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teachingmom
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| Posted: April 11 2006 at 11:32pm | IP Logged
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Good Catholic reality TV program.
Is that an oxymoron??!!
God or the Girl
I've read two positive reviews of this upcoming show. I wish we had A & E but we don't. Maybe I can get my parents to tape these shows for dh and me.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Elizabeth
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Real Learning
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| Posted: April 12 2006 at 4:58am | IP Logged
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You're in luck Irene. I think FEDEX is bringing me a review copy today.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Jen L.
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| Posted: April 12 2006 at 9:21am | IP Logged
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Guess what? One of my sisters is renting her townhouse from a subject of the show! The camera crews came to her (his) home a couple of months ago for filming.
I wait in nervous anticipation for the series, and am happy to read some good reviews for it. (We don't have cable either, so I'm hoping to tape it at my parents'.)
Here are a few more reviews for the show:
Washington Post
Milwaukee Sentinal
Fox News
__________________
Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: April 12 2006 at 6:15pm | IP Logged
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A friend forwarded this review to me:
I was contacted two weeks ago and asked to assist in
marketing a reality-TV series coming to A&E, premiering on
Easter Sunday (in little over one week). It was presented
to me as the real drama of four young men navigating
through the decision of marriage or priestly life.
Naturally suspicious of another presumptive attempt to
unpack Catholicism by a major secular media provider,
enhanced even more by the title “God or the Girl” -- I
held out hope and asked them to forwarded the episodes.
Here I am after many hours of reviewing the series…
speechless, overwhelmed, moved to humility, praise and
frequently even tears for what God has done and is going
to do with this series. You all know my appreciation for
media, both secular and religious. You know that as a
devout and passionate Catholic and former seminarian, as
one who knows the beauty of married love, as one who has
seen the best and worst of the “Catholic institution”—that
my antennae is up pretty high for poor programming.
Without question, just past the title is the most powerful
television programming I have ever been privileged to
experience. If there has never been a place in the lives
of scrupulous, devout Christians for popular television
programming, for “reality television,” this series opens
the door.
This is what I write in the primer:
These young men are the real deal. They share an
unmistakable love for God and their Catholic faith.
They’re well balanced and share the general experience of
their culture. One of them leaves behind a high-paying
job and attends a tail-gate party to share with frat
buddies his interest in priestly life. Instead of the
awkward culture clash one might expect, we’re given
witness of how the faithful can authentically engage
culture. Another young man has a beautiful relationship
with his girlfriend. They are an attractive couple who
represent the dreams of young, middle America. Yet they
profess chastity, and agree to put God first when it comes
to vocation. The counter-cultural message is
unmistakable: attraction to the opposite sex alone is not
a determinant of one’s vocation. Another young man is
clearly the attractive, All American kid whom everyone
likes. He acknowledges past sexual immorality, but
evidences a contagious joy of living for Jesus Christ in
the present. Vocation is clearly for the now. We’re
taken to his house, called “Fort Zion,” where he and
housemates enthusiastically lead a youth group. In a
particularly moving scene we see them kneeling together
before an abortion clinic and praying the rosary. Hardly
the “on the fringes” zealot one might expect, one connects
with him as a modern day Paul. His witness validates the
beauty of living for God.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Fr. Brian Bashista in
the first episode—a mentor of one of the young men. Fr.
Brian is a former fellow-seminarian (Mount St. Mary’s in
Emmitsburg, Maryland), and now director of Vocations for
Arlington. He was involved with my establishing Mount
2000 in 1995. I contacted him and he had nothing but
great things to say about the production itself, and the
experience. He was one of a handful permitted to view the
final episode. He writes:
As a participant in the A&E TV mini-series ‘God or the
Girl’ I had the privilege of seeing all five shows several
weeks ago. Immediately after the viewing I commented to
the producers that, from my perspective as a Vocation
Director, they did an incredible job of capturing the
reality of vocation discernment with all of its twists and
turns, ups and downs, highlights and lowlights.
Contrary to popular opinion, this series will no doubt
reveal to its viewers what many in the Church have already
know for years, namely, that numerous outgoing, affable,
balanced, intelligent and attractive young men are
seriously considering a call to serve Christ and His
Church as a future Roman Catholic priest. Many of these
men are, or are well on their way to become, ‘highly
successful’ in the ‘eyes of the world’…but are willing to
give up everything for a life which points to a
reality ‘beyond this world’. Despite what their friends,
family, classmates or co-workers might think, they are
willing to seriously explore this ‘road less traveled’.
Despite their mixed motives and normative questions, fears
and doubts, they are to be admired for their courage and
faithful witness to take note of Lord’s invitation
to “Come follow Me”.
Here’s what Harry Forbes, of the USCCB, has to
say: http://www.catholic.org/ae/movies/review.php?id=19242
With a potential reach to over 88 million homes, this is
going to impact individual lives and our culture. It’s
going to be the kind of program that many young men and
women are going to speak of years down the road—as the
beginning of their conversion to Jesus Christ, for getting
on the path to sacramental marriage or priesthood. I’m
asking you to be an instrument of this effort by simply
passing this along. Please help me in getting the Word
out (please delete any headers so your forward is clean).
This is absolutely a triumph for the authenticity of Jesus
Christ alive and present in the Catholic Church, revealed
in the most engaging way— the lives of “ordinary-yet-
extraordinary” young men.
The showings as revealed at the site, www.GodortheGirl.com:
Easter Sunday, April 16, 9-11 p.m. – Episodes 1 and 2
Easter Monday, April 17, 9-11 p.m. – Episodes 3 and 4
Sunday, April 23, 9-10:00 p.m. -- FINALE
AMDG
+Peace,
Greg Schlueter
ID Genesys/ ID Video Productions
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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teachingmom
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| Posted: April 12 2006 at 9:52pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
| You're in luck Irene. I think FEDEX is bringing me a review copy today. |
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That's great, Elizabeth! If you can just let me know for sure that you're getting it and I can borrow it, I won't bother my parents with the taping. Joe and I would love to see this.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Jen L.
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| Posted: April 13 2006 at 12:50am | IP Logged
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Wow! This show is certainly getting the push. Let's pray for the 5 young men who were filmed on the show (1 only appears on the DVD version.)
I received this from the Catholic Exchange today:
GOTG ANNOUNCEMENT
By Tom Allen, Editor and President of Catholic Exchange
We've been reporting the previews for weeks, but now the time has come to finally enjoy positive commercial television in prime time - programming that affirms the Catholic Church, and honors vocations to the priesthood and the witness of faithful young Catholics.
This Easter Sunday, April 16th, on the A&E Network, a five-part "reality" series entitled God or the Girl premieres, giving viewers a personal encounter with four Catholic young men who allowed A&E to journey with them as they contemplated the most important decision of their lives - the choice between priesthood or marriage - God or the girl. Catholic Exchange has been involved in this project since its inception and we are encouraging our viewers to tune in!
Although it sounds decidedly "pop culture-ish," this USCCB-endorsed docu-series takes a surprisingly sober and serious look at the vocations discernment process. Its portrayal of what pious young men endure in deciding between a life of full-on service to the Church versus a family and business career is powerful.
This is a unique opportunity for the Catholic Church and the culture at large. Just as the movie industry relies on box office sales to measure the "vote" of the American public on opening weekend, the television industry relies on ratings to decide whether to continue certain types of programming. Therefore, the more families that tune in to God or the Girl this Easter Sunday the better. So let's bring the show to the attention of our family and friends, and together show the television industry what sort of programming we want to see. If this show is successful, you can bet that more of its kind will be on the way.
How can you help?
- Please suggest to your pastor that he make an announcement this weekend to tune in. Easter Mass is famous for attracting non-regular church attendees - the type of folks who would really profit from seeing this type of serious and respectful treatment of our Faith on secular TV.
- Send an e-mail or two to friends and family bringing God or the Girl to their attention.
- Log on to the A&E website discussion board
and share your thoughts about the show and A&E's decision to carry this series.
- Visit the website GodOrTheGirl.comand download support materials to help spread the word and start vocational study groups in your parishes.
- Touch base with your Diocesan Vocation Director and make sure he or she knows about the series and the study materials that have been prepared for their use, free-of-charge, at the GodortheGirl.com website.
The full series schedule is as follows:
PART I - EASTER SUNDAY APRIL 16, @ 9PM EASTERN/8C MOST IMPORTANT
PART 2 - EASTER SUNDAY APRIL 16, @ 10PM/9C
PART 3 - EASTER MONDAY, APRIL 17, @ 9PM/8C
PART 4 - MONDAY, APRIL 17, @ 10PM/9C
FINALE (PART 5) - SUNDAY, APRIL 23, @ 10PM/9C
__________________
Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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Michaela
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| Posted: April 13 2006 at 2:20am | IP Logged
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Jen L. wrote:
| Wow! This show is certainly getting the push. |
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Just saw on CNN that it will be the topic discussed tonight on Larry King Live. (Thursday, April 13, 9 p.m. ET)
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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Jen L.
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| Posted: April 20 2006 at 10:25pm | IP Logged
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Has anyone been watching this? What do you think? (I don't have cable, but hope that one of my sisters is taping it for me :-)
__________________
Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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MaryM
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| Posted: April 20 2006 at 11:55pm | IP Logged
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We have watched the first four episodes - the finale is Sunday (and they are reshowing the first 4 episodes in a "marathon" Friday). It is pretty engaging and definitely catches the audience into wondering "who" will decide to enter the seminary. Parts of it are a bit on the dramatic side as you would expect from a show billing itself as a reality show, but overall it really is done well. The young men come across as very strong and faith-filled men. It is awesome to see the journeys of these young men considering the priesthood. If any do decide on the religious life it would be a blessing. I think it is good PR for the priesthood and for the Catholic faith in general.
Incidently we watched the first episode with a seminarian who was over for Easter dinner. He thought it was interesting, but didn't say too much. He is not from this country and is rather quiet anyway. He did recognize the priest that they showed in all the background shots when they break for commercials (Fr. Mark Battista - he is the chaplain for FOCUS here in Colorado). One of the young men in the show who is discerning his vocation is a FOCUS missionary at U of Nebraska. There have been a large number of vocations that have come from FOCUS - it's doing awesome work.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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KristinaP
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| Posted: April 21 2006 at 11:03am | IP Logged
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Each episode seems to get better than the previous one and I've been finding that its very true to life and compares well to the experiences between my friends and myself when we were discerning our vocations.
The show is well done and I suppose if there were more episodes, we'd get a better glimpse of these guy's personalities and what is really making them consider the priesthood and what their thought processes are. Definitely a good show!
I also have to tape the marathon episode tonight for my sister! :)
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momwise
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| Posted: May 15 2006 at 11:51pm | IP Logged
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We picked up our taped version from my parents' house and spent the last 3 nights watching all the episodes. I loved this series! I can't believe A&E made it! We were making our guesses about who would be called and the only one who surprised us was the 28 year old guy (of course his name just popped out of my head) whose parents really wanted him to be a priest. He went on a pilgrimage from Ohio to Niagara Falls. That was a great bit of TV watching. The other great thing about it was that my dd got to see a preview of really authentic Catholic college guys.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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Topic: God or the Girl
