Extraordinary Catholic Speaker

This month at Fallible Blogma, Matthew Warner is hosting Support a Catholic Speaker Month, a round-up of some of the Catholic speakers who do so much to educate and inspire us. When Matthew offered bloggers the opportunity to "adopt" a speaker, I jumped at the chance to learn more about the work of Coleen Kelly Mast.

Like many of you, I have admired Dr. Coleen's work on her terrific Ave Maria Radio program, "The Doctor is In". But there is much more to know and love about this terrific wife and mother of five. Her professional bio from TMG Speakers gives a great overview of the breadth of her expertise:

Coleen Kelly Mast, an author, public speaker and radio talk show host, is a pioneer in the field of chastity education. Dr. Mast currently hosts a popular call-in radio advice show, The Doctor Is In produced and syndicated by Ave Maria Radio for more than 100 stations of the Catholic Radio Association, EWTN and Sirius Satellite Radio. She provides Catholic-flavored practical solutions to callers who seek her advice on a variety of personal, spiritual and family problems.

Mast holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Quincy University, a Masters Degree in Health Education and Secondary teaching certificates in four specialty fields: Theology, Health, Physical Education and Science. She has taught at the elementary, junior high and high school levels and has been involved in Family Life Education since 1975.

Mast has written both the 'Love and Life' and 'Sex Respect' chastity education programs, which include books, seminars and videos for teachers, teens and parents. Mast's programs have been sold in 23 countries and all 50 states. She has appeared on Oprah, Geraldo, Mother Angelica Live, 60 Minutes, andat Steubenville High School Youth Conferences. Mast has debated the Presidents of SEICUS and Planned Parenthood on television and debated ACLU representatives on public radio.

She assisted with the writing of the USCC Bishops 1992 document on Human Sexuality Education Guidelines, and in 1997 Mast was one of four people from the United States invited to the Vatican by the Pontifical Council for the Family for an in-depth study of the 'Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality' document when it was released. Based on those teachings and the need for additional parent catechesis today, her 'Love and Life' Parent and Teen Series was updated for 2006 complete with Imprimatur and published by Ignatius Press.

She has been married for 30 years to Kent Mast. They have five children and live in Illinois.

Several times a month, I find myself referring parents who contact me to Coleen's website at www.SexRespect.com. Her resources, aimed at providing a Christian moral framework for sexual abstinence, are a life saver for families struggling with the pressures placed on today's teens by their peers and society. While I've never had the pleasure of meeting Coleen Kelly Mast in person, I remain a tremendous fan of her work and thank Matthew Warner for the opportunity to introduce this Catholic speaking champion to our readers.