Catholic Spotlight

The other day, I was talking with a friend and mentioned that we were planning on doing a show on how to buy a first communion gift.  I was expecting a ho-hum response from them, but was a bit overwhelmed by her enthusiam for the topic.  As she put it, first communion gift selection is something that everyone assumes you know everything about and no one talks about.  So today, I am talking about how to choose a unique first communion gift with the director of merchandising at The Catholic Company, Helen Fountain.  Helen has been overseeing the merchandising  of The Catholic Company’s online store and paper catalog for the last 10 years, and she is an absolute wealth of information about traditional first communion gifts as well as gifts that are a little different than what everyone else is giving.  Helen also discusses the importance of the sacrament and why it is such a big deal.  We also talk briefly about heirloom quality gifts that will stay with the first communicant for a lifetime and may even be passed down through the family.  Come and hear about the many options that are available to you and your loved ones.

 

 Standard Podcast [22:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Items Discussed in this podcast:

First Communion Gifts - the whole catalog
Albums and Picture Frames 
Bibles and Books 
Cards 
Certificates 
Crosses, Crucifixes, Figurines, and Plaques 
Dolls, Bears, and Misc. Gifts 
Jewelry 
Party Supplies 
Rosaries and Rosary Holders 
First Communion Sets 

You are also welcome to call in questions and comments to our voice-mail at 206-312-0069. Be sure to check out our Upcoming Interview page and call in your questions for our future guests. You might just be on our next show.

Subscribe to our feed | Subscribe with iTunes
Subscribing to our feed lets you know when new shows are available
so you will never miss any of our exciting guests.

A VERY special thanks to Dave Miller for providing the awesome music in this podcast.

 If you have ever heard the phrase “Lovable gun toting grandma” and thought how is that possible, then you have never met Catholic Author Ann Ball.  Ann manages a security company in Houston and writes some of the most well researched books in the Catholic world.  Whether she is writing about modern day saints, Catholic Crafts, the Stations of the Cross, Catholic burial traditions, or any of her other interests, she always presents a clear and interesting picture of her subject material.  Ann’s ‘double life’ (as she calls it) also gives us all inspiration to know that you don’t have to be a theologian to write great Catholic books.  Ann shares about her inspirations for writing and how she got started as an author.  Tune in and listen to this always interesting character. 

Find more Ann Ball material at www.annball.com.

 

 Standard Podcast [32:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Items Discussed in this podcast:

All Ann Ball books

You are also welcome to call in questions and comments to our voice-mail at 206-312-0069. Be sure to check out our Upcoming Interview page and call in your questions for our future guests. You might just be on our next show.

Subscribe to our feed | Subscribe with iTunes
Subscribing to our feed lets you know when new shows are available
so you will never miss any of our exciting guests.

A VERY special thanks to Dave Miller for providing the awesome music in this podcast.

If you ever want to get excited about  being catholic and learn a lot in the process, then you want to listen to Tim Staples, one of the top apologists at Catholic Answers.  Tim has an incredible conversion story about how he went from Southern Baptist to Catholic, and he is an absolute fireball of information about the faith. Tim talks about his new tapes on understanding Mary and and the Saints, and how to defend these Catholic Doctrines from Protestant attacks.  And Tim makes sure that you won’t be paralyzed by big words like hypostatic union by breaking them down and explaining exactly what they mean and why we use them in discussing the teachings of the church.  Don’t be fooled, exact words and exact definitions are very important in understanding church teachings since a wrong understanding about one word can lead to major doctrinal misunderstandings of other things.

Tim also Talks about the Catholic Answers Apologetics Cruise to Alaska this summer.    Cruisers will experience the wonders of Alaska as well as daily mass and talks from the talented apologists Tim Staples, Jimmy Akin, Mark Shea, and Jim Blackburn. This is one cruise you won’t want to miss.

Also, fans of apologetics should check out The Catholic Hack Podcast by Joe McClean.

 

 Standard Podcast [33:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Items Discussed in this podcast:

The Gospel Truth About Mary - The Immaculate Conception And The Mother Of God
The Gospel Truth About Mary - Volume 2
Staples vs Greg - Faith Under Fire
Friends in High Places
All Tim Staples items

You can find more information about the Catholic Answers Apologetics Cruise at www.catholicanswerscruise.com or call 800-707-1634 to talk with The Cruise Authority about this awesome cruise on Holland America Cruise Lines.

You are also welcome to call in questions and comments to our voice-mail at 206-312-0069. Be sure to check out our Upcoming Interview page and call in your questions for our future guests. You might just be on our next show.

Subscribe to our feed | Subscribe with iTunes
Subscribing to our feed lets you know when new shows are available
so you will never miss any of our exciting guests.

A VERY special thanks to Dave Miller for providing the awesome music in this podcast.

Ever wonder what religous orders were located in Iowa, or how many priests are in Guam?  These are some fo the quesitons you can find answers to in the Catholic Almanac by Our Sunday Visitor.  The Catholic Alamanac is a wealth of information on all sorts of things you might never think of, but might one day need to know.  Matthew Bunson is the editor of the Catholic Almanac, and he talks with us about how he puts it together each year as well as his other projects such as the John Paul II book of Saints.  You will never want to get into a Catholic trivia game with Matthew on the other team. 

 

 Standard Podcast [39:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Items Discussed in this podcast:

Catholic Almanac
John Paul II Book of Saints
Other Matthew Bunson Books

You are also welcome to call in questions and comments to our voice-mail at 206-312-0069. Be sure to check out our Upcoming Interview page and call in your questions for our future guests. You might just be on our next show.

Subscribe to our feed | Subscribe with iTunes
Subscribing to our feed lets you know when new shows are available
so you will never miss any of our exciting guests.

A VERY special thanks to Dave Miller for providing the awesome music in this podcast.