Dion DiMucci: Revert from Presbyterianism - The Journey Home Program

good evening welcome to the journey home my guest tonight is a guest that I have looked forward to having on the program for a long time he's a man that in fact has had impact on my own life since I was at least five six or seven years old in many different ways may be different than he's having an impact right now but my guess is that many of you have heard him know of him especially if you're my age maybe just a tad older you were very much aware of his music my guest tonight is Dion DiMucci you knew him as Dion and some of his songs The Wanderer why must I be a teenager and love the one that I remember so strongly from the late 60s was Abraham Martin and John but he is here to talk about his journey his spiritual journey back to the Church of his childhood and I I want you to pray for us tonight he's much more comfortable if you had a guitar up here is that an understatement I'd love to open with a song well now actually I'd like you to do the first remember your part important part of the program I gotta get the phone number in you want to call us with a question start getting those questions coming at 1-800 two two one nine four six oh and if you'd like to send a question by email its journey home at ewtn.com beyond welcome great to be here it is silver we've talked for off and on for a year right well you're one of the reasons why I'm here we'll talk about that but just in case they don't remember give them a taste are you kidding okay everybody each night I asked the stars up above my why must I be a teenager I'm bringing them on the road with you they sound better than the Belmonts and they're cheaper yeah that's probably true I'm kind of flustered here only because I wish I was singing some more songs I wanted to say one thing before we start I don't know if everyone here or everyone out there knows how well you play piano I met Marcus on a cruise and I was doing Abraham Martin and John one night for the crew and for some of your friends and he sits down at the piano and follows me with I didn't do good on the bebop stuff but they were Martin and John that's a rough so that made my life in many ways always love the place and the privilege of being able tell me to play with you but I have your hand autographed copy of when you wrote down the chords and the words isn't sure I could keep up with you that's frame so but anyway this my wife loved your wife and I'm married to Susan I just want to say 36 years I'll tell you a little about that later on but she this woman has taught me a lot about loyalty about integrity and about honesty and blessing in my life patience yes which I have none only to the extent I let the Lord I'm spiritually fit today I have some patients in my life I will mention that the audience will be able to hear some of your music you sang some last night on the life and the rock program which will be replayed a couple times this coming week and also you taped a program as the guest with Jeff on life in Iraq which will be broadcast in September and so you'll have the opportunity to hear some of his music even some of your gospel stuff I think right yeah but honor our time goes so quickly in the journey home let's give him some of the background in your spiritual journey through all those years of the music that they know more about let's hear your spirituals I'm going to try and get this into the time we have I was born and raised in Bronx New York City and I was baptized and confirmed in Mount Carmel Catholic Church a little Cathedral in the middle of Bronx New York City and the hub of our neighborhood my mom and dad my mom is precious she's my parents are still living but God wasn't important in our family religion the church wasn't necessary and being from this macho Italian neighborhood the guys you know I never heard anybody talk about loving Jesus or its it seemed suited for old ladies sissies weak people so I think maybe at the age of 13 and those real vulnerable tender impressionable years just the lure of the streets the gangs being cool I run my own life you know with my parents like arguing all the time I mean they really had a rough time communicating because both their parents were alcoholics I mean I think both my grandfather's drank pretty good so that they didn't know too much about communicating and there I am out on the streets and my uncle gets me a guitar when I'm about 13 and I got caught up in the music of Hank Williams and when was this about lose I would say early 50s you know yeah I'm listening to Reverend Gary Davis on the streets of Bronx New York City and John Lee Hooker and then see rock n roll didn't exist when I was a kid we we would the we were just creating it there was no rock and roll there was no teenage music and you know I was hearing like getting done on a number you don't mom can't don't we don't boogie you know you just woke a lot of people up but I'm like thanks I love this that you know my teachers at junior high school or you know wherever I was whatever grade I was in at that time thought I didn't know what I wanted I couldn't wait to get out of school to go sit at the feet of Reverend Gary Davis and listen to what he was doing and I think maybe at the age of 15 I discovered I was a rebel by that by that time I was like Alan of streets a rebel without a cause hanging out and I discovered drugs and also fell in love with Susan Susan moved down from Vermont to Bronx New York City and I never knew they grew anything is beautiful with Susan up in Vermont she walked down the streets in a clean country air followed her down the streets and so did I was like Sue and I would sing to her hey Suzie I be trying to get her attention and China you know like empresa and I fell in love there I was I think about that time I started putting some songs together and there was a songwriter in my neighborhood aspiring songwriter brought me down to a company it was just starting out Loree records I went down there and sang teenager in love you know I was about 16 sign that boy who is he what's his name and I went back to my neighborhood and I gathered up the best do op singers in my neighborhood brought them down was beginning a Dion and the Belmonts the next five years were a world wind of top TV shows and hit records and movies and concerts and worldwide touring I was with Chuck Berry Little Richard Roy Orbison the Everly Brothers I mean we were creating this music everybody had a different brand at the age of 19 I went on to with Buddy Holly and Ritchie valance we we started the tour out in Chicago is called a winter dance party we were in the Midwest 30 below zero riding in a yellow school bus none of these you know the dolls of the bus's that the country sing is happy stage it was a school bus and we were out there in the Midwest and Buddy Holly was from Lubbock Texas Ritchie Valens was from the barrio in the San Fernando Valley from LA he was 17 Buddy Holly was 22 I was 19 from Bronx New York City different cultures and we're in the back of the bus and we're like ripping it man we're like rockin you know we were we bonded we were having that we were writing songs I was singing songs like I'm going to hug my radiator when I hit my hotel room it was so cold it was like you know so I'd be nothing really matters when you're riding on a broken-down bus all I got is you all you got is me just add it up and we got us I'm gonna hug my radiator hug my ready oh you know like that and we're rocking in the back of the bus and it comes we get to Clear Lake Iowa and Buddy Holly starts recruiting people he gets a bright idea to charter a plane trying to get the headliners to in fact Waylon Jennings was the bass player on it - it was one of the crickets and Buddy Holly's trying to recruit the headline is to get on on the plane my fare comes to about thirty-six dollars now my parents all I know is they argued every morning about my dad getting a job and the money and they were paying $36 a month to rent in Bronx New York City and just a light one off my I just couldn't see spending $36 my mind hadn't stretched to that limit yet - $36 for a 45-minute plane right now I'll take the bus Ritchie was sick the Big Bopper who was on that tour he went Buddy Holly next morning when we drove into Moorhead Minnesota it was almost like a summer's morning it was like it I remember being warm the Sun was out I walked into the lobby of the hotel with Waylon Jennings and up on the wall of the lobby there's a TV and he's saying that the the plane crashed killing all aboard including the pilot and I was just Marcus I was like devastated because Here I am the best thing in my life that ever happened to me as I got a couple of hit records and I'm with these guys that I never knew life could be so much fun we're rocking out and I figure like life is getting good it's getting safe and rock n roll is going to save me you know I didn't know I had all those questions about Who am I where am I why am I here what's life about you know I was just like a rebel without a cause and I'm just enjoying it but now with this with this plane crash it brings up a lot of questions I'm baffled I you know I didn't even want to recognize the fears I had so you know it started the drugs that I was using as a kid started just getting more and when I got home we finished that to it with the help of some people that came up out to the Midwest and helped us finish it when I got home to Bronx in New York City I started a solo career and but my wife she was my girl at that time no I was living with my parents she told me I was in shock for two weeks I was sitting in the room singing Buddy Holly songs Richie Valens songs and I just I no one wanted to talk about it I mean there was no one asked you know I if you know anything it was just life went on the neighborhood it was just so I started writing some eventually come out of that and I started writing about a lot of characters that were bigger than seem bigger than life in my neighborhood like run around sue who was it was really written about a girl named Roberta but it Roberta it didn't rhyme with anything I couldn't you know keep away from runaround Roberta is Justin so I you know and then I'm the wanderer was written about a guy named Jackie burns I think I'll just tell this story because you could see where we were coming from it was a guy named Jackie burns he was a sailor and every time he dated a girl he got a name tattooed on his body so it was like flow on the left Oh marry on my right Janie is the girl that I'll be with tonight and when she asked me which one I love the best I tear open my shirt and I show Rosie on my chest cause I'm the wanderer that out down the warmer and and the song is a very sad song because it says I roam from town to town I go through life without a care I'm as happy as a clown with my two fists of iron but I'm going nowhere you know and a lot of people never kind of heard the words you got to the idea that was a sad song you know but in the 50s everything had to be kind of like in a happy kind of presentation so I'm doing these songs and I'm as far as my careers I'm flying I get a contract with Columbia Records the first rock and roll artists signed to Columbia Records five-year guarantee I'm like my parents argument about the rent here I am I make two million dollars by the by the age of 21 and that was when a million was a million and so I'm like you know no one in my family has ever won this big you know they're all policemen electricians and great uncles and I have a huge attack 250 Italian relatives that all talk at once you know listening is a whole new concept anyway doing all this and you know I'm just spinning my wheels trying to grab on to something solid to give me some peace since the plane crash since buddy and Ritchie went down - plane crash and all these unanswered questions and fears that I didn't even admit I had I was just trying to cover up and go faster and and the hit records are coming I get a song called Ruby baby Donna the prima donna I'm now with Columbia they send us to Spain I'm in Spain with Susan and she's watching all this all the gauntlet of flashbulbs and the fans and the magazine articles and the people interviewing me in the TV shows and all the attention and one night we're in the room and she said ah diong this is this it is this all you want I'm thinking what she wanted biggest sweet what what she want you know thinking another hit record this is big I knew she was asking me something profound but I didn't I couldn't go there I just didn't know what it was and I knew I was like I felt like I was losing and I didn't want to lose it because I love this girl and I asked her to marry me and it was 1963 I was 23 and she was 21 maybe closer to 20 and we got married and I thought maybe the drugs would stop and all you know this is what I need I need to get Mac well it got worse you know I didn't know alcohol and drugs or a progressive illness that it you know I just didn't know that and it got it got worse it got much worse and the the mid-60s for me with a most emotional bleakest emotional period in my life that it was like devastation it was the restlessness the discontent the irritability the if anyone knows has an alcoholic and his family or a drug addict you know the kind of self-centeredness they have they don't know anybody's they blame everybody for everything that's going on in their life and I got like that I was like and these are people that loved me I was you just get into a blame game I just wanted to say one thing that there's three stages to drinkin and druggin the first stage a lot of fun second stage fun and problems third stage nothing but problems so that's where I am it's 1968 and now I'm driven to my knees by alcohol and drugs and I'm probably at the lowest point in my life what at that point I mean the Lord and that's about the time that that song that was such a different kind of song than your usual menu of songs comes out was did that has something to do with your own conversion at that well you're 19 yes I had I needed a change so it took a geographical cure Susan and I moved down to Miami where my father-in-law lived I didn't know him moved into the house he starts talking to me about God I didn't know he was had a problem with alcohol and he was sober for many years and sitting at the table with him in the morning with his light blue eyes sparkling and he's like reading his prayer book and he's talking to me about gods and gods the answer being you just have to just ask ask you will receive seek you know knock the door will be open I get on my knees one night in his house in the back bedroom and I said god I need help I need your help I've just been running just been changing my shoes but I've been running is there anything you could do for me I want to place this in your hands April 1st which is really significant for me April Fool's Day I think drugs and alcohol were the biggest fool or I ever got but I haven't had a drink or a drug since April 1st 1968 God just for the grace of God took it out of my life now that song came about right after that I had new eyes I could see maybe things from a spiritual perspective and put together Abraham on in John and I think four months later it was number one in the country it was like an anthem to a generation basically saying you could kill the dreamer but you can't kill the dream so I was trying to make a bad situation was trying to bring something good out of it and that put me into the coffee houses and and also I must say that what this did was I went into a program based on spiritual principles like a 12-step program which actually is based on the spiritual disciplines of Ignatius Ignatius of Loyola and what it does is it if you work those steps Marcus it positions you to receive the free gift that God wants for us and it positioned me and the miracle happened people witnessing to me and talking about Jesus and you know I became aware of God's power before I became aware of his reality because he took away my alcoholism he took away the drug addiction I didn't have three beautiful daughters born to us in the 70s and one day with all this with all these people telling me about Jesus and I really didn't it just I never understood I was baptized I was confirmed you know there's a Bible verse and Timothy it says Paul's telling Timothy fan into flame the gift of God that is in you by the laying on of my hands now and that happened but somebody came along and like fanned it and it took a little while but I had one morning and I went I went out jogging and I had a tremendous profound brilliant sudden spiritual awakening Lord Jesus really touched my life very deeply and I've never been the same since so it had a big change in your career you've done gospel albums and yeah and you know that was very different because now God it was a book there was letters what he said I could know him his character his nature there's this things he said I want to know what he said there's a God that created that made my eyes to see sees me made my ears to hear and hears me and knows me and has a plan for my life and I started reading the Scriptures like it was a love letter to me and changed my life and in a change her life not back to the childhood faith of your Catholic faith but in Protestantism very powerful ministry you know long as I looked into the Catholic Church but I didn't understand it I didn't really have that understanding so what happened I didn't have a deep faith there so what happened was I got pulled out where the exuberance and the volume was and I thought that equal truth you know if they had great praise and worship and the preacher was like you know really teaching the word you know and and I met so many beautiful people through my I think God travels through Protestant churches and ministering through you know writing songs very scripturally based and great time Lonnie all right well then what is it that that hit you on the side of the head opens you up to the Catholic faith I think the primary central issue was Authority you know what is truth and who defines it I was I was in one church and I I learned from Genesis to Revelation from that church when I moved from North Miami up to Boca Raton I went to another church I was at the Bible study well having a Bible study test asked me I'm at his home asks me a question I kind of answer and everybody looks at me like it I got a mountain left field with a hockey stick well I started finding out that there's a different teachings on baptism on the Lord's Supper on the Eucharist on salvation I mean essential issues and then you start realizing that there's thirty five thousand denominations out there that that are all saying I have the Holy Spirit and we teach it's not in the book we don't teach it and but everybody's teaching something different there's a new church opening up every week you know in some shopping center you could just take the book and open up a church and what is truth and defining it and and becomes increasingly difficult to feel you know any kind of solid foundation I started I was in this period in this sense of like something was incomplete something was missing now I know it was the beauty of truth the fullness of the church 2,000 years of family history rich tradition you know just the early father's this this this beautiful church I belong to now but I didn't know it then and I it seemed to me that each individual believer had to acquire enough knowledge on his own to choose a find the church that was going to lead him to an eternal life it's like I picked the church of my choice or what I think the best Church around is not the church what about the church that Jesus started you know entering that church on his turns not on my terms now I'm like I didn't know that recognizing a problem yeah I was kind of how the solution come into your life this show I was sitting back one night well I was catching life on the rock for a while you know listening to that EWTN had surfing the channels and I come upon this show now sitting in my chair one night this my chair and was was a an Episcopal priest or converted a Episcopal priest John Haas was sitting here telling you that when he was an Episcopal priest he had went on a pilgrimage to France and a Dominican priest asked him well he was talking to this Dominican priest and he was saying you know there's a lot of disputes and controversies in my church and you know ordaining women yada ya on and on and on and the priest said well who's the authority in your church and he said well the faith and practice of the early undivided church came like a seminarian answer and the little Dominican precess them know who's the living Authority in your church and John Haase thought it but he was sitting here and he said it was not there was no one to settle disputes and controversies and he said that put him on the journey and eventually he came he found out that there was a church that did settle disputes and controversy now that set me up in my chair and I was going what whoa what's going on here and I started looking at some of the teachings that I just had accepted and a lot of the things that I heard outside the church so I started reexamining Matthew 16 17 through 19 where Jesus gives the keys of the kingdom to Peter passes on you know that's Davidic Kingdom in light of Isaiah 22 22 and says to him what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven and the Catholic Church actually has the authority to bind you to its teaching I mean I've growing up I thought it was a tyrant I didn't know it was a servant a custodian a humble keeper of the deposit of faith that Jesus gave it and they just say this is it you either accept it or they they have no right to change it and they haven't changed it's been the same for 2,000 years I periodically they define a doctrine you know as time when this controversies or need oh yeah I'm right so how long ago was this this was about a year and a half this was a year and a half ago now when I understood the teaching authority in the church well of the church in the Magisterium centered around the seat of Peter when I understood and accepted this doctrine then I could trust the church on everything else and after that it was like he was like somebody pulled the curtain open and it was like another conversion for me it was like when I first met Jesus it was like I met Jesus and I was trying to find his church and all of a sudden the family was there you know the rich tradition the communion of saints actually went to Mass one one day and just the heavens open up I felt the communion of saints I always crying I went back to my church the church I left Church of my youth and went to confession father Frank and I walked in I said father Frank I said hi I've been anti Catholic could everything I learned was I thought I knew about the Catholic Church but I learned all of it outside the church what I thought I knew I think there's a lot of people out there that disliked Accor against the Catholic they don't even know what it teaches but they they hate what they don't understand and I said I feel like I've been persecuting the body of Christ and he said dear but welcome home Annie you know and was so beautiful for me and I I just love being here the other thing and I want to thank you Marcus thank the network and the opportunity and John Haas for his faithful witness you never know when you do a program who you might have a chance of witnessing - Thank You Dina we're going to take a break now we'll come back in a moment for your questions both on phone and email for Dion and he chosen is a themed authority that may come up in your questions but I want to make sure you had this entire time to share his journey so stay with us we'll be right back welcome back my guest for this evening is Deon and you may not know this but he was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame up in Cleveland Ohio and of course he's well respected musician many roblems records I'm like over 40 album has been around a while Marcos first-generation rock and roll to him was given much much is required absolutely that's right we've been given a lot let's take our first phone caller this is Alan from Florida hello Alan what's your question for us tonight I'm calling from Tampa you were here in the early eighties at one of the downtown theatres I don't know if you remember that or not but I was in that audience I was a newly born again Christian in in the early eighties and I had followed you and the music from the early 60s and when I become a Christian I didn't I had to leave that music behind and you had such a profound effect on me with the music that Christian music that you had I bought a cassette and I played it so much I ruined it but it was absolutely outstanding and it's such an honor to talk with you and I was wondering do you have anything on the horizon or any music like that sense if this has been probably the middle 80s if you remember well you know I did record five gospel albums and they were discontinued but ace music ace records out of England came along and reissued the best of the gospel years and I have a CD that you could get if you if you go to any record store and ask for just a sec 'its and Dion and the best of the gospel is yeah some of that music was it was wonderful writing it and you know singing together one of your songs it really speaks for your own journey well I wrote a song cool scent of my life it was the first song I wrote it just came out of heaven first Christian song yeah gospel so yeah and it was it's it's so much fun words oh it's so much fun still writing what are some words is for example in this world there's a train bound for glory get a boat and I'll tell you a story about my Lord Jesus he is the only one if you run you can seek foolish pleasures just get still and you'll find hidden treasures my Lord Jesus he shines bright as the Sun you know he is the center of my life and I thank Thank You Dion but is that one you did on Jes program yes good so they'll be able to hear it sometime in the future let's take this first email dear Marcus and Dan I just had some words with one of my teenagers about the television program she was watching the sitcom wasn't an example of good Christian living to be sure my daughter is a great young woman and a wonderful daughter how can I better explain the importance of prudent choices regarding the media she watches and listens to how would you explain the impact media has on shaping young people's values sooner if not later love and Mary Connie ah come on you have daughters ah three daughters my daughter's used to leave the house and I say listen you tell that boy you're going out with that you have an Italian father who's living intimidation Connie but what you know I leaned on the positive you know I you know I you kind of always focused on my love for Jesus and and spiritual principles and you know those kind of choices and it was kind of like an inside job and then they could make their own decisions instead of always kind of badgering them with what's going because the world is I mean culture of death you know Pope John calls it yeah and there's you you'll always be you know there's one thing I found out real early that the Lord showed me was that I was trying to control old situations circumstances and conditions it never occurred to me that he wanted to change me to meet situation circumstances and conditions and to but to change me I was instead of you know focusing on it or the key thing is that if we're going to tell our children you can't do that and take these things out of their life we've got to make sure that we have positive things that we can fill that void with we got to be able to see we got to show them direct them we we've come through a generation where many parents and you know I hope I'm not guilty of this many of us said well I'm not going to I'm gonna leave that choice is up to my children I'm not gonna influence something let them well if you don't do that hey you've thrown them out of the world you know I love my kids I'm the only father on the block that plays music louder than his kids in order Nia and I but you know even with all my defects and if you if you love them and our an example on what you're doing eventually they start looking to those things and being going to say you're sorry to them is say wrong you know I I've had great extend erful thing to call one one time I call my daughter in the room and I I said tane I said my name is tan I said there I was wrong I told a joke out then it kind of you know well long story but just to say you're wrong is a wonderful thing yeah show you human let's take this next question this comes from Virginia hello what's your question for us tonight yeah Heidi on first of all I want to say I'm really happy to speak with you you've been a fan of mine for years but my question is that a good friend of mine has a son 17 years old who is drinking and drugging right now very badly he with of course around his neck he has a course in his bedroom but he has no religion and I just one named Dion if you can tell me how I can help him well Virginia let's have a lot of friends that I'm concerned with and the people in my life and prayer you know it's people are praying for me I have a beautiful wife that always kept me in prayer and my lovely aunts who really practiced the faith and love the faith and prayed for me and eventually was open and I understood it's the Lord that converts right here so Lord it touches hearts and we're witnesses we're witnesses and we were part of the prayer army for people and never give up on people make your own life as an example of never givin up others who prayed for you but I never dreamed now in the Dianna be Catholic but they be Christian well you're a proof positive that the grace of God can change I mean if the guys in the neighborhood could only see me now maybe they are yeah that would be nice let's take this next this comes from Nick hugs and Lawrenceville New Jersey Dion I'm overjoyed at seeing you on the journey home I've been a fan of your music for 40 years and a collector especially if your 60s hit music too which I always found a spiritual side I'm glad to see you doing so well thank you for your testimony I'm a new Catholic my greatest challenge is finding where all the faith is in the Catholics is that Catholics seem to have I would appreciate if you could speak to that quote faith small F that you found in your conversion the faith of the Catholics well you know I I this is this is difficult I had a lot of questions when I came into the Catholic Church and the Catechism for me was a key because the Catechism expresses the heart of the Catholic Church and it interprets Scripture it that's the our interpretation the word and in the Catechism I had a lot of questions and you know I'm walking I hate to say this but I'm leery about s any Catholic I see the answer to some of these things because I what kept me away from the Catholic Church you know in one respect is what Catholics do and practice and say in the name of Catholicism sometimes doesn't match up with the official teaching of the church so I have friends that I call that I I was respect like you know my friend Tom Sullivan I'm always on the phone of Scott Hahn he he took a liking to me and dr. Scott Hahn is a great teacher and I call him every once in a while and hey thanks Reno I run something by him and to get to get an answer that lines up with the Pope with the Magisterium with the Catechism and that's it's just powerful for me and very uh gives me a lot of security we it's a reminder that the church as long as there's people in it will never be perfect the sight of glory absolutely you know and it's always in need of renewal and where does renewal always begin it begins right here and we know people in our life that don't know their faith very well and maybe God's put us in their life to be a witness you never know so beginning with prayer for someone lifting faithfully I mean that's the thing oh yeah I'll pray for you then I go play golf I never think about printed you can say gonna pray for somebody pray for somebody because it's the most powerful thing we can do and help turn someone's heart we've got another email from Terry in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Dion can you speak on the differences between the way Catholics view the Blessed Sacrament and how the Lord's Supper is practiced in your former church do you now feel that you missed much without recognizing the Blessed Sacrament why you were not in the Catholic Church Terry oh my heart my thank you for that question because my heart just swells when I think of where I am right now you know I I don't mean this I like to toss it off but in a lot of churches they practice the real absence not the real presence and in the Catholic Church we know if you read John six you know in the Gospel of John you could see it plainly what Jesus is telling us there that we believe is body blood soul and divinity in the sacrament and that's a it's wonderful to come to the table in the Lord it's it's just just incredible it's it's so rich it's so and you know another thing is one thing I I must say about being in Protestant churches which helped me a lot Marcus Wright I met some wonderful pastors and wonderful people who loved the word and you know when I was reading the Catechism st. Jerome says if you're ignorant of Scripture you're ignorant of Christ so when you went out you get into the word and and know what he's the richness of who he is his nature his character why he was you know it becomes so full that when you go to the lord's table you receive more okay thank you Dan I have a great email we've got a look at here this just shows you how far your testimony has gotten tonight this comes from father Edward you home Marine Corps Air Station Futenma Okinawa Japan says dear Marcus and Dion thank you so much for a great show being a high profile entertainer and since your conversion and coming back in the Catholic Church have you learned of any other high profile entertainers since your conversion then I found the Catholic Church may our Lord and our lady continue to bless you always sincere father home thanks God for that email well I know Perry Como goes to church right up the street from me at and but I'm right now I've just been so localized I'm sure there were many but that's right not a Edie thank you we talked earlier and this is kind of in that but you and I talked earlier about sometimes the dichotomy that exists between the writer of a saw and their depth and what the song says that sometimes the Lord is able to speak through people they don't even get it themselves talk about your experience of that with some of these people you worked with well you know I work with so many talented artists that a true seekers they seem to be but you know there's one problem sometimes you're in love with the search for truth but coming to it is another thing because it demands a response and it demands a change so you become in love with the search and really not the truth so coming to it is another thing so I find a lot of artists and I don't mean this to like bash or sound self-righteous but so many other guys that I write such beautiful songs spiritual principles and they write these you just I love listening to the music and when I'm hanging out with them it's almost like they don't get their own message you know but it's there and you know who am I to judge it and God knows their heart and but sometimes it's not connected their actions and what they're singing it's like and you know and I'm old enough now to see that a lot of the guys that I knew died very broken never coming to the knowledge of the truth very sad it said you know well it's you know some saying why me you know some to the church I fall on my knees I'm like Lord it's so good to be here thank you so much for touching my life well let's talk a little bit about what you found since coming home how's it feel to back to the Church of your youth I don't want to get fancy with this Marcus but like on a Sunday morning when Susan I go to Mass at the st. jude's Catholic Church and Boca I'll be sitting with them and I just say Susan it's so good to be here it's so good to be home you know it's more a settling you know you know Marcus II I gotta say this as a rock and roller freedom is a big thing you know I used to think you turn up the amps you get loud and you rock out man and you're free and you're gonna express yourself and you know who cares how you feel this is the way I feel yeah and that's all right that's all right to express your feelings like that and and to me a rock and roll at its best was always just you know it's expressing your individual freedom and your individuality and I used to think freedom was doing anything you want if I could you know as long as maybe if you didn't know about it well if if I don't hurt anybody you know I could do whatever I want but that's a myth and that's a real lie I didn't know it then because I didn't see myself accurately only true freedom only comes on the midst of authority doesn't and and you know what we're talking about authority tonight and and I was hated Authority I mean I didn't like it you know it scared me you know it's like well don't tell me what the kid is here yo what do you want to know I'll you know I'll handle my own life thank you but I want to tell you something I come to realize that infallibility and conscience now here's to infallibility and conscience that's real freedom for me to grab a guitar and play anything I want and you to pick up a guitar play anything you want is like that's chaos but if you know the scales if you know what chords relate to what kook if you know the structure then you could you could express yourself you have it could be Jimi Hendrix or Chuck Berry just express yourself anyway you know any way you want you know the thing let's take this eat this phone call with a few remaining moments that we have this is from rich hello rich what's your question for us hi Marcus and Deanna how are you doing fine dan I'm not sure sure remember that quite a few years ago at a concert you're here in Connecticut we had asked permission to come backstage and you you told the guy to let us come in and my son was a teenager at the time and I we had come back were talking with you and we told you that he was listening to Twisted Sister in heavy metal and all these other rock bands and what advice did you have and you had said well you know you got to get out of the right music and write stuff today he's a great friar Franciscan in New York and raise god we've been listening to all your albums you were a big inspiration to him over many of those years and we've got every one of your albums and he just we just play these things over and over a beautiful music great job and also by the way there's a street in New York named Belmont Avenue I think I think you're aware of that sure that's that's how I put together the Batsuit why name the Belmonts yeah definitely that's right that was home turf for you I was going to call him the Crotona because Crotona Avenue that the Belmont Avenue the boom on snow the Belmont sound the best Dion in the 17th yeah yeah just quite right this one this morning I was reading in second Corinthians and I this verse came to mind as I was thinking about where you've come and it makes you think about those they're still in the media still in the high high-test music in front headlights influencing millions of people and this is a testimony from Paul who had been there and then now he is at his conversion he says therefore having this ministry some 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 therefore having this ministry by the mercy of God mercy of God we do not lose heart we have renounced disgraceful upper handed underhanded ways we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's Word but by the open sea of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God to have that kind of changed heart we're basically you're becoming a witness for God your whole life is a witness to the conscience s of all who can see you and when I thought about that I thought like I said earlier to him who has given much much is required and so the sense in which in your own life the Lord has put you in the places for millions of people to see you and so now Lourdes is all right he says you must decrease I must injury and he did that by grace did me in your own life grace my favorite word you know that I think you know I was telling about that macho Italian neighborhood well I think today that the most courageous thing a man can do is open up his heart to his creator and to his Lord to a savior - to the one who created him and men of faith have always been men of courage I used to I was telling you about I thought it was for weak people never heard that the Apostle Paul said God strength is made perfect in my weakness if you want me to break up I'll brag about my defects my my selfishness my selfish self-centeredness my fears my dishonesty my inconsideration I'll brag about those things but in weakness God's strength is made perfect today's epistle I'd like us to close tonight's program with saying our Father together and what I'd like to do is ask the audience to join us to open to lift up before the father all those in positions of the media the singers the writers the Hollywood stars all the people who are in positions and they may be just blind to their lives and the meaning of their life and let's pray that the Lord will open their hearts because they have such an influence and so many and with that prayer I want to throw in father John Hardin who's today it's I think it's 80th birthday and it's 52nd anniversary as a priest on the influence that father Hardin has had on so many bringing him home to the church let's close with prayer name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil amen the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit dia what a wonderful privilege this has been how much time we have a couple seconds let's do a little couple more words from some old song we'll remember these guys huh I love girl and Ruby is her name Ruby Ruby Ruby baby I'm taking them on the road I even look better than the Belmonts too good it's too badly the audience couldn't hear that at home because we're having a good time here - no how many I want to see the choreography come on to the left to the right now is split alright okay be on our prayers are with you and in your continued ministry Ministry of music the Lord continues like I think you're going to England soon to do some stuff right opportunities open up yeah and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that opens doors and it's the open doors for good opportunity life is so full of wonder and opportunities and would be about my father's business and Markus I gotta say thank you so much the journey home and blessing my heart and blessing my family through the wonderful guests you have on and press like your information that's like thank you very much for that thanks for joining us tonight be with you again next week and as I often say on the program we're on a journey together let's keep each other in prayer and serve the father god bless you

Channel: The Coming Home Network International

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Id: vypk1l3tsXw

Length: 56min 31sec (3391 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 26 2014