(LifeSiteNews) — In this second part of my interview with Eric Tafoya, we discuss what he did after he left prison, how he got involved in evangelization, and a new method he developed for it. This is The John-Henry Westen Show.
If you missed Part 1, Tafoya’s powerful conversion story, click here to watch.
Tafoya begins this second part of the interview by describing what happened to him after he was released from prison three years ago. As soon as he got out, he resolved to help spread the faith and live a good Catholic life. In spite of this, however, he could find neither work, nor would his family take him in. Finally, he called his parole officer and asked him to help him find a home, eventually sharing a room with someone else.
“And this moment in my life now, being a Catholic, knowing the virtues, knowing asceticism, knowing I had to mortify the flesh, knowing that every day when I put on my armor, I’m going to have to fight,” he told me.
Tafoya found a similar situation with regard to finding a parish, with people being wary to trust him on account of the tattoos on his arms. Even so, Tafoya resolved to trust in God that he would find the right parish. Then he joined the parish he stood in front of when he asked God to take away his drug addiction, eventually joining a Spanish ministry called El Sembrador.
Tafoya also explained that he is involved in other ministries, acting as a lector during Mass, taking part in RCIA classes, joining the Knights of Columbus, praying in front of abortion clinics, and hosting a Bible study group at his house every Saturday called “Iron Sharpens Iron.”
Tafoya also runs a YouTube channel called Traditional Urban Christian, which he uses to spread the faith. According to him, Catholics need to start “infiltrating back” into spaces run by the Church’s enemies in order to start spreading the Gospel.
“We need to be active, not just going to church,” he told me. “That’s not enough. Our future generations depend on the choices that we make. The consequences of our choices will result in a better future for our grandchildren, for our great grandchildren, for anybody else that’s … in the world.”
We also discussed a spiritual regimen that Tafoya developed called “CrossFit.”
Tafoya described the four points of CrossFit by using a cross, showing which parts of Our Lord’s body were on the Cross.
The first aspect of CrossFit, Tafoya explained, is Eucharistic devotion, including adoration, which he places at the top of the Cross near Our Lord’s head. “Every time we take the Eucharist, it transforms your heart, your mind, it gives you forgiveness and love. We remember what Jesus did for us on the cross, that sacrifice that He did for us that lasts a lifetime. And we keep on taking it every time we go to Mass.”
The second aspect of CrossFit, at Our Lord’s feet, is what Tafoya calls the “60 milimeter shell,” recitation of the Holy Rosary. “Praying it every day gives us strength, it gives us power. We meditate on Jesus’s life. Blessed Padre Pio said it’s the one of the greatest weapons, if not the greatest weapon, that we have to defend against the devil.”
On one side of the Cross, near one of Our Lord’s hands, is knowledge of the Bible and doctrine. Using examples from his time as a Protestant, Tafoya stressed the need for Catholics to know Scripture and doctrine in order to remain Catholic. “So knowing our faith, knowing the teachings, knowing the historicity of the Catholic Church is vital. And you don’t [have] to get all deep into it, all theological, but just to know little points to help you defend it goes a long way.”
The other side of the Cross next to Our Lord’s other hand is fellowship and ministry. “And when we fellowship, we sharpen each other. We build each other up. We edify one another. We speak life into one another … You can feel like an outcast if you’re just sitting in the seats.”
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