EWTN is boring

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I have to agree with mro. I’ve been trying to get myself and my family to watch EWTN a bit more, but if I have a hard time sitting through a lot of their programming, then I know my family won’t be able to. I’m not sure how best to remedy this, but I would love to see a few programs the whole family could enjoy together.

One thing I don’t agree with mro on is Mother Angelica. Mother Angelica Live is one of the shows I really enjoy on there, and I try to watch it whenever I have the chance.
 
Gordon_Sims said:
I have to agree with mro. I’ve been trying to get myself and my family to watch EWTN a bit more, but if I have a hard time sitting through a lot of their programming, then I know my family won’t be able to. I’m not sure how best to remedy this, but I would love to see a few programs the whole family could enjoy together.
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Some of it is good, but I agree. My mom likes to have something on TV, and I’d rather watch EWTN than anything else out there, but I can’t seem to get my mom to watch EWTN much, for the reasons you’ve described.
 
mro said:
So I know this is pretty much heresey to say this but I think EWTN is boring…

I mean there are no programs geared towards college students… Believe it or not Catholic College students use social media like other people… And no one has utilized social media to reach out to us…

Papa Benedict has a Twitter and even that’s not much fun 😦

They Church needs to utilize social media more… Bring it into the 21st Century…

Every time I turn on the channel all I see is a bunch of old Nuns praying… I don’t want to watch Nuns praying… Students like me what informative, interesting, cutting edge, and hype programming…

Not a 90 year old nun on the tube (no offense to people who like that stuff)… 😦
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But Mother Angelica is a hoot, and they still show reruns of her show.
 
jrdvdsj said:
mro,

Thank you for your honesty. I 'll be honest too: I agree, and I am no longer in college. I do not fault EWTN; I think they do the best they can with limited resources, and I would agree with some who have replied that they would do better with more support. All that being said, EWTN is not a place I go when I have time to watch television. There are a few wonderful programs, and I am comforted to know that the good sisters are praying for me and for us all, but I need something that makes me think.

There are a few places I go online. One is this site; people occasionally write something that get me thinking (You, for instance, just did!). Another is bustedhalo.com. Another is America Magazine’s online site. Commonweal, National Catholic Register…they all make me think and help me to continue to engage myself with my faith and the faith of the Church. I don’t have to agree with them, but I do want something that engages me, challenges me, forces me to consider what my faith really is. Vatican.va, the Vatican website, will connect you to a whole range of materials from the Pope and from the Curia; the original documents are not always exciting, but they are substantial and rich.

Not all of these will be instantly engaging. But if you take the time, you will find things of interest, and you will find yourself immersed.

I’m going to split the difference between what you wrote and what some others have replied: You are right: it is not all instantly engaging. And the great good news that Jesus Christ, the only son of God, became one of us, and died for us, and rose for us is sometimes far too taken for granted by those who present it. But by the same token, it is also easy to look for something that is easily engaging, even entertaining, and to miss that at much deeper level, things that need to be appreciated deeply are going on.

God bless you, mro, for what you have ventured to write; may it be a challenge to us all to become more engaged and to present the Gospel in a way that it will speak to young men and women of good will, as our late Pope, Blessed John Paul urged us in his discussion of the New Evangelization, and as our current Holy Father, Pope Benedict, has challenged us again and again to do.

One thing that would be helpful, mro, both for yourself and for those we *should *be reaching but aren’t, is to take up a question and perhaps share your answers here: What concretely should we be doing to reach out to young people like yourself who are the hope of the Church? If you wish, you might also ask some other young Catholics and Christians–they could offer great insights!

I look forward to your reply, and to the replies of others who may be willing to take on that question!

Thank you again, mro, for writing!
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I’m one who would love to watch EWTN but the satelite dish we need here in Aussie is very expensive. I would probably not be interested in everything they showed but there is a programme guide of the weekly shows on the website I believe, so when I eventually get the dish I will be tuning in on those times that have items I know I will be interested in. They have some excellent documentaries at times.

In the meantime those websites that jrdvdsj has listed above represent a good cross section of Catholic Internet sites which contain all sorts of media. I just checked them out. Thanks jrdvdsj.
 
I do not think EWTN is boring. I am in my 30’s and do watch things like the Daily Mass, the Holy Land Rosary, and a few other shows that get my interest like the Catholicism series and shows about various saints. I just wish they would have an on demand channel so if you missed something or wanted to re-watch it you could. They do put some of their stuff on Youtube later.

There are plenty of other ways for Catholics to connect and learn with social media besides this site. You just have to be willing to seek them out and take advantage.
 
mro said:
So I know this is pretty much heresey to say this but I think EWTN is boring…

I mean there are no programs geared towards college students… Believe it or not Catholic College students use social media like other people… And no one has utilized social media to reach out to us…

Papa Benedict has a Twitter and even that’s not much fun 😦

They Church needs to utilize social media more… Bring it into the 21st Century…

Every time I turn on the channel all I see is a bunch of old Nuns praying… I don’t want to watch Nuns praying… Students like me what informative, interesting, cutting edge, and hype programming…

Not a 90 year old nun on the tube (no offense to people who like that stuff)… 😦
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I just graduated from college and I disagree… I personally don’t like “cutting edge and hype” sort of programming. I like that EWTN is more traditional… I like their programs and yes the nuns praying 😉 I think I wouldn’t really want to watch it as much if it was really “modern”. I think just because someone is young, it doesn’t mean they necessarily like popular culture. There are young people who dont like modern pop music, but listen to more classical music, etc. I’m not saying your view is somehow wrong, only that there are different types of teens/young adults and not everyone is the same just based on their age group.

God bless
 
I don’t blame the OP for not wanting to watch an old nun (no offense to Mother Angelica and her fans)…
 
mro said:
So I know this is pretty much heresey to say this but I think EWTN is boring…

I mean there are no programs geared towards college students…
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you mean besides:
Theology on Tap
Life on the Rock
Catholicism 101
Catholicism with Fr. Barron
The Roman Missal with Dr. Edward Sri
Report from Franciscan U of Steubenville
World Over Live
Great Bible Adventure

have you even checked out the program guide?
 
I’m 19 years old and I enjoy ewtn. I like staying up the whole night watching the visits of the pope on the other side of the world. I also enjoy The Journey Home.
 
If you want a few good college aged programs you should go to

www.catholictv.com and search under shows for

Hope on Campus and One Billion Stories.

Both geared towards young adults. ‘We’ve Got to Talk’ I believe would also appeal to young adults or anyone of any age level.

Check it out.
 
I generally agree with MRO’s observation in the original post.

MRO, I highly recommend Relevant Radio. If it doesn’t air in your area, you can listen live online. As a relatively young Catholic who is currently interested in learning about the intellectual/historical/philosophical sides of the faith (as opposed to, say, a sermon/preachy side about the Gospel… I get that on Sundays and in other ways throughout my week…), the entire breadth of their programming speaks to me. As advertised: it’s relevant. It’s like NPR for Catholics. Catholics weighing in on issues of the day. Sometimes it’s not even straight “Catholic” talk. In that respect, if something big happens in the world, they are going to talk about it and bring in a Catholic perspective. As an introduction to the personalities and the type of stuff you’ll hear, hop into their archive and listen to episodes of “Go Ask Your Father.” The priests take live calls from listeners who have questions about the faith. It’s really entertaining. You get to listen to all sorts of questions.

relevantradio.com/index.php

I listen on my commute in my car and sometimes at work. I love it.
 
mro said:
So I know this is pretty much heresey to say this but I think EWTN is boring…

I mean there are no programs geared towards college students… Believe it or not Catholic College students use social media like other people… And no one has utilized social media to reach out to us…

Papa Benedict has a Twitter and even that’s not much fun 😦

They Church needs to utilize social media more… Bring it into the 21st Century…

Every time I turn on the channel all I see is a bunch of old Nuns praying… I don’t want to watch Nuns praying… Students like me what informative, interesting, cutting edge, and hype programming…

Not a 90 year old nun on the tube (no offense to people who like that stuff)… 😦
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That’s funny, because every time I tune in I see EWTN pandering to ‘youth,’ trying to be hip and cool and it’s just embarrassing.

No offense to people who like THAT stuff.

Orthodoxy always works.
 
Gordon_Sims said:
I have to agree with mro. I’ve been trying to get myself and my family to watch EWTN a bit more, but if I have a hard time sitting through a lot of their programming, then I know my family won’t be able to. I’m not sure how best to remedy this, but I would love to see a few programs the whole family could enjoy together.

One thing I don’t agree with mro on is Mother Angelica. Mother Angelica Live is one of the shows I really enjoy on there, and I try to watch it whenever I have the chance.
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I have to agree too. I try to watch EWTN but I can only do it for a little while…usually can’t make it through an entire show :o My husband loves the channel and would watch it all day if he could…I go in the other room or take a nap. I can’t help it. The nuns praying the rosary is the best thing for me to watch if I’m having trouble sleeping…as soon as they start :sleep:
 
There are certain shows on EWTN that I like, and others that do seem to make me nod off. However, I realize that they can’t be all things to all people.

For example, while the Masses are great, the Rosary recordings usually make me turn the channel. Life on the Rock I guess is meant for the college student and twenty-something crowd, which is closest to my general demographic, but it really depends on the topic as to whether I watch or not. For example, there was a recent guest who was talking about porn addiction, and I started to watch it, but started to get distracted, since I don’t have this problem or know anyone who does (well, not for sure, anyway).

The Crash Course series, by the same priests who wrote Catholicism for Dummies and Saints for Dummies, is supposed to be aimed at my demographic as well (non-Catholics, or those Catholics who need a lot of catechesis). However it doesn’t seem to be aired on a regular schedule, Same with other programs such as a really great Bible Study series with Scott Hahn, which I can tell is a rerun since Mr. Hahn looks a lot younger in it than he does now. Still, isn’t the whole point of a series (even a rerun) to do so with regularity?

I really like Father Pacwa on both the Threshold of Hope and EWTN Live shows. Used to like Defending Life when Father Pavone was on, but not anymore. 🙂 Father Groeschel’s show (which I guess isn’t Live anymore) is nice but this also depends on the guest. I like the recent series on the Spirituality of Fulton Sheen as well as the occasional reruns of shows by Archbishop Sheen himself.

I also appreciate the news coverage of Papal Visits, special Masses, the March for Life, etc. However, I actually find Raymond Arroyo really annoying for some reason. Part of it is that he often comes across as more politically minded than spiritual (the interview with the guy defending torture, for example).

I also like the Catholic themed movies that they run sometimes. But speaking of movies, one of the other bones I have to pick with EWTN is that sometimes they seem to have bad time management. They once aired a really interesting Italian film on Pope Paul VI, which started with the President of Italy being kidnapped by terrorists. Pope Paul was apparently a personal friend of the President, and obviously takes this really hard. The event then inspires him to think about his younger days, and that starts off the biopic part of the film, starting from the Fascist oppression in the 1930s and moving forward to the “present day” (that being this terrorist crisis). But then the film got cut off suddenly toward the end. I was really annoyed because I was like, “Uh, so what happened to the President? Was Pope Paul able to help him? Did he survive? Or was he killed?”

All that being said, I don’t think the channel is perfect by any means, but I do find it a lot more educational and informative than a lot of secular shows out there, where people breathlessly talk about them the next day, then promptly completely forget them.
 
Guys Fr. Robert Barron…need I say more?..he’s awesome!

I agree the Church needs dudes, this guy is a controversial non-denominational Christian pastor, but he’s absolutely dead-on!

Church Needs Dudes

I think there are a lot of Christian laymen out there who are reaching out in a “hip” way, however as for the thing with EWTN boring because the nuns are always praying…I hope that doesn’t spill over into the “Oh Church and Mass is boring too” because that’s the whole reason I’m thinking about becoming Catholic because I want to get away from the “oh I wanna be hip” Churches.

My stance on this…Mass should not try and be “hip” but social groups and reaching out activities should.
 
ToeInTheWater said:
There are certain shows on EWTN that I like, and others that do seem to make me nod off. However, I realize that they can’t be all things to all people.

For example, while the Masses are great, the Rosary recordings usually make me turn the channel. Life on the Rock I guess is meant for the college student and twenty-something crowd, which is closest to my general demographic, but it really depends on the topic as to whether I watch or not. For example, there was a recent guest who was talking about porn addiction, and I started to watch it, but started to get distracted, since I don’t have this problem or know anyone who does (well, not for sure, anyway).

The Crash Course series, by the same priests who wrote Catholicism for Dummies and Saints for Dummies, is supposed to be aimed at my demographic as well (non-Catholics, or those Catholics who need a lot of catechesis). However it doesn’t seem to be aired on a regular schedule, Same with other programs such as a really great Bible Study series with Scott Hahn, which I can tell is a rerun since Mr. Hahn looks a lot younger in it than he does now. Still, isn’t the whole point of a series (even a rerun) to do so with regularity?

I really like Father Pacwa on both the Threshold of Hope and EWTN Live shows. Used to like Defending Life when Father Pavone was on, but not anymore. 🙂 Father Groeschel’s show (which I guess isn’t Live anymore) is nice but this also depends on the guest. I like the recent series on the Spirituality of Fulton Sheen as well as the occasional reruns of shows by Archbishop Sheen himself.

I also appreciate the news coverage of Papal Visits, special Masses, the March for Life, etc. However, I actually find Raymond Arroyo really annoying for some reason. Part of it is that he often comes across as more politically minded than spiritual (the interview with the guy defending torture, for example).

I also like the Catholic themed movies that they run sometimes. But speaking of movies, one of the other bones I have to pick with EWTN is that sometimes they seem to have bad time management. They once aired a really interesting Italian film on Pope Paul VI, which started with the President of Italy being kidnapped by terrorists. Pope Paul was apparently a personal friend of the President, and obviously takes this really hard. The event then inspires him to think about his younger days, and that starts off the biopic part of the film, starting from the Fascist oppression in the 1930s and moving forward to the “present day” (that being this terrorist crisis). But then the film got cut off suddenly toward the end. I was really annoyed because I was like, “Uh, so what happened to the President? Was Pope Paul able to help him? Did he survive? Or was he killed?”

All that being said, I don’t think the channel is perfect by any means, but I do find it a lot more educational and informative than a lot of secular shows out there, where people breathlessly talk about them the next day, then promptly completely forget them.
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Some of the longer films are shown in two parts.
 
I kind of agree with the original poster. I like World Over and watch that when I see that it’s on, but that’s about it.
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
That’s funny, because every time I tune in I see EWTN pandering to ‘youth,’ trying to be hip and cool and it’s just embarrassing.

No offense to people who like THAT stuff.

Orthodoxy always works.
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This, this, this, sooooooo this. ^
 
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