When I stumbled on Catholic radio just after joining the Church, I felt like I had happened upon a gold mine that somehow I’d missed along my RCIA journey. With an ever-continuing thirst for knowledge about the Catholic faith, this was the perfect way to continue to try and satiate it when I was in the car driving kids to school, running errands or heading to a business meeting.

The three programs I have listed below were absolutely critical on my journey in the Catholic faith and have helped to fan the flame and continually inspire a greater love for our Lord and our faith day by day.

All of these shows are on EWTN Catholic Radio. You can visit this link to find a local station in your area or if you’re lucky enough to have Sirius/XM Radio, just turn to channel 130.

Teresa Tomeo with EWTN’s Doug Keck

1) Catholic Connection with Teresa Tomeo, Weekdays at 9 a.m. ET – This was the first program I happened upon because it runs during school drop off time. Teresa Tomeo is a former news anchor, who disgusted with the media’s one-sided coverage moved into the Catholic world to share her talents. I adore this show and have ended up doing some work for her after I sent her an email! Teresa brings you the day’s news from a Catholic perspective; has on all sorts of interesting guests, many of whom are authors who inspired many of the books and prayer activities I subsequently engaged in; discusses the latest from Pope Francis, Rome and the Vatican; and is like listening to your best girlfriend on the radio. You will laugh with her, cry with her and no doubt grow in your love of your faith. Listen to past shows.

2) Catholic Answers Live, Weekdays 6-8 p.m. ET – This is THE show if you have questions about the Catholic faith. The format of this show allows anyone to call in and ask questions around the day’s topic or sometimes they’ll open it to any topic. Just by listening you will learn SO much and hear other people ask the questions you’re too afraid to ask. I ALMOST got on one time to ask where the notion of Mary being the dispenser of all graces comes from but they ran out of time :). The hosts of this show are down-to-earth, funny and appealing especially to young people. Visit Catholic.com for more about the show, to listen to past shows and for countless other resources.

3) EWTN Open Line, Weekdays 3 p.m. ET – This is similar in format to Catholic Answers, but a little more traditional (ie less funny and quirky as is Catholic Answers). It also allows you to call in during the show to ask your most burning questions about the Catholic faith. You’ll often hear non-Catholics call in to argue or better understand the faith — all great opportunities to increase your knowledge and learn how to answer these types of questions yourself. There are rotating “experts” who answer questions, and while all are great, I especially love Father Mitch Pacwa. He has a unique ability to easily explain the most difficult of topics in a way anyone can understand. He finally helped me understand purgatory after listening to his explanation on Open Line. You can listen to past shows online here.

You can also download all of these to iTunes and listen on your iPod when cleaning, exercising, walking the dog, etc.!

Do you listen to Catholic radio? Have you ever heard any of these shows? Which Catholic radio shows are your favorites?

I hope you’ll tune the dial to Catholic Radio and give it a try! It’s a great way to boost your Catholic faith during a time you’d otherwise be doing nothing but driving. Enjoy!