Here is a letter from Bud Macfarlane, Jr., founder of the Mary Foundation:
Dear Mary Foundation Visitor,
John Corapi's Amazing Story" is just that: amazing. You'll have to listen to it yourself to appreciate how one man can go from the utter depths of despair to the heights of supernatural happiness.
Because it was the first recording released to the general public featuring Father Corapi, virtually no one in America knew who he was at the time. Of course, Father Corapi has since become one of the most influential Catholic speakers of our times, appearing at countless conferences, parish missions, and regularly on EWTN, the global Catholic television network.
I often compare Father Corapi to Saint Anthony, who also had the ineffable power of God fueling his speaking ability, giving him supernatural influence beyond the meaning of his words.
You'll find out exactly what I mean when you hear the incredible story of his life. But first, I want to tell you what happened to me when we recorded "John Corapi's Amazing Story."
In 1983, while I was an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame, a group of students and I decided to consecrate our hearts to Immaculate Mary as members of the Militia Immaculata. One of the men in the chapel that day, was Tony Anderson. After graduating, Tony entered a small and dynamic new congregation called S.O.L.T., the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. It just so happened that Father Tony studied to be a priest alongside an unusually talented man with a water-well-deep voice, and they had just been ordained, side by side, in Rome.
Father Tony gave me a "bootleg" recording of his fellow priest, telling me, "You have to listen to this guy. His story is amazing." So I listened. I was so moved that I loosely based a character in my first novel on his story. And the Mary Foundation decided to introduce Father Corapi to the world. And now you can get to know him, too.
Since then, Father Corapi has given his testimony many times to many audiences, but I'll never forget the day we recorded "John Corapi's Amazing Story" for the Mary Foundation. He happened to be in his hometown in upstate New York. We met with a group of people in the grammar school gym where John had played as a young boy. I set up the recording equipment myself, off to the side, on the hardwood floor.
While Father gave his talk, something happened to me that has never happened before or since. There is a part near the end of the talk where Father Corapi implores listeners to "Answer the call!" You'll know it when you hear it. It's powerful.
During this riveting section, even though I was alone and off to the side in a stale-aired gym several yards from the nearest listener, I smelled the most beautiful fragrance I've ever smelled in my life. It was overwhelming, like heavenly flowers. I looked around to see if someone had spilled a bottle of perfume near me. No one was nearby. There were no flowers in the gym, of course.
The fragrance graced my nostrils for several minutes; it dawned on me what was happening. I had heard stories about the "gift of fragrance" before, usually the scent of roses to indicate that Our Lady was nearby in a supernatural way. Now it was happening to me, Bud Macfarlane, just another guy from New Jersey!
I'm not the kind of person this type of thing happens to. And I'm not a "flowers" kind of guy. I don't like perfume, but this fragrance was different. It was powerful but not in a way that was off-putting. It was as if I was inhaling Beauty itself. It was, in a word, miraculous.
After the recording was complete, I thanked Father Corapi, then went to the people who, although far away, were seated closest to me. They had not smelled anything out of the ordinary. I told Father Corapi about it, and he just nodded in a knowing kind of way.
I drove back to the Mary Foundation, recording in hand, knowing for certain that we had something that was going to help countless souls. And so it has. As I look back on the experience, I often wonder exactly what kind of flower I was smelling.
What it the fragrance of a rose? No, it wasn't roses; I know that smell pretty well, since roses are the only flowers I buy for my wife. The more I reflect upon that incredible day, and every time I listen to "Father Corapi's Amazing Story," the more certain I become that the lovely fragrance from heaven which I smelled during the recording was that of...lilacs.
When you hear "John Corapi's Amazing Story," you'll understand the significance of lilacs.
I warmly invite you to experience this miraculous talk in your own way by requesting your free copy today.
With Immaculate Mary,
Bud Macfarlane, Jr.
Executive Director