Tuesday Tech Talk: Using Technology to Enhance Your Faith

This Sunday I gave a talk to the RCIA group at parish on the topic of Technology and faith. I thought I'd share some of the key points today. The overview of the talk is pretty much contained in the video below.

I gave an example of how I use the Joe Catholic site to help me with my morning prayers. While I am having my morning espresso, I begin with reading the daily reflection from Opus Dei located near the top of the right column of Joe Catholic. I follow that up by reading the Daily Readings right above the OD widget. I conclude my scripture readings, by viewing the USCCB video reflections for the Daily Readings. If I have time, I may read a few posts from some of the Catholic Blogs listed on this page or or I may check my Google Reader to see if their are any other reflections on the readings. On my way to work, I usually pray the rosary using the my iPhone linked to the car radio, using the Catholicity Rosary CD I put on my playlist. I conclude my day with a reminder on my iPhone that alerts me to pray my Evening Examen.

My recommendation for those looking for a way to organize your prayer life using technology is to use a comprehensive Catholic website as your homepage. One my friends uses Catholic Exchange that way. Or you could use MyCatholic as your homepage as I used to before creating the Joe Catholic blog. Women of Grace is another great website to do that with.

Here are some site to help get you started. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

Websites 

Staples

• USCCB – US Bishops’ official website; includes Daily Readings, Catechism and more. 
• Vatican - Official website of the Vatican & Pope. Contains all the papal encyclicals and other important documents. 
• Ft. Worth Diocese - Official website of the Diocese of Ft. Worth or your local diocese web site. 

Meta-Resources

• Catholic Answers - One stop shop for apologetics and formation materials. 
• Catholic Exchange - Catholic portal for everything from art to technology. It even has a page devoted to “Holy Cuisine.”
• EWTN - Official website for the Eternal Word Television Network founded by Mother Angelica. Contains significant document and media libraries as well archived audio and video files of shows. 

Men

• Crossing the Goal - The men of this Sports Center like TV show have collected some of their shows, blogs, books and other merchandise onto this site. 
• Knights of Columbus - You don’t have to be a Knight to take advantage of the great resources on this site. It includes searchable Catechism and online classes on the faith. 
• Joe Catholic - This blog companion to the Joe Catholic men’s apostolate. It is designed to help people answer the call to universal holiness. In a direct and “everyday Joe” approach it seeks to help people learn, live and share their faith. 

Women

• Catholic Mom - Primarily written by Catholic moms with a focus on family, faith and fun. The site also includes several articles by guest writers. It also has great resources for homeschooling. 
• Happy Catholic - The author of the book by the same name manages the site. She takes a humorous approach in most of her posts and often writes about everyday things.
• Women of Grace - This is the premier Catholic women’s website. Johnnette Benkovic, who hosts a radio and TV show for EWTN, directs the site. 

How do you use technology to enhance your spiritual walk? Please share in the comments.