It never fails, I hop in the car and turn on the radio and turn it to The Catholic Guy Show. Within about five minutes, my beautiful wife Abby gets annoyed and either starts actually making comments about not liking the show or makes those grunts and sighs that make you well aware that she is not happy. I've been married for 18 years and one of the reasons why we remain happily married is because I subscribe to the mantra, "If Abby ain't happy, ain't nobody going to be happy." So, I end up changing the channel. This stinks though . . . I LOVE listening to TCGS. I've been a Sirius subscriber since 2008 when I got my car. The only reason I've renewed my subscription is because of Lino's show. I listen to his podcasts (which makes it easier to steal his jokes when no one has heard them for several months) I even pre-ordered his book, Sinner (which can be ordered from the link on this page)
I think the reason my wife doesn't like the show is because, while Lino does a great job entertaining his fans (as observed by the popularity of the show,) he isn't exactly raising the bar as far as maturity level. Many of his jokes are juvenile. He tends to push people to the limit. Sometimes he won't drop a joke. In other words, all of the things that make me laugh. All of the things that I like to do, but are smart enough not to do much in front of her. She has a great sense of humor and makes me laugh like crazy but Abby humor and Jamie humor is not the same.
There is more to the reason that I love Lino than his juvenile sense of humor though. I think we have a lot in common. Well, except for the fact that I'm married, with kids and live in Kansas City [recently named one of the top two Kansas City's] while he is a world traveler and lives in New York City with a popular Catholic radio show. I see in Lino, someone my age who isn't afraid to be goofy and funny and who tries to bring smiles to everyone's face. I see someone who isn't afraid to admit his flaws while at the same time is seeking perfection. I see someone who says, "I'm a sinner and I need confession." But does it in a way that doesn't make him seem pious. I see someone who loves their Catholicism and tries to help people find their faith in unconventional means---by showing what a great religion it is and by showing that you can live in the world and still be faithful. I see many similarities.
As Catholics we love our saints. The problem is that we see them in their finished, "look at me, I'm a saint" product. The great thing about the saints is that many of them had a past and had struggles and if we researched them enough we would know that they were people with struggles too. But we don't always think of them like that. We seem to think that God gave them some sort of special grace and "poof"---instant saint. We don't think of their inner struggles.
With Lino, we do get to see that. We see a man living in the world, facing interior struggles and trying to be saintly. Falling and rising time after time. He's someone who gives me confidence because I know I'm not alone.
The reason I love Lino is because I can see how we are similar. He gives me confidence that I can go on. Abby doesn't see how we are similar. After all, she already gets to see me in my perfect state.
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