Until It Is Over and Beyond

Ever since Fr. John Corapi's announcement on Saturday, that he is now the Black Sheep Dog, I have watched as fellow members of the Church have churned over it like spicy chile being stirred in a pot on a hot stove.. I have heard and read people on both sides of the spectrum. Some would write him off as damaged goods or even talk like he's returned to a life of addiction to cocaine. (The latter accuser later posted an apology for that statement. Thanks be to God!) Others who have a deep love for Fr. Corapi - dare I say an attachment to him rather than his message - are fully behind him in what he is doing. But it is not the messenger we are called to follow. It is the message. The message is Truth and those of us who know Fr. Corapi can clearly hear his resounding voice in our heads saying, "The Truth is not a something. It is a Somebody. And that Somebody is Jesus Christ."

I have debated over the last several days as to whether or not to get into the fray beyond offering my prayers for this wonderful priest whose ministry has brought so many lost souls to the Lord and into the Body of Christ. My statements on Facebook asking others to pray for him seemed to get lost among all the others. 


Fr. Corapi is undergoing his greatest trial as a priest. Maybe this is the greatest trial of his entire life - and as we know those have been many. But this fray is, in some ways separating the sheep from the goats. Oh! How easy is is to judge someone when you haven't walked in their shoes, especially when you assume you have all the facts - which we do not. None of us has walked in Fr. Corapi's shoes. We can only walk in our own shoes! But I also know that we are not to judge. One of the readings this week, from Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, was about this very thing. 

Matthew 7:1-5"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at th especk of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocurte, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

We don't really know what Fr. Corapi is going through, do we?


When we have a  friend who is going through a difficult time, we don't beat them when they are down - if we are a REAL friend. We are simply called to be there to encourage, not judge. Like the Good Samaritan, we are called to stop and render aid when a friend is down. 

Luke 10:25-34, 36-37

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?" And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered right, do this, and you will live." But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. so likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. but a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. . . . Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him. "Go and do likewise."

Walking past like the Levite and the priest who doesn't want to make himself unclean doesn't prove us as his neighbor, does it? In fact, we prove ourselves to be like the one we consider reprehensible. Instead, let us by like the neighbor of which Jesus speaks. Let us show mercy.

At this point, we can only speculate and conjecture about the entire chain of events. Neither does us any good. As Fr. Corapi would say, "It isn't over until it's over." If we do not judge and we pray for Fr. Corapi while hanging onto the Truth he passed on to us for 20 years, then we are truly free - until it is over and beyond. Perhaps, a fellow member of my parish said it best in her blog, Conversion Diary. Fr. Corapi guided her 

"toward the only thing that matters — the truth of Jesus Christ. . . . No matter what happens, I will always respect his talent for capturing the truth, and will eternally owe him a debt of gratitude for highlighting its beauty so well. . . . My love of the doctrines of the Faith will remain unscathed, . . . I pray that Fr. Corapi feels similarly liberated to take whatever time he needs to pray, pause, and seek the still, small voice of God, knowing that it is not his burden alone to pass on the Faith. God has given us the truth through a system that is outside of and above any one man. And because of that, we are all free."

Wake Up! Midnight Is Fast Approaching!!!

What is our country coming to? Is it too late for the Culture as Michael Vorst seems to think? Acceptance of sexual perversion was the downfall of Sodom and Gomorrah. What makes us think that this culture - filled with death and sexual perversion - would, unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, be exempt from Divine Justice?

We must be prepared to stand strong and bear whatever it takes to witness to the Truth. Last Sunday's Gospel prophetically says that we must be prepared for the Master's return.

. . . Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be . . . Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return . . . Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival . . . You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come . . .Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so . . . But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful . . . Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. ~ Luke 12:32-48 (NAB)

Much of this Real Catholic TV video re-iterates what Fr. John Corapi said this last Saturday at the conference in San Antonio. Fr. Corapi spoke emphatically on the need to stand against the culture's approval of evil and the need for us to evangelize. He reminded us that when God's people were unfaithful, they were sent into exile. We must be good stewards of the Faith. Know the Truths of the Faith. Build it up in those whose faith is weak by speaking the Truth. Fight against the present evils of this world. Do not hoard the Faith, thinking you are secure in your salvation, by burying the talents given to you until the Master's return. Be the good and faithful servant by witnessing to the Faith and you will multiply with His Grace the talents He has entrusted to you. 

"Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more." (Luke 12:48)

What are you doing to prepare for the Master's return? Wake up! Midnight is fast approaching. Steal yourselves against the present evils by immersing yourself in the Faith - both spiritually and intellectually - completely. Fortify your intellect and will with Grace and Knowledge of the Faith to stand strong as a witness (martyr). The time will come. As Michael Vorst says,

"The clock is running out. A great awakening is needed . . . We cannot lose the war for our souls. Get to your loved ones. Invigorate the strong, strengthen the weak, and shore up the lapsed. This must become the primary focus of our conversations in our homes. . . . What is going on is a marshaling of the church - a concentrating - a process by which those who adhere to the faith are being more densely packed - more solid - so that they will be able to resist . . . Be living Catholics. Pray for courage - superhuman courage.  . . .This is your chance - the moment planned and prepared for you from all eternity - to shine brighter than the stars of heaven. With what love will your heavenly Father behold your light in the darkness of so much evil!"

A Prophet for Our Time

This last weekend, I went to San Antonio with a friend to hear Fr. John Corapi speak. We left for San Antonio on Friday morning and made it to the book signing at the Sheraton Gunter Hotel downtown. My friend and I actually sneaked through the line a second time so she could get Fr. Corapi to sign her bible as well.

In this photo, he has just finished signing her bible and is getting ready to sign the insert for a CD series of his on the Holy Spirit.

After the book signing, we checked into the Drury Plaza Hotel a few blocks away. It was right on the River Walk so we made our way down and joined all the other sweaty people. It was so hot and there isn't much of a breeze along the river. At least there was shade - the much coveted shade that drops the temp just a few degrees. We made our way to the shopping mall and we each had an extra large Strawberry Lemonade Julius to help cool us down.

Then we were off to happy hour and dinner back at the hotel. We took much needed showers, we got a good night of sleep to get up early for breakfast.

Soon we were headed to the AT&T center - home of the San Antonio Spurs. We made it to our seats just before Fr. Corapi was introduced. This man is a much needed prophet for our times. The topic of his addresses was "Life, Love and the Purpose of Our Existence." The event was sponsored by Alexander House, and supported by Guadalupe Radio.

Fr. Corapi gave 4 talks in all - material for another post.