This article was originally published in The Wanderer Newspaper.
By CHRISTOPHER MANION
On Tuesday, March 19, hundreds of Catholics gathered in Mar a Lago, Fla., to pray for President Donald Trump, our country, and our Church. The program offered presentations by several noted speakers, including Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad, a nationwide anti- trafficking effort, and Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ and starred in The Sound of Freedom.
At press time, many attendees were just getting home; one of them, Indiana pro-life leader Vicki Yamasaki, provided The Wanderer with a quick wrap-up.
In organizing the event, Catholics for Catholics founder John Yep described “ four non- negotiables” that Catholics must defend: the Right to Worship, the Right to Life, the Rights of Parents, and the Right to Protect Our Borders.
Jack Posobiec sounded the alarm – time is short, he said, and we must have the courage to say “no” to the demonic works that are at play in our nation.
Frankly, “this country needs an exorcism,” he said.
In the United States and Canada, the Left has attacked hundreds of churches, burning many of them to the ground, and believers are being persecuted by the cultural elites as well as Big Brother. The seven deadly sins have turned into an ideology that has now inculcated our entire culture, he said.
On the Feast of St. Joseph, we must also remember that fathers are devastatingly affected by abortion, said pro- life leader Patricia Sandoval. If every man in this country said “no” to abortion and prayed for it to end, there would no longer be abortion, she said.
Michael Knowles described the weapons being used by the Left to attack the family, with increasing ferocity and, unfortunately, with the all- too- frequent support of government. In Indiana, of all places, court denied parents the right to take care of their young son even as he was being groomed to embrace the gender ideology.
Tim Ballard, founder of the Underground Railroad – the operation featured in the phenomenal Sound of Freedom movie – told the group that 85,000 children have crossed the border, and then disappeared. They are being trafficked, pure and simple. The pedophile movement (the term he used for child rapists: many children were present) created this crime and everybody is cashing in on it.
As Ballard’s presentation finished ( to a standing ovation), event host John Yep announced that Ballard, a Mormon, is considering becoming a Catholic – “Please pray for him,” Yep asked the cheering crowd.
Jim Caviezel invoked St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Joseph in his plea for good fathers, both spiritual and lay.
Caviezel quoted St. Maximilian Kolbe: “Our enemies make such a display of force in order to defeat us and we fold our hands on our laps and do nothing. After all, do we not have much more powerful weapons, especially with the Immaculata, the Blessed Virgin Mary? …Indifference was the greatest sin of the twentieth century, and it is proving to be the greatest sin of the twenty- first century. We must shake off this destructive force of indifference,” he said. The evening concluded with the rosary and a blessing.
Who Are “ Catholics For Catholics”?
When The Wanderer spoke last week with John Yep, the founder of Catholic for Catholics (CforC), we focused on his plans for this week’s prayer rally. After such an inspiring and unforgettable night, we thought we’d find out more about CforC.
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.”
Making History At Dodger Stadium
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 were welcomed into Dodger Stadium. And then 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: Thank you, Mr. Yep. Prayer is what’s going to save our country, and you’re right: There’s no better model than Fr. Patrick Peyton and his Rosary Crusades.
He became famous for the slogan, “The family that prays together, stays together.” And your event proves that the country that prays together can stay together as well.
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