First video game about Jesus launches on Facebook

A scene from “The Journey of Jesus: The Calling.”
A scene from “The Journey of Jesus: The Calling.”

On the heels of its widely-popular “The Journey of Moses” Facebook game, Lightside Games is venturing into historic territory by creating the first-ever video game based on the life of Jesus.

“There’s stories that need to be told in games,” Brent Dusing told CNA May 9, “and there’s not a lot of games where you can do really good, positive things from a Christian stand point,”

Dusing, the founder and CEO of the Mountain View, CA-based Lightside Games, said that the new game, “The Journey of Jesus: The Calling,” will give people an opportunity to experience the life of Jesus firsthand.

The company’s first game on the life of Moses has had great success, registering over 2 million players.

“The feedback has really been phenomenal. I just think there’s a lot of people who are really hungry for this, that’s what our players tell us,” Dusing said.

And he hopes that the new game on the life of Jesus will bring the Gospel to those who might not otherwise be exposed to it.

“For a lot of our players, this is the only chance they’ll have to hear this message,” Dusing said. “We know for some of them, it’ll be the only chance they have to see this story.”

The game follows the life of Christ during his public ministry from the point of view of a character whose name is pulled from the user’s Facebook profile. Players collect items and trade them with their Facebook friends to progress through Christ’s mission.

While his original game allowed the user to play as Moses, the “Journey of Jesus” allows the player to “connect with the real human emotional elements” by playing and interacting with Jesus as themselves.

Although the game is meant to be entertaining, Dusing said he drew the storyline from the Bible to make sure the message is accurate.

By completing a series of tasks and challenges while interacting with the Apostles, other players and Christ, the user is able to witness Christ’s public ministry and participate in his mission.

While the game can be played for free, there is an option to purchase materials to complete the game more quickly. Funds from some specially designated items will be donated to Compassion International, a Christian non-profit group dedicated to providing aid for underprivileged children worldwide.

The game is expected to become as popular as the Moses original, which is currently played by users on every continent except Antarctica, and is available in English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese.

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Church celebrates St. Patrick’s life of holiness on March 17

On March 17 Catholics will celebrate St. Patrick, the fifth century bishop and patron of Ireland, whose life of holiness set the example for many of the Church’s future saints.

St. Patrick is said to have been born around 389 AD in Britain. Captured by Irish raiders when he was about 16, St. Patrick was taken as a slave to Ireland where he lived for six years as a shepherd before escaping and returning to his home.

At home, he studied the Christian faith at monastic settlements in Italy and and what is now modern-day France. He was ordained a deacon by the Bishop of Auxerre, France around the year 418 AD and ordained a bishop in 432 AD.

It was around this time that he was assigned to minister to the small, Christian communities in Ireland who lacked a central authority and were isolated from one another.

When St. Patrick returned to Ireland, he was able to use his knowledge of Irish culture that he gained during his years of captivity. Using the traditions and symbols of the Celtic people, he explained Christianity in a way that made sense to the Irish and was thus very successful in converting the natives.

The shamrock, which St. Patrick used to explain the Holy Trinity, is a symbol that has become synonymous with Irish Catholic culture.

Although St. Patrick’s Day is widely known and celebrated every March the world over, various folklore and legend that surround the saint can make it difficult to determine fact from fiction.

He is often mistakenly recognized as the man who drove away snakes during his ministry despite the climate and location of Ireland, which have never allowed snakes to inhabit the area.

St. Patrick is most revered not for what he drove away from Ireland, but what he brought and the foundation he built for the generations of Christians who followed him.

Although not the first missionary to the country, he is widely regarded as the most successful. The life of sacrifice, prayer and fasting has laid the foundation for the many saints that the small island was home to following his missionary work.

To this day, he continues to be revered as one of the most beloved saints of Ireland.

In March of 2011, the Irish bishops’ conference marked their patron’s feast by remembering him as “pioneer in an inhospitable climate.”

As the Church in Ireland faces her own recent difficulties following clerical sex abuse scandals, comfort can be found in the plight of St. Patrick, the bishops said.

They quoted The Confession of St. Patrick, which reads: “May it never befall me to be separated by my God from his people whom he has won in this most remote land. I pray God that he gives me perseverance, and that he will deign that I should be a faithful witness for His sake right up to the time of my passing.”

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