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| Matthew Leonard speaking at a Day of Recollection. Click on one minute segment of his beautiful talks on Lent at https://youtu.be/Y4DVUlf7ec4 |
For the seventh consecutive
year, the Diocese of Steubenville is sponsoring the Men's Day of Renewal on Saturday, February 27 from 9 am to 3:30 pm
at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell
off of I-77 Exit 25. The patron of the
Conference is St. Joseph, a model of a true man of God, to whose intercession
we count upon for its success.
If the mother takes the spiritual lead
in the family, the probability that the children will remain faithful to the
Church as adults is about 40%. If the
father takes the spiritual lead, that probability doubles to 80%. This is crucial because we are losing our
youth. As Danny Abramowicz of “Crossing
the Goal” on EWTN likes to point out, “The children love Mom, but tend to follow
Dad.” Thus the participants are
challenged to be true men as God intended.
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 of Steubenville, Ohio is trying to accomplish with the Men's Day of
Renewal.
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. This is crucial to the Church, now and in the future. It is
also critical for nurturing vocations.
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| Matthew Leonard |
To
complement the Mass presided by Bishop Monforton and the Reconciliation Service,
the featured
speaker is Matthew Leonard. Father
of five young children, he proclaims the power of prayer as an unusually
dynamic and captivating speaker to audiences all over the U. S. and
abroad. He will first speak on the
art of being a true Catholic, while giving the men an appreciation of
the beauty and the splendor of the faith, motivating them to deepen their
knowledge, become more committed and effective witnesses in our secular
society. Later in the day Leonard will
show that prayer works; prayer
is power and will help the men to learn how to pray more effectively
and grow in holiness.
Often appearing on radio and
television, he has written two books and a number of articles on these
subjects. After serving in Latin America
as an Evangelical missionary, Matthew Leonard discovered the truth of the
Catholic faith in 1998, claiming that converting was the “greatest thing I ever
did”. After obtaining a Master’s Degree in
Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, he became a real estate
development executive in Chicago and later a Theology instructor at Ave Maria
University in Florida before becoming the current Executive Director of the St.
Paul Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville.
Matthew
Leonard is the author of “Louder Than Words – the Art of Living as a
Catholic” and “Prayer Works – Getting a Grip on Catholic
Spirituality”.
This
background puts Matthew Leonard in a position to speak on the theme of this
year’s Steubenville Diocese Men’s Conference, “RISE UP OH MEN OF GOD!”.
That is through the power of prayer rise up to be the spiritual leaders
of their families, to do their part in renewing their parishes, be servant
leaders in the community, and to make a difference for Christ by applying the
social teachings of the Church to their professions. This unusually dynamic speaker will challenge
the participants
to be not only servant leaders, but also first and foremost men of prayer.
While travel time may be
long and distance may be far for many, that gives the conference a pilgrimage
flavor, and Lent is all about sacrifice and spiritual growth. Since St. Stephen Church in Caldwell is in
the geographic center of our far flung diocese, the Steering Committee is
hopeful that the men of Steubenville in the north and the men of Ironton and
Chesapeake in the south will be able to participate. Nevertheless, this mini-pilgrimage is still
a lenten sacrifice of early rising and a long trip with great fellowship in a
van or bus as the men pray together, discuss the talks and other events of the
Conference, and deepen friendships. A
bag lunch is provided.
It should be a great day of enjoyable
fellowship and spiritual invigoration. In each of the last six years men returned reinvigorated,
enthusiastic, and spiritually refreshed. Expect the same this year. It is awesome to hear the men lift up their
voices in song and be moved by the beauty and power of the faith. But mostly, through God’s grace, we will have
more good spiritually strong men for the kingdom of God as well as the battle
against secularism and other evils that plague
our society. We will have more men who put Christ into their professions. We
will have men who will become more knowledgeable in their faith and better
prepared for a joyful Easter and an eternal closeness to God. The Men's Day of Renewal has grown into an
annual event in our diocese, thus fulfilling a great need.
Promotional Help Needed. Many if not most men will hardly
notice the bulletin announcements, posters, and brochures, although they are
indeed important and helpful. What they
can’t miss is the one-on-one personal selling by their peers, i.e., talking it
up. The most effective form of
advertising or promotion is word of mouth.
Most effective is the witness of men who have gone to a previous
Conference, especially the parish representative that we are asking the pastor
to appoint or accept as a volunteer.
Thus one or two men are urgently
needed in each parish to assure the success of this event. To ease the burden on our
pastors, we are depending upon our men to offer their assistance as parish
representatives to mobilize the men with good one on one personal selling,
register them, and organize van pools. Word-of-mouth advertising is essential
to maximize the promotion of the Men’s Day of Renewal throughout each
parish. We ask participants of past years to tell their friends about this
awesome opportunity for spiritual renewal.
Equally important, women can be most
valuable in encouraging their husbands, sons (including teens), fathers,
fiancés, etc., to attend. This is a very important part of the new evangelization.” Father and son can make this day an
unforgettable shared experience in which they become closer to each other. If the pastor accompanies the men, he would
have an opportunity to know the men better and thus solidify the parish. The Men’s Day of Renewal needs confessors.
The local Knights of Columbus council can be
most valuable since the spiritual formation of their men is part of their
mission. They are asked to mobilize their
men to attend and organize a van pool.
Traveling together can build friendships and provide opportunities to
tell about the Knights, thus making the Conference a recruiting tool. .
Each prospective parish
representative is asked to make his availability and contact information
known to the Chair of the Steering Committee, Don Coen at (740)264-0155, (740)632-1565,
or donandmargcoen@yahoo.com. Men may
register individually or the parish representative may collect the registration
forms with payment and send them as a package to Roger Huck; %Men’s Day of
Renewal, P.O. Box 54; Beverly, OH 45715.
This would save considerable time waiting at the door. Checks for the Registration cost of $25.00 per person are to be made payable to
the Diocese of Steubenville with “Men's Day of Renewal” written on the memo line of the check.
Transportation Needs. A carpool, vanpool, or bus saves on
fuel costs and gives an opportunity for fellowship while traveling to and from
the event—especially for those traveling greater distances. Please assist with
the organization of transportation for those attending in your parish.
Donations Needed. It is very expensive to put on a
conference of this magnitude and feature today’s top speakers. While the
Steering Committee does its best to minimize the cost for each participant, we
are seeking donations from businesses, parish organizations, the Knights of
Columbus, and individuals. Please send donations to Roger Huck as shown above.
Ads in the Program Brochure. Details on placing
the ad for a business or community organization, or Knights of Columbus Council
are in the Conference Blog or call Roger Huck at 740-984-2234 or 740-336-9128.
More information can be obtained from your pastor, from Don Coen above, or Paul Sebastian
at (740) 245-9404 & paulrsebastian@yahoo.com.
Useful Resources for Promotion.
The pastor and parish representative can utilize our Conference Blog at http://diosteubmen.blogspot.com,
beginning with Blog #93 – Overview and Poster; 94) Ad Form; 95) Press Release #1; 96)
Possible Short Bulletin Announcements; 97) Promotion Ideas; 98) Functions and Crucial
Importance of the Parish Rep; 99) Sign Up Sheet; 100) Sample Bulletin Insert; 101)
Example of an After Mass Talk By a Layman; 102) Possible Pulpit Announcements; 103) Press Release #2; and 104) Secular Press Release.
There are also interesting
articles on men’s spirituality, highlights of previous conferences, and other information. After the Conference and throughout the year,
articles will be added to help the men keep in good spiritual shape. Clergy, Religious, and knowledgeable layman
are invited to submit articles.
Please submit your registration as
soon as possible. Registration
will be accepted at the door; however, doing so in advance makes our planning
more efficient and also helps to minimize waiting at the conference entrance.
BENEFIT SUMMARY OF WHAT THE MEN'S CONFERENCE CAN DO FOR YOU:
Get you into good spiritual
shape
Have a great day of enjoyable
fellowship and spiritual invigoration with fellow parishioners and
participants 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 cope with
problems and conquer problematic issues that trouble our society
Be an effective spiritual
leader to your family as a better husband and father
Prepare our hearts for the
great feast of Easter as we become closer to God
Become more knowledgeable
about our Catholic faith and grow in Christian maturity
Become a more effective soldier of Christ,
and help strengthen His kingdom on earth
Catholic Men’s Day of Renewal
RISE UP!
MEN OF GOD
A Lenten retreat for the men of the
Diocese of Steubenville
Diocese of Steubenville
Saturday, February 27, 2016
8:00am — 3:00pm
(Doors open at 8:00am)
8:00am — 3:00pm
(Doors open at 8:00am)
Mass Celebrated by:
Bishop Jeffrey Monforton
Diocese of Steubenville
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MASTER OF CEREMONIES:
Don Coen
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1036 Belford Street
Caldwell, Ohio 43724
GUEST SPEAKER -
Mr. Matthew S. Leonard
Matthew
is the father of five young children, proclaims the power of prayer as a radio
host and unusually dynamic and captivating speaker to audiences all over the US
and abroad. He will first speak on the
art of being a true Catholic. Later he
will show that prayer is power and will help the men to pray more effectively
and grow in holiness. Often appearing on
radio and television, he has written two books and a number of articles on
these subjects. After serving in Latin
America as an Evangelical missionary, Matthew converted to the Catholic faith
in 1998 and obtained a Master’s Degree in Theology at Franciscan University of
Steubenville. He was a real estate
development executive in Chicago and later a Theology instructor at Ave Maria
University before becoming the current Executive Director of the St. Paul
Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville.
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