Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Rock Star Reveals He Once Aspired to Be a Priest Until This Tragedy Changed Everything: ‘It Shattered Us’

"I felt...God had abandoned us."
Share Tweet
By Billy Hallowell
Editor

November 8, 2016

Jonathan Cain is the longtime keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for famed rock band Journey, but years before solidifying himself as a renowned musician he aspired to be a Catholic priest.

Cain recently told Faithwire about his fascinating professional and spiritual journeys, and discussed his newly released Christian solo album titled, “What God Wants to Hear.”

He described growing up with a deep love for God — one he said was instilled by his overtly religious father. Cain explained, “I loved Christ so much as a boy … my father was a really spiritual man and was the one who taught me how to pray.”

As a young boy, Cain said he was so into his faith that he essentially saw priests as “superheroes.” Deeply admiring these men of the cloth, he found himself thinking, “I want to do this. I want to lead people to Jesus and I want to do what they’re doing.”

But those hopes and dreams soon came to a crashing halt on Dec. 1, 1958, when Cain and his fellow schoolmates at Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, Illinois, experienced profound tragedy. A fire broke out in the school and tragically killed 92 of his fellow students and three nuns, leaving Cain profoundly impacted.

“I stood there and watched it all,” he told Faithwire. “I felt, at that moment as an 8 year old, that God had abandoned us. And where was my Jesus? Where was he?”

Cain said he simply couldn’t work out in his brain how such a horrific tragedy could unfold right next to a church, explaining that the event led to some significant internal questions and doubts about his faith.

“It shattered all of us,” he said. “We all had to grow up that day.”

After the tragedy, Cain soon found himself pouring his efforts into music, something he used as a way to try and get over what had unfolded at the school.

“I found salvation in the music and I quickly got past all the resentment and grief and the horror of the whole thing,” Cain said, though he admitted some of the broader questions and concerns about his faith still lingered.

Then, when Cain turned 17, he went to a Baptist church with a girlfriend, responded to an altar call and once again turned to God. While he finally came to grips with much of the lingering pain and numbness, he said he still had some questions about his peers who had died so tragically.

Eventually, he came to conclude that “God had nothing to do” with the fire, and that it was, instead, an act of evil.

“I wasted a lot of years not praying,” Cain said.

He then proceeded to live more as a Christian than in the past, but said his faith ebbed and flowed. It wasn’t until he met Paula White, senior pastor of New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Florida, that he said his Christian walk truly came full circle; the two married in 2015.

“It was Paula who really led me back to Christ in a big way,” he said.

Album cover for Jonathan Cain's "What God Wants to Hear." (JonathanCainMusic.com)
Album cover for Jonathan Cain’s “What God Wants to Hear.” (JonathanCainMusic.com)

Now, Cain is promoting his first solo Christian album — a project that emerged after he was asked to lead praise and worship on a women’s cruise White was hosting. While he was obviously well-versed in performing to massive crowds as a decades-long member of Journey, performing Christian music was new to him. As it turns out, he found it incredibly enriching.

“Something pretty anointed happened up there on the stage,” he said of the experience on White’s cruise. “There’s something about when you sing for God that happens, your voice changes, you get into this different place.”

Cain said he later found himself looking for ways to perform Christian music, a quest that culminated in him making “What God Wants to Hear,” an album he hopes will inspire his fellow Christians.

“I hope … when they hear this album it will cause them to connect to a place they haven’t been connected to before,” he said, adding that he wants to help “sooth the troubled soul.”

—

Other Must-Read Stories:

– The Bible Like You’ve Absolutely Never Seen It Before: A Stunning, 2,000-Page Graphic Novel

– ‘We Are in a Crisis’: Franklin Graham Has a Tough Message for Americans Who Refuse to Vote Tuesday

– ‘The View’ Host Candace Cameron Bure Explains Exactly What’s at Stake Tuesday in Tense Exchange

– The Awesome Reason HGTV’s ‘Fixer Upper’ Star Refused to Upgrade Her Engagement Ring

Latest

  • Faith

    ‘Thank God He Was There’: Off-Duty Firefighter Says It Was the Lord Who Led Him to Save Deputy Hurt in Crash

  • News

    ‘Kind of a Miracle’: Storm Chaser Rescues Family After Tornado, Pledges to Help Rebuild Home After Terrifying Ordeal

  • News

    Amid ‘Hidden Dangers That Lurk’ in Culture, Christian Video Games Could Offer Parents a Powerful Solution

  • News

    All-American Swimmer Blasts ESPN for Promoting Transgender Athlete in ‘Celebrating Women’s History Month’

  • News

    ‘Dear Jesus, Please Help Them’: Meteorologist Credited With Saving Lives After Viral, On-Air Prayer to God as Deadly Tornado Hit


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • ‘Thank God He Was There’: Off-Duty Firefighter Says It Was the Lord Who Led Him to Save Deputy Hurt in Crash
  • ‘Kind of a Miracle’: Storm Chaser Rescues Family After Tornado, Pledges to Help Rebuild Home After Terrifying Ordeal
  • Amid ‘Hidden Dangers That Lurk’ in Culture, Christian Video Games Could Offer Parents a Powerful Solution
  • All-American Swimmer Blasts ESPN for Promoting Transgender Athlete in ‘Celebrating Women’s History Month’
  • ‘Dear Jesus, Please Help Them’: Meteorologist Credited With Saving Lives After Viral, On-Air Prayer to God as Deadly Tornado Hit

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?