AMDG
 |
| Capt. Guy Gruters |
March 7, 2017
Dear Father:
If the mother takes the spiritual lead in the family, the
probability that the children will remain faithful to the Church as adults is
about 40%. If the father takes the
spiritual lead, that probability doubles to 80%. This is crucial because we are losing our
youth. As Danny Abramowicz of “Crossing
the Goal” on EWTN likes to point out, “The children love Mom, but tend to
follow Dad.” Thus the participants in
the Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal on
Saturday March 18 at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell (9 am to 3:30 pm) off of Exit 25 on I-77 are challenged to become true men of
God........dynamic Catholic leaders who will change the world, beginning with
their families, their parishes, their communities, and the marketplace through
their jobs. If the Lord uses this
Conference to set the men on fire, we renew the parish and ultimately the
diocese.
I
am a member of St. Louis Church in Gallipolis in southeastern Ohio across the
river from you and am a member of the Steering Committee for organizing the
Steubenville Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal.
Our parish, Sacred Heart Church in Point Pleasant WV, and Sacred Heart
Church in Pomeroy, OH have been sister parishes for many years. They invite each other to parish functions
and some go to daily Mass at the other parish when the home pastor is
away. The pastors beautifully work
together with Penance services and substitute occasionally at a weekend Mass.
In
that same spirit we thought that it would be great if a group of men from your parish
would attend. Perhaps this joint effort
will stimulate more cooperation and pooling of resources among the parishes of
the two dioceses on opposite sides of the river. If we can attract a good number of men from
both states, we will be able to provide more nationally known speakers in
future years. Of course, we would not
want to interfere with any event of the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese, but I
understand that they have decentralized regional retreats which our men could
also attend. Thus the two are compatible
with each other, especially if one conference or the other is more convenient
for some of the men.
To
complement the Mass presided by Bishop Monforton and Penance Service the featured speaker is Capt. Guy Gruters (USAF).
After graduation from the Air Force Academy with a B.S. in Engineering
Science, Capt. Gruters flew more than 400 combat missions in Vietnam and
received over 30 combat medals and awards.
He was shot down twice and captured the second time in 1967. After leaving the Air Force, he captained
DC-9s and Boeing 727s for Eastern Airlines until retiring in 1991. Later Capt. Gruters was an account rep. for
IBM and President of PC Software Systems.
In his morning talk Guy Gruters
will reveal how his faith and trust in God carried him through the ordeal as a
Prisoner of War in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” and other camps for five
years. Since bitterness is
self-destructing, he will share in the afternoon talk how he learned to show
mercy and forgive his brutal captors who tortured him. The participants will discover how they can
apply mercy, forgiveness, faith, and trust to their daily lives as sources of
strength in difficult times and a means to grow in holiness. Capt. Gruters is a 4th Degree member of the
Knights of Columbus.
Drawing from his diverse experience
and being a father of seven children, he will also touch on “Leadership and
Teamwork in the Family, Church, and the Community”. An excellent and dynamic speaker, Mr. Gruters
gives talks all over the country and is the author of the book, “Locked Up With God”.
This
background puts Capt. Gruters in a position to speak on the theme of this
year’s Diocese of Steubenville Men’s Conference, “Mercy and Forgiveness, Faith and Trust……..Means of Developing
Strength and Holiness in Difficult Times”.
That is through the power of faith rise up to be the spiritual leaders
of their families, to do their part in renewing their parishes, be servant
leaders in the community, and to make a difference for Christ by applying the
social teachings of the Church to their professions.
Attached
is a 1) Brochure, 2) Additional Information, 3) Functions of the Parish Rep, 4) Example of a bulletin insert, 5) Summary of
last year’s talk by Matthew Leonard on prayer.
The backing of the pastor is crucial. Bulletin blurbs and inserts are
not enough. A plug from the pulpit is
helpful. Being already so busy with many
responsibilities, the pastor doesn’t have time to get too involved, but he could appoint a
parish representative or a committee to mobilize the men with one on one
selling, organize a van pool, and register the men. Filling out the registration form in the
easily duplicated brochure in advance with the $25 payment and giving it to a
parish representative would speed things up at the door. If sufficient time, you may send them to Roger Huck; %Men’s Day of Renewal,
P.O. Box 54; Beverly, OH 45715. That would help our planning. A parish representative would facilitate
follow up on the undecided and for organizing a car or van pool.
The
men may bring their teen age sons, godsons, relatives, and friends. Thus the Conference can also be a father and son event, a shared experience.
Non-Catholics are also welcome.
The local
Knights of Columbus council can be invaluable in mobilizing their
members and the other men in the surrounding parishes. The spiritual formation of their men is very
much within their mission. A layman
could briefly talk about the conference at the end of Mass. This would be a great supplement to any
promotion that you care to make in the bulletin, from the pulpit, etc.
I
know that there is only one week-end left before the Conference, which is not
much time. But I’m hoping that you can
send at least a few men. I'm sorry about
not being earlier, but it is still very doable.
I apologize and hope to do better next year.
Useful Resources for Promotion. The pastor and parish representative can utilize
our Conference Blog at http://diosteubmen.blogspot.com, beginning with Blog #111)
Overview & Poster; 112) Ad
Form; 113) Press Release #1; 114) Possible Short Bulletin
Announcements; 115) Promotion
Ideas; 116) Crucial Importance of the
Parish Rep; 117) Sign Up Sheet; 118) Sample Bulletin Insert; 119) Press Release #2; 122) Example of an
After Mass Talk By a Layman; 123)
Possible Pulpit Announcements; 124) Press Release #3; 125) Secular Press
Release. I’ll post #122 on this
week.
After
the Conference it will have articles to help the men in their quest to become
true men of God and keep in spiritual shape.
You may also submit articles. You
may adapt and use the materials as you see fit.
For a greater variety, you can go to my personal blog: “A Little Bit for
God and His People” at http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com.
You can make copies of the attached brochure
or adapt the attached model and put it into your church bulletin as an insert. The brochure and additional information is
also on the diocesan website at www.diosteub.org.
The goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is to focus on the spiritual
development of the men of our diocese. Having spiritually strong men of faith
and character translates into more solid families, more dynamic parishes, and
better communities. This is crucial to the Church, now and in the future. It is
also critical for nurturing vocations.
True,
Caldwell, Ohio is a good distance for some parishes. It involves sacrificing most of a Saturday
with some travel, but Lent is all about sacrifice and the quest for
holiness. During the middle ages,
pilgrims would travel for days by foot or horseback. Organizing the men to go together in a van
pool for a 2 – 4 hour trip would give it a pilgrimage flavor, especially if
there's a rosary and discussion about the day's events along the way. It's a great opportunity as well. It can solidify the parish as the men get to
know each other better through great fellowship, especially if the pastor
accompanies them.
Another option is to stay at the
Microtel behind the Sunoco of the I-77 exit and make a retreat out of it. Less than two miles from the St. Stephen’s
Church which has a parish program of Stations of the Cross (Mass at Immaculate
Conception Church nearby) on Friday at 7 pm preceded and followed by
Eucharistic Adoration.
It
should be a great day of enjoyable fellowship and spiritual invigoration. The last five
years the men returned refreshed spiritually, reinvigorated, and
enthusiastic. Expect the same this
year. The men sang with such enthusiasm
that the walls reverberated. But most of all, through grace we'll have a few more
good spiritually strong men for the kingdom of God in the battle against
secularism and other evils and problems that our troubled society must
confront.......men --not spiritual weaklings and wimps-- who will put Christ
into their professions. Finally, the men
will become more knowledgeable, firmer in their faith, and better prepared for
a more joyful Easter, not to mention a greater closeness to God and eternity
which life on earth is all about.
Often the enthusiasm
generated at a men's conference is contagious and
there is a spillover into parish life since the men see fellow participants
moved by the beauty and power of the faith.
Non-Catholics are also welcome.
This is all a part of the new evangelization......to fire up the
apathetic Catholic who doesn't do much beyond attending Sunday Mass, the
minimalist; to touch the drifting Catholic and the fallen away through the
publicity and inviting them to attend.
The experience of seeing so many men enthusiastically participating and
lifting up their voices in song is uplifting.
There will be opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration & a Lenten
Confession.
Please
don't hesitate to call me at 740-245-9404 or e-mail me at paulrsebastian@yahoo.com if I can be
of help. Hopefully, the men will return
on fire which would make your parish more dynamic. Thank you so much and God bless.
SUMMARY OF WHAT THE MEN'S CONFERENCE CAN DO FOR
YOU.....BENEFITS
·
Get into good spiritual shape and
avoid being a spiritual weakling, i.e., a spiritual wimp.
·
Have a great day of enjoyable fellowship
and spiritual invigoration in the parish van and at the conference,
resulting in deeper friendships and parish cohesion.
·
Develop ourselves as men of
character and spiritual strength as we obtain the graces to conquer
ourselves and cope with the problems that our troubled society and economy
brings to us.
·
Be a more effective spiritual leader of
your family as a better husband and father.
·
Prepare our hearts for the great feast of
Easter and for eternity as we become closer to God..
·
Become knowledgeable about the faith
and grow in Christian maturity. We know
so little about Church teaching.
·
Become a more effective soldier of Christ
as you do your part in establishing the kingdom, winning the spiritual-culture
war against secularism, and put Christ into your profession.
*********************************************************************************
St. Joseph, model of a true
man of God, pray for us and for the success of the Men's Conference.
No comments:
Post a Comment