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 in the Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal on Saturday March 18 at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell (9 am to 3:30 pm) off of
Exit 25 on I-77 are challenged to become true men of God........dynamic
Catholic leaders who will change the world, beginning with their families,
their parishes, their communities, and the marketplace through their jobs.
To
complement the Mass presided by Bishop Monforton and Penance Service the
featured speaker is Capt. Guy Gruters (USAF).
After graduation from the Air Force Academy with a B.S. in Engineering
Science, Capt. Gruters flew more than 400 combat missions in Vietnam and
received over 30 combat medals and awards.
He was shot down twice and captured the second time in 1967. After leaving the Air Force, he captained
DC-9s and Boeing 727s for Eastern Airlines until retiring in 1991. Later Capt. Gruters was an account rep. for
IBM and President of PC Software Systems.
In his morning talk Guy Gruters will
reveal how his faith and trust in God carried him through the ordeal as a
Prisoner of War in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” and other camps for five
years. Since bitterness is self-destructing,
he will share in the afternoon talk how he learned to show mercy and forgive
his brutal captors who tortured him and deal with people in a business
environment. The participants will
discover how they can apply the lessons learned by Capt. Gruters to their daily lives. He is a 4th Degree member of the
Knights of Columbus.
Drawing
from his diverse experience and being a father of seven children, he will also
touch on “Leadership and Teamwork in the Family, Church, and the
Community”. An excellent and dynamic
speaker, Mr. Gruters gives talks all over the country and is the author of the
book, “Locked Up With God”.
This background puts Capt. Gruters
in a position to speak on the theme of this year’s Diocese of Steubenville
Men’s Conference, “Mercy and Forgiveness, Faith and Trust……..Means of
Developing Strength and Holiness in
Difficult Times" and apply it to our daily lives. That is through the
power of faith 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.
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. It involves
sacrificing most of a Saturday with some travel, but Lent is all about sacrifice and the quest for
holiness. That gives a pilgrimage
flavor. 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. They
will see how the participants are moved by
the beauty and power of the faith. The
experience of seeing so many men enthusiastically participating and lifting up
their voices in song is uplifting. There
will be opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration & a Lenten Confession. The Conference is open to teens so this can also
be a father and son event, a shared experience. In the past the men have returned spiritually
refreshed, reinvigorated, and enthusiastic.
Expect the same this year.
There’s
more information on the diocesan website, www.diosteub.org
and the Conference Blog, “Becoming a True Man of God” at diosteubmen.blogspot.com
which is also 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. The
Men's Day of Renewal is growing into an annual event in our diocese, thus
fulfilling a great need. Although one may register at the door, please
register with your parish representative, e.g. John Doe (245-9404), as soon as
possible. That would make planning
(food, transportation, etc.) easier & minimize waiting at the door. A sign-up sheet 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
bring 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.
******************************************************************************************
St. Joseph, model of a true
man of God, pray for us and for the success of the Men's Conference.
******************************************************************************************
USE THE
SPACE BELOW (2/3 page) FOR THE SPEAKERS & REGISTRATION FORM FROM THE
BROCHURE
(i.e., paste the part with the
speaker photos & descriptions of Bishop Monforton and Capt. Guy Gruters as
well as the registration form. They may
be reproduced either in color or black & white.)
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