Fr. John Corapi
Posted on 05/05/2009 1:09:17 PM PDT by NYer
Fr. John Corapi
As I write this it is safe to say that there is more fear, insecurity, uncertainty, and distrust of authority than at any other time in my lifetime of over sixty years. This can be said for the United States and for most other countries in the Western world, probably the entire world.
Why?
The secular and worldly thinker will come up with a veritable flock of cackling, screeching, barking, whining and screaming excuses.
They will all be wrong.
To understand our tenuous position, one must go to the order of causes rather than mere effects. The serious illness we see manifest socially, economically, and politically has its origin in the moral and spiritual realm.
To be blunt and to the point, it concerns that “dour combat with the forces of evil” that haunts the entire history of humanity.
We have divorced God in the public sphere. We have evicted the Owner of the house, forgetting that nature abhors a vacuum. If we reject the One that is Goodness and Truth, then it is guaranteed that He will be replaced by the one who is the “father of lies and murderer from the beginning,” as Jesus referred to the ancient adversary of man-Satan or the devil.
If you don’t believe that you don’t believe in the existence of either the enemy or the war…You will have little chance to survive.
The newest spectator sport in America is watching the disintegration of the great nations of the world on the cable news networks. Each day there is more drama and adventure in the news than the wildest of fiction. Every day you have to worry“
What’s next?”
Mass murders multiply-in the workplace, in schools, public places, private homes. It is a frightening and sobering spectacle. The pundits marvel: How could it happen? Who could do that? The unthinkable becomes commonplace. The largest corporations vaporized in the twinkling of an eye. The net worth of millions of people cut in half in a matter of months. The politicians bluster and threaten. CEOs of major corporations fired by politicians, one wonders if the banking industry, the auto industry, the energy industries, etc. will soon be nationalized. Will the United States end up like some insolvent Third-World country. Will we bring wheelbarrows full of dollars to the checkout counter at Walmart soon for a few household items?
Why wonder?
We’ve divorced God...
Countries call abortion the “law of the land.”
Can such societies that espouse what is tantamount to genocide be pleasing to God?
Can they survive for long?
Please recall that this:
During Holy Week we celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ over all of this avalanche of sin, Satan, and death. He nailed it to the Cross. “Dying He destroyed our death. Rising He restored our life.” It is necessary that we enter into the Paschal mystery one person at a time, fully and seriously. Live in a state of grace. Do not persist in sin, for your life and mine is shorter than we think. The only way a family, a school, a parish, a city, a country, or a world can be healed is one person at a time.
All of the suffering and darkness of Good Friday finds its meaning in the burst of Light that is Easter morning. All of the fear, the insecurity, and the uncertainty; all of the betrayal, the mockery, and the suffering are vanquished by the glory of the Cross. No pain, no gain! No cross, no crown! No battle, no glory.
So stop worrying!
Trust the Lord Jesus...
After all, He is the Savior, and only He is the Savior. Place your trust in Him. All of this is really small potatoes. It simply provides a proving ground for saints. That’s all. We have no lasting dwelling in this valley of tears. It is the crucible wherein imperfect human beings are transformed by the fire of trial and the power of grace into the pure gold of God’s holy ones.
In the twinkling of an eye this will be over and we’ll stand before Jesus, Who will wipe away every tear, and having been faithful to our Faith we’ll hear those beautiful words:
“Well done my good and faithful servant! Now at last enter into the joy of your Master’s house.”
A blessed Holy Week to you, and may the Light and glory of Easter comfort you in your struggles and confirm you in your faith.
Fr. John Corapi
I posted this, though, because of the relevance of his message. He expounded on this theme last night, when he appeared as the guest on Johnnette Benkovic's program on EWTN. Fr. Corapi spoke of the darkness of the world and cautions us to always look to the Light of Christ, or one risks being sucked into the darkness. Excellent show!
Death Wish! THE IMPENDING SUICIDE OF A ONCE GREAT NATION.
A great pick me up!
This death wish has marched toward its logical and inexorable conclusion with little opposition from leaders--political, legal, or religious. The world knows the Catholic Church and any self-respecting and faithful Christian roundly reject abortion and all of the other nails in the coffin of contemporary society, but the defense of life has been weak. Weak leadership, whether in society in general, or in the Church in particular, is punishment for sin. The Old Covenant has examples enough of the Chosen People being turned over to exile and their enemies because of infidelity. They lamented, “We have no priest, prophet, or king.” These were taken away because of infidelity. In recent times large numbers of Catholics and other Christians rejected Pope Paul VI’s landmark and prophetic encyclical Humanae Vitae, on Human Life. A majority of the bishops of Canada did so publicly, formally, and in writing with their infamous Winnipeg Statement.The great Archbishop Fulton Sheen lamented bitterly in the 1970s that the prophetic spirit of Christ had all but been extinguished in the contemporary Church. Today there are many CEOs, all too few Apostles. Are we afraid of a fight? Do we fear rejection, misunderstanding, or derision? Are we cowed and intimidated by fallacious notions of the separation of Church and state? Could we be afraid of persecution? Could we be afraid of losing our tax-exempt status? Have we declared détente with evil?
Would that the bishops of this country take the time to read this rather than just a few of us lowly laypeople.
Yes ... his conversion story is truly amazing and encouraging for us sinners :-). He has been ill for some time and cut back on his lectures but his health has now improved and he has begun the speaking circuit again. EWTN is running a new Corapi series, Saturday night’s at 10? He is just what the doctor ordered for our times.
for later, in keeping with my effort to make the most of Holy Week.
“Fr. Corapi spoke of the darkness of the world and cautions us to always look to the Light of Christ, or one risks being sucked into the darkness.”
Boy, that sure is the TRUTH! :)
He’s going to be in Buffalo this Aug. 15th - I saw him in MA a few years ago, and he was great! There’s info at fathercorapilive.com (I know this sounds like a shameless plug, but there it is)
I would like very much to know the feelings of this good man of Christ on Obama speaking at the commencement at Notre Dame, given Obama’s statements on abortion. I’d bet he wouldn’t like what Father Jenkins has done, or rather is doing.
Absolutely awesome! This is the third time I have read this (I get his e-mails) and it is just wonderful.
I don’t know anyone else who hits the nail on the head like Fr. Corapi!
I could not agree more. He cuts to the chase like no one else can..I wish he would head to congress and give those infidels a good talking to..they need to hear his message especially the likes of Kerry et al.
I think those of us who have heard this great man speak, we know what he would say to 0bama..and he would not mince words. I wish he were going to be there too.. 0bama is pure evil...if one could say evil was pure..but you get the drift.
Almost makes me wonder if Fr Corapi were in the presence of 0bama, whose voice would we hear coming from the depths of 0bama..his or the devil himself.
If I could only tell you how badly I have needed to hear this message recently. With everything going on around me, I have been having the worst breakdown you can possibly imagine.
I thank you for posting this. I think it may be time for me to take a retreat.
Fr. Corapi bump for reading
Corapi never deployed to Viet Nam. He was injured in a helicopter accident during training in Panama. He was sent back to the States for rehab while the remainder of his unit deployed to Viet Nam. They were all killed in combat. Corapi ended up being sent to Germany as a clerk due to his injury.
The Abundant Life episode with Father Corapi will be rebroadcast on Wednesday 6 May at 2:00 PM EDT and Friday 8 May at 10:00 AM EDT.
Wonderful message. He’s so right on. Jesus and Jesus alone is our salvation and our anchor in a world that has gone mad. Thank you, NYer.
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