Treasure in Clay Question: Bishop Sheen Spiritual/Media Heirs?
I think there are plenty of energetic and charismatic Catholic apologists, but I find myself considering Catholic networks when I consider media heirs of Archbishop Sheen.
Of course, Mother Angelica’s Eternal Word Television Network is a fixture in providing radio & television programming, and has quite a presence on the Internet. It started with Mother Angelica but now has scores of personalities with a variety of Catholic programming.
The Canadian network Salt & Light TV produces some excellent programming, some of which airs in the US on EWTN.
One priest who harnesses New Media to spread the Gospel in a dramatic way is Father Robert Barron and his WordOnFire.org apostolate. Just a few highlights: Fr. Barron is a fantastic teacher; has an excellent podcast, and his “Catholicism Project” is a “landmark, epic documentary series” to reveal the beauty & truth of the Catholic faith.
Whom do you consider to be the spiritual/media heirs of Archbishop Sheen today, in terms of using their gifts and zeal to spread the Gospel in unique ways?
Treasure in Clay Question: Bishop Sheen in the Internet Age?
The fragmentation in the media makes it unlike that even a priest of Bishop Sheen’s zeal and intensity would be invited to have a national radio or television show. There’s so many diverse sources of media, and regular television shows are not watched as universally as during Sheen’s time.
In Treasure in Clay, Sheen demonstrates how he is a man of many ideas to help get out a Catholic message. In the chapter, “The Bishop in a Diocese,” Sheen writes of his plan to what looks like, instead of printing a stand-alone Catholic newspaper, take out a monthly one-page ad in the local secular newspapers to print a “mini-paper” with different categories, thus reaching a wider audience. The plan did not go through because the Catholic paper had a long-term printing contract, according to Sheen.
Today, he undoubtedly would have harnessed the New Media. I’m sure he would have had a blog, since he was such a prolific writer, and almost certainly a podcast or video podcast. He would still publish his many books, of course, but he’d have a varied media apostolate.
If he were alive today, what do you think would be Bishop Sheen’s primary method of spreading the Gospel?
Treasure in Clay Question: Favorite Sheen Book or Books?
Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote more than 60 books.
The first Sheen book I ever read was Life of Christ, but I have to say my favorite is This is the Holy Land, first published in 1961 and covers the trip he took to the Holy Land with several nephews. It’s full of photos of Sheen in various Holy Land locations and his reflections. He writes about that book a bit in Treasure in Clay.
What is your favorite Sheen book and why?
New Page on Sidebar: How Do I Join the Discussion?
*I will express myself with civility, courtesy, and respect, especially toward those with whom I disagree—even if I feel disrespected by them. (Romans 12:17-21)
*I will express my disagreements with the ideas of others without insulting, mocking, or slandering them personally. (Matthew 5:22)
*I will not exaggerate others’ beliefs nor make unfounded prejudicial assumptions based on labels, categories, or stereotypes. I will always extend the benefit of the doubt. (Ephesians 4:29)
*I understand that comments are moderated and will not be published if they are do not meet the guidelines. Repeat offenders will be blocked from making further comments. (Proverbs 18:7)
In searching around for a comment code, I found lots of great ones, and adapted this from Sojourners, because it is short & to the point.
Treasure in Clay Question: Any favorite moments?
“Serving the missions makes one sick at heart if anyone is left out of the ark of salvation. A blind boy at Lourdes was cured during the Way of the Cross as his father asked God to restore his son’s sight. The first words of the boy as he saw his father and others were: ‘Everybody’s here!’ That will be the missionary’s cry at Judgment when he sees his flock and is overwhelmed by the goodness of God. Everybody is here who wanted to be here.”
That story in turn reminded me of the apocryphal quote attributed, I thought (until I tried to look it up on the Internet, where all truth resides–kidding), to Flannery O’Connor that the Catholic Church means, “Here comes everybody.” I couldn’t find if she actually said that phrase, but Catholic writer Amy Welborn started a good discussion (with no answers) here.