You Need Catholic Answers Live In Your Life!

Philip gave me an iPod Nano for our first Christmas together.  He had it engraved, "I love you, Catherine."  That extravagant gift quite literally changed my life.  I know I have a tendency to exaggerate, but this time I'm not kidding.  I enjoyed listening to music, but I quickly discovered the world of podcasting, and I became addicted to a podcast called Catholic Answers Live.  This radio show put me on fire for my Catholic Faith in a way I had never experienced before. 

I'd describe the show myself, but the show's website does a much better job of describing it:

Catholic Answers Live, hosted by Patrick Coffin, is a daily, two-hour radio program dedicated to Catholic apologetics and evangelization. According to listener surveys, it is a runaway favorite on Catholic stations across America. 

As a call-in program, Catholic Answers Live connects listeners to prominent leaders in the Church today—including scholars, nuns, priests, bishops, and cardinals—and touches on every aspect of our lives as Christians. You'll hear discussions on just about everything relating to the Church: doctrinal controversies, family concerns,  social issues, evangelization, ethics…you name it! 

Catholic Answers Live airs every Monday through Friday from 6-8 PM Eastern (3-4 PM Pacific) on over 160 AM and FM stations in the United States, Sirius Satellite Radio channel 130, and through the Internet at catholic.com. If you can't listen live, you can subscribe to our podcast or download individual shows from our MP3 archive.
Call in with your question at 1-888-31-TRUTH!

I will be forever indebted to the show for tackling the most difficult issues and common objections to the Catholic faith.  The show's host, Patrick Coffin, is not only funny, but he does a great job of making sure the callers stay on topic, clarifications are made, and as many callers as possible get on each hour to speak with the guest.  Typically, the show has a different guest and topic for each hour.  

Regular features on the show include:

• Q&A Open Forums.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are typically "Q&A Open Forums" where anyone can call in with any question so long as it's faith-related.  Q&A guests are usually apologists like Tim Staples, Jimmy Akin, Jim Blackburn, Karl Keating, or Patrick Madrid. 
• Q&A Open Forums for Non-Catholics.  On these days, anyone other than practicing Catholics can call in with a question.
• The Chaplain is In.  Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P. answers chaplain-related questions.
• From the Heart with Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God (formerly known as Rosalind Moss).  Mother Miriam answers questions with a mother's care and her obvious heart knowledge of God.
• Pro-Life Open Forum with Dr. George Delgado.  Callers ask questions about anything related to pro-life issues.    
• Bioethics for the Rest of Us with Fr. Tad Pacholczyk from the National Catholic Bioethics Center.  Callers ask questions about anything related to bioethical issues.  
• Scriptural Apologetics with John Martignoni.  John Martignoni uses Sacred Scripture to reveal truths about the Catholic Faith and debate these truths with non-Catholics. 
• Reel Life: Movies Reviewed with Steven D. Greydanus.  Callers ask questions about movies and Greydanus gives his review of the movie in light of the Catholic Faith.  
• The New Age Deception with Sharon Lee Giganti.  Sharon Lee discusses anything related to the New-Age movement, and callers ask her related questions.  

If you are interested in listening to the show, you have a few options:

1. Listen via podcast by downloading it on iTunes or on the Catholic.com website under "podcasts."
2. Find a local radio station that broadcasts the show.  The show broadcasts live 3-5 p.m. Pacific.  Click here for a list of stations carrying the show.  
3. Tune in to Sirius Satellite Radio's EWTN station  on channel 130. 
4. If you are using a satellite dish, tune your dish to satellite G-1, transponder 11. An analog feed is at 5.4 audio and a digital feed is at 951 audio.

As a cradle Catholic, it was easy for me to take my faith for granted.  It wasn't until I discovered Catholic Answers Live in college that I started to view the Church as a vibrant, exciting, fulfilling place where I could find peace and meaning as a young woman.  

Now that I'm a stay-at-home mom, I listen to Catholic radio while I work on things around the house.  Catholic Answers Live is still my favorite.  I'm able to listen on my iPhone, and I carry it around the house with me as I lug loads of laundry up and down stairs, change diapers, dust, do the dishes, etc.  I learn at least one new thing each time I listen to the show. 

In addition to the fabulous radio show, Catholic Answers offers:

• A growing collection of books, tracts, booklets, CDs, and DVDs published by the apostolate and designed to bring the public the best in Catholic apologetics and evangelization. These may be ordered through Catholic Answers’ on-line shop, along with hundreds of solid, faith-building resources by other top-notch Catholic publishers.
• Catholic Answers Magazine, the premier periodical on apologetics and evangelization;
• A Correspondence Department that provides answers to the pressing questions of thousands of people who contact Catholic Answers each year.
• Multiple web resources that present a broad range of information about Scripture and the teachings of the Church and that assist visitors in tapping into the various branches of the apostolate.

I regularly visit the online forums and post questions to fellow Catholics.  

Patrick Coffin, the Catholic Answers Live radio show host, is fond of quoting Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.  One of his favorite quotes is, "There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church."  I use this quote to sum up the work of the Catholic Answers apostolate.  Even as a cradle Catholic, I had a lot of the common misconceptions about the Church before listening to the show--and I went through 12 years of Catholic education!  I can't tell you how many times I've been listening to the show and said to myself, "Oh!  So that's why..." (fill in the blank with something dealing with Catholicism).  Catholic Answers made me a better Catholic because it showed me what the Church really is and untaught the untruths the world had given me.  I know it's had an impact on countless others, too.  One of my favorite parts about listening to the show is hearing a militant atheist or self-proclaimed "Sola Scriptura" protestant call, ready to tear apart some aspect of Catholicism, but they end up thanking the host for their answers and for being so charitable in their response. 

Maybe you're struggling with some aspect about Catholicism.  Maybe you hate the Church!  Give the show a call, and pose your objections or questions.  Listen for an hour.  I dare you not to walk away with a new perspective or a deeper appreciation for the beauty of Christ's Church.       

Do yourself a favor and check out the Catholic Answers website where you'll find more information about the Catholic Answers Live show, online forums, the magazine, and many other resources.

Enjoy!