With 25 days until The Predicament turns 39, we thought we'd start a countdown of sorts. The goal? Take each day's readings and find a way to apply one of the passages to the life of Lino Rulli. And then, we have something VERY special waiting for Lino on October 26...and no, it won't require a restraining order. Yes, we would have done a 39-day countdown since he'll turn 39, but we're not paid for this, and as such, we show signs of laziness now and then, much to our amusement Lino's annoyance. Enjoy!






Luke 10:1-2
Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.'
Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day
than for that town."


When I read this passage of scripture, I immediately thought of Lino's big speech at the Catholic New Media Celebration. Need a reminder? Here's the speech.





In the speech, Lino echoes Christ's words when he says "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." The thing with Catholic media is that it has to be cutting edge. It has to be fun and it has to be interesting, otherwise nothing gets done and people ignore it and Christ's redeeming love. I don't think I'm being too melodramatic when I say that the key to winning souls for Christ is by giving people a good product.

That's what Christ wants from us: Trying our very best and giving it all for him. The workers, i.e. people who are actually talented, seem to be few and far between, with most of Catholic media preferring to rest on their laurels and do things the way they've always been done (there's exceptions, but your average Catholic radio station would put young people to sleep).

It's one of the reasons I love Lino's show: because he actually does care about putting out a good product and reaching people. "Boring" Catholic radio may actually work for a few people, but we need to examine other ways in which we can reach people, uncomfortable and unorthodox as they may be.

Because the harvest is plentiful. And the talent is few.

Thanks Lino!