‘Must-see’ viewing for Catholics in diocese

Father Chase Hilgenbrinck, diocesan vocations director for recruitment, greets participants in “Emmaus Knights,” a monthly formation evening for junior and senior boys in high school. The vocation awareness program is featured in one of five brief videos promoting the Annual Diocesan Appeal that may be shown at Masses this weekend or viewed at cdop.org/ada. This screen grab includes an accompanying translation in Spanish.

So, what is your “must-see” show on television these days? Is it a traditional network program, or something on a cable or streaming network? Is it a news program, a comedy, a drama, a sporting event, or a mindless guilty pleasure (think “The Bachelorette”)?

We have a “must-see” viewing suggestion for this weekend — actually five of them. But don’t worry, we’re only asking for 15 minutes of your time.

Watch the five Annual Diocesan Appeal videos that can be found online at cdop.org/ada.

Yes, all five. Each is only about three minutes long, and all are very well produced by Fiat Films working in collaboration with Debbie Benz of the diocesan Office of Stewardship and Development. They are in both English and Spanish.

This is inspirational reality TV, “starring” your neighbors in the faith from places around the diocese like Mahomet, Moline, and Peoria. It is family-friendly fare, introducing viewers to active Catholic families such as the Lauritsens, the Burges, and the Olsens whose lives embrace the appeal’s theme of “Go Make Disciples: Bringing People to Christ.” It is educational television, making viewers aware of programs such as Emmaus Knights, a monthly faith formation group for boys in grades 7-12, or a successful retreat program for Spanish-speaking people at St. Mary Parish in Moline.

Yes, Bishop Tylka and the appeal planners hope the videos help inspire generous pledges to this year’s drive. So do we. But these videos are well worth the investment of your time regardless on this ADA Weekend. Perhaps one of them will be shown at your Mass this weekend. So that only leaves four!

If we can watch hours and hours of “The Bachelorette” . . . or football games . . . or movies, etc., we can spare 15 minutes for these messages from our diocese. Tune in to cdop.org/ada. — Thomas J. Dermody

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