Br Ignatius, the Facebook Monk, has more than 3,500 friends on Facebook and he says that making religious announcement and proclamations to the masses as "offensive".

It's like "walking into somebody's living room and then preaching to them the whole time. It's kinda rude and most of all, it doesn't work."

Brother Ignatius uses Facebook the way most others do. He posts videos and photos, makes observations about everyday happenings and "messages" his "friends".

The key he said is "authenticity".

"When I send a message, I make sure there is an answer and a dialogue so it's not just me stating my opinion and that's it," Brother Ignatius said.

"My hope is to bring people some sense of joy and hope," he told the Catholic Anchor. "In the end, my ultimate goal is to bring people to Jesus Christ — to have them be curious enough to find what animates me and what makes me put things like this on a Facebook page."

"Beyond the photos and videos are the messages," he explained. "The goal is to create dialogue and to message back in forth in a profound way and then to go beyond that. I often encourage people to go beyond the computer and pick up a phone and talk."

Despite the fact that a growing number of teens are abandoning their religious upbringing — especially in Europe — Brother Ignatius finds that even hyper-secularized teens respond to the truth.

"They react to truth and they are not afraid to admit in front of everybody, that, 'Yeah, what Brother just said makes sense,'" he said. "That for me is the hope. There is tons of hope."

Sources

• CNA
• Catholic Anchor

J Wilson, who is a home brewer intends to blog about his experience as he investigates a 300 year old tale about doppelbock beer, that is "liquid bread," first developed for Lent by Bavarian monks in Munich, Germany.

Wilson said the got the idea a couple of years ago and wanted to explore it first-hand. His plan is to drink four 12 oz beers a day and lots of water in between.

"Getting drunk is the last thing on my to-do list at this time. This is an historical study."

"The idea is a little bit crazy", Wilson admits but in "beer-geek" circles the story is often told of how the Paulaner monks created a dark, hefty carbohydrate-packed beer in the mid 1600's to sustain themselves through Lent when no food was pass their lips.

"I have a genuine love for beer, and am very drawn to the rich history it carries. Forty-six days is a long time without food. But if the the Paulaner brothers could do it under the guidance of God, I should be able to as well. A spiritual journey of this nature is no laughing matter, and I very much look forward to sharing it with you."

Sources
desmoinesregister.com
Catholic Herald