What comes to mind is Matthew 4:8-9
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."
Among the lengthy list of quotes by Fr. Corapi, is this one: "The only thing satan cannot deal with is humility. It is totally against his nature." Humility is the opposite of pride. Nearly everything we have learned about the situation with Fr. Corapi over the past few weeks, points to an accumulation of wealth - cars, boats, et al. Then he explains that he wants to sue his accuser and to do so entails leaving his order and abandoning the priesthood. Is this not a manifestation of pride?!
Here is another Fr. Corapi quote: "The one who sins becomes the slave of sin." and "Sin is cancer, it eats a person up." We are all human and, as such, weak in nature. Fr. Corapi is no different. Who can ever forget hearing him describe the day of his ordination!! - at the Vatican!! - by Blessed John Paul II!! We were told that Fr. Corapi was given the gift of "Apostolic preaching" and, as such, utilized it to draw catholics deeper into a relationship with Jesus Christ and the Blessed Mother. In his video, he "prides" himself on this gift that he plans to use by exploiting the social media - Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. But what will be his message? He does not reveal that. If anything, I get the impression he himself does not know. He "prides" himself on telling viewers that his autobiography is nearly finished. At this point in time, given the fact he has left the priesthood, of what value is it to a devout catholic? (I am presuming the autobiography includes his conversion story and his studies to become a priest).
This is a man very much conflicted. It is apparent from his garb and inability to look directly into the camera. He is wearing a Harley Davidson jacket. When Bishop Hubbard closed 5 of 6 parishes in a nearby community, the poorly catechized and angry catholics took shelter in a local evangelical church. Their minister also wears Harley Davidson attire.
What concerns me most about this situation, however, are those people who were drawn into the Catholic Church from watching his EWTN program on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and those catholics, in communities such as mine that are shepherded by progressive bishops, who looked up to Fr. Corapi as the voice of orthodox teaching, calling the church's children back home. In yet another quote he says: "We don't come to you preaching worldly wisdom, we come to preach Jesus Christ and the Cross." That is the message that drew the flocks to this shepherd. What is the impact on them from his scandalous behavior? Therein lies the worst sin of all!
I will end this post with another quote from Fr. Corapi: "St. Francis said to the sinful priest, after kissing his feet, "All I know is that your hands bring me Jesus Christ, I know nothing else."" Please remember this priest in your daily prayers!
I will confess to anger over his antics since he moved to Montana, now I would really plead with him to humble himself under the merciful hand of God and repent. He is set up to lead souls astray.
good post ..explains a lot...
I pray for Fr C and all priests and religious..
Lack of humility explains it all. The Devil like a roaring lion...
People who do not have the protection of an authority structure or something that keeps them humble are virtually bound to fall.
The Church stopped providing the authority structure back in the 1970s, and it’s been bad news since then.
The other problem is that with the increasing Protestantization of the Catholic Church, the faithful have been taught to look to individual preachers rather than to the body of doctrine and faith and history that is the Church.
This could be a perfect moment to fight back. Opus Dei priests are very good at rejecting the cult of personality, and perhaps we need to consult with el Opus to find out how to deal with this. They are very devout and very popular, but they never set themselves up individually as something people should follow after. The whole focus is on Christ.
This was how it used to be in the Church. I think one of the first celebrity priests was Thomas Merton, whose order gave him all sorts of breaks and essentially let him live outside the rule and at his own whim because he brought a lot of money into the monastery. His death may or may not have been accidental, but whatever it was, his life at that point was going downhill and there are many people who thought he was going to leave the Church and strike out on his own as a sort of guru.
That’s what happens when authority and order break down. We’ve got to use this moment to bring them back.
You’re right, and I do worry about people who were converted by him. I hope they are not scandalized.
This is a man very much conflicted.Indeed!