Unbelievable talks

Byzantine Father Thomas Loya was in the diocese yesterday to talk, first, to priests of the diocese about Pope John Paul II's "theology of the body" and how it can be used to combat pornography struggles by parishioners, and, second, to the general public about the TOB and its relation to our everyday lives. Thanks to Pax Christi Parish for letting us host Father Loya there last night. We were pleasantly surprised to find about 45 attendees whose homes ranged from Denver to Colorado Springs. After seeing that the Rockies were clobbered, attendees to this talk definitely got the better deal.

I tried to record the audio without a soundboard to plug into, but it didn't go well. My backup mic was not strong enough to pull in a crisp recording. Lesson: Never go cheap on microphones. I'm going to try to salvage the audio to a point where I can at least stream his talk on our Web site. Check back Monday. If it's salvageable, it will be up by then. If you don't see it, that means it didn't work out. At any rate, Father Loya can be heard on CDs and DVDs over at http://www.theologyofthebody.net/.

[UPDATE 9-25-07: The audio is unrecoverable. It's just too faint to bring out. I think it was my connection piece to the recorder. I am currently seeking approval to stream the audio of the talk to priests, which contains most of his Pax Christi talk and goes into more about using theology of the body to combat pornography. Again, sorry about this. I've learned my lesson.]

Date, location change for Father Loya talk

The Herald-sponsored theology of the body talk by Father Thomas Loya has been moved to Pax Christi Church in Littleton and will take place 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24 (not Oct. 25 at St. Mark Church). We had to bump up the talk a day due to Father Loya's travel schedule. Please spread the word and we hope you can make it up for what will be a fascinating presentation from one of the topic's best speakers. You will not want to miss it.

Mark your calendars

The Herald is cosponsoring two excellent theology of the body talks later this year:

Byzantine Father Thomas Loya -- 7 p.m. Oct. 25 (Thu.) at St. Mark Church in Highlands Ranch.

Christopher West -- 7 p.m. Dec. 5 (Wed.) at Divine Redeemer Church in Colorado Springs.

Many of you know Christopher West through the Body Language column syndicated through the Herald and through the dozens of books, CDs and videos that are available (and used by study groups across the country). Father Loya may not be as well known to you, but he is growing in demand at TOB and singles retreats and conferences around the country. He is very strong TOB speaker with a background in art (iconography). His very visual presentation, using examples from iconography and modern art/photography, really opens your eyes to how you look at the world around you. Both talks will be spectacular.

We'd love to give each speaker a huge crowd, so please come and spread the word to your friends. There is no cost to attend either talk, although a free-will offering may be taken to try to build a budget to bring in more speakers in 2008.