Not one, but TWO radio spots tomorrow!

Greetings! I have the pleasure of speaking with two great radio programs tomorrow, 11/9/20, and I hope you will tune in.

The first is at 7:25 am eastern with my usual partners at Relevant Radio’s Morning Air program. You can listen live online in the player here or look for your local radio station carrying the show.

What will be talking about? Well, unity. I don’t think I am a token DC guest, necessarily, though sometimes I’m asked to give a somewhat DC-insider take on something. But I think more than usual, politics is effecting people outside the Beltway - really, tearing friends and families apart. Is it worth it? So we’ll be talking about that, and how even in the midst of confusing times, God is still with us.

I hope to work in Blessed Solanus Casey and Fr. Walter Ciszek.

Solanus Casey, because he is much beloved as an unofficial patron of Detroit, which is where some voting irregularities are appearing. He’s an American Blessed. He said to “thank God ahead of time” - no matter what, as I interpret it. And, as is mentioned on his official webpage, he “believed every prayer is answered in God’s own way.” So, if you are wondering where your prayers are going right now, well, Blessed Solanus says they’re being heard, and answered. Imagine having that trust in God.

And Fr. Walter Ciszek, because he was another American (though not Blessed yet), who volunteered himself to minister to the Russians after WWII. He went knowing there was a likelihood not only that he’d never come back, but that his time there would involve deep suffering - and it did. He spend something like 15 years in prison camps and the gulag. And yet, he ministered to the prisoners, survived, was released, began ministries on the outside, and basically the Russians found him so bothersome they forced him to return to America. He was protected by God, and he was sure of this protection. So, if in some way you are thinking about giving up hope because of the political situation in our country - read a little about Fr. Walter, and take hope, and live hope.

I wrote about him in June after I read his autobiography, With God in Russia: Am I Owed a Life?

All right - on to the next one. Then in the afternoon, I will be speaking with Mike and Joe on Guadalupe Radio’s Catholicism on the Beltway Show. Woohoo! We’ll be recording in-studio, which will be even more fun (unless, of course, an election-related riot breaks out, and then I shall be calling in from home). Now, here’s the thing - I know what time I am to arrive, but not sure what time I am going on. If I figure out, will share here - but I think it’ll be between 1-3 eastern. And as for content, we’re just going to roll with it. You can listen online per the above link, or find your station here. In the DC area it’s 1160 AM.

So there you have it. And I hope you will tune in!

Prayer for Unity

A month ago I was helping register voters at a registration drive at my church. Everything is so contentious, you know, and I was thinking, what is the prayer for this time? Then, someone handed my a prayer card and I had my answer. (related: if you haven’t yet, read my article at Medium called, “What Early 90s Teen Lit Taught Me about Unity in 2020.”)

On one side, there is an image of a heart and a dove surrounded by flames. It reads: “God’s Love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” Romans 5:5

On the back, it says: “Prayer for Unity.”

Prayer for Unity

One only Holy Spirit of Father and Son

in whom all are baptized,

one Giver of many gifts,

one Tree of many fruits,

one Speaker of every tongue,

renew in our day the wonders of Pentecost.

Grant that people of every race and nation

may understand one another,

and as one, proclaim

the praises of God.

Grant that all may be one

as you, Spirit, with the Father and the Son

are one God, one Lord.

Grant unity to the Body of Christ;

grant unity to the human family.

Sole breath of every living thing,

may all be one who, in you,

live and move and have their being.

So that is the prayer for unity. Pray it please, would you?

A Follow Up from "My Teacher Flunked the Planet" author Bruce Coville

I had a real thrill this morning: in addition to lovely messages from readers, I received an email from the author of My Teacher Flunked the Planet himself, Bruce Coville.

As I shared in my previous post, I came across My Teacher Flunked the Planet by chance this summer and wrote an essay about it on Medium, called What Early 90s Teen Lit Taught Me about Unity in 2020 (please read, and give it a clap!).

I found Bruce’s contact and sent him an email last night. Just a simple message to let him know his book moved me. And lo and behold, this morning I had a note back. Not only that, but he had tweeted my article to his over 4,000 followers.

1/2

This essay about MY TEACHER FLUNKED THE PLANET, written by someone who really understood the book, filled me with joy.https://t.co/mIg7fzijlh

— Boo Coville (@brucecoville) November 2, 2020

In his follow up tweet, he writes, “Truth is, I got away with a lot in this book because no one was paying much attention to the fourth book in a paperback original SF series. The politics and philosophy of the book are an open secret between me and about two million kids.”

Via email, Bruce shared his gratitude for my having written about his book and said that it is arguably the most important one he ever wrote. Wow.

So anyway, that was super cool. Super cool, indeed.

If you haven’t yet, read the article, What Early 90s Teen Lit Taught Me about Unity in 2020.