This article was originally published in The Wanderer Newspaper.
Next Tuesday, on the Feast of Saint Joseph, Catholics for Catholics (CforC) will hold a “prayer rally” in Mar a Lago, Florida.
Yes, that’s Donald Trump’s home, and those gathered will be praying for Donald Trump and for the country.
In the spirit of Father Patrick Peyton, CforC founder John Yep of Phoenix has led prayer rallies in various U.S. cities since he founded the organization less than two years ago. The group really hit its stride when, after the blasphemous sodomites of the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” were honored (not a misprint) by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he put together a coalition to demonstrate outside the stadium.
Mr. Yep kindly agreed to an interview with The Wanderer, and we asked him to tell us about his group and its mission.
The Wanderer: Mr. Yep, CforC is a relative newcomer to the faithful Catholic scene. Tell us about it – how did it get started?
CforC: While it’s true that we are newcomers to the Catholic scene, in many ways the words of St. Augustine ring true here; “Ever ancient, ever new.” The “new” is the creation of an apostolate which began on September 29, 2022, Feast of St. Michael. The “ancient” is the spirit that flows within us.
When the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles gathered around Our Lady in the Upper Room, it didn’t even cross their minds to stay inside those four walls. They left this physical “church” to go build the “Church.” They had to take their Faith to the public square. Failure to do so would have stomped out the life of the Church.
It’s no different today. The Faith must be taken out beyond the physical structure of the Church and Church circles and declared to all four corners of the world. These days, Catholics in many ways have vacated the public square, and that has permitted the enemies of Christ to pull off what amounts to a hostile takeover.
In the heart of the 2022 midterm elections, we were reminded once again of the number of politicians who referred to themselves as Catholics. Really? They were anything but that in their positions and their public behavior.
The sorrow Our Lady must feel for Her son to be so misrepresented stung our own hearts. Yet what hurt more was the silence from Church leaders allowing this to take place.
My great friend and mentor in his own right is Harold Ziegler Jr. While we share the same passion and love for the Church, his 90 years of wisdom has set him upon a pedestal hard to match. He has seen his beloved Church change so much and wound so many faithful. When he speaks, I listen. His love for Our Lady and zeal for souls prompted both of us into action to start Catholics for Catholics.
We didn’t want to just complain about this sad state of affairs – we knew it was time to do something. We had to get behind real Catholics who were fighting to be true to their convictions and faith. We wanted to be Catholics…FOR Catholics.”
The Wanderer: “The demonstration at Dodger Stadium last June was right on target. How did you manage to pull so many good people together for that?”
CforC: That outrage simply had to be condemned – here was a national symbol, the old Brooklyn Dodgers – Jackie Robinson! Vin Scully! – honoring a Satanic cult!
We had to do something. So a group of us put together a powerful demonstration of the faithful’s love of Christ and our sorrow for His desecration on that historic ground.
That event was as effective as it was instructive: it helped us understand the mission that God has bestowed upon us. While being a 501(c)(4) allows us to get involved politically, that rally taught us that our mission transcended endorsements and elections.
We had to be a force that would push back on all aspects of culture.
A group of homosexual men dressed as nuns were mocking Christ – yet they welcomed into Dodger Stadium. And then and the shepherd of the city’s Archdiocese opted to merely pray inside the “Upper Rooms” of Los Angeles.
We knew we couldn’t just sit back. That abomination called for a public Rosary rally.
This event was a success in large part because many like-minded groups came together to pull it off. Virgin Most Powerful Radio, America Needs Fatima, and others rallied with us to get five thousand Catholics out in the streets to pray. That made it clear: the Rosary was our weapon. Like Mary, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit (she probably led the apostles bursting out of that Upper Room!), we would take her, rather follow her to the public square to bear witness.
The Wanderer: On the Feast of Saint Joseph next week, Catholics for Catholics is holding a “National Catholic Prayer For Trump” at Florida’s Mar a Lago Resort. That sounds pretty unprecedented – what’s that all about?
CforC: “In truth, it is unprecedented. It is a grace from Heaven that allowed us the possibility to host a prayer gathering at the home of the former President. President Trump – a sinner like the rest of us – is undoubtedly the clear choice for Catholics who have a correctly-formed conscience. And the reason is simple:
President Biden and the Democrat Party represent the philosophical system of Socialist Marxism. President Trump and the Republicans hold the Constitutional banner of a Republic, one nation under God, who is the ultimate authority.
Socialism is inherently evil. Its lies have been condemned by virtually every pontiff for two centuries. Our Founders bestowed upon the new country a form of government that protects the family and nurtures freedom – provided that it is buttressed by the faith and morals of its citizenry. Our mission is to be that faithful support for President Trump and the people he will appoint in his administration.
And that caveat is key: if we simply endorsed the GOP nominee, we’d be selling ourselves short as a Catholic group. We wanted to surround Donald Trump in prayer and teach the Catholic faithful that he is the only option to vote for in this upcoming election. He’s our only option if we want to preserve and protect our religious rights.
The Wanderer: What’s the program that evening?
CforC: When it rains it pours. That’s been the response of people from all over. Countless Catholic leaders have asked to be a part of it. Several of them will speak – they know how vital the role of our prayers will play in the preservation of our freedoms.
It’s a unique program – our speakers will focus on the key issues that Catholics should be concerned about in this election year – from the weaponization of the DOJ against Catholics, to abortion being on the ballot in some 10 states, to the human rights scandal of the transgender movement, and finally to the destruction of so many kids through human trafficking – we’re going to remind people just how important elections are. Elections have consequences, and, as a praying people, we have to do our part to exercise our rights and to preserve them.
At the end of the night we will stand together and pray the Holy Rosary there at Mar-a-Lago. The event will culminate with a Prayer of Consecration over the Country and President Trump: we will be pleading for the special intercession of St. Joseph, the Patron of those fighting against world communism.
The Wanderer: A lot of Wanderer readers living in Florida may not know about . Can they attend? How do they sign up?
CforC: “While most of the seats have been reserved, your readers still have a chance to register at our website, cforc.com. Those who can’t attend will be able to see a video of the event that we’ll post on our website after the even.
The most important thing however is to join us in prayer that night. When we pray together like the first apostles gathered around Mary in the Upper Room, we will win.
The Wanderer: thanks, Mr. Yep. Clearly it’s the laity that are going to save our country and our Church. May God bless you and your work.
You can visit The Wanderer website by clicking here.
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