Daniel Bluntzer wanted to share the great resources of Catholic Answers with his fellow parishioners at St. Thomas the Apostle in Robstown, Texas, a parish with approximately 300 active families. Word made its way back to our office that he had signed up a few friends to subscribe to the magazine.
CA: How did you pitch the idea of the magazine at your parish?
Daniel: I’ve been hooked on Catholic Answers radio for a number of years and am always telling people what an amazing program it is. My understanding of my faith and Catholicism has grown exponentially since listening to Catholic Answers Live on EWTN radio and then eventually on the app. Eventually, I ordered the magazine.
CA: What made you recommend the magazine?
Daniel: I like that the articles varied in scope and length but also enjoyed that I didn’t need electronics to access the content. One day it occurred to me to contact Catholic Answers and see if they offered a discount for a bulk order. They did. With the blessing of our pastor, I announced the offer after each Mass one Sunday. There were four Masses at the time, with approximately 600 total in attendance. I mentioned how informative Catholic Answers Magazine was and how it helped me understand better what we do as Catholics and why. Equally as important, it tackled some of the moral topics of the day.
CA: What was the response?
Daniel: I only did this one weekend and collected 169 subscriptions. I was hoping for forty or fifty, so 169 was a huge surprise and blessing. The comments at the time ranged from “I simply need to know more about my Faith” to “I’ve never subscribed to a religious magazine, but if you say so . . .” Since then, several people have stopped me and mentioned how enlightening the articles have been for them.
CA: How long have you been a supporter of Catholic Answers?
Daniel: I’ve been a supporter of CA for four or five years and a magazine subscriber for three years, if memory serves. It’s invaluable! I don’t know of any other place, forum, website, etc., that has this amount of information about our Faith. More importantly, it [the website] is interactive. You can ask questions specific to your needs. And many of the topics—the pope, Mary, confession, the Eucharist, the Bible in general—are simply not addressed well in religious education.
CA: We understand you also ordered a bunch of Trent Horn’s book Why We’re Catholic.
Daniel: I ordered 300 as an Advent gift for parishioners. I look at it as adult formation continuation, complementing the magazine from last year.
Daniel is a member of his parish pastoral council and in charge of the Czech meal for its annual Czechfest, the parish Fall Festival. His wife, Mitzi, is in charge of the church decorations for Christmas and Easter and assists with religious education. They’ve been married for twenty-three years and have a fifteen-year-old son and a ten-year-old daughter. Daniel is director of research and a partner for a commodity firm based in Chicago as well as a broker and consultant specializing in livestock and grains. We thank the Bluntzers for their enthusiastic support of our efforts!
Why We’re Catholic by Trent Horn, also available in bulk, here.
—Tim Ryland
Editor, Catholic Answers Magazine