Our Sunday Visitor Publishing

It’s been showing up at Catholic homes every week for 87 years and it’s still a welcome guest. Our Sunday Visitor, a weekly national founded by Fr. John Francis Noll in 1912, is the flagship of its apostolate by the same name. The largest Catholic publishing house in the country, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing (OSV) is also the largest in the world structured exclusively for Catholic publishing. Under the longtime presidency of Robert (Bob) Lockwood, OSV Publishing serves the local Church in Huntington, Indiana, as well as Catholics across the nation.

The strength of OSV’s apostolate lies in its roots. Father Noll, a zealous priest in Indiana at a time when anti-Catholicism colored the Midwest, strove to promote the view that Catholics could be both American and Catholic. At many a Protestant tent revival, and in small booklets and periodicals, he defended Catholic truth without attacking Protestant belief. To refute anti-Catholic charges being made in a large and popular Fundamentalist weekly, Fr. Noll published and circulated 30,000 copies of the first issue of Our Sunday Visitor and two years later, in 1914, OSV’s circulation had climbed to 400,000.

The apostolate is still committed to proclaiming and defending the mission of the Church and supporting the pope and bishops by building a sense of Catholic identity and encouraging a clear understanding of Church teaching. But Lockwood says it’s more than just understanding the Faith - it’s getting people to “think Catholic.”

“This is OSV’s greatest challenge,” says Lockwood. “We’re all constantly bombarded with ways to think from a secular, agnostic or humanist perspective, but we’re trying to teach people how to see the world from Catholic principles and how to apply their faith to every day life.”

Though they don’t focus on hard news, there’s nothing that Our Sunday Visitor won’t discuss. “What isn’t relevant to our lives as Catholics?” poses Lockwood. Never meant to be an intellectual’s publication, the newspaper is geared towards the average Catholic in the pew.

Although their mission hasn’t changed, Lockwood and his staff of 53 have made modifications to the apostolate in order to meet the evolving needs of contemporary Catholics. “There is now much competition for people’s attention - they need materials tailored to their specific needs,” says Lockwood. “In the 60s and 70s, some thought the gospel message had to be watered down to get wider acceptance. We don’t believe that; you just have to present it in an interesting and attractive way.”

In addition to its flagship weekly, OSV also counts ten regular publications among its repertoire, including Catholic Parent, Catholic Heritage, New Covenant, The Priest, The Pope Speaks, My Daily Visitor, The Catholic Answer and the U.S. Catholic Historian. They also publish approximately 25 new books each year on topics relevant to Catholic life, like prayer, spirituality, the saints and family life.

Lesser known is OSV’s two additional entities that are separate from the publishing division. Since 1915, OSV has been the country’s largest manufacturer and distributor of church offering envelopes. There’s also the OSV Institute, a charitable arm that distributes grants to various programs and charities. The Institute has benefited a wide range of recipients - from small parish programs to AIDS hospices, refugee services and shelters. Recently, the Institute’s board gave half a million dollars to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to assist in catechetical programming and material development.

Although they’re involved in work to engage all the senses, Lockwood says he and his staff will remain fully committed to the printed word. “There is something preeminent about it,” he says. Still, OSV staff plan to launch their new web site and to develop their CD-ROM area. New books are in the offing too. “In all we do, we’re very committed to making our Catholic heritage come alive,” says Lockwood. “So many raised in the faith don’t have a feel for that and we want to focus on reawakening them.”

To receive Our Sunday Visitor or to obtain their catalog, contact: Our Sunday Visitor, 200 Noll Plaza, Huntington IN, 46750, call: 800-348- 2440, fax: 219- 356-8472, or e-mail: osvbooks@osv.com.

The Catholic Institute for the Psychological Sciences (CIPS) and the Institute for Faith and Psychological Sciences (IFPS)

Can anything good come from psychology? It’s a question many Christians ask in the face of modern psychology’s relativism and secular humanism. Protestant groups, such as Focus on the Family, have done much over the years to baptize the science of the mind, but now there’s a Catholic organization dedicated to this lofty mission. Based in Bethesda, Maryland, the Catholic Institute for the Psychological Sciences (CIPS), and its sister entity, the Institute for Faith and Psychological Sciences (IFPS), are bringing Christ into psychology and re-evangelizing the profession by looking at the human person from a Catholic and moral perspective. “We want to foster and promote the authentic nature of the human being as understood by the Catholic Church in order to live moral and integrated lives,” says Dr. Gladys Sweeney, executive director of CIPS.

Founded in July 1997, CIPS developed as an initiative to provide formation to mental health professionals. “If providers of mental health services view their clients as an integral being with meaning and purpose, it will influence the way they counsel,” says Sweeney, a licensed psychologist with 16 years of clinical experience. To that end CIPS offers a certification program, weekend conferences, retreats, publications and spiritual formation. Membership and participation in CIPS is open to all mental health professionals - psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, professional counselors, pastoral counselors, marriage and family therapists and psychiatric nurses.

In an effort to reach the next generation, the Institute for Faith and Psychological Sciences (IFPS) was founded to encourage and form students interested in the mental health profession. Beginning in fall 1999, the IFPS will offer a Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology at its new campus in northern Virginia. Courses will include theology, anthropology, metaphysics, personality theories and marriage counseling. The program is licensed by the state of Virginia. In 2001 the school will launch a doctoral program.

Sweeney and her associates are also looking into a center for clinical training. “The idea is to develop a center where students from the masters and doctrinal programs can receive hands-on training in a setting that approaches clients from a faith-filled perspective.” Eventually the IFPS will offer a distance learning program for people who can’t commit to full-time on-campus studies.

Sweeney notes that CIPS membership and conferences, as well as the programs of the IFPS, are open to anyone of any denomination or faith. “There are some terrific institutions out there integrating Christian faith and biblical principles with psychology, but as Catholics, we consider it an advantage to have such a solid theology, anthropology and philosophy to enrich our understanding of the human person and our work in psychology,” she says.

CIPS board of advisors boasts such heavyweights as Cardinal O’Connor, Mary Ellen Bork, Dr. Janet Smith, George Weigel and Fr. Jordan Aumann.

Each month, CIPS sponsors weekend courses towards its certificate program, which are open to any mental health professional and students. New York University’s Dr. Paul Vitz recently spoke on “Integrated Traditional Personality Theories Within a Catholic View of the Person: Top Down and Bottom Up.” May 22, CIPS will offer another course on the topic of “Catholic Professional Ethics: Virtues and Moral Absolutes in the Practice of the Psychological Sciences.” Conferences include cocktails, dinner and retreat time.

Sweeney hopes that CIPS and the IFPS programs will not only aid mental health professionals but will show Catholics that psychology has a role to play in the Church. “Numerous techniques have been developed in the psychological sciences that are extremely helpful in transcending sin, “ she says. “Psychology should be at the service of the Church and point people not just to wholeness, but to holiness.”

For more information about CIPS membership, conferences, and services and the new graduate programs at the IFPS call: 301-365-5347, fax: 301-365-4379, write: 7007 Bradley Blvd., Bethesda, MD, 208117, e-mail: cips1@erols.com, or visit their web site: www.cips-usa.org.

APeX Youth Ministries

Gene Monterastelli and Brad Farmer are jugglers for Jesus. Since 1996, the comedy duo’s Washington, D.C.-based apostolate, APeX Youth Ministries, has been working with youth and young adults in over 20 states at the national, diocesan and parish levels. Both 25 years old, the self-taught juggler-comedian-evangelists write their own material, book their own shows and handle all the administrative aspects of the ministry. Their Catholic routines are not only their livelihood, but also their vocation according to Monterastelli, a computer programmer and Masters student. “We want to use the gifts God has given us to build the Kingdom.”

The mission of APeX is to reach the hearts of God’s people through entertainment, laughter and personal testimony. Using story telling, audience participation, skits, humor and of course, juggling, Monterastelli and Farmer bestow fun and faith on their audience. A typical show includes a humorous introduction, a 20 minute skit with audience participation, a parable, a personal testimony, various juggling routines, a final story and a challenge to the audience to put faith into practice. “We don’t try to do a million things,” says Monterastelli,

“Each show has a few main messages and we hope at least one will touch each member of our audience.”

The two jugglers began their tricks at home in Casper, Wyoming, where they met in seventh grade CCD class. “I had to eat every piece of fruit that fell when I juggled since my mom hated bruised fruit, so I was a pretty healthy guy back then,” laughs Monterastelli. In high school, both men became involved with a dynamic youth ministry at a local parish, a program they credit with shaping and enlivening their faith. The idea for APeX began to take shape when Monterastelli drove through his home town during his university years and got together with Farmer for “a business lunch at Subway.” In fall 1996, Farmer made the cross-country move to D.C., and APeX became a reality.

The name APeX comes from the art of juggling itself. It’s a term used for the point where the ball (or other object) is suspended in the air before it falls. Monterastelli says the name has great spiritual significance too. “When you juggle, you have to concentrate on the apex, not the ball or yourself, or else you lose it,” he explains. “In life, we juggle so many things but if we concentrate on the life of Christ rather than on our tasks, problems or self, then everything takes its proper place and our lives are more balanced.”

Monterastelli says it’s difficult to do an adult ministry based on play because many adults have forgotten how to relax and have fun. “We try to get people to temporarily lay aside the structures they live within and be childlike and receptive,” says Monterastelli. “Our message - of the Eucharist, of our faith in Jesus Christ - is not fluff, but we present it in a package of joy and fun.”

In addition to their stage shows, Monterastelli has begun to train adult youth ministers to conduct programs and retreats that encourage youth participation in charitable works and social justice. (Farmer will soon be taking on a new challenge offstage - that of marriage and family life.) APeX also offers a summer apprentice program. “You don’t have to be a juggler, just someone who wants to use his or her talent as a tool for evangelization,” says Monterastelli.

APeX has performed for audiences as large as 5000 and as small as nine. In January 1999, APeX joined well-known performers and speakers such as DC Talk, Mary Beth Bonacci, Fr. Stan Fortuna and Steve Angrisano to perform for 27,000 young people during the Holy Father’s visit in St. Louis, Missouri.

To reach APeX Youth Ministries call: 202-518-3722, write to them at: P.O. Box 50395, Washington D.C., 20091, or e-mail them at: gmontera@erols.com.