Friday, April 5, 2013

Divine Mercy and the Graveyard of Wayward Priests

Ever since I've had some time on my hands, I find myself tuned in more and more to EWTN.  Tonight Life on the Rock came on and that prompted me to do a search of Father Francis Mary who used to host the show with Father Mark.  I guess I was hoping to hear he repented and returned to the priesthood via a life of prayer and penance, but that's not what I found.  I found almost nothing since he resumed the name "Dave Stone" and was last heard from hawking a so-called "New Age" energy drink while living with the widow for who he left the priesthood.

What shocked me during this search was just how many priests once featured on EWTN in one capacity or another have either been defrocked, voluntarily left the priesthood or disappeared altogether in a mire of scandal.  This is by no means an indictment of EWTN.  There are still many faithful priests, Father Mitch Pacwa among them, who manage to juggle their duties at the network and of the priesthood without difficulty.  I just never realized how many celebrity padres were entrapped by the Father of Lies.

It got me to thinking  about other priests who were not EWTN rock stars but who nonetheless were targeted and succumbed to evil.  A priest who was friends with the friend of a friend, one of those you could easily picture being martyred one day, shocked us to the core by taking up with a woman he was allegedly exorcising.  Another priest, a distant family friend, hanging around with boys half his age and dressing as a lay-person.  When he finally got the boot many people asked : What took so long?

I pray for priests every day but I'm ashamed to say that what I have been negligent about is praying for the Corapis and Stones of the world as well as the Cuties and Euteneuers.  Just as I try to pray for wayward souls among my family and friends, I should be praying for those who rejected "the love of the heart of Jesus Christ" (St. John Vianney).  It's not for me to speculate what kind of mercy is shown to ex-priests.  It just seems to me that while we're in the final days of the Novena exalting the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ, we could remember to recommend to Him the souls of those who have bolted from the vineyard before the harvest.

8 comments:

  1. Good reminder. I wonder what happened to all of them? Falling away - it can happen to any one.

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    1. Yes Terry, it can happen to anyone, and when it happens to priests, it's an especially sobering reminder of how the devil prowls like a roaring lion, looking for souls to devour.

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  2. Joyce, these lost Fathers are such a sorrow on my heart. Once they had strong voices and now, even the good they did is mired by their sin. I worry for those priests who are currently in the spotlight. Will the same fate befall them? Prayers indeed! There is a lesson here...

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    1. Hi Allison,
      There is a lesson and also a caution, I believe, that neither a collar nor a habit will protect souls coveted by the devil. Going about priestly or vocational duties while frequenting prayer, penance and the sacraments are the best protections. Living in the world when you have been consecrated to God is an invitation to disaster.

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  3. Joyce, I've always thought the quickest road to destruction for a priest is to be set up as the latest media "star". This was a problem even with countless evangelical pastors I have personally known. These stories absolutely grieve my heart.
    There's actually one young priest who has become very popular in the past few years because of his miraculous testimony of God's deliverance.
    I saw a picture of him on his latest book cover and thought. 'This is not good...Oh please Lord, keep him safe.'
    I've been negligent for these priests in my prayer, too.
    Thanks for the reminder not to forget them and that there but for the grace of God....

    Love and Blessings +

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    1. Hi Caroline, I think I know the priest you are referring to as I have also felt concern for him. I think technology and social media just complicate things all the more for them, just as it does for us. I know you will keep our priests in your prayers.
      Joyce

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  4. Joyce, imagine how the devil celebrates when he brings down a priest! And, if it happens to be a priest who has been in the spotlight and very effective in bringing souls back to the Lord, it's even more of a "victory." Our poor priests..so under attack. God bless them! We need to cover them in prayer. That's interesting what Caroline said about the recent picture of the priest she is concerned about. How can we forget the gradual transformation of poor Father Corapi, so easily visible in his photographs.

    Thanks for the reminder to increase prayers for our priests.

    Love and prayers xo

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    1. Yes Patricia, I fear it is quite a victory for the devil to get to a priest. They need our prayers now more than ever, starting with our Holy Father, Pope Francis.

      Hope everyone had a blessed Divine Mercy Sunday

      Love and prayers,
      Joyce

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