Denver Catholic

CATHOLIC LIFE I 3 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I SEPTEMBER 24, 2014 BY JULIE FILBY In the course of a day, a moth- er can deal with family logistics that include a spouse, home, job, finances, car, meals, edu- cation, activities, sports, play dates, volunteering, homework, making sure everyone gets enough sleep, and add to that in a Christian family: the spiritual growth of their children. "Women operate at a frenet- ic pace trying to keep up with all the pressures," according to Lisa Lickona, S.T.L. "And when they can't, they feel in- adequate, guilty, depressed; and give up and check out. It's daunting." What is it to be a mother to- day? Why is it so hard to live out this vocation? And where does God fit in? Lickona will address these questions, in her experience as a theologian, wife and mother of eight, in the next installment of the Archbishop's Lecture Series Oct. 7 in her talk titled "Love At the Heart of the Fam - ily: Motherhood in the New Millennium." "In all the things we manage and take care of: where is God in all that?" she said in a phone conversation with the Denver Catholic Register Sept. 18 from her home in the rural commu- nity of McGraw in upstate New York. "People don't think of the world as something that God is intimately involved with," she said. "That he's 'way out there,' or we happen to see him when we pray; if we pray." But when God's not involved in the particulars, she said, a mother can begin to feel "it's all up to me." "The truth is we're not alone, we're not abandoned," she said. "Love entered the world in the person of Jesus Christ. ... We have the Church, we have the sacraments." Mothers need to encounter love to build themselves up on the inside. "There has to be something deeper I'm drawing from," Lickona said, referring to a deeper sense of a relationship with Christ. "Faith has to be- come a person. It has to be a journey with Christ every day." Lickona holds a licentiate in sacred theology and a master's of theological studies from the John Paul II Institute for Stud- ies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. She is co-au- thor of the pastoral resource "Adult Children of Divorce: Recovering Origins, Follow- ing the Path of 'Our Father;'" many articles on family, mar- riage, parenting, culture and the writings of St. John Paul II; and currently writes daily meditations on saints for Mag- nificat, while raising her chil- dren—from age 2 to 20—with her husband Mark. The couple also lost one child due to com- plications with prematurity and Down syndrome in 2010 at just 3 months old. In her talk, Lickona will of- fer practical, realistic ways to help mothers—and those who support them—to cultivate spiritual "anchors" in the dai- ly life, including: prayer, Mass, confession, and simple mo - ments of quiet time to be open to the Lord's presence. "It's very easy as moms to keep giving, giving, giving," she said, "that we don't give our- selves time to be with Lord ... the source of all our strength." Her talk continues this year's lecture theme focusing on family while the Church also focuses on the family in 2014- 2015 (see related cover story about the World Meeting of Families). The next lecture in the series will discuss cultivat- ing family life with a mission- ary spirit. Lickona will speak at 7 p.m. in Bonfil Halls on the campus of the St. John Paul II Center in south Denver. The lecture is free and open to the pub- lic. For more information, email info@archden.org or call 303-715-3230. Julie Filby: 303-715-3123; julie. filby@archden.org; www.twitter. com/DCRegisterJulie Lecture to help moms renew the source of their strength Feeling the pressure to be 'Super Mom'? ARCHBISHOP'S LECTURE SERIES Speaker: Lisa Lickona, S.T.L. Title: "Love At the Heart of the Family: Motherhood in the New Millennium." When: 7 p.m., Oct. 7 Where: Bonfils Hall, St. John Paul II Center, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver Questions: info@archden.org or 303-715-3230 PHOTO PROVIDED LISA LICKONA, back center, with her husband Mark and their eight children. Lickona, a theolo- gian, will speak on motherhood at the Archbishop's Lecture Series Oct. 7. BY ROXANNE KING In a 2013 survey of what par- ishes want, a top request was "help with using new media to reach people." In response, the Office of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries, which visited pas- tors and deanery meetings across the Denver Archdiocese to discover their needs, is of- fering the Digital Church Con- ference from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 3 at Our Lady of Loreto Par- ish, 18000 E. Arapahoe Road in Foxfield. "The Digital Church Confer- ence is designed to help people who have no experience with things like Facebook, Twit- ter and websites to get start- ed quickly, as well as to take those who do have experience to the next level to reach a larger audience," said Greg Wil- lits, organizer and director of the Evangelization and Family Life Ministries Office. "This conference is literally open to anybody," he added, "but I particularly think that pastors, directors of religious education, youth ministers and business managers—any- one whose job at a parish is to communicate with the parish community—should be at this event." The one-day conference will be led by a trio of digital me- dia experts: author and speak- er Brandon Vogt who works as content director for Father Robert Barron's Word on Fire Catholic Ministries; Flocknote communication tool founder and CEO Matthew Warner, and website firm eCatholic founder and CEO Josh Simmons. "What's great is that all three of these people have created or helped to develop online tools and resources that are being used by parishes of the Archdio- cese of Denver," Willits said. Attendees will be able to learn everything from perfecting their website, to building their social network, to evangelizing online. Conference cost is $67 per person and includes lunch. Register online at www.arch den.org/eflm. "People asked for help and this is absolutely the best help that can be given in this ar- ea," said Willits who is himself a new media leader with 10 years' experience in the IT in- dustry and the creator of sever- al popular podcasts and video productions. "These men are absolutely top notch," he declared. "I'm confident that every parish and every person that attends this event will reap benefits in reaching parishioners where they are online." Roxanne King: 303-715-3215; editor@archden.org; www.twitter. com/DCRegisterRox From perfecting a website to building a social network, Catholic digital media experts to teach how Oct. 3 DIGITAL CHURCH CONFERENCE Who: Open to everyone Presenters: Brandon Vogt, Matthew Warner, Josh Simmons When: 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Oct. 3 Where: Our Lady of Loreto Parish, 18000 E. Arapahoe Road in Foxfield Cost: $67 per person, in- cludes lunch MATTHEW WARNER BRANDON VOGT JOSH SIMMONS

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