find a song that works with whatever you are teaching. You will easily be able to find a song about God’s will, love, Mary, ordination, and other great themes with these artists.
  3. Find out what music your students listen to and do this, “Oh you like _____, have a listen to this.” Some of these artists have bulk discounts so you can even give away CDs when your students like them.
  4. When I taught middle school faith formation I would start with the gospel for that day and find a song that would go with it. We the then spend a short amount of time reading, listening, and discussing.

There are just a few small ideas to use. Music is too powerful a tool not to use. If you have other ways that you use music to teach the faith let me know in the comments.

Read all posts by Justin Combs Filed Under: Culture, High School, Middle School, Music, Resources Tagged With: Catechesis, Catholic, Catholic Music, Jesus, music, OCP, teaching, Teaching Catholic, WLP

Catechizing Through Fiction

By Ellen Gable Hrkach

Since today is the launch date for my third novel, Stealing Jenny, it might be appropriate this month to write a short article on “Catechizing Through Fiction.”

I’ve been a novelist for ten years.  My second novel, In Name Only, (a Catholic historical romance) was the first Catholic novel to win the Gold Medal in Religious Fiction at the 2010 IPPY Awards and has been an Amazon Top 100 Bestseller for four months.

So what’s different about my novels?

Well, for one thing, they are unabashedly Catholic.  There are many who don’t believe in evangelizing or catechizing through fiction.  But I’m not one of them.  After all, Jesus used parables to teach, didn’t He?

My first novel, Emily’s Hope, is the fictionalized parallel stories of myself and my great-grandmother.  It illustrates the Church’s teachings on sex and marriage and why it is so important to obey these teachings.  One young adult sent me a “fan” letter saying, “Your book has helped me to understand the Church’s teaching on sex and marriage more than any textbook.”

My second novel, In Name Only, is a romance which takes place in the 1870’s in Philadelphia. It is different from secular romances because it does not contain graphic sexuality. However, it does include teaching on the Theology of the Body, so sexual issues like promiscuity and pornography are dealt with tastefully. It was challenging to illustrate the Theology of the Body since that term was not coined by Blessed John Paul II until the early 80’s. However, Church teaching on marriage has remained constant. In Name Only has been my most popular book thus far, and continues to be an Amazon Kindle Top 100 bestseller in Religious Fiction.

With my latest novel, Stealing Jenny, I wanted to illustrate why it is so important to be pro-life, especially in our current culture.

From the back cover of Stealing Jenny: “After three heartbreaking miscarriages, Tom and Jenny Callahan are happily anticipating the birth of their sixth child. A neighbor, however, is hatching a sinister plot which will find Jenny and her unborn baby fighting for their lives.”

Advanced reviews have been overwhelmingly positive.  “Stealing Jenny is a gripping novel filled with engaging characters, a compelling mystery and a message which underscores the precious dignity of life. I literally couldn’t put it down and give Stealing Jenny my highest recommendation,”  says Lisa M. Hendey, Founder of CatholicMom.com and author of A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms.  Author and Blogger Sarah Reinhard writes, “Stealing Jenny will keep you on the edge of your seat and probably destroy your sleep pattern as you stay up to find out what happens. But beyond being a great suspense, it’s also anexcellent example of morals in action and family life redeemed. As a fan of Ellen Gable’s work already, I’m now officially getting a t-shirt!”  Therese Heckenkamp of Traditional Catholic Novels.com says “Stealing Jenny is a smoothly written, chilling tale of gripping suspense. There are terrifying moments and heart-wrenching moments. Catholic faith and hope are tested. Above all, the sacredness and privilege of precious new life is made indisputably evident. I never wanted it to end!”

Stealing Jenny is available via Amazon in print or on Kindle. 

Copyright 2011 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Read all posts by Ellen Gable Hrkach Filed Under: Evangelization, General, NFP/Chastity Tagged With: Catechesis, Catholic fiction, Catholicity, Ellen Gable

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