AMDG
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St. Joseph, model of a true
man of God, pray for us & for the success of the Men's Conference.
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Franciscan University Campus Ministry (Up to Date 2016)
“Fr. Shawn Roberson – University Chaplain” <sroberson@franciscan.edu>,
“Robert Palladino – Director of Chapel Ministries”
<rpalladino@franciscan.edu>,
"? Fr. Dominic Foster TOR - Director of
Evangelization" <dfoster@franciscan.edu>,
“Pam Salatino – Coordinator of Chapel Ministries
Administration” <psalatino@franciscan.edu>,
“David Schmiesing” <dschmiesing@franciscan.edu>,
“Fr. Nathan Malavolti T.O.R. - Chief Evangelization Officer”
<NMalavolti@franciscan.edu>,
“Robert Siemens - Director of the Office of Evangelization
<RSiemens@franciscan.edu>,
 |
| Mark Nehrbas, the principle speaker. |
March 15, 2019
Dear Franciscan University
Campus Ministers:
If the Men are in good spiritual
shape, the family is renewed. If the
family is renewed, the parish is renewed and so is the diocese. The men must be spiritual leaders in their
families. The men must step up and be
the pillars of the parish.......not only the women. The men must put Christ into the marketplace
and in their jobs. Set the men on fire
and we renew the parish, the diocese and ultimately the Country, thus
transforming Society. That's what we're
trying to accomplish with the Steubenville Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal.
I am a member of the Steering
Committee for organizing the Steubenville Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal. Having taught at Franciscan when it was in a
rather tumultuous transition from a secularized Catholic College into a Christ
centered university (1980-83) and now having my daughter Naomi as a recent
graduate in Nursing. My son Joseph was also
a student there, I have a special love for Franciscan and would love to share a
great opportunity for your students and faculty.
In that same spirit we thought that it would be great if a delegation of students, staff, and professors from Franciscan University could attend our Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal on Saturday March 23 at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell (9 am to 3:30 pm) off of Exit 25 on I-77 about 1½ hours away. Students from Franciscan University would be great witnesses and it would be a great experience for them. If we can attract a good number of men, we will be able to provide more nationally known speakers in future years.
Mark Nehrbas is really a product of
Franciscan University. He has served the
Lord by working on the campus of Franciscan University of Steubenville for 32
years until his retirement in August of 2017.
He was administrator for FIRE, a Catholic ministry that provided
evangelistic rallies in cities across the United States, Canada, the
Philippines, England and Ireland.
Nehrbas served as Director of Development raising over ten million
dollars for student financial aid, buildings, and special projects. As Director of Christian Outreach for 13
years, Mark led the summer conference operation at the University, overseeing
the growth of conference participants from under 25,000 to over 41,000 per
year. Mark is a dynamic speaker and
given talks at local, regional, and national conferences as well as in Jamaica.
It is essential that the men take the spiritual lead in the family and in the parish. Too often the women are the pillars of the parish. According to our past speaker, Fr. Larry Richards, the probability that the children will remain faithful to the Church in later life is about 40% if the mother takes the spiritual lead. However, if the father does his job as spiritual leader, that probability of later faithfulness doubles to about 80%!!!! According to Danny Abramowicz, the children love Mom, but tend to follow Dad. The great majority of your male students are the future fathers and husbands in the Church. Franciscan University has been doing a great job of forming their students; the Men's Conference would be great supplement and a great experience.
The theme is “The Cross as a Source of Strength and Path
to Ultimate Victory Over All Adversity” with St. Joseph, model of a true man of God, as the Conference’s patron.
The
Conference will open with a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament. The featured
speaker is Mark Nehrbas, a speaker at many conferences. The
morning talk, “Victory of the Cross in My
Battle With Cancer”, will include his testimony of his six year battle
with an aggressive form of stomach cancer and his healing at Lourdes,
France. In the afternoon talk, “Victory Over Suffering: Lessons Learned
From the Cross”. Mark Nehrbas
will explore the mystery of suffering, why God permits it, how he confronted
it, how he grew from it, the lessons he learned, how it can be very productive,
how it can make one a saint, and tips on how to cope when it’s your turn to
suffer. Sooner or later every one of us
must suffer.
The crux of his talk is redemptive suffering, a
concept which Protestants and most Catholics do not understand. Doctors recognize that patients who
spiritualize their suffering do better.
Uniting our cross with the Lord’s cross and offering it up as a dynamic
prayer for our country, our Church, and our loved ones makes suffering
productive and gives it purpose.
The goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is to focus on the spiritual
development of the participants. The includes
helping the men to take the right path before having to face the four last
things.......Death, Judgment, Heaven or 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, especially if there's a rosary and
discussion about the day's events along the way. During the
middle ages, pilgrims would travel for days by foot or horseback.
The diocesan website at diosteub.org has a
link to the brochure and Additional Information. Hover over the
"ABOUT" Menu at the top of the home page. Then hover on
"Men's Ministry" and click on "Men's Day of Renewal".
The link to our brochure and "Additional Information" are on the
bottom left under documents. 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. One may also contact paulrsebastian@yahoo.com
or call 740-245-9404. Attached are the
conference brochure and other resources.
It should be a great day of enjoyable fellowship and
spiritual reinvigoration. But most of all, the organizers expect that
through grace there will be 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, which life on earth is all
about. The annual Men's Day of Renewal
fulfills a great need.
Often the enthusiasm
generated at a men's conference is contagious and there could be a spillover onto campus since the students 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.
Your students and their youth would stand out and be most effective
witnesses for the faith and it would be a great experience for them. The experience of seeing so many men
enthusiastically participating and lifting up their voices in song is
uplifting. In the past the men have
returned spiritually refreshed, reinvigorated, and enthusiastic.
You could appoint a
student committee to mobilize students and professors with one on one selling, organize a van pool, and register the
men. Filling out the attached registration
form in advance and giving it with payment of $25 to a representative would
speed things up at the door. A sign-up
sheet would also be helpful. This would also
facilitate follow up on the undecided and for organizing a car or van
pool. A few days before the event, send
a count to “Roger Huck” <huck4816@roadrunner.com>. If sufficient time, please send the
registration form to Roger Huck; %Men’s Day of Renewal, P.O. Box 54; Beverly,
OH 45715. That would help our planning.
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 are almost two weeks and
only one week-end left before the Conference, which is not much time. I'm sorry about not being earlier, but it is
still very doable.
Hopefully, students and
professors will return on fire which would make your university 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.
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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.
A STARTING POINT FOR A SHORT ANNOUNCEMENT
Diocesan Men's Day of
Renewal Saturday, March 23 from 9 am – 4 pm at St. Stephen’s Church in
Caldwell. The theme is “The Cross as a Source of Strength and Path
to Ultimate Victory Over All Adversity”. The main speaker is Mark Nehrbas, former
director of Franciscan University conferences and noted speaker himself, will
give a testimony regarding his
victorious six year battle with stomach cancer and miraculous healing at
Lourdes. More important, he will teach
us the lessons he learned from his suffering, how to confront it, and how it
can make us saints when it’s your turn to suffer as part of the human
condition. The $25 Registration could be
a belated Christmas gift for the men in your extended family. Contact Name
of Parish Representative (phone no. & e-mail) (e.g., John Doe (245-9404
or jdoe@gmail.com) to register. Enjoy
the fellowship by going in the parish van, which leaves at 6:30 am from the
Parish Hall.
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