In the first half, Kevin Matthews, a former top Chicago radio personality with a weekly audience of over 10 million, presented his poignant account of how his life changed after he found a broken statue of the Virgin Mary. After being diagnosed with a rare form of multiple sclerosis in 2008, Matthews faced the loss of his radio career and struggled with his new reality. One day in 2011, while on an errand, he felt a spiritual prompting to buy flowers for his wife. Near a flower shop, he discovered a broken statue of the Virgin Mary discarded by a dumpster. Matthews recounted a profound moment when he heard a voice asking, "Will you deny me? Will you deny my mother?" This encounter led him to rescue the damaged statue, which he kept deliberately broken as a symbol of human fragility and redemption.
Matthews described how the statue became a daily companion, helping him reconnect with faith. His journey culminated in bringing the statue to a church, where he shared it with parishioners, inviting those who are broken to embrace it. He recalled the emotional impact of leading Mass and praying the Hail Mary, a practice he had abandoned since childhood. This spiritual revival culminated in a public event in 2019 in Chicago, where 8,000 people marched to honor the statue's journey from "a dumpster to a bed of roses."
Reflecting on his experience, Matthews said, "We're all broken, but we're loved by God," a message that underpins his bestselling books and the film inspired by this story. He spoke about taking the 70-pound statue to Rome, where Pope Leo blessed it and named it Our Lady of the Broken, symbolizing comfort for the wounded world. Matthews spoke candidly about his past and his renewed faith through Mary's intercession. Stressing the importance of repentance and preparation for the afterlife, he asked: "If you were to die tonight... where are you going to go? Heaven or hell?"
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In the latter half, David Jenkins, a truck driver and self-taught biblical scholar, shared his transformative spiritual journey and his unconventional interpretations of biblical prophecy. He recounted how listening to Coast in 2011 sparked his interest in the concept of the "Rapture," leading him to study the King James Bible intensely. "I could see right there, plain as day, there was no rapture," he declared, challenging some views of Christian eschatology. Describing his deep, personal connection to scripture, he said he was taught directly by God through lived experience rather than formal theology.
He emphasized the Bible as a "lesson book" rather than a history text, interpreting biblical events as prophecies unfolding in current times. Discussing global crises, Jenkins linked geopolitical tensions -- such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iran conflict -- to biblical warnings of impending hardship. "Things are going to get real nasty globally," he warned, with severe shortages, but he stressed that adherence to God's laws is the path to redemption. When asked about the future, Jenkins said, "Everything is going down now," linking current events to apocalyptic prophecy. He positioned himself as a modern-day prophet, tasked with revealing these truths before the end times.
Jenkins also presented a radical view on judgment and reincarnation, stating that souls are reincarnated to face consequences aligned with their past actions, citing Matthew 7:12: "Do unto other men as you would have other men do unto you." He included all humanity in a collective spiritual entity, the "one son of God," spotlighting equality before God regardless of nationality or race.
News segment guests: Charles R. Smith, Sandra Champlain
EMERGING ARTISTS:
The first Sunday of every month, George Noory presents emerging artists for some of our bumper music selections. Tonight, we heard from The Infernal Order of the Black Flame, Servotronic, Mike Maurer Band, Streets of Mercy, Jason Sinkhorn, Patrick Robinson, and Pole Vault. For more info on how to submit your own original music, visit this page.