How to Change the World Two Feet at a Time is available in print and ebook editions. Please order online from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Walmart, or other online bookstores.
If you want to check out the book at your public or school library, ask your librarian to order it.
In your best moments, you want to do something to make the world better.
But how? Who can show you the way, inspire you, and teach you the tricks of the trade? Discover the remarkable journey of Fr. Marvin Mottet—a life of resilience, inspiration, and lessons on transforming the world through compassion and action.
Walk alongside Fr. Mottet.
- Discover his extraordinary encounters with people like Mother Teresa, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Dorothy Day.
- Enjoy his relationships with Woodchopper, the town drunk, a prostitute in Washington D.C., and the beautiful girl who lit up his life for almost seventy years.
- Watch Fr. Mottet overcome adversity and make tangible differences as he battles terminal cancer fifty years before his death, starts organizations that still make a difference, receives a surprise three million dollars, uses his never-fail fundraising strategy, endures the sex abuse scandal, conducts exorcisms, and prepares for death.
- Laugh with Fr. Mottet about the cockroach sign in the basement of his first office, the elephant that bellowed during his Holy Trinity homily, and Miss Pat’s kegger.
- Learn ten practical lessons he passed on. He just might rub off on you.
Discover what the two feet are all about.
Fr. Mottet’s biographical memoir in his own words is distilled from over 100 hours of interviews. You can almost hear his mischievous chuckle and feel the passion for social justice that made him a leader, drew people to him, and inspired his famous two feet model of love in action. You’ll catch yourself smiling. If he can change the world, maybe you can too.
It’s time to get started.
All proceeds will go to non-profit organizations Fr. Mottet chose.
Fr. Mottet
Why Is His Story Important?
How Can His Lessons Help You?
Author Notes
We recorded over one hundred hours of interviews with Fr. Mottet and people who knew him better than we did. We went to Kansas City to interview the beautiful girl he still loved in his eighties. In Washington, D.C., we visited places that were important to him and interviewed his right-hand man at the Campaign for Human Development, which assisted organizations that worked to resolve the root causes of poverty and injustice.
We learned about his role in the civil rights movement, his battle with terminal cancer fifty years earlier, and the social action organizations he and his fellow priests, “the alphabet boys,” started while they were high school teachers. He told us about the founding of the Social Action Department of the Diocese of Davenport, his leadership in the early Catholic charismatic renewal, and how he created the two feet model of social justice. We were impressed that he knew Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, and Cesar Chavez personally and had brought each of them to Davenport. We learned about the Catholic Worker houses he started and lived in.
Fr. Mottet called Davenport’s Sacred Heart Cathedral “the luckiest thing that ever happened to me.” He led the parish from the verge of bankruptcy to become a thriving congregation and renewed the church’s decaying neighborhood. He started Quad Cities Interfaith, Interfaith Housing, or Café on Vine, all organizations that are still making a difference. We were especially surprised to learn that he conducted healing Masses and was an official exorcist.
Fr. Mottet is the most remarkable person we have ever known personally. We are grateful for the opportunity to be close to him and be trusted to write his book.
Please order online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Walmart, or other online bookstores.
Authors
Suzanne Pitz taught psychology, conducted business training, and helped faculty design online college courses. She is co-founder and Director of Operations of White Field Partners, a non-profit corporation that does development work in Sierra Leone, West Africa. After retiring, Suzanne taught in universities in Slovakia and conducted workshops in several countries in Central Europe. She now specializes in grand mothering, writing, gardening, and volunteering. Suzanne and her husband Art Pitz have a longstanding commitment to their Christian faith and to working for a more just world. They have been married for over fifty-five years and live in Elmhurst, Illinois. They relish international adventures and still claim that the best is yet to come.
Dr. Arthur Pitz is an award-winning history professor, museum exhibit curator, avid reader, public speaker, Rotarian, storyteller, and sports enthusiast. His teaching career spans over 55 years. He has taught courses and conducted workshops in multiple countries and served as a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Finland, Macedonia, and Slovakia. He talks about history and politics whenever he can because history helps make sense of our choices for the future. Check out his “History Behind the News” blog. Art serves as President of White Field Partners.
Overview
PART ONE–Playmaker
How did a boy growing up during the Great Depression on a dairy farm in southern Iowa where Catholics are regarded as second-class believe that he could take on the world? How did he absorb the influences, gain the skills, and find the courage to become an effective activist?
Chapter 1 We Thought We Could Take on the World
Chapter 2 We Knew We Were Second Class Citizens
Chapter 3 You’re Not a Victim–You’re an Actor
Chapter 4 She Still Lights Up My Life
PART TWO–Organizer
How did a quiet young high school teacher consistently end up in the center of action and develop the vison and relationships to become a successful organizer? How did he transplant avant-garde principles and tactics from Chicago to Davenport? How did his passion to develop leaders begin? How did he survive a deep spiritual crisis? How did he deal with catastrophic loss on the heels of his moment of opportunity?
Chapter 5 What’s Important and What’s Not
Chapter 6 Go Out and Change the World
Chapter 7 The Lord Can Do Anything He Wants–Tell Him to Go Right Ahead
PART THREE–Developer
How did a local activist scrambling for money end up with national influence and millions of dollars at his disposal? How did he later restore and transform a large inner-city parish and neighborhood? How did he make a successful transition from activist and organizer to developer of organizations and leaders?
Chapter 8 It’s Amazing What You Can Do
Chapter 9 Food Baskets Will Not Do It
Chapter 10 We Were Planning a National War on Poverty
Chapter 11 If You Want Peace Work for Justice
Chapter 12 We Were the General Motors of Community Organizing
Chapter 13 The Luckiest Thing that Ever Happened to Me
Chapter 14 Never Choose an Issue that Will Divide
Chapter 15 They Called It Black Friday
PART FOUR–Healer
How did Fr. Mottet manage to preserve his legacy and finish so well? This part of his life appeared to be fundamentally different from his life as a playmaker, organizer, and developer, but his role as healer had the same earmarks. He was still ready to take on the world. He was known, admired, and loved everywhere he went, and remarkable people called him their mentor.
Chapter 16 If You Stay in Healing Long Enough You’re Bound to Run into Exorcism
Chapter 17 Use Your Power While You’ve Got It
Please order online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Walmart, or other online bookstores.