Have you ever had a brush with fame? Maybe you lined up for your coffee at Starbucks right behind Garth Brooks. You might have shared an elevator with Oprah.  Well, allow me to brag on my celebrity association:  Bishop Robert Barron and I are alumni of the same high school in the Chicago area. Though truth be told; we graduated several years apart, and I didn't even know him in high school.
 
When I watched " Catholicism", the television series produced from Bishop Barron's book by the same title, I became a fan. The series takes you around the globe, instructing and distilling our faith for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. "Catholicism" awes with the sublime and then instills pride as you tour the world, and witness the Catholic riches of art and architecture, literary arts, music, philosophy and science.
 
"Word on Fire " is Bishop Barron's media ministry of instruction and evangelization. There are CDs, DVDs, books, and more. He produces a weekly podcast that EWTN broadcasts. You can hear it on Sunday afternoons at 3PM on OKCR. Barron plunges into the current culture, answering listeners' questions and commenting on events, movements, and affairs of the Church and of the world. He has been outspoken, warning of the indifferent attitude youth have adopted towards church affiliation and attendance. He is critical of his confreres for their tepid response to the Catholic sexual abuse scandal.
 
Whether he is navigating crises or revealing magnitude and greatness in the Church, Bishop Barron is approachable. He easily links today's headline to a challenge or predicament faced by one of the saints or doctors of the Church. He expands on their influence on the Church and the world in his series, "Pivotal Players". These are the men and women who gave up everything to pursue the truth in Jesus Christ. I like it when I hear Bishop Barron refer to these renowned and revered Catholics as "these fellas" because I am not so much reminded of how much more they are in talent or accomplishment, but of what they and I share in practicing our Catholic faith.
 
I recommend you listen because you will learn. It's not theology by catechism. Bishop Barron is your personal guide, inspiring you to see what is possible in God's blessings to us - and the world - when we devote ourselves to Him.