The going-out-of-business sale that Borders is having initially made me drool. I'm a bibliophile, as my wife can attest, and I was genuinely excited at the thought of buying books at a good discount. Alas, Borders' prices were already inflated--for the first few weeks of the sale, it was still cheaper to buy books on Amazon.
Shelves in such a sale are subject to natural selection: only the popular survive. Some books are spread around the store, seemingly in a desperate attempt to get rid of them.
One of those books was the tell-all by the currently-Episcopalian, formerly-Roman Catholic priest Alberto Cutie called Dilemma. I never would have known the book existed had it not been in the bargain bin at Borders (and the religion section, and the biography section). Cutie (pronounced with an accent on the last syllable; I don't know how good looking he actually is) served in Miami, had a local Catholic radio show in Spanish, and later was featured on EWTN. In short: a very high profile priest. His profile grew even larger when a secret relationship came to light; Cutie left the priesthood, then left the Catholic Church and married his lover.
Now as to the title... no one is out of reach. No one. Not an extremely popular Florida priest/media personality. Who got into radio/TV to bring souls to Christ! Not even a dynamic preacher named Fr. Corapi, who could fill a convention center at the mere mention of his name. Not the founder of a widespread youth ministry program, the very popular Msgr. Dale Fushek. I won't bother with the details of each story, they're already well-covered.
The falls of high-profile clerics really get under my skin. It's partially a naive incredulity, as if they wouldn't sin. That's plain nuts. Another part of it was their mission. How could they carry out the ministries they did if they weren't saints? (more naivete on my part) A third part was plain disappointment. I thought highly of Corapi and his preaching. I marveled at his conversion story and seeing that grace is, in fact, more powerful than any sin. When I volunteered with my parish youth group, I experienced the Life Teen youth ministry program (Fushek). He started the program to draw teenagers into the Catholic faith and to a deeper relationship with Jesus. The departure of one teen from his parish sparked a movement that touched the lives of thousands!
Throwing Cutie into the mix, how many souls did the three of them bring to Christ? How many people--I'd guess in the tens of thousands--were brought to Christ? And think of those converts and the lives they, in turn, touched and brought to Christ? Praise the Lord for the work that Jesus did through those three men!
Now go from three Spirit-filled priests to three ex-priests. Two left the Catholic Church (Cutie and Fushek) and the other opted for a brand over the priesthood (Corapi)? It drove me crazy. I tried to distill the reason from the frustration. Was it pride? Some other sin? Was it because of the fame? Or something the public never saw?
The only thing that gave me peace was that single thought: no one is out of reach. That might sound odd or anything but peaceful. Still, we humans cannot escape our fallen nature! The devil will tempt us, yes, but sometimes he doesn't have to work very hard. We will be tempted until our death, whether the temptations be small or large. God promises His grace to all who ask, yet we could be drowning in an ocean of grace and still refuse it.
Lastly, I cannot close without acknowledging my own sinfulness. I have plenty of weaknesses and shortcomings. I don't consider myself very far advanced on the path to holiness. I am a sinner, no better or worse than Cutie, Corapi, or Fushek. The challenge to all of us is perseverance in the Catholic faith! The minute we give up or stop trying, the easier we fall.