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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| Danny Abramowicz |
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. These are crucial to the Church, now and in the future, not
to mention the critical need of nurturing vocations. The theme of the Conference is “Faithfulness
to God” with St. Joseph, model of a true man of God, as its patron. The distance is great for many, but that
gives the Conference a pilgrimage flavor and Lent is all about sacrifice. After all, we're in a Super Bowl, and each
one of us must win it. The trophy for
victory, the prize is eternal salvation, everlasting happiness in heaven when
Christ Himself would say to you...... “Well done good and faithful servant.” He will relate his experience as a
professional football player and coach to the very serious game of
life........becoming true men of God.
Too often the women are the pillars
of the parish. It is essential that the
men take the spiritual lead in the family and in the parish. One holy woman in our diocese likes to challenge
the men and say: "I don't see many REAL men around".......i.e.,
authentic men of strong character, virtue, and integrity.......willing and able
to put Catholic values into their families, their professions, and the public
square. She refers to some
research. It concludes that if the
mother takes the spiritual lead in the family, there is in the neighborhood of
a 17% probability that the children will remain faithful to the Church in later
life. However, if the father takes the
spiritual lead, that probability increases to about 70%. If the men can get into good spiritual shape,
we'll have stronger families and parishes.
Set the men on fire and you renew not only the parish, but the entire
diocese and ultimately the Country, thus transforming Society.
The main speaker, Danny
Abramowicz
was born and raised in Steubenville, a Catholic Central alumnus, who later
broke records at Xavier University and is a member of its Sports Hall of
Fame. As the last draft choice of the
New Orleans Saints in 1967, Danny made the team on sheer guts and
determination. Finally, he broke into
the lineup as a wide receiver of Archie Manning, the father of Peyton and
Eli. By 1969, he led the NFL in
receptions and made all-pro. After
retiring in 1975, he became a charter
member of the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame and later the Louisiana, National
Polish, Ohio Valley, and Sports Faith Halls of Fame. After his stint as head coach of Jesuit High
School, he later became the special teams coach of the Chicago Bears and
offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints (1997-2000) under Mike
Ditka.
As
many young pro stars, Danny fell into the fast life and alcoholism. Being miserable and unhappy, he underwent a
conversion and is devoting the rest of his life as a coach for Christ, to help
men get into spiritual shape (i.e., holiness) through his books, talks around
the country, and his “Crossing the Goal” program on EWTN television (Thursday 9
pm, Sunday 6:30 pm, & Monday 6:30 am), radio, and internet (ewtn.com). Googling his name will give over 5000 results
with many details about his career. Very
interesting on the first page is a reference to a Cleveland Plain Dealer
article/interview: “Who dat? Danny Abramowicz was the New Orleans Saints'
First Star”.
Coach
Abramowicz will relate his experience as a professional football player and
coach to the very serious game of life.
You'll really enjoy his talk, more so if you're a pro football fan.
It should be
a great day of enjoyable fellowship and spiritual invigoration. The last two years the men returned refreshed
spiritually, reinvigorated, and enthusiastic.
Expect the same this year. Most
impressive in prior years was the Mass concelebrated by the Bishop with up to
25 pastors who accompanied their men.
The men sang with such enthusiasm that the walls reverberated. It was great to see how the participants are
moved by the beauty and power of the faith and it's contagious.
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 greater closeness to God and eternity which life on earth is all
about. If successful, a Men's Day of
Renewal can become an annual event in our diocese, thus fulfilling a great
need.
Optional Motel Accommodations. Recognizing that some of the men will have to
travel as much as four hours to attend the Men's Conference, the Steering
Committee is offering a special rate for the nights of March 9 & 10 at the
Hampton Inn nearby if one makes reservations by February 24. Details and directions are in the brochure
which can be obtained in the back of the church or on the home page of the
diocesan web site, www.diosteub.org. In this way, the men can make it a week-end
retreat with Stations of the Cross and prayer (Eucharistic Adoration if
sufficient interest) on Friday night plus prayer and rosary early the next
morning. Wives could come along and
spend the day in the very large St. Clairsville Mall nearby. Pittsburgh is less than an hour and a half
away.
One or two good men are urgently
needed in each parish to help to assure adequate promotion overall and to
promote the Men's Conference with one on one selling of the event. Then they would organize the men to go as a
group in the parish van, a van pool, or hiring a bus. That would be great fellowship and would
solidify the parish as the men get to know each other better, especially if the
pastor accompanies them and we'll need confessors. If the distance is great, there would be a
pilgrimage flavor, especially if there's prayer and discussion of the day's
events. Pastors, already overworked,
can't do it all, especially the grunt work of promotion. They need the help of the laity.
Other Promotional Help Needed. The best form of advertising is word of
mouth. Thus we are asking participants
of past years to tell their friends about this great opportunity for spiritual
renewal. The local Knights of Columbus council can be invaluable in mobilizing
their members and the other men in the parishes. A layman could briefly talk about the
conference at the end of Mass. Other
parish groups can help with the promotion.
The women can be most valuable in encouraging their men
to attend.......husbands, sons over 18, fathers, boy friends, etc. Certainly, they want them to be true men of
God. This is really part of the new
evangelization and every Catholic shares in that mission Christ gave us. Perhaps, the parish could help the men who
cannot afford the cost.
Donations Needed. It is very expensive to put on a Conference
of this magnitude and bring the top speakers of the country. At the same time, the Steering Committee is doing
its best to keep the Conference affordable for each participant during these
difficult economic times. Thus we are
asking for donations from businesses, parishes organizations, the Knights of
Columbus, and individuals. Please send
any check to Steve Ismael as shown above
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, i.e., the minimalist; to
touch the drifting Catholic and the fallen away through the publicity and
inviting them to attend.
More information is available from your
pastor, Steve Ishmael above, or “Paul Sebastian” <pauls@rio.edu> at
740-245-9404. The latter will provide
the address to the Men's Conference blog, which has a wealth of promotional
materials (possible bulletin and pulpit announcements, a possible bulletin
insert, promotional ideas at the parish level, crucial role of the parish
representative, possible talk by one of the men after Mass, etc.), interesting
articles, and other information. After
the Conference through the rest of the year,
articles will be added to help the men keep in good spiritual shape and
continue in their quest of becoming true men of God.
Although
registrations will be accepted at the door, please register as soon as
possible. That would make planning much
easier and would minimize waiting at the door.
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.
· 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.
Optional to Put at the Beginning if the Brochure is not on the
Website
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