Radio! Theology on Tap! Adult Faith Formation! Awards! Consent! BEARS!

Busy little week for me! 

Tonight, at 10 Eastern, I’ll be on my old friend Mark Shea’s new radio show. I have some bear stories to tell, so this is important! Listen here, and call in with your own bear stories. 1-866-333-6279
 
Second, tomorrow I’m flying to Princeton, NJ, where I’ll be speaking at the Triumph Brewery at 7 PM for a Theology on Tap.  The topic: Catholics and Consent! What’s the Deali-o! (working title) But seriously, Catholics are kind of allergic to talking about consent in sensible ways that acknowledge both our spiritual life and the actual fixes we find ourselves in, and I am to fix that.
 
Then Wednesday the 26th, I’ll be delivering a speech to the adult faith formation program at the St. Paul Spiritual Center at 7 p.m. at 214 Nassau St. in Princeton at 7 PM. It’s a sort of companion topic, building on what I discussed the previous night. The topic: When Women Say Yes: How Mary Invented Consent. I happen to love this speech, and last time I gave it, two theologians personally told me that they didn’t think it had any heresy in it at all!

Finally, I’m honored and delighted to announce that I won a first place award from the Catholic Press Association for my column in America Magazine this year. Here is what the judges said:

The author’s great gift is drawing up very lucid philosophical arguments and connecting things one might normally not. A lot of great imagery, too. “Jesus Knew” was one of the best columns in the entire competition. (And one of the best on the abuse scandal, as well.) “On Suicide and Abortion” was also excellent; very thoughtful and very sensitive, but also very strong.
 
It is an absolute joy to be writing for America. The editorial team is one of the best I’ve ever worked with, at every level. 
 
P.S. The picture is a picture of a dog in the sidecar of a motorcycle, waiting for the Blessed Sacrament to pass by. If your parish doesn’t have a Corpus Christi procession, tell your pastor you won’t stop crying until you get one. And then buy him ice cream afterward!

I KNEW I should have gone with The Sinner’s Guide to Amish Vampires in Space.

I was having lots of fun scrolling through this list of Worst Christian Book Covers of 2013.  A couple of favorites:

and this:

and of course this, which should win all the prizes ever, for everything, but most of all for the most courageous use of “spray paint” tool in a professional setting:

 

“Most intelligently designed” indeed.

But then I got to #7 on the list of Worst Christian Book Covers of 2013, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but A COVER THAT LOOKS VERY, VERY FAMILIAR:

A sign your priest may be WAY too involved in your sex life.
#ConfessionalFetish(Submitted by Kimberly Roth)HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!  Oh man.  I’m on a list, I’m on a list!  Thanks, Kimberly Roth, whoever you are.  I submit, for your discering eyes, the mockup for my next book, coming out  some time in 2015: