Mother Angelica’s EWTN- One of the Greatest Evangelization Tools for our Times
By John S. Cohoat
Early in 2013, I attended a day long men’s retreat in South Bend, Indiana. My life was at a turning point, and I decided I needed this day to help sort it out. Many good things came from that day, but perhaps the best was that I became aware of EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network). One of the speakers talked about his show on EWTN and I felt a need to check it out.
I had never even heard of EWTN and I’m a cradle Catholic!
Over the next several months, EWTN became my spiritual and consoling friend. In the midst of some crises in my life, I’d turn to EWTN for guidance. Certain shows became favorites. I began to revel in the wisdom, faith, and humor of that little, old-fashioned nun, Mother Angelica. I found myself watching reruns of her shows from the 80s and 90s.
The Journey Home, EWTN Live, The World Over, Sunday Night Prime, Mother Angelica Live Classics, coverage of major events, special movies,… sometimes these were my only lifeline to hope and they all helped me grow and understand my faith. I felt part of a bigger community.
Many times there would be appeals to do a pilgrimage to Birmingham, Alabama to visit the station headquarters. I felt a tug to go and found myself on a personal pilgrimage there in February of 2016.
In planning my trip on the EWTN website, I realized that the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament is about 45 minutes north of Birmingham in Hanceville, Alabama. I stopped there most of the first day and I can only say that I have never been on more holy grounds or at a place where I felt the glory and presence of our Lord.
I went through the Holy Doors for the Year of Mercy, went to Mass, had Confession, did the outdoor stations of the cross, visited the Pope John Paul II Eucharistic Center and prayed the rosary with the nuns of Poor Clare.
The Church has so much gold and marble and the second biggest Tabernacle in the world. The grounds are immaculate with a large castle/bookstore a few hundred yards across from the Church.
In the Eucharistic Center, I had a private tour from a 23 year old monk from the Philippines. Mother Angelica was nearing death according to him, but he had actually cared for her and could tell me about her. The Center itself is designed in a fashion that would rival exhibits at Disney World, giving the history of the Eucharist from the Old and New Testaments and even telling stories of the dozens of documented Eucharistic miracles which prove the truth of our Faith’s most solemn Sacrament.
After all of this, then I headed off to EWTN. I got there in time for a tour of the studios. I went to a taping of EWTN Live and got to talk to Father Mitch Pacwa. In a special encounter with another pilgrimage couple, I now have a “Job’s tears” Rosary, hand-made by them and given to me in a moment of grace.
I attended the Live Mass the next morning, getting to see the original chapel and monastery built by Mother Angelica before she built the Shrine and moved her nuns up to Hanceville. Now as I watch the Mass on TV, I can sense the feeling of the intimacy of that Chapel and the fellowship with others. One businessman from nearby comes to EWTN often and recounted for me some of his own life struggles… how EWTN and Mother Angelica had helped him.
As most of you probably know, Mother Angelica died on Easter Sunday 2016, just a few months after I was there. I watched almost all the weeklong coverage of the prayer services, benedictions, rosaries, special shows commemorating her life and finally the funeral on Friday. I felt so much more a part of it, seeing many places and people I had seen on my trip. The young monk who took me on my tour held the book for the Cardinal who celebrated the Funeral Mass. The priest I went to Confession with presided over one of the prayer services.
The Shrine, the EWTN studios and now the massive multimedia religious empire that is the EWTN family of businesses has investments in the $100’s of millions. There are hundreds of employees. TV and radio broadcasts to over 250 million people each day in multiple languages and from broadcast sites all over the world. The EWTN web site is the second largest Catholic website in the world next to the Vatican. They have the National Catholic Register, The Catholic News Agency, EWTN publishing and many other ventures and joint ventures in print, broadcast and online media.
All of it has been built on faith, primarily the faith of Mother Angelica and millions more she brought along in her journey. Prayer has built EWTN.
In September I traveled again Birmingham to attend EWTN Family Days. The theme was celebration of the life of Mother Angelica. I wanted to honor her and I wanted to be with others who loved her and knew her. If you watch EWTN, you know her. She has that way.
There were two glorious Masses, with the one on Sunday celebrated by the Bishop of Birmingham. Amazing speakers who knew Mother Angelica and could testify to her work, personality and faith. One thing that was clear is that Mother Angelica was an all-star sufferer, using her embrace of trials and pain to fuel her faith. EWTN shows the power of redemptive suffering. You can go to the EWTN YouTube channel and check out some of the videos of the speakers… powerful.
Some of the more touching moments, which really hit me at my core, were when people from the audience talked about Mother Angelica or EWTN and how they had been brought to Jesus through EWTN or survived their worst times with EWTN by their side. Many, including me, cried a number of times remembering similar situations in our lives.
What struck me, as someone interested in being a New Evangelizer just like you, is that I haven’t really been doing enough to promote the splendor of EWTN.
Most of the Catholics I know are as clueless as I was and know nothing about EWTN. Many parishes don’t use the tools of EWTN in their religious education, confirmation, youth and other ministry programs.
I’m an EWTN Media Missionary now and have been for about a year. It’s a free volunteer position. You get access to many free materials. What I do is get brochures to our church and communicate with the parish office about getting bulletin announcements.
There is a lot more to be done. We need thousands more missionaries. Even if you have no time at all, you should be a missionary and pray for EWTN. It may be just one chance encounter with a friend or acquaintance where you mention EWTN, tell them about a show, give them a brochure and they become my story. EWTN has led millions of former Catholics back to the faith and has converted similar numbers of non-Catholics.
The EWTN message needs to go to schools, Catholic bookstores, colleges, nursing homes, community events, hospitals, businesses,… everywhere. We need more people spreading the message.
EWTN is a tool built for our times, by God, through Mother Angelica and now through many others. You can be one of them. It can help your faith. And, the more faith you have the better equipped you are to evangelize.
Evangelization is hard work. Sometimes it’s tough to find the right words to say or to explain a concept to those we love. Maybe watching a TV show, listening to a radio show, watching a YouTube video, reading an email, finding a teaching link online or getting an article clipped from a newspaper will be just the right tool. An easier tool than your own voice or understanding. Let’s use the EWTN tools more.
Here’s a link to check out the EWTN Media Missionaries. You don’t need to do anything other than give them your information and you will be a missionary. Then you can decide how much or little God wants you to do from there.
The slogan is “EWTN is Everywhere!”.
Please become more active with EWTN and help us all spread the Gospel message throughout the broken world!
©John S. Cohoat
John S. Cohoat
John is a Midwesterner, born and raised in the great Hoosier State of Indiana. He jokes that he has a “checkered past” in that he didn’t choose the path that many thought he might when he left Notre Dame and rose quickly through the ranks at a large public accounting firm. He’s been the Chief Financial Officer at a medical laboratory and CEO of a small hospital. John has owned an ice cream company, operated restaurants, worked for large Catholic Health Care organizations, did real estate business development, wrote a book and owned a bed & breakfast. The last several years John led a membership and consulting strategy organization for small business owners. For over a dozen years, John has mastered the art of copywriting for several small business clients and Catholic organizations. His true passion now is personal spiritual development including copywriting/fundraising for Catholic organizations and spiritual writing. You can find out more about John and his work at www.cohoatbusinessgrowth.com including samples of his writing.
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