Hobbit-Sense at OneFreeGarden.com

This post is part of Support a Catholic Speaker Month hosted by FallibleBlogma.  Welcome to all guests!  Father Stan Fortuna is a priest and member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal who is a musician and speaker.

I first heard of Father Stan Fortuna when my parents were looking for an alternative to rap for my brother, whose classmates had gotten heavily into the generally seedier mainstream rap. My brother actually went to a Fr. Stan concert and came home with a couple of CDs.  Naturally, without even thinking about it, I put them in my iTunes- hey, a musical priest was inherently awesome.

And then one day, I actually listened to them.

They were fantastic.  The beats are strong, the interesting lyrical interludes give it a lot of depth, and mostly the lyrics are powerful beyond belief.  Fr. Stan addresses doctrines, faith, virtue and the challenges of Christian living, hypocrisy, and even difficult moral issues.  And while a song may not seem like a place to treat them with depth, the lyrics are packed- they are like poems in their onion-layers.  Here is the chorus from one of my favorites, a song called “Unborn Victims of Violence”:

Thou shall not kill
But not on capital hill
Ya let us do it with the doctor
Or we do it with the pill
Mommies ain’t safe in the streets
But if a thug comes and beats
Mommy over the head
And leaves the baby for dead
Ya say it’s fine but it’s tragic
We can’t stop it with magic
It’s politically bleak
It’s cause we’re spiritually weak
Y’all try to cover up the scam
With illegitimate silence
Check it “I’m here to defend
Unborn victims of violence”

The amount of truth packed into those short lines is incredible.

But it’d be a mistake to pigeonhole Fr. Fortuna as a priest who’s ministry consists of Christianising elements of popular culture.  He lives in the South Bronx and works with poor and needy members of society there.  His production company, Francesco Productions, supports his work with the poor and has a mission of cultural transformation.  Fr. Stan has released 3 CDs of rap and popular music, but has also recorded traditional hymns.  Francesco Productions has even founded an international charitable group serving the underserved abroad.

Perhaps most important is Fr. Stan Fortuna’s dedication to core doctrines of the faith.  Rather than watering down the faith in an attempt to make it palatable, he’s instead focused on using modern means to communicate the timeless truth of our faith.  So those who encounter him are getting the full message, not Hansel and Gretl breadcrumb trails to lead them somewhere else, but a big meaty meal that shows them how God’s there for them.

Father Stan has spoken and performed at countless churches internationally and is a favorite speaker at youth and campus ministry events, including multiple World Youth Day appearances.

For more information the following websites may be helpful, and were consulted in the compilation of this post (all links open in new windows):

Francesco Productions Official Website

Last.fm’s Radio Station and Info Page on Fr. Stan Fortuna

Wikipedia Bio

Fr. Stan Fortuna, CFR, “Traditional Catholic Hymns”

Fr. Stan Fortuna “Faith and Family” 3-Day Mission in Toronto

I really highly recommend Fr. Stan’s music as powerful and faith-strengthening as well as challenging.

~theRosyGardener