AMDG
March 12, 2017
Dear Fellow Veteran:
I’m
on the Steering Committee for the Steubenville Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal,
which will be held on Saturday March 18
from 9 am to 3:30 pm at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell off of Exit 25 of I-77. The men 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.
Since you, especially if a Vietnam
veteran, can identify with our main speaker, Capt. Guy Gruters (USAF), you
might be interested in attending. He
complements the Holy
Hour at 9 am, Penance Service, and closing Mass presided by Bishop Monforton at 2:30 pm. 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 in Vietnam for over 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. 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.
Since Capt. Guy Gruters exhibits the spirit of
sacrifice that veterans have made for our country, the Conference will briefly
honor all veterans present. The MC will
thank the veterans and ask them to stand.
Tentatively, a prayer will be
offered for those on active duty, especially those in harm’s way.
If you would prefer to have Capt. Guy Gruters speak to
your church, library, community group, local college, or veterans organization,
I would be happy to put you in contact with him. Since he lives near Dayton, travel expenses
would be low. He would adapt his talks
to the audience.
The goal of
the Men's Day of Renewal is to focus on the spiritual development of the men of
the 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.
The men 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 a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration and optional Lenten
Confession. The Conference is open to
teens so this can also be a father and
son event, a shared experience.
Non-Catholics are also welcome.
In the past the men have returned spiritually refreshed, reinvigorated,
and enthusiastic. Although registration
will be taken at the door, the men are asked, asked to register in advance if
time allows through the attached brochure or the registration forms also
attached along with additional information.
There’s more information on the home
page of 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. One may also contact paulrsebastian@yahoo.com
or call 740-245-9404.
It should be a great day of
enjoyable fellowship and spiritual reinvigoration. But most of all, the
organizers expect that through grace there will be 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 the Diocese of Steubenville,
thus fulfilling a great need.
*********************************************************************************
St. Joseph, model of a true man of
God, pray for us and for the success of the Men's Conference.
*********************************************************************************
APPENDIX
Links to Articles of Interest to Veterans
Did you know that only five military chaplains received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest decoration for heroism and all five of them are Catholic?
· Blog #29 “Veterans, Salute The Flag Out of Uniform”
- Blog #30 “Veterans
Still Suffering for God and Country”
- Blog #31 Fr. Vincent
Capodanno: “A Medal of Honor Marine Chaplain of the Vietnam War & a
Maryknoll Father”
- Blog #127 “Heroic
Chaplains Who Have Been Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor”
- Blog #160 - Cold War: “Gallipolis, Ohio Resident Part of the
History of the Berlin Wall: An Adventure in Cold War Intrigue”
- Blog #164: “Only World War II Chaplain Who Received the Congressional Medal of Honor: Navy Captain Fr. Joseph Timothy O’Callahan”
- http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com/2015/11/164-first-catholic-chaplain-to-receive.html
- Blog #180 - Korean
War: “Fr. Emil Kapaun, the Most Decorated Chaplain in Military History”
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