Fr. Robert Reed's Keynote at CNMC MMX

Fr. Robert Reed's keynote at this year's CNMC MMX was excellent. He started by giving us a 'goody bag' with something sweet, something neat, something deep, and something to eat. He then spoke about each topic and summarized the reason why we evangelize—not just online, but also on a personal level.

Something Sweet

Takeaway quote from this portion:

"There has to be an appeal, a professionalism, a standard to our craft."

I couldn't say it better myself. We need to perform at the highest level, in terms of design, grammar, and content—Catholics and those who are not yet Catholic deserve to receive the Gospel message in the highest and most beautiful form. People used to spend years and tons of money to create beautiful stained glass, manuscripts, and Catholic artwork to communicate the faith. Why do we not do the same today, with the new tools at our disposal?

Something Neat

Fr. Reed called the Holy Scriptures the "essential roots for Tradition" (Tradition with a capital T). The Scripture is the bedrock of our faith, and we should know it and cherish it to build on top of it with the teachings of the Magesterium and sacred Tradition.

Something Deep

Fr. Reed gave everyone a magnetic image of a sacred icon, and explained that these icons are much more than simple representations of a saint. Sacred Iconography represents and truly makes present the God whom we adore. Our work should help make present our God and his Love.

Something to Eat

Finally, Fr. Reed gave everyone a little food and told them, "We need to be fed, as we feed others." We need to attend Sunday Liturgy (Holy Mass), we need to receive the Holy Eucharist, we need to worship Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we need to pray, etc. Ultimately, we seek salvation.

"You cannot give what you don't have." You must work on your own house before you can invite others inside and share your faith with them!

So far, CNMC has been awesome! Here's my original post on the Catholic New Media Celebration MMX.