But when I interviewed Fr. Leo recently he told me while he is still expecting big things from the Lord in terms of viewer response, he wasn’t expecting what happened behind the scenes while they were producing the program. He says what occurred is another sign of why priests need to be out their in the community meeting with people and sharing every day experiences. He adds we sometimes tend to put the Church or our priests in a box and when we step outside those boxes amazing things can happen.

“One thing that was interesting about this whole experience was that the camera crew, the producers, the director, they were all asking me spiritual questions. So whether or not I can reach a thousand people because of the show itself, I just know that there was a Jewish girl who wanted to talk about the Incarnation….There was a camera man who wanted to talk about his marriage preparation. There was a young man; it was amazing, one of the production assistants, who said “Fr. I was so excited to learn that you were going to be the chef because I saw you on EWTN”, said Patalinghug.

The “Year for Priests” opened by Pope Benedict XVI, also came to mind Fr. Leo said, during the production of the cooking show.

“And in this year of the priests I think it is so important to show priests doing human things because Christ did human things as well.”

I thought about Fr. Leo’s comments for several days after our interview. And it reminded me of so many experiences I have had with my own radio program. You can have the best producer and technical folks running the show but some pretty special developments take place when you open yourself up to the one in the Master Control room, if you know what I mean. Fr. Leo agrees this was another reminder of how the Lord works in ways we don’t often expect or exactly understand. But it sure is exciting when it happens right before our eyes.

“The show itself wasn’t only done for the people who will be watching the show. I learned it was also for the people working around us; the producers, the directors, [and for the person who] said to me “Fr. It’s been a long time since my last confession.”

My first guest that morning was Dr. Monica Miller with Citizens for a Pro-Life Society. Dr. Miller has been active in the pro-life movement for decades and was on my show that day to tell listeners about a short film entitled Requiem for the Disappeared. The five minute movie is produced by Citizens for A Pro-Life Society and tells the story of the burials last year of 23 victims of abortion discovered by the organization in trash dumpsters outside abortion centers in Michigan. The film contains footage from two burial ceremonies in Michigan last year as well as a ceremony at the EWTN Shrine in Hanceville, Alabama. Requiem for the Disappeared is not only posted on Dr. Miller’s web site at www.prolifesociety.com but was also posted on YouTube and is also being distributed on DVD. Dr. Miller’s group is doing whatever it can through the new media to tell the story of at least some of the precious lives lost through abortion.

My next guest that day was Dr. Stan Williams, a Catholic convert; Dr. Williams is a producer, writer, and director with his own production company, Nineveh’s Crossing, a firm dedicated to the intersection of Catholicism and entertainment. Dr. Williams is getting ready to shoot his own short film also with a pro-life theme. This made for TV movie, “Tiger’s Hope”, (www.tigershope.com ) is being produced with the help of a grant from Our Sunday Visitor. It is intended according to Williams, to be the centerpiece of an international campaign to raise awareness on the moral and physical dangers of in vitro fertilization and the beauty and benefits of Church teaching on the life and natural family planning issues. Just as in Dr. Miller’s case, Dr. Williams is not stopping with a plan for releasing the film on one media outlet. He will utilize traditional media such as TV but also wants to make the 30 minute movie available on DVD, the Internet, etc. in hopes of having it utilized in marriage prep and enrichment programs as well as released to as many Catholic and other Christian audiences as possible.

I wrapped up my program that morning by interviewing a dynamic young member of the clergy who is probably one of the best examples of how to use the new media today. Known as the podcasting priest, Fr. Robert Barron’s is a sought after speaker and Catholic teacher. His Word on Fire ministry (www.wordonfire.org) is involved in a number of key media projects including the production of a major series on our Catholic heritage. Fr. Barron is going on location to a number of sites around the world including Israel, Italy, Poland, and Spain to help Catholics have a better understanding of the history and richness of their Church. As his web site explains Fr. Barron considers himself a Catholic evangelist who does his best to reach millions through “utilizing and advanced and emerging technologies” or what is also known as of course, the new media.

For me on that particular morning it gave me great consolation and hope. As someone who writes, speaks, and teaches on media awareness and activism all the bad news about negative media influence can sometimes be overwhelming. Even though I try to provide a balance by showing positive examples out there, I am also inundated daily with new studies or news reports about the latest media issue plaguing families or society in general. This particular week was one that started with what seemed like non-stop sensationalism and near canonization so to speak of pop star Michael Jackson along with more liberal media attacks on Sarah Palin. How refreshing it was to see and to share some good news about those doing great things to spread the Good News far and wide.

I knew my producer, as talented as he is, had not planned this new media theme. Show themes are rare and are scheduled well in advance and most often geared toward a particular event or Church activity. But someone else planned this show theme that day; that being the Lord whom I often refer to as my executive producer. So many situations, ideas, and connections regularly develop through Catholic radio without our direct knowledge or intention. I can now see a definite pattern of divine intervention. Most of the time it is designed to help our listeners. This day I believe it was designed to inspire me to keep going, and it did indeed.

[With this debut column, Catholic Exchange welcomes Teresa Tomeo to our line up of regular columnists. We look forward to her informative and inspiring comments on the media and on what it is like to work in the forefront of the new evangelization.]