Sweet Tweets for 1/10/14: A Place at Our Table

This week, I spent a great deal of time inside a casino. Don’t get me wrong — I wasn’t gambling! Being there and seeing some of the folks I encountered during a “people watching” stroll made my heart hurt. The pain, the loneliness, and even in one case the obvious homelessness of the people was a bit heartbreaking. As I saw them, I had Pope Francis’ tweet of January 7th (shared below) tucked away in my heart. One of the reasons I love our weekly “Sweet Tweets” roundup is that it gives me a good chance to look outside myself and see what is really happening in the world. During weeks like this one where I’ve been so busy, it’s easy to get caught up in thinking that my personal stress is tantamount to the struggles faced outside my little bubble. A quick look at the “real world” and its happenings reminds me to not only count my blessings, but also to continually look at how I can shine my little light in our world and look to help those in real need. Is there a place at your table this week?

Thank you to John Clem for making this weekly feature possible!

• Papal Tweet: “Let us leave a spare place at our table: a place for those who lack the basics, who are alone.” (Pope Francis January 7th)
• Reclusive Pope Emeritus Leaves His Vatican Home to Visit Hospitalized Brother http://ow.ly/sg4Aa 
• How did God make the Earth so beautiful? Watch this video: Dreamscapes by Jonathan Besler from Hinterstein, Germany http://vimeo.com/besler/dreamscapes …
• Catholic Cuisine: Recipes for January ~ Month Dedicated to the Most Holy Name of Jesus http://ow.ly/shrzh 
• Jan. 5th Angelus & Pope Francis announces papal visit to Holy Land http://ow.ly/shs5p http://ow.ly/i/4cHu7 
• Too Funny: Pub evacuated after Monty Python prop mistaken for grenade – “The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch” Telegraph http://ow.ly/shZbs 
• What did Pope Francis say about the children of homosexual couples? (Jimmy Akin) http://ow.ly/si06S http://ow.ly/i/4cS7n 
• Charlie Daniels Tweets: The only people with the guts to face down Obama are nuns, God Bless you Sisters | Twitchy http://ow.ly/si0EX 
• Inspirational Video: A Small Act of Kindness Turns Into Something Much Bigger (God Vine) http://ow.ly/sicCU 
• A Monsignor Reflects on the Restriction of the Title “Monsignor.” « Archdiocese of Washington http://ow.ly/siaiD 
• CNS STORY: Pope limits ‘monsignor’ honor for diocesan priests (CNS) http://ow.ly/skygW 
• Pope meets baby Jesus, carries lamb during visit to live Nativity scene (CNS) http://ow.ly/slMGa 
• Video: USCCB president talks about why it’s important for U.S. church leaders to work w/ the Obama Admin. & Congress. http://youtu.be/_98mClh0Sbs 
• John Allen leaves NCR, joins the Boston Globe (Patheos – Deacon Greg Kandra) http://ow.ly/i/4e3TG 
• Hipster Saints – Busted Halo (Megan Fincher) http://ow.ly/smNNr 
• Video: Income Inequality Debate – Fr. Jim Martin – The Colbert Report – 2014-07-01 – Video Clip | Comedy Central http://ow.ly/soPVS 
• Video: Spreading the Gospel through Authentic Encounter – Monsignor Paul Tighe (CatholicTV) http://youtu.be/Y8k06erhlu0 
• NEW iPad App: Mass Explained App ($25 and 300MB) – plenty of multimedia content and many endorsements http://ow.ly/spbGz 
• The Principle Movie | iPadre Catholic Podcasting (Fr. Jay Finelli) http://ow.ly/spdsX 
• Fr. Robert Barron’s Word On Fire – How to Share Fr. Barron’s Content on Your Website http://ow.ly/sqkSz 
• A Priest Writes to the Pope Just Before Dying at Age 31. Here’s What His Letter Said… – Aleteia http://ow.ly/sqMj0 
• Catholic universities educating for political engagement (Vatican Radio) http://ow.ly/spTv7 
• Does Your Catholic School Use Social Media? (Barb Szyszkiewicz) | http://CatholicMom.com http://ow.ly/sqP8k 
• Finding the Church in a Bach Fugue « Archdiocese of Washington http://ow.ly/spe4x 
• NEW App & Website: Honor Your Inner Monk – Saint Meinrad Archabbey (Apple & Droid) http://ow.ly/sqPTQ 
• “Twitteresque” reviews of 86 films I saw in 2013 (and my Top Five) Sister Rose Pacatte http://ow.ly/srygt 
• Did the Beatles Promote Abortion? – Taylor Marshall http://ow.ly/srzJk 
• Examination of conscience for those who work, study, dwell, or play in the digital culture (Bishop Christopher Coyne) http://ow.ly/srAvw 
• Pope Says Nope To Dope | http://CatholicVote.org http://ow.ly/sqRTO 
• Satire: Theology on Toke in Colorado at St. Isadore the Pot Farmer’s Cafe & Medical Marijuana Dispensery http://ow.ly/i/4ePjB 
• Trappists in Spencer tap monk mystique in launching brewery – Business – The Boston Globe http://ow.ly/ssnJb 
• Why Goodness Depends on God | (Fr. Robert Barron) Strange Notions http://ow.ly/ssoyl 
• “CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization” DVD Giveaway! | http://BrandonVogt.com  http://ow.ly/ssptZ 
• Celebrating Catholicism in American Culture – Billy Newton | Blog of the Courtier http://ow.ly/ssVcY 
• Happy 30th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the United States and The Holy See (Ambassador Ken Hackett) http://ow.ly/ssWKa 
• A Franciscan Approach to Climate Change | Franciscan Earth Corps http://ow.ly/ssXtB 

John Clem is the Director and Media Minister at Catholic Web Services (http://catholicws.com/). John is currently in formation to join the Secular Franciscan Order, and loves to share his talents in faith, technology, and journalism in service to the church.  John also writes a blog entitled Call To Holiness  (http://www.calltoholiness.us/). Follow John on Twitter at @Catholicwebs, on Facebook and at Google+.