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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”. See also his website at crossingthegoal.com.
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.
Each
prospective parish representative is asked to make his availability
and contact information known to the Chair of the Steering Committee,
Steve Ishmael at 740-635-2102, 740-296-9927, or swi167@comcast.net.
The parish representative may collect the registration forms and
send them to Ishmael at P.O. Box 167; Lansing, OH 43934. This would
save considerable time waiting at the door. This may also be done
individually. Make the check payable to the Diocese of Steubenville
and write “Men's Day of Renewal” on the memo line of the check.
Other
Promotional Help Needed.
The best form of advertizing 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 (diosteubmen.blogspot.com) and his own personal blog (paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com), 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.
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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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