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Have any of you ever heard Father John Corapi, a Roman Catholic priest, speak, either on EWTN or in person?

I have heard him speak on EWTN here and there over the years, and I have always been touched by the intensity of his soul and spirituality.

Unfortunately, my cable provider no longer shows EWTN in the evening hours, so I hadn't seen anything in a long time. However, I am off today, so I turned the television on earlier, and I was delighted to hear him speak.

His oratorical skills keep on getting better and better! He is VERY interesting to listen to, and the depth of his orthodox spirituality is profound. He is well worth listening to, and the topics he addresses (angels, spiritual warfare, etc.) are relevant to both Eastern and Western Christians.

In Christ,
Alice

Alice:

I was rolling on the floor laughing the other night when his program came on. He said he'd been threatened with having his faculties as a priest taken away for his strict, no-nonsense preaching. And his reply? "Go ahead; make my day!"

BOB

May God bless him! He is AMAZING! I am sure that he threatens the lukewarm and liberal Catholics.

I know of a priest like him in the Greek Orthodox church, and I know that alot of Greek Orthodox do NOT like what he has to say. It is a sign of the times.

Thank God that He has raised up vibrant men who are true leaders of the faith to bring about spiritual revival and orthodoxy to our Churches.

Men like Father Corapi are our modern day saints. They fear GOD, not man. Their commitment is to the holy priesthood and their focus is as it should be: to pastor to souls for their salvation.

Men of great spiritual character like this also know that they answer to GOD, not to the whims of man and to the comfort of man's conscience.

Pray for good and fearless priests everywhere.

In Christ,
Alice

Alice:

To hear this guy's story, you'd be amazed. The other night he told us about his own spiritual journey. He had it all: fast cars, fast women, lots of cocaine, booze, money, hollywood's best of the best--told us about being stopped by the highway patrol one night for speeding with enough cocaine in the trunk to send him to jail for a lo-o-o-ong time but the troopers only wanted to look under the hood to see what made this machine go so fast. They gave him a warning.

He also spoke about demonic possession and revealed an experience of his own that made the hair stand on the back of my neck. He said he'd had the actual experience of being physically grabbed. But he said the Holy Spirit came up out of him "like a lion," grabbed the demon, rolled him up like a little ball and threw him straight into Hell. God takes care of those who are His.

Father Corapi says he doesn't have much time for the people who don't think the Devil exists, but he does say we don't need to fear him. We just need to stay close to Jesus. Another thing that irritates the liberals is his strict emphasis on the fact that salvation is in and through Jesus alone as Scripture has it. He says all religions are not equal and that really grabs those who want to downplay our mission to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

He told a story of being told he didn't know anything about these subjects by a liberal nun. So he went and earned four university degrees. Then she said he was just too conservative.

I suspect Father Corapi would be right at home with the strict Orthodox you speak of. He reminds me of the Presbyterian minister I once knew who taped a little piece of paper to the edge of his pulpit in whatever church he served as pastor: "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel."

In Christ,

BOB

My favorite quote of his

"Every priest who was ever instrumental in my vocation is either dead or laicized!"

Dear Timbot and Bob,

Thanks for sharing more about him!

Today he was saying that contrary to some theologians today who say that believing in angels is 'pre-Vatican II', angels are indeed part of Roman Catholic doctrine. He went on to say that there are three feasts attributed to the angels on the Church calendar, so how could they possibly say that the Church does NOT believe in them?

I know that the liberals who don't believe in demons, but now they also do not believe in angels?!? OH VEY! If St. Michael the Archangel was ever needed, it is today!

PRAYER TO
SAINT MICHAEL
THE ARCHANGEL
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen..

Alice

Hi,

I have seen him on TV. But sometimes I get bored to watch "talking heads." I'm more visual than audio (obviously ).

So, hearing what you guys had to say made me feel great. Can you share anything more about this priest? As I don't watch the show much as I don't have full cable that included EWTN.

Thanks,

SPDundas
Deaf Byzantine

Fr. Corapi is pretty much on EWTN radio, Monday through Friday, 10-11 am, est. You can get a live internet feed from EWTN's homepage if you don't have a local EWTN affiliate. I don't know if there's a way to get subtitles with RealAudio or Windows Media Player.

EWTN [ewtn.com]

Funniest story I ever heard Father Corapi tell was the one about the elderly man who told him that he had been plagued all his adult life by impure thoughts toward the opposite sex. The man said "I'm 79 years old and still fighting these thoughts, don't they ever go away ?". Father Corapi's reply was "Do you really want to know when they stop ?" "They go away three days after you've been buried". I told a guy at my healthclub that story and he cracked up.

I love the down to earth aspect coupled with the intense spiritual aspect of his personality!

Father Benedict Groeschel is like this too.

Just goes to show that holy people can also have a personality.

Alice

Fr. Corapi truly is a voice that stands up for God and the Church, in an age of fear of speaking the truth. not to mention a great personality. may God continue to bless his vocation for many years. i hope he can do talks in the east coast, maybe he has but i am not aware.

Dear Friends,

Father Corapi is truly remarkable - and all the moreso since his background was initially anything but religious . . .

He is a priest that truly understands what Confession is all about. No one should be afraid to go to this priest for confession. I would go to him immediately to drink deeply of the spiritual waters that arise from within him.

He confessed his own father who, as I understand, had not been to confession for half a century . . .

As he said, "The reason the Church is in a mess is because individual Catholics are in a mess."

A great man of God!

Alex

Fr. John Corapi, SOLT, came to be after a life full of fun and worldly cares. He is a late vocation, ordained a priest by no other than Pope John Paul II when he was already 44!

Since EWTN is global, Fr. Corapi is seen and heard worldwide!

In the U.S., the audio series on EWTN are patched to "Relevant Radio" wherever there is no EWTN Station in an area. "Relevant Radio" carries Fr. Corapi throughout Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.

His taped series of talks show the relevance of our faith to our everyday life.

Fr. Corapi IS awesome!

Here's Fr. John Corapi upcoming schedule of live events:

9/15/2006 - 9/16/2006
The Station of The Cross
THE DOME ARENA
Henrietta , NEW YORK

1/5/2007 - 1/6/2007
Our Lady of The Lake Catholic Church
Our Lady of The Lake Catholic Church
Lake Havasu , Arizona

2/9/2007 - 2/10/2007
WISCONSIN
St. Pius Parish
Appleton , WI

2/23/2007 - 2/24/2007
Holy Family Parish
HOLY FAMILY PARISH
SEATTLE , WA

3/2/2007 - 3/3/2007
World of Hope Foundation
Chattanooga Convention Center
Chatanooga , TN

3/9/2007 - 3/10/2007
The Knights of Columbus
TBA
Arlington Heights , IL

3/23/2007 - 3/24/2007
St.Theodore Catholic Church
St. Theodore Catholic Church
Lake Charles , LA

3/30/2007 - 3/31/2007
San Clemente Catholic Church
SAN CLEMENTE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Los Lunas , New Mexico

4/6/2007 - 4/7/2007
Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Ministry
St. Peter & Paul Parish
Naperville , IL

5/4/2007 - 5/5/2007
St.Mary's Catholic Church
BARNEGAT, NEW JERSEY

5/18/2007 - 5/19/2007
St. Andrew The Apostle Parish
Calumet City , IL

6/29/2007 - 6/30/2007
Holy Family Communcations
Erie County Agri Center
Hamburg , NY

7/20/2007 - 7/21/2007
The Catholic Community of St. Theresa
Palatine , IL

8/10/2007 - 8/11/2007
MARIAN COMMUNITY
Spiritual Life Center
Medway , MA

Amado

Fr. Corapi has a site;

http://www.fathercorapi.com

He is truly a gifted priest...

Peace and all good...

james

Fr. John Corapi once told on TV about how the Mother of God was with him at different crucial points of his life. The first time was when he was a boy; he heard a woman's voice, full of love, saying "Johnny." The second time was when he was ruined in his worldly life --having lost all of his money and possessions and being stapped to a bed in a mental hospital. He again heard the woman's voice, saying "Johnny." The third time was after he was ordained a priest by Pope John Paul the Great.

My favorite saying of Fr. Corapi was a piece of advice that was given to him around the time of his ordination: "Come always as a servant."

-- John

My wife and I went to see Father Corapi in the Philadelphia area the first weekend of August.

Father Corapi will soon take a break from traveling and preaching and stay home to write some books.

We made the six hour drive from Pittsburgh because we did not want to miss the chance to see him in person. Father Corapi is an excellent speaker, and inspired preacher and a true servant of God.

Lucky you! One thing that both Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy could use is more dynamic speakers like him. God has blessed him with great oratorical skills and a deep and resonant voice. It is to God's glory that he is using those gifts.

In Christ,
Alice

All I can add to this that has not already been said is thank God for him and pray for more priests like this.

Most people are not aware that he spends at least SIX (6) hours in prayer EVERYDAY! That is why he can communicate the way he does

Dear Pani Rose you said:

I say:

This is what makes a saint. It is the amount of time dedicated to prayer. Also his experience in losing everything he owned and being tied down in a mental hospital bed, probably happened when he turned to God. I have heard of people losing everything when turning to God, including their reputation.

That he was physically attacked by a demon, is also a sign of sanctity. It happened to Padre Pio. Actually, the fighting between him and a demon was so intense that the noise frightened those in the room below. After that, Padre Pio turned to his angel, who was sitting watching and asked why didn't you help me?

The angel said, 'God wouldn't allow me'. Padre Pio refused to speak to him for two weeks.

Zenovia

Guys like Father Corapi and St. Pio deserve to have their life stories put on film. There definitely needs to be movies about these holy Priests' lives. A movie about St. Naektarios would be cool too!

I pray, "Many Years!" for Father Corapi, and for priests like him who preach the Gospel every day and go unheralded.

Bill

FWIW, more than once I've heard Fr. Corapi speak on the need to strive toward unceasing prayer. Specifically, he mentioned the Jesus Prayer in both its Eastern and Latin forms.

To whom did Padre Pio refuse to speak -- the angel or God?

Brother Ed,

St. Pio refused to speak to his Guardian Angel.

There are many anecdotes like that in St. Pio's life.

Father Corapi said that he made his confession about all his greed, drugs, sex, and acedia on Good Friday at 3:00pm and after told the priest that he was called to be a priest. And, in Fr. Corapi's case this was a real call for he was ordained by Pope John Paul II himself!

Why has Father John Corapi changed from wearing his habit to black jacket, black shirt, and white collar?

For anyone who's interested, a while back I came across an ftp site that provides free downloads of Fr. Corapi's course on the Catechism ("The Teachings of Jesus") in mp3 format. They can be downloaded to an mp3 player or burned onto cd's. Here's the link:

The Teachings of Jesus [217.160.246.215]

Fr. C is an awesome, awesome preacher. He doesn't give a tinker's cuss what anyone thinks about him, he lets 'em have it!

Some of Fr. C's stories are indeed chilling... the drug dealers who had a satanic priest pray for their protection from bullets and for the safe delivery of the drugs, the little child he and a cop friend found dead in a garbage can.... Someone jokingly asked Father if he ever saw the devil and he answered yes.

May God grant us poor Orthodox a few more like Fr. Corapi.

I might also add, as an EWTN viewer, that I thoroughly enjoy Fr. Mitch Pacwa and Fr. Groeschel.

Father Corapi wore the grey habit in the days when he was discerning an eremitical vocation within his order, the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. His discernment went otherwise and he returned to wearing black clerics which he started out with in the beginning of his priestly vocation in 1991.

Dear Friends,

Fr. Corapi was in the army or marines, I believe. He once related how his unit marched until they dropped (and drop they did) for a few hours sleep before being roused by the drill sergeant for more marching.

After complaining they couldn't move, let alone march, the sergeant ("Smokey the Bear" they called him) said, "How are you guys gonna fight your enemy when you can't go out to meet him?"

Fr Corapi related this to our spiritual enemy in the struggle for our souls . . .

Awesome indeed.

Alex

Father Corapi enlisted in the United States Army and was a member of the Special Forces - an elite unit if there ever was one. He related the story of being dropped in the swamps of Florida for two weeks with little more than the uniform he had on and a backpack.

He looked forward to it! Fr. Corapi's unit was scheduled to go to Vietnam. Fr. Corapi was injured in a training exercise in Panama and was laid up for a long time. I believe most of the members of his unit were killed.

It took a while for it to sink in, but Fr. Corapi's preaching style - clear, direct, no nonsense - has to draw from his military background.

When we went to see and hear him preach, most there were older than me (I'm almost 43), but not everyone. Perhaps Fr. Corapi's work has led to more priestly vocations.