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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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March 4, 2013
AMDG
Dear Father:
If the Men of the parish 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. That's what we're
trying to accomplish with the Steubenville Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal. See the attached brochure with registration
form and additional detailed information, both of which are also on the bottom
of the home page of the diocesan website at www.diosteub.org
(just click on it).
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, one inviting
the other to parish functions, going to daily Mass at the other parish when the
home pastor is away, and especially with the priests helping each other out
with Penance services, and occasionally a weekend Mass.
In that same spirit we thought that it would be great if a delegation of men from your Church would attend our Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal on Saturday, March 16 at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell, Ohio from 9 am to 3 pm. It's across the Ohio River just off of Exit 25 on I-77, about a half hour north of the twin cities of Parkersburg, WV & Marietta, OH and less than a half hour south of I-70. 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 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.
| Fr. Larry Richards brings out a point in one of his conferences. |
The main speaker, Fr. Larry Richards is the author of the best seller, “Be a Man! Becoming the Man God Created You to Be” which challenges men to be true men as God intended with manly virtues such as love, wisdom, courage, integrity, and compassion to pursue holiness, to make a difference in the world, and to live as a beloved son of God, revealing the meaning of a man’s life. Fr. Larry inspires men to become the true heroes they long to be. He recounts his struggles to learn true manhood, as well as the inspiring stories of others he has served. He tells men how to focus on the right goals, to live according to the Holy Spirit, to be a man of true love and of wisdom, to appreciate properly the differences between men and women, to pursue holiness, and to make a difference in the world. Not preachy but direct, Father Larry challenges men to be strong, without putting on a mask of false strength or machismo. He will talk on both Confession and true manhood. For a sample of his talks, see www.youtube.com.
He often appears on
EWTN, hosts his own national radio show, “Changed
Forever” on
Relevant Radio at www.relevantradio.com
and other stations on Saturday 8 pm & Sunday 11 am. Fr. Larry Richards is the founder and
president of the Reason for Hope Foundation dedicated to spreading the good
news of the Gospel (see www.TheReasonForOurHope.org)
by educating others about Jesus Christ and giving insights on true manhood.
Fr. Richards, born in
Pittsburgh, earned a degree in Mental Health at the College Seminary at Gannon
University. He completed his priestly
training and studies in Theology at St. Vincent Seminary; received a Master of
Divinity degree; and was ordained in 1989.
He is the pastor of St. Joseph Church and the Bread of Life Community in
Erie, Pennsylvania. Fr. Larry is also
the Spiritual Director of the TEC (To Encounter Christ) Retreat Program for the Diocese of Erie. At the same time he is close to completing
the requirements for a MA degree in Liturgy at the University of Notre Dame.
The last three years the men returned
refreshed spiritually, reinvigorated, and enthusiastic. Expect the same this year. Most impressive 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.
You
can make copies of the brochure or adapt the attached model and put it into
your church bulletin this Sunday as an insert.
Our Conference Blog, “Becoming a True Man of God” at http://diosteubmen.blogspot.com has
greater detail and resources for promoting the Conference, such as possible
bulletin blurbs, promotional ideas, a possible bulletin insert possible talk by
the priest or a layman after Mass, etc.
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 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.
The goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is to
focus on the spiritual development of the men of our diocese. This year's theme is “Embracing the Faith” with St. Joseph as its patron. 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. Set the men on
fire and you renew not only the parish, but the entire diocese and ultimately
the Country, thus transforming Society.
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 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,
last year’s speaker, the children love Mom, but tend to follow Dad.
True,
Caldwell is a good distance for some parishes. But that's what Lent is all about. It's sacrifice. 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. He could help hear confessions and concelebrate the holy
liturgy with the newly appointed Bishop Jeffrey Monforton and many other priests from both sides of the river.
Another option is to stay in the nearby Best Western Motel, where we have a special rate, on the night of March 15 and
make a retreat out of it. There's Eucharistic Adoration before and after Stations of the Cross at 7 pm and again at 8 pm the next
morning.
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.
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.
You 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, please send them to Steve Ishmael; Chair Men's Day of Renewal;
PO Box 167; Lansing, Ohio 43934. That
would help our planning. This would
facilitate follow up on the undecided and for organizing a car or van pool.
Non-Catholics are also welcome. The men may bring their teen age sons, godsons,
nephews, and friends.
The local Knights of Columbus council can be invaluable
in mobilizing their members and the other men in the surrounding parishes. 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. I'm sorry about not being earlier, but it is
still very doable.
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.
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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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