AMDG
Although Robert White, a grand knight himself and a member of our Steering Committee is responsible for promoting the 2013 Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal among the councils of the Knights of Columbus within the Diocese of Steubenville, each member of the Committee who is a knight promotes the Conference in his particular council. Below is an e-mail that I sent to the knights of Council 3335 St. Louis Church Gallipolis. We hope that every council of the Knights of Columbus in the diocese will be able to help in underwriting, promoting, and mobilizing its men to attend the Conference.
March 9, 2013
March 9, 2013
Dear
Brother Knight:
First of all, thank you so much, for
your $100 donation to help to underwrite the 2013 Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal
this coming Saturday March 16 from 9 am to 3 pm in Caldwell, just off of Exit
25 of I-77. We’ll meet at the Parish
Hall at 6:30 am and have some great fellowship in the Parish Van on the way. The speaker is really good. Please consider going. It’s a great experience that you won’t regret
and very much in line with the mission of the Knights of Columbus……the
formation of its men.
Please keep in your prayers Emily,
the daughter of our Grand Knight, Red Babbit who had to resign as a
result. She had a very serious auto
accident, a head-on collision and remains in the hospital.
Please don’t forget the Catholicism
Series for Lent each Tuesday night at 6:30 pm at the St. Louis Parish Hall. Fr. Robert Barron raised $3 million to
produce a fascinating overview of the Catholic Faith. He takes a professional production crew all
over the world to show the beauty and splendor of the Faith among the people
with some spectacular scenes. The title
of this fabulous series is: “CATHOLICISM:
Journey Around the World and Deep into the Faith.” Fr. Tom will answer questions for those who
stay afterwards. He’s brilliant and so
knowledgeable. Take advantage of
him. We can learn so much from him.
Men, let's face it. Too many of us are spiritual
weaklings.....spiritual wimps! And that
includes me. We have to do something
about it. Our Men's Conference would be
a big help to each one of us.
• We've
got to get into spiritual shape and embrace the faith, the theme of this year's
Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal.
• We've
got to become spiritually strong to be effective spiritual leaders of our
families, to become better fathers, better husbands, and to be able to put
Christ into our jobs and professions. To
establish the kingdom, the Lord wants our help.
• We've
got to prepare ourselves for Easter and for eternity.
• Our
Men's Conference will help us in all of these areas. On top of that we'll have a good time of
great fellowship both at the Conference and in the van going there and
back. Last year the men came back
spiritually invigorated , refreshed, and enthusiastic. A typical comment was: “I didn't want to go,
but they twisted my arm and I'm glad they did.”
• We'll
learn more about our faith too and grow in Christian maturity. We only have a
superficial knowledge. Fr. Larry Richards often appears on EWTN and
is a well known speaker throughout the Country. He’s dynamic, captivating, and
entertaining. Fr. Larry wrote a book, “Be a Man” which challenges the men
to true men as God intended. He’ll
really give us insights on what true manhood is. Most of us really don’t know what true
manhood is.
Please
mark on your calendar Saturday, March 16.
We'll meet in the parking lot at 6:30 am. Please register with me as soon as you
can. That really helps in organizing and
planning. Of course, better late than
never at the door.
For
those who missed reading last week’s Church Bulletin with an insert about the
Conference, I have it below. It has more
detail, especially about our main speaker.
Thank you so much and God
bless.
*****************************************************************************************************************
St.
Joseph, model of a true man of God, pray for us and for the success of the
Men's Conference.
*****************************************************************************************************************
DIOCESAN MEN'S DAY OF RENEWAL SATURDAY MARCH 16
If the
Men of the diocese 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 the Diocese is trying to accomplish with
the Men's Day of Renewal.
The Catholic Diocese of Steubenville is sponsoring this
Men’s Conference on Saturday March 16 from 9 am to 3 pm at St. Stephen’s Church
in Caldwell (off of I-77 Exit 25). The
theme is: “Embrace the Faith” with St. Joseph as the patron. The distance may be great, but Lent involves
sacrifice and the quest for holiness.
That gives a pilgrimage flavor especially if we car pool. During the middle ages, pilgrims would travel
for days by foot or horseback.
Our men will leave in the parish van at 6:30 am and have great
fellowship on the way. In the past the
men have returned spiritually refreshed, reinvigorated, and enthusiastic. Expect the same this year. See how the participants are moved by the beauty and
power of the faith. Non-Catholics are also welcome. This year the Conference is open to teens so this can also be a father &son event. There will be opportunities for Eucharistic
Adoration & a Lenten Confession.
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.
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 (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.
There’s
more information on the diocesan website, diosteub.org and the Conference Blog,
“Becoming a True Man of God” at diosteubmen.blogspot.com which will be
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.
Although one may
register at the door, please register with Paul Sebastian (245-9404), as
soon as possible. That would make
planning (food, transportation, etc.) easier & minimize waiting at the
door. Sign up 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
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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