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The Pope of the People: The John Paul II musical opened last weekend in Des Moines. As I’ve written about a good deal lately, I have a role in the production, and it’s been amazing — one of the most uplifting musical experiences I have ever been involved with. But don’t just take my word for it. Read the reviews here; one I really like comes from Father Harris, pastor of All Saints in Des Moines who said, “After watching Tom Quiner’s production Pope of the People, I am even more inspired for the beatification of John Paul II. This musical reminded us in a beautiful way the accomplishments of such a great religious leader. I was impressed with the entire cast. I recommend this production to everyone.”
Four performances remain. Get your tickets here.
And some exciting national news: Tom Quiner, the musical’s composer, will be on Sirius/XM The Catholic Channel’s Seize The Day with Guy Lloyd on Tuesday, April 12 at 8:40 a.m. CDT. If you are a Sirius/XM subscriber, please tune in to Sirius 159 or XM 117 and hear a little more about the project.
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Speaking of The Catholic Channel, our pilgrimage with the crew from The Catholic Guy with Lino Rulli, another program on Sirius/XM, is quickly approaching! We travel to Rome, Greece, and Turkey and will be in Saint Peter’s Square for the beatification of Pope John Paul II. This piece over at Catholic News Agency detailing the plans for the beatification has really kicked my enthusiasm into full gear! We are very excited to witness this historical event!
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Artwork by Jeffrey Larson
And to go for a JP2 trifecta: Last October during the Christ Our Life Catholic Conference in Des Moines, an artist, Jeffrey Larson, set up his artwork on vendor row and wowed the conference attendees. Mr. Larson devotes his talents to creating artwork primarily of Catholic saints and holy people such as Blessed Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, and Saint Padre Pio. Most of his prints are in a limited edition and are signed and numbered. You can view samples of his creations and purchase artwork from his website.
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Remember the live streaming “BirdCam“ of the nesting bald eagles in northeast Iowa I wrote about in early March? The eggs have now hatched; go take a peek of the eaglets through the BirdCam. Sometimes the live feed isn’t all that exciting, so check out archived videos the Raptor Resource Project has made available of the eggs being laid and hatched. Great teaching material for children!
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This article, It’s a Crying Shame When Babies Aren’t Welcome in Church, by Lorraine Murray at Integrated Catholic Life, was simply terrific. It reminded me of Good Friday last year when my family sat next to a family of six, and I heard the elderly woman near us say, “Those kids should be at home with their Grandma.” Say what?  Grandmas can’t attend Good Friday services, either? Sometimes humor is the only response to such nonsense commentary.
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Joel and I were recent guests on Catholic Vitamins with Deacon Tom and Dee Fox. The Foxes interviewed us for their Vitamin T: Teamwork podcast where we focused on the partnership that is required of a married couple when the husband pursues a calling to become an ordained deacon, just as Joel is. Head over to the Catholic Vitamins iTunes channel or the CVÂ website to download and listen to the podcast. Thanks Deacon Tom and Dee – we really enjoyed talking with you!
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And finally, if you are still looking for something the whole family can do together this weekend, go see Soul Surfer, the incredible true story of Bethany Hamilton who was attacked by a shark while surfing. We screened the movie several weeks ago and loved every minute of it — it’s a great family film!
Have a great weekend! Head over to Conversion Diary to read more “Quick Takes”!