Need a little fun plus a dose of spiritual and practical wisdom?

Please enjoy these two Shining Brightly podcasts.

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Care to learn more?

This is a perfect moment to become one of Howard’s growing global community of friends by ordering your copy of his book.

Here are other articles we have published, exploring the launch of this book:

Take a look at the book’s Foreword: ‘Shining Brightly’ Foreword by Dr. Robert J. Wicks: ‘Learn anew about the American Dream’

And especially read this story: Two-time cancer survivor Howard Brown writes ‘Shining Brightly’ to encourage others to stay healthy

Free Resource Guides

Download (and free-to-share) resource guides for discussing Shining Brightly:

• First is What are the ‘Keys to Resiliency when Confronting Cancer?’ Howard is freely sharing resources from the Discussion Guide for his new book—a page that lists 18 keys to resiliency that have proven valuable in his life and in the lives of people he has mentored through cancer.
• Second is Why should we become mentors?
• And finally Interfaith Bridge Building: Why do this work? 

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Thanks to Shining Brightly author and resilience expert Howard Brown, we all may feel a little better this week as we reach May 18th!

How auspicious is 18? Well, let Howard tell you in this episode of his Shining Brightly podcast:

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Care to learn more?

This is a perfect moment to become one of Howard’s growing global community of friends by ordering your copy of his book.

Here are other articles we have published, exploring the launch of this book:

Take a look at the book’s Foreword: ‘Shining Brightly’ Foreword by Dr. Robert J. Wicks: ‘Learn anew about the American Dream’

And especially read this story: Two-time cancer survivor Howard Brown writes ‘Shining Brightly’ to encourage others to stay healthy

Free Resource Guides

Download (and free-to-share) resource guides for discussing Shining Brightly:

• First is What are the ‘Keys to Resiliency when Confronting Cancer?’ Howard is freely sharing resources from the Discussion Guide for his new book—a page that lists 18 keys to resiliency that have proven valuable in his life and in the lives of people he has mentored through cancer.
• Second is Why should we become mentors?
• And finally Interfaith Bridge Building: Why do this work? 

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All of us, across our community of authors, are celebrating with retired Col. Clifford Worthy as a veterans’ group honored Cliff with a beautiful red-white-and-blue Quilt of Valor. And we want to thank Ham Schirmer for sending us the following report:

The handmade quilt was presented to Col. Worthy by a Michigan chapter of Quilts Of Valor. This is a volunteer group of people whose mission is to bestow a symbol of thanks and remembrance to those who have served in harm’s way to protect our lives and freedoms. The beautiful quilts are handmade by countless volunteers across the United States, who wish to thank those who have served.

The way in which Col. Worth received his was through an arrangement made by a fellow resident at Cedarbrook, where Clifford lives. After attending a ceremony for another veteran at the residence, this friend felt that Clifford was more than deserving of the honor. He contacted Quilts of Valor and arrangements were quickly made. As a result, Clifford is now the proud owner of a beautiful red, white and blue quilt which he proudly displays in his apartment.

Care to learn more about this hero?

Readers nationwide have told us how much they have enjoyed Col. Worthy’s memoir, The Black Knight: An African-American Family’s Journey from West Point—a Life of Duty, Honor and Country.

This is an especially timely story, because July 26, 2023, marks the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9981, issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. This executive order abolished discrimination “on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin” in the United States Armed Forces.

Retired Col. Clifford Worthy is the oldest living Black graduate of The United States Military Academy: West Point.

He is a great grandson of slaves; he was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Hamtramck, Michigan. Worthy was one of the few African American men of his generation who were accepted and excelled as a Black Knight of the Hudson, the traditional nickname for West Point cadets. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army from 1953 through 1975—including as an artillery officer in Germany during the Cold War and in Vietnam just after the Tet Offensive. He participated in Operation Gyroscope after World War II and served as Battalion Commander and Military Assistant to the Under Secretary of the Army.

I just had to crow a little bit, this week, in the pages of ReadTheSpirit magazine!

My alma mater just hit the 30-year mark of No. 1 rankings as a center for entrepreneurial education. Here’s a link to the official Babson story, headlined: Three Decades at No. 1: Babson Leads Graduate Entrepreneurship Education

Readers of my memoir Shining Brightly already know a lot about Babson’s influence in my own life—and in the lives of many other wonderful people around the world. I also share, in my book, some amazing stories about our school’s founder, Roger Babson. Among other things, he predicted the 1929 stock market crash well before it happened—and offered lots of helpful wisdom about how to survive such traumatic times.

From his days at the helm of the school until today, I’m impressed with my school’s consistent commitment to entrepreneurial excellence. That’s why I put so much effort into supporting Babson’s worldwide alumni network.

This week, I just want the world to know I’m cheering: Go Babson!

 

 

“Perhaps you believe, as I do, that Father Edward Dowling, SJ, was a man of such prophetic wisdom, heroic virtue, and personal holiness that he deserves to be named a saint of the Church.”
from Dawn Eden Goldstein’s Postscript to her biography Father Ed

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By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

As a lifelong journalist myself, I’m naturally drawn to a biography that suggests a journalist’s vocation attuned him to become a living saint. Dawn Eden Goldstein argues such a cause in her new biography of Father Ed Dowling, the reporter-turned-Jesuit who befriended Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill W. The holy virtues shared by “Father Ed” made such an impact in so many lives that Goldstein hopes to see a grassroots cause for his canonization emerge—and she even explains to readers how they can help, at the end of her book.

In our interview, I asked Goldstein to concisely summarize this case she makes in the 400 pages of Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.’s Spiritual Sponsor.

She boiled it down to three sentences: “I believe Father Ed’s cause should be opened because he was prophetic in terms of his ministry to wounded people in many ways, particularly in the way he spiritually accompanied Bill Wilson and many other people from 12-step programs. He gave his life for others. He worked so hard at helping people for so many years—even though he had this painful, severe case of ankylosing spondylitis—that he shortened his life.”

As Goldstein explains in her book, this painful condition emerged in his early 20s, when he was a successful journalist pursuing Jesuit studies. Over the decades, the condition caused sometimes excruciating back pain and difficulty standing and walking—to the point that his slouching posture may have contributed to people mistaking him for a street person.

“I think the main reasons Father Ed was frequently mistaken for a street person were that, first, due to his illness, he had difficulty combing his hair properly and otherwise straightening out his appearance,” Goldstein said. “Second, he took his vow of poverty seriously, so his Jesuit habit, clothing, hat and shoes typically had holes.”

The first time Father Ed went to meet Bill W in New York City, he was mistaken for “a bum” by a friend of Bill’s who first spotted him. The friend was unsure whether to bring him into Bill’s room, but Bill always was welcoming. So, Father Ed slowly shuffled up a flight of stairs to Bill’s room.

“Bill Wilson said that when he first met Father Ed, the Jesuit’s bedraggled and misshapen hat—probably the beret he wore when he traveled—looked like a cabbage leaf,” Goldstein said.

Eventually, Bill realized Father Ed was a priest as Father Ed took off his overcoat and Bill clearly saw his priest’s collar underneath. The meeting turned out to be a spiritual turning point in both of their lives. That dramatic scene is reenacted by actors in the widely praised 2012 documentary film, Bill W.

A Prophet View of Vocations

Father Ed was not an alcoholic, but his own chronic pain was part of what drove him to help other suffering men and women. In Catholic terms, Father Ed found that his “vocation” to the priesthood included a vision of how much troubled lay people need help and, in turn, can provide help to each other.

Father Ed was convinced that the spiritual callings of lay people are as valuable as any formal vocation to sacred orders—and he began preaching this message even before he discovered Alcoholics Anonymous and met Bill W. While that concept of a powerful spiritual calling within every life is common today, that truth was not fully embraced by the worldwide Catholic church until the Second Vatican Council and the declaration known as Lumen gentium, often translated as “Light of the World.”

In our interview, Goldstein said, “I’m grateful that you’re going to tell your readers about what I think is this really central point in the book: Years before the Second Vatican Council, Father Ed recognized, wrote, spoke and taught about the movement of the Holy Spirit in the laity and even the movement of the Holy Spirit among non-Catholics. He saw that clearly years before Lumen gentium.”

So, why don’t more people know about Father Ed?

As I began to read Goldstein’s biography in preparation for our interview—reading all of this as a journalist who has covered religious diversity since the 1970s—I was astonished that I was not already familiar with Father Ed. Now, I realize that this lack of awareness is a result of Father Ed’s own selflessness. Bill W himself frequently complained about the way that his supposedly “anonymous” life had become a global icon for the 12-step movement.

For many reasons, Father Ed also became famous, especially among the vast communities of people he assisted. Not only did he help to shape and spread the message of Alcoholics Anonymous, but he also founded a movement of “cana conferences” to help married couples that continues today in various forms—and he was a major supporter of what is today known as Recovery International, founded by psychiatrist Abraham Low.

However, throughout all of this work, Father Ed spent little time in shaping his own public image. He certainly wrote and spoke and taught widely, but his focus always was on the movements he was shaping. While admirable during his lifetime, that led to challenges in tracking down an accurate accounting of his life, Goldstein found.

Fortunately for Father Ed’s legacy, she was equal to the task. Among journalists, Goldstein is so well known for her long career that her Wikipedia page, at this moment, ironically is longer than Father Ed’s. She also has a very active “Dawn Patrol” website where readers can find out more about her work and can contact her if they want to invite her to speak about this new book.

As a Catholic scholar herself, now, Goldstein understands the significance of this new biography. The idea of pursuing canonization for Father Ed would be impossible without a thoroughly researched biography like this one. Factual errors about Father Ed’s life abound, starting with the dramatic reenactment of his meeting with Bill W in the 2012 documentary. If you are interested in those differences, then get a copy of Goldstein’s book and watch the movie. You’ll see key details missed by the filmmakers.

Overall, Goldstein praises the film and recommends it to viewers. She even excuses the small mistakes the filmmakers made because it has been difficult to track down the precise facts about Father Ed’s life. That includes his Wikipedia page that is woefully flawed as of April 2023. To date, there are three major errors in two of the crucial sentences on that Wikipedia page:

During the early years of Alcoholics Anonymous, a friend of Dowling’s from Chicago developed a drinking problem after losing his wife, and in 1940, Dowling took him to an AA meeting. There, he noticed the similarities between the program’s twelve-step program and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola.

What are the errors?

First, Dowling’s friend did not lose his wife—she was a heroic mainstay in his life—and his “drinking problem” was alcoholism that was common among newspapermen in that era. The second error: It was this friend who invited Dowling to an AA meeting. Third, Dowling did not notice the similarities between the 12 steps and Ignatian spirituality until another priest pointed this out to him, later. Then, the connections seemed obvious to him.

And there’s more! Although it is not exactly an “error” in Father Ed’s Wikipedia page, we also now know that this “friend” was the famous Chicago reporter Edwin A. Lahey. And even though Lahey’s involvement with Father Ed and AA was a crucial part of Lahey’s life, that is barely mentioned on his Wikipedia page.

“You can see why so it was so important for me to fully research Father Ed’s life and then tell his story really for the first time in such a full way,” Goldstein said in our interview. “Now, I’m hoping Wikipedia editors will begin correcting the mistakes.”

Those errors are not minor details.

“Those errors really do need to be fixed,” Goldstein said. For example, there’s a major difference between Father Ed as a helpful priest directing a lay person to attend an AA meeting—and a lay person surprising Father Ed with an invitation to accompany him to a meeting. “It’s important to understand that a lay person told Father Ed about AA because this shows us how, throughout Father Ed’s life, he understood the value of being directed by lay people. That’s not to say he ever forfeited his role as a spiritual leader, teacher, confessor and preacher. But Father Ed also recognized the movement of the Holy Spirit in the laity to the point that lay people also could lead him and could lead the church in important ways.”

The vocational value of a good journalist

The fascinating story behind Father Ed is packed with journalists from Father Ed himself and his friend Edwin Lahey to Dawn Eden Goldstein herself—and yet there’s even more!

How did Alcoholics Anonymous even succeed in the first place?

Back in 2010, I wrote a 40-day series of columns from towns across America as I traveled in a van with my son Benjamin in search of spiritual landmarks. Of course, that daily series had to include a visit to Bill W’s birthplace and gravesite in East Dorset, Vermont. One of the mentors who helped to shape the founding of our publishing house in 2007 was the now-legendary religion journalist and scholar Phyllis Tickle, who died in 2015. In her talks about the impact of faith on contemporary life, Phyllis always pointed to the founding of AA as one of the greatest milestones in America’s religious history, because it was a lay-led spiritual movement unlike anything Americans had seen. That’s the same basic point Goldstein makes in her book. As we set out on the road in 2010, Phyllis said, “You know where you need to wind up in this grand tour you’re taking? You need to end up in East Dorset, Vermont, at Bill W.’s gravestone.”

And, as always, Phyllis was right.

The column my son and I filed in 2010 became the most widely shared in our entire series, which was co-published by The Detroit Free Press and the Knight-Ridder wire nationwide. We headlined the story, Folks so tough they don’t need a last name, and we also placed a copy of the story in this ReadTheSpirit magazine.

During our visit to East Dorset, we were allowed to look through archival boxes packed with records of the agonizing struggles the AA founders faced. What we did not appreciate during our visit was an archived copy of the March 1, 1941, Saturday Evening Post.

In those archival boxes, we saw that cover with its Normal Rockwell painting of a girl in a plaid skirt—and a small note in the lower right corner that said: “ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, By JACK ALEXANDER.” We thought it was just one of many media mentions of AA and did not include that detail it in our short column about Bill W. As it turns out, that article was The Media Milestone that “took A.A. out of the pioneering stage and made it a movement,” according to Bill W.

What does all this have to do with Father Ed and his journalistic connections?

Plenty! Even the official AA history of that article, as of this date, misses the crucial role Father Ed played in making that story possible. A dramatic turning point in Jack Alexander’s own understanding of AA was due to Father Ed’s behind-the-scenes shepherding of the movement and his own efforts to foster the AA meetings in St. Louis.

“Jack was assigned this AA article by his editor and he was skeptical,” Goldstein said in our interview. “At first, he thought this was a hoax.” If you want to read more about what happened when this very skeptical journalist finally reached St. Louis and met other journalists in the St. Louis AA meeting—get yourself a copy of Goldstein’s book. It’s a dramatic part of the story.

Is there a pathway toward canonization for Father Ed?

The first thing non-Catholics need to understand about saints canonized by the Catholic church is that the Vatican is not “making saints.” Canonization is a process the Vatican has evolved over many centuries to investigate men and women who have died and yet are inspiring the faithful in various parts of the world. Are these figures reliable spiritual models? Can they be officially recommended as “saints” to admire? Are their examples truly worthwhile? Once lay people have begun to show spiritual interest in such a holy person, the canonization process is a years-long investigation to answer such questions so the church can officially recommend the “saint.”

“Canonization is the only truly democratic process in the Catholic church because no one becomes a saint unless there is a popular devotion,” Goldstein said in our interview.

I said, “In other words, this won’t happen unless people today actually are looking to Father Ed for inspiration and are interested in letting others know about him. His cause can only get started if there is a grassroots movement among the laity, right?”

“Right,” she said. “The Latin term the church uses is ‘cultus,’ which simply refers to this kind of popular devotion. That means Father Ed’s cause really will be up to lay people, which is just how Father Ed would have wanted it.”

“But what else is needed?” I asked.

“Careful research and that’s why I’ve spent so much time on this book,” she said.

“And beyond that,” I said, “I know from years of reporting on canonizations myself, there has to be a particular pathway with milestones along that way, right?”

“Well, I’m glad you’re asking about this, because it’s important to know that Pope Francis has opened up a new pathway to canonization that is perfect for Father Ed. This new pathway is for holy people who, although they did not die as martyrs, they made a decision to help other people in a way that shortened their own life. Father Ed was told from almost the beginning of his priesthood that, if he wanted to have a normal-length life, he needed to limit himself because of his ankylosing spondylitis. Those effects got worse because he never slowed down. He spent himself physically in helping others and that’s the description of this new pathway.”

“That would be historic if his cause did follow this new route,” I said. “But the core issues in a cause for canonization continue to rest on proof of heroic or exceptional holiness, right?”

“Yes,” Goldstein said. “During his life, Father Ed already had a reputation for holiness among Catholics and also among non-Catholics. Having researched his life, I know that his holiness is not in question—and moreover I can say: He is a model for priestly asceticism for accepting his limitations and accepting them as a priestly sacrifice.”

She paused a moment, then added, “And, these days in the church? These days, we need examples of priestly holiness like Father Ed.”

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Care to read more?

ORDER YOUR COPY of Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.’s Spiritual Sponsor now. By the very nature of Goldstein’s research and purpose, this already is a spiritual classic—a milestone publication for those who care about the worldwide 12-step movement. One sign of this book’s significance is that Father Ed just won a 2023 Christopher Award.

VISIT DAWN’S WEBSITE to learn more about her work. In particular, don’t miss her page about public appearances, which includes a note at the bottom about how to invite Goldstein to speak in the future.

FINALLY, DO A GOOD DEED. If you appreciate Goldstein’s message, then you know that it’s a mitzvah to spread word of this remarkable man’s legacy. Please do so by using the social-media buttons below to share this story with friends.

Ways to preach harmony between humans and the natural world.

By HENRY BRINTON
Author of Windows of the Heavens

“The climate time-bomb is ticking,” said António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, in a statement released one month before Earth Day, April 22, 2023. “Humanity is on thin ice—and that ice is melting fast.”

The U.N. report is based on the findings of hundreds of scientists and gives an assessment of how the climate crisis is affecting the Earth. (You can explore the full report here—and then there’s also this Wikipedia overview of the report with helpful annotations.)

“This report is the most dire and troubling assessment yet of the spiraling climate impacts we all face if systemic changes are not made now,” says Sara Shaw, program coordinator at Friends of the Earth International.

According to the report, the impacts of pollution are more severe than expected, moving us toward dangerous and irreversible consequences. Concentrations of carbon pollution in the atmosphere are at their highest level in the past two million years, and the rate of temperature rise over the past 50 years is the highest in the past 2,000 years.

“Our planet is already reeling from severe climate impacts,” said Ani Dasgupta of World Resources Institute, “from scorching heat waves and destructive storms to severe droughts and water shortages.”

Arati Prabhakar, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said that the new U.N. report “underscores the urgent need for leaders in every sector and every country to step up and take bold climate action.”

Are you tempted toward ‘a Very Dark Path’?

The fight against pollution is an effort that unites people of every faith who want to care for God’s creation. But the fouling of our planet and its atmosphere has frightened many, including some who are consumed by feelings of doom. According to a report by The Washington Post’s Shannon Osaka, a man named Sean Youra started watching documentaries about climate change when he was 26 years old and working as an engineer. He was horrified by what he learned about melting ice and rising extreme weather.

Youra started spending hours on YouTube, watching videos made by scientists who warned that the world was on the edge of societal collapse. He became a climate “doomer,” and started telling his friends and family that he was convinced that the end of humanity was near. “It all compounded and just led me down a very dark path,” he said. “I became very detached and felt like giving up on everything.”

Such a grim view of the planet’s future is not unusual. It can be driven by religious texts as well as by scientific reports. “For much of my life, I treated the Book of Revelation like foul-tasting medicine,” writes professor Dean Flemming in Christianity Today. “I knew it was probably good for me, but if you gave me the chance, I’d avoid it.”

As a teenager, Flemming’s youth group watched a movie that pictured the horrors of being left behind on Earth after Christians were taken to heaven. It scared him. Later, he read prophecy books that tried to make connections between current events and the Bible’s script for the end of the world. They confused him. So he gave up trying to understand Revelation.

Instead, ‘Start Engaging in Your Community’

Now, Flemming says he has found a new lens. Instead of looking at the book through a prediction lens, he has begun to look at it through a missional lens. Using this lens, he sees that Revelation “concerns what God is doing in the world to bring about salvation and healing at every level and how God’s people participate in that sweeping purpose.” The book “shows us the ultimate goal of God’s loving purpose for the world, which is ‘making all things new’.” (Revelation 21:5)

This work of God includes many aspects of life, but at least one dimension is care for creation, often defined as stewardship of the natural world.

According to The Washington Post, the problem with climate “doom” is that it can cause paralysis that leads to a failure to act in a helpful way. Some amount of hope, combined with a belief that personal actions can make a difference, can keep people engaged in activities that care for God’s creation. When faced with a frightening future, Christians can look through a missional lens and take positive actions. They can find hope by participating, as Flemming says, in God’s “sweeping purpose.”

Or, in the Washington Post story, Youra has advice for those who are suffering from the same sort of fatalism that he once felt. “Stop engaging excessively with negative climate change content online and start engaging in your community,” he said. “You can be one of those voices showing there is support for the solutions.”

How do we find ‘Support for Solutions’?

The recent U.N. report was not all doom and gloom. It also set out hopeful pathways that could keep the world on track to reduce pollution. The report is “a sound blueprint for a much safer and more equitable world,” said Dasgupta of World Resources Institute.

The report calls for moving away from fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy, in an effort to limit warming to within 1.5 degrees.

In addition, the report suggests investing in areas that would build resilience to climate impacts, and increasing support for people in vulnerable countries struggling with climate-related losses. One innovative suggestion is to remove carbon from the air through technology such as “direct air capture,” and then possibly injecting it underground.

The report reminds us that, even in the direst circumstances, doom is not the only choice.

The report points toward international cooperation as essential to combat climate change in a measurable way, especially by engaging young people, indigenous communities as well as civic and business leaders. “International cooperation is a critical enabler for achieving ambitious climate change mitigation goals,” the report concludes.

A Novelist’s Illustration:
Starting with the End of the Story

In my novel Windows of the Heavens, a Methodist pastor named Harley Camden preaches a sermon based on the 22nd chapter of Revelation. He begins by reading the Scripture, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

Harley closes his Bible and looks out over a sea of perplexed faces.

“An ancient philosopher named Seneca gave this advice,” says Harley: “Let all your efforts be directed to something, let it keep that end in view.” He notes that Seneca’s insights were picked up many years later by Steven Covey in his best-selling book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. “Covey suggests that one of the keys to successful and effective efforts is to ‘begin with the end in mind.’”

Harley senses that he is not setting the house on fire, but he continues by saying, “Today’s Scripture is the end of the story. It is the goal to which God is moving, from the first day of creation to the end of time. In the end, according to Revelation, there will be a river, clean and refreshing, as bright as crystal. Notice what we see here: A river in the middle of a city. A river that flows through an inhabited area, much as the Occoquan River flows through our town. But is our river as bright as crystal? I’m afraid not.”

He reflects on a flood that had recently swept through the town, causing tremendous damage. Then he says, “If the relationship between the river and the city was nothing more than a scientific thing, I would not be preaching on it. But because it matters to God, because it appears in the Bible, I have to proclaim it to you. God wants there to be harmony between water and cities, and between plant life and human developments.” Harley pauses to let that message sink in. “Begin with the end in mind.”

Harley goes on to make suggestions about how the people of the church could put on a missional lens and care for the environment by replacing inefficient light bulbs at home, turning off computers at night, and eliminating unnecessary car trips. He also invites them to form a “green team” at the church, one that would promote recycling, replace energy-inefficient equipment, and create a community garden.

Yes, the end may be near. But we can choose hope over doom, by taking action to help create the end that God desires: One in which there is harmony between humans and the natural world. Together, as people of a variety of faiths, we can participate in God’s sweeping purpose, the renewal of all things.

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Care to learn more?

Henry G. Brinton is an author and a Presbyterian pastor who has written on religion and culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today and Huffington Post. A frequent speaker at workshops and conferences, he is the author of books ranging from Windows of the Heavens to The Welcoming Congregation: Roots and Fruits of Christian Hospitality. Henry and his wife, Nancy Freeborne-Brinton, have two children, Sarah and Sam. An endurance athlete, Henry has completed a marathon, triathlon or century bike ride a year since the year 2000.

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