On Wednesday, Jerry and Debbie will welcome your personal experiences of the devastating opioid problem facing our country, as well as many other countries around the world. What very often starts out as simply a matter of someone taking medications for an injury or an illness, sadly, turns into an addiction that can wreak havoc on the abuser, as well as his or her family and friends. Tragically, many lose their lives every year as a result of this disaster. Rather than delving deeply into facts and statistics about the epidemic, we want to hear if you have been personally impacted by it. This is sure to be a poignant and impactful conversation.

On Monday, plan to join Jerry and Debbie in a conversation about foster parenting. It’s a truly beautiful reality in many families. Perhaps you were raised by foster parents. Or maybe you have been a father or a mother to foster children. How are these situations ant different from raising biological children? How are they similar? Let’s have a lively discussion so we can all learn more about this important gift to many of God’s precious children.

How smart are our pets? There was the lovable collie named Lassie, who starred on television for nearly nineteen years, helping people out of countless difficult situations. And there was Flipper, the adorable dolphin who seemed to almost speak English in doing much the same thing as Lassie. While these were dramatizations, we want to ask you on Thursday if our pets are really able to tell when we’re sad, hurt, sick or in trouble. Have you had an experience of this? Share your take on our next broadcast.

On Tuesday, Jerry and Debbie want to hear from you on the subject of Catholic schools. For a very long time, they have been a tremendous blessing to not only Catholics, but to parents and students of other faith traditions (or none at all) who recognized the value of such an education. It’s also well known that some of our Catholic schools have compromised in certain areas in order to achieve other goals, things like athletic success, civic recognition, etc. It’s arguably still one of the best options for our young people. How “Catholic” do you believe our Catholic schools are? Are you the product of a Catholic school? Let’s have a lively discussion, and, as always, look to come out the other side better for having had the conversation.

We all make mistakes. Some more serious than others. But somehow our mistakes can be saddled to us in ways that are very unhealthy for our spiritual growth. Satan wants our mistakes to define us, and to keep us from growing closer to God. How can we let go of our mistakes and realize God loves us way more than our failings might lead us to believe? Since we’ve all made mistakes, we all have a take on this topic. Call in and share yours on Monday.

Here’s the book Jerry mentioned on today’s show.

The virtue of patience is so important in our lives. Depending on our circumstances, we have any number of opportunities to practice it and help it grow. Sometimes, we pray for patience, and God allows us to face situations that truly put us to the test. On Friday, let’s close out a great week of shows with a discussion about how we can all be more patient with each other and the world.

On Wednesday, be a part of Take 2 With Jerry and Debbie history, as we present the same topic for the third day in a row. That’s only because you showed your interest and enthusiasm for the subject the previous two days. One more time, let us hear from with with your completion of the sentence, “I hate it when…,” or, “It drives me crazy when…” There’s been one amazing take after another, and Wednesday’s show is sure to be the crown jewel. Call early to make sure you get through and get on the air!

There were so many calls on Monday, when we first introduced this topic, that we left several people on the line at the end of the show. So, as we’ve done a few times in the recent past, we are presenting a part two on Tuesday. If you were unable to get through or get on the show on Monday, please call early so we can make sure you get the opportunity to share something that drives you crazy. As we did on Monday, we’ll once again want to address this question with a view to becoming more virtuous in our own lives.

RESOURCES: The rosary – pray it, don’t just say it, priest exhorts

As we navigate our way through this thing we call life, each one of us develops an appreciation for many things, as well as an irritation at certain things. Among the latter are things that really get under our skin. We might even say, “I hate it when (such-and-such happens).” It could be just about anything, from the way so-and-so dresses, to how certain people on TV report (or misreport) the news. From a gloomy, rainy day, to being served a lousy, lukewarm meal in a restaurant. Perhaps we could call these “pet peeves,” only on steroids. Join us with your take on Monday!

It’s been a great week of shows with our listeners leading the way. And, on Friday, we’ll close out the week with a discussion about finding and living out our purpose in life. God created each one of us for a specific purpose – one that no one else can fulfill. Do you know what yours is? Maybe you’re still trying to discover it. How do you go about doing that? How do you most effectively live out your mission in life? This is what we’ll be talking about on Friday, so don’t miss it!