AMDG
Mike Aquilina, the principal speaker at the 2018 Men's Conference
February 23, 2018
Dear Wheeling Jesuit
University Campus Ministers:
If the Men 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
we're trying to accomplish with the Steubenville Diocesan Men's Day of
Renewal.
I
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 a parish
function, 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.
Furthermore, I taught Business at Wheeling Jesuit University in
1988-89. Thus I have a special love for
Wheeling Jesuit University.
In that same spirit we thought that it would be great if a delegation of students, staff, and professors from Franciscan University could attend our Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal on Saturday March 3 at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell (9 am to 3:30 pm) off of Exit 25 on I-77 about 1½ hrs. away. Students from Franciscan University would be great witnesses and it would be a great experience for them. If we can attract a good number of men, we will be able to provide more nationally known speakers in future years.
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 Fr. Larry Richards, our 2013 speaker, 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, the children love Mom, but tend to follow Dad. The great majority of your male students are the future fathers and husbands in the Church.
The Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal will be held on Saturday March 3 from
9 am to 3:30 pm at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell. The Conference will open with a Holy Hour
before the Blessed Sacrament. There will
be a Penance Service and Mass presided by Bishop Monforton. The featured speaker is Mike Aquilina,
nationally known expert on the early Church, author of over 50 books, and
speaker. His morning talk is titled
“The Strength of Heaven”, which will show how the angels were effective
witnesses and can teach us much to apply to our daily lives. In the afternoon, he will show how the
witness of the martyrs of the early Church can teach us to be witnesses today
in secular America. Mike Aquilina will
challenge the men to follow the example of the early Church Fathers and martyrs
and be effective witnesses in their homes, in their parishes, on the job, and
in their communities. As Blessed Pope
Paul VI said, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if
he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
Mike Aquilina is the executive vice president and trustee
of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Catholic research center, based
in Steubenville. Drawing from his
diverse experience as a journalist, prolific author, conference speaker, and
father of a family of six children, Mr. Aquilina can speak to the needs of the
men.
This background puts Mike Aquilina in a position to speak
on the theme of this year’s Diocese of Steubenville Men’s Conference, “Being a
Cloud of Witnesses”. 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 participants. The includes
helping the men to take the right path before having to face the four last
things.......Death, Judgment, Heaven or Hell.
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, especially
if there's a rosary and discussion about the day's events along the way. 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. 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.
There’s more information on the
diocesan website at www.diosteub.org
with a link at the bottom of the home page 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. Attached are the
conference brochure and other resources.
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, which life on earth is all
about. The annual Men's Day of Renewal
fulfills a great need.
Often the enthusiasm generated at a men's
conference is contagious and there
could be a spillover onto campus since the students 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.
Your students and their youth could stand out and be most effective
witnesses for the faith and it would be a great experience for them.
You could appoint a student
committee to mobilize students and professors with one on one selling,
organize a van pool, and register the men.
Filling out the attached registration form in advance and giving it with
payment of $25 to a representative would speed things up at the door. A sign-up sheet would also be helpful. This would also facilitate follow up on the
undecided and for organizing a car or van pool.
A few days before the event, send a count to “Roger Huck”
<huck4816@roadrunner.com>. If
sufficient time, please send the registration form to Roger Huck; %Men’s Day of
Renewal, P.O. Box 54; Beverly, OH 45715.
That would help our planning.
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 are
almost two weeks and 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.
Hopefully,
students and professors will return on fire which would make your university
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.
**************************************************************************************************************
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 3 from 9 am – 3:30 pm at St. Stephen’s Church in
Caldwell. The theme is “Being a
Cloud of Witnesses”. The main speaker is Mike Aquilina, a prolific
author of over 50 books, particularly on the early Church. He is a nationally known speaker, appearing
frequently on EWTN and Relevant Radio.
Mike Aquilina will show how the witness of the angels and the martyrs of
the early Church can teach us how to be witnesses today in secular America. Registration fee is $25 at the door.
Again
thank you so much and God bless.
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