MEN’S DAY OF RENEWAL March
23: LENTEN SACRIFICE & OPPORTUNITY
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 23 at
St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell (9 am to 4 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.
The morning talk, “Victory of the
Cross in My Battle With Cancer” will be his personal testimony of what he went
through since 2012, a six year journey…….the anxiety, the fear, the pain, and
the frustration over two separate bouts of an aggressive form of stomach
cancer……two major surgeries, countless days with painful chemo, repeated doses
of radiation. Through all this, his prayer life became more intense; his faith
and trust in God deepened. Mark Nehrbas tried
every path except one. Providentially
and unexpectantly, a generous friend, a Knight of Malta, offered to sponsor him
and his wife, Carol for a pilgrimage to the great Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes
in France. Before leaving in May of last
year, his doctor indicated that his cancer had come back and would have to resume
aggressive treatments after the pilgrimage.
At the time Nehrbas was unaware that his tumor marker count shot up to
over 300. He was reexamined upon his
return and the tumor count was normal with no trace of cancer! The Muslim doctor was baffled! Mark knew that it’s a miracle!
In the afternoon talk, “Victory Over Suffering: Lessons Learned From the Cross”. Mark Nehrbas will explore the mystery of
suffering, why God permits it, how he confronted it, how he grew from it, the lessons
he learned, how it can be very productive, and how it can make you a saint. The most important of all is that sooner or
later every one of us will have to suffer.
We can choose to be miserable or we can choose to unite our suffering
with the cross and offer it all up as a dynamic prayer for the conversion of
sinners as Mary requested at Fatima, for our Church in deep crisis, for the
souls in Purgatory, for the
world, and for our loved ones. Such
Redemptive Suffering by many people can ultimately save the world.
The
theme is “The Cross as a Source of Strength and Path
to Ultimate Victory Over All Adversity” with St. Joseph, model of a true man of God, as the Conference’s patron. Through the power of faith men must 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 meet at the Parish Hall and leave in the parish van at
6:30 am. They’ll 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.
There’s
more information on the diocesan website, www.diosteub.org
and the Conference Blog, “Becoming a True Man of God” at http://paulrsebastianphd.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 http://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, Paul Sebastian (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.
· Be Ready to
face the four last things……Death, Judgment,
Heaven, Hell.
***************************************************************************************************St. Joseph, model of a true
man of God, pray for us & for the success of the Men's Day.
***************************************************************************************************
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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