MEN’S DAY OF RENEWAL March
3: LENTEN SACRIFICE & OPPORTUNITY
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 3 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.
To complement the Mass presided by
Bishop Monforton and Penance Service the featured speaker is Mike Aquilina, an
expert on the early Church, particularly the Early Church Fathers and
martyrs. He will show that the witness
of the first Christians coincides very well with Church teaching today in a
remarkable continuity over the centuries through 267 popes. Aquilina is an author of over 50 books,
particularly on the early Church and how the early Christians lived their
faith. The books have been translated
into many languages, even Braille. He is
a nationally known speaker at many conferences, also appearing frequently on
Relevant Radio and EWTN in which he has hosted ten television series and two
documentaries. He also has talents as a
poet and song writer, even collaborating with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artist
Dion DiMucci. Aquilina’s extensive
journalism experience includes being a past editor of New Covenant magazine and
the Pittsburgh Catholic (diocesan newspaper).
Aquilina is the executive vice president and trustee of the St. Paul
Center for Biblical Theology, a Catholic research center, based in
Steubenville.
His morning talk is titled “The
Strength of Heaven”, which will show how the angels were effective witnesses
and can teach us much to apply to our daily lives. In the afternoon, he will show how the
witness of the martyrs of the early Church can teach us to be witnesses today
in secular America. Mike Aquilina will
challenge the men to follow the example of the early Church Fathers and martyrs
and be effective witnesses in their homes, in their parishes, on the job, and
in their communities. “Modern man listens more willingly
to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because
they are witnesses. Drawing from his diverse experience as a journalist,
prolific author, conference speaker, and father of a family of six children,
Mr. Aquilina can speak to the needs of the men.
This background puts Mike
Aquilina in a position to speak on the theme of this year’s Diocese of
Steubenville Men’s Conference, “Being a Cloud of Witnesses”. 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. The goal of the Men's Day of
Renewal is to focus on the spiritual development of the men of our
diocese. That includes being ready to face the four last things........Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell. 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. It involves sacrificing most
of a Saturday with some travel, but Lent is all about sacrifice and the quest
for holiness. That gives a pilgrimage
flavor. During the middle ages, pilgrims
would travel for days by foot or horseback.
Our men will leave together at e.g., 6:30 am and
have great fellowship on the way. They
will see how the participants are moved by
the beauty and power of the faith. 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. The Conference is open to teens so this can also
be a father and son event, a shared experience. In the past the men have returned spiritually
refreshed, reinvigorated, and enthusiastic.
Expect the same this year.
There’s
more information on the diocesan website, www.diosteub.org
and the Conference Blog, “Becoming a True Man of God” at diosteubmen.blogspot.com
which is also devoted to articles to keep men in spiritual shape after the
Conference. For a greater variety, go to
“A Little Bit for God and
His People” at paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com.
It should be a great day of enjoyable
fellowship and spiritual invigoration. 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. The
Men's Day of Renewal is growing into an annual event in our diocese, thus
fulfilling a great need. Although one may register at the door, please
register with your parish representative, e.g. John Doe (245-9404), as soon as
possible. That would make planning
(food, transportation, etc.) easier & minimize waiting at the door. A sign-up sheet is in back of the church.
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 bring 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.
· Be Ready to face the four last things........Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell.
· Be Ready to face the four last things........Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell.
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St. Joseph, model of a true man of God, pray for us and for the success of the Men's Conference.
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USE THE
SPACE BELOW (2/3 page) FOR THE SPEAKERS & REGISTRATION FORM FROM THE
BROCHURE
(i.e., paste the part with the
speaker photos & descriptions of Bishop Monforton and Mike Aquilina as well
as the registration form. They may be
reproduced either in color or black & white.)
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