Catholics Come Home founder visits Door County

STURGEON BAY — The church was still dark, but people moved quietly to adjust the huge screen in the front, to check the sound, to set the stage.

Tom Peterson signs a copy of his book, “Catholics Come Home,” for Gina Morgan, a member of Corpus Christi Parish in Sturgeon Bay, during an appearance there Nov. 20. (Monica Sawyn | For The Compass)

It was mid-afternoon on Nov. 20, but Tom Peterson, executive producer of EWTN’s “Catholics Come Home” series and author of a book by the same name, was already there, setting up the book table, checking sound and visiting with Fr. Carl Schmitt, Corpus Christi pastor. He was preparing for the evening’s presentation, which included a talk by Peterson, and the premiere of the 13th and final episode of the series, featuring the parish’s own Susie Masi.

Masi, who thought her divorce kept her from the sacraments, returned to the church after viewing one of the Catholic Come Home commercials on television back in in 2010. Her story was first told in The Compass last April and attracted Peterson’s attention. (The episode airs Nov. 30 and Dec. 4 on EWTN.)

This Corpus Christi event was one Peterson didn’t host for the other episodes. He explained that the idea came up in conversation with Fr. Schmitt. It appealed to him because he and his film crew had loved the town and the rest of Door County. They also found Masi to be their favorite interviewee “because of her openness and generosity of spirit.”

“We wanted to make her story the grand finale,” Peterson told the audience who arrived later in the evening.

During a lull in the pre-screening action, Peterson talked a little about his own spiritual awakening that led to the founding of Catholics Come Home, and what it takes to keep himself fueled and on fire for this work of the new evangelization.

At one time, Peterson was an ambitious, driven, highly successful businessman focused on making lots of money and living the good life. He never missed Mass, but he was only going through the motions. A spiritual awakening during a men’s retreat changed his focus, caused him to simplify his life, and set him on his current path.

But, he said, he has to make sure that “businessman Tom” doesn’t influence “church Tom” as this new venture becomes successful, as he becomes more and more known throughout the Catholic world in this country and even internationally.

“I can’t let success make me arrogant and self-centered,” he said. “All of us involved in this must sacrifice, pray and practice humility.”

And how does one practice humility?

“By always, always understanding and remembering that all good comes from God. We are only tools of the Holy Spirit,” Peterson said.

He said he tries to talk and listen to God all day long. He goes to Mass daily when possible, makes frequent confession, reads Scripture and other good Catholic books. And he practices acts of self-denial.

“Not opening my mouth, not reacting to everything that happens around me, putting others first — or at least trying to do all that,” he said. “I don’t get it perfect, but God doesn’t pick perfect people. You have Moses the stutterer, Peter the coward, Paul the misguided — and Tom.

“What unites us is that we’re all misfits, wounded warriors who reach out to other wounded people to come together in heaven’s church here on earth.”

Peterson said he has been impressed with each of the 13 people interviewed for the first season of this show, and has become great friends with all of them.

“I learned after the first interview that I’d do all the work, all the preparation, all the traveling, for just one of these people,” he said.

Peterson is currently working on plans for a second season of the half-hour conversion or reversion stories, and has a final list of 35 stories to whittle down to 13.

Peterson also had good things to say about Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, who “had the faith and courage to say yes” to the Catholics Come Home commercials that aired on regular network television within the last five years.

“If not for him, Susie wouldn’t have seen the commercial that invited her back and none of us would be here today,” he said. “Let’s pray for our bishops. They are the unsung heroes on the front lines of today’s spiritual wars.”

Peterson is currently helping the 38th diocese — Buffalo, N.Y. — to run the programs. The 39th will be Denver, number 40 will be Des Moines, and 20 more are “in discernment.” Most of this has occurred since the website, www.catholicscomehome.org, was set up in 2005. Each diocese’s job is to prepare the parishes to respond to people who accept the invitation to come home. The CCH network deals with the television stations.

Peterson is excited that the evangelization effort is starting to become international. There has already been limited activity in Canada, Guam and Mexico. In 2015, the campaign will begin in Brazil on the three or four national Catholic channels there. Spearheading the effort there is Jesuit Fr. Eduardo Dougherty, who went to Brazil 35 years ago from New Orleans.

“He runs the national Catholic television network there. He’ll be the Tom Peterson of Brazil,” Peterson said.

At the end of the evening at Corpus Christi, audience members flocked to get their copies of Peterson’s book, which he signed for each of them. Although called “Catholics Come Home,” Peterson said the book is really a manual for current Catholics to learn how to share their faith.

“We need to be bold,” he said. “We need to put our fears away and reach out to others about our faith. I’ve seen that when we do reach out, miracles happen.”

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