The TrueManhood Podcast Episode 3 – The Devil’s Top 5 Lies

The TrueManhood Podcast, brought to you by TrueManhood Men’s Ministry, in Episode 3, will examine what we believe are the Devil’s Top 5 Lies to win souls. Lie #1: Pornography. #2: Decay of Marriage/Okay of Divorce. #3: Abortion/Contraception. #4: Gender Agenda. #5: Atheism/Secular Humanism

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Knights, No More

How often do you sit back and shake your head in disbelief?  For me, it seems to happen quite frequently.  It’s unfortunate, bewildering, and frustrating to see story after story where people cave to the culture, to the “tolerance” regime, to the mainstream, and to politics.  Why can’t we simply see truth and respond to it appropriately?!  I speak of the males that were formerly known as Knights of Columbus from Norfolk KofC Council #3548.  This likely doesn’t include every Brother Knight there, but for the sake of this argument, one is too many.  As I read the stories, the council is acting, and that includes every member of that council.  For any who did stand with Church teaching, it goes without saying, good job.

In Virginia, the Governor is pro-abortion, pro-same-sex marriage, and stands in conflict to most, if not all, Catholic teaching.  Council 3548 invited, and even after rebuke, are continuing to advocate for Gov. Terry McAuliffe to act as Grand Marshall in the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day Parade (next week, Tuesday.)  The pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, where this Knights council is based, has repeatedly rebuked these former Knights.  I say “former”, because no Catholic man who calls himself “Knight” would allow this to happen, and I wouldn’t call them “Brother”.  If this were my council, heads would roll.  But it’s not my council, because we’re actually Catholic warriors!  We stand for truth, goodness, and beauty, and as defenders of Mother Church.  I’m not sure, but I would imagine that these behaviors and decisions may automatically excommunicate some.  I urge them to reconsider their decision of honoring a person who so vehemently opposes Catholic doctrine, especially on issues that are paramount to Catholicism.  Life and Marriage go hand-in-hand and must be upheld, especially by the “Strong Right Arm of the Church”.

Fr. Beeman, their pastor, has done what he can to teach his parishioners the proper approach to these issues.  He is quoted as saying, “It is the clear teaching of the Bishops of the United States in Catholics in Political Life that, ‘the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles,’” he wrote in his letter. “‘They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions’.”

So here’s the deal… in one way or another, we’re all faced with decisions of how we stand against evil.  How we react is important.  When faced with “going against the crowd” or “ruffling feathers”, are you courageous enough to do it?  Do you back down and shy away from confrontation?  Do you buy into the “church of nice” and “want people to like you”?  Men, there are times in life when we can step back and let things play out.  There are other times, especially when it comes to fundamental Church teachings, that we must fight.  This situation in Virginia is one of those times.  The TrueMan is wise enough to know the difference.  The vicious man would choose incorrectly.  I can promise you that Fr. Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, would have stood and fought.

TrueMan up!

Crazy SexEd – You Might Not Believe It

Our world is absolutely crazy.  The video below is so crazy that you might not believe it even if you watch it.  Be assured, it’s real.  It’s all real.  And it’s crazy.  (Viewer discretion advised.  Not for children.)

 This video was produced by LiveAction, a pro-life group working to expose Planned Parenthood and other abortion-industry evils.  Yes, I said it… evil.  Abortion is evil, and as a man, I am constanly astonished at the behavior of other males who constantly look the other way, and those who buy the lie that “abortion is a woman’s issue.”  Be clear… I didn’t call the women who have abortions evil.  I called the act evil.  There is forgiveness for all of us for our bad choices, thank God!  Planned Parenthood is feeding their money-maker – abortion – by indoctrinating the entire culture with the lies about sexuality, and to see these images and scenes, so blatantly apparent, is appalling.  What they are encouraging is sexual “freedom” (a misnomer if I ever heard one) and exploration.  This exploration leads to promiscuity, sinfulness, and, yep – you guessed it – unplanned/unwanted babies.  Since the law says it’s okay, and “everybody’s doin’ it”, let’s just bring them right back into the same place we educated them, and kill their little baby for them.  Absurd.  Planned Parenthood has no shame and believes that what they are doing is teaching sex education in a healthy way and in a helpful way.  Their mode of operating is not to protect or guard our children, teens, young adults, and families, but rather, they see each client as dollar signs.  Cha-ching.  (Check out the documentary titled “Blood Money” for more on just how lucrative the abortion industry is.)

Whether you believe in the same type of sex education I do or not, can we at least agree that teaching children (children as young as 5!) about BDSM is wrong?!

Men – these are the times that require action from us.  Do not allow your children, nor the children that they are influenced by, to be exposed to this garbage.  Say ‘no’ at the public level.  Say ‘no’ at the church level.  Say ‘no’ at the political level.  Say ‘no’ at the school level.  Opt them out, get them away from it.  And, there’s an important element here of teaching our kids the proper understanding of sexuality.  That is, that our sexuality is a good thing, and God intended the sexual act to be life giving and unifying, and to take place only between spouses that are fully committed to one another in the Sacrament of Marriage.

If you want some resources on teaching this to your children, please look into the “Theology of the Body” – there are countless resources, even resources for children, middle schoolers, teens, and beyond.

TrueMan up!

A TrueMan Fighting the Pro-Life Fight

There’s no question in my mind that abortion is a man’s issue.  I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again… if males were handling our business, women wouldn’t feel the need for abortion.  If we want the issue of abortion to go away, and for women, men, and children to receive healing, we must step up and fight.

One of my friends, my buddies, my other-brother-from-Our-Blessed-Mother is on the front lines of this battle, and I want to highlight him, his wife, his kids, and the people who are, literally, running along side him.  This man has a new role that he’s gearing up for as President of the Vitae Foundation, and on top of all of that, he is one of our nation’s heroes, an officer in the United States Air Force.

This man’s name is Lt. Col Pat Castle, PhD., and I’m blessed to know him and call him ‘brother’.  Several years ago, Pat and a few of his closest friends started a pro-life running ministry called “LIFE Runners“.  LIFE Runners has gone worldwide and has runners all over the place; running, praying, and raising money to end abortion.  It’s so powerful, they even convinced my non-running-self to run in the inaugural A+Cross America Relay.

Pat is relentless in his pursuits!  He is first and foremost a son of God, and a great husband, and a great father, and with great passion that never stops he is relentless in fighting the evil of abortion.  Vitae has honored him with the new role as President of the foundation, a great honor and a perfect spot for him to land after his long and illustrious Air Force career.  (Read about Pat and his VF role.)  Pat retires at the end of the month.

If you want to be inspired, and encouraged as a man who is willing to fight abortion, I’d get involved with Vitae, join LIFE Runners, and get Pat’s emails.  Everytime I hear from him, see something he posts, or see the aftermath that he leaves behind (GOOD aftermath!), I am undoubtedbly inspired.  Pat’s energy and efforts are effective.  There is no wasting time, no messin’ around… he gets the job done.

For all that you do and especially for the TrueMan that you are, HIGH FIVE to you, Pat!

TrueMan up!

Vikings – Filled with Faith, and Masculinity

Early on when I heard about the show “Vikings” on the History Channel, I was very intrigued.  When I watched the first episode on our Roku, it unfortunately lost me fairly quickly.  My first impressions were that the acting was subpar, and the accents were pretty distracting.  At the prompting of my good friend Jared Zimmerer, I gave it another chance and watched episode two.  Something about it began to reel me in and I have subsequently watched all of the episodes to date.

I’m intrigued by the story for many reasons.  I’ve finally decided to blog about it now especially because of the most recent episode called “Boneless”.  Vikings is the story of Earl Ragnar Lothbrok (a legendary Norse ruler), his conquests, his family, and the general life and happenings of the “Northmen.”  I enjoy watching the fight scenes, which are pretty decent.  I also enjoy the drama between the various leaders, the imagery between good & bad, right & wrong, the marriages and relationships, but there are two very impressive themes that keep me coming back.

The first is how much the show’s writers and the actors have incorporated faith into the show.  The Vikings are referred to as pagans, but that’s not what comes across the screen.  The Vikings come across, to me, as being very faithful.  They are polytheistic, but they are constantly thinking about, speaking about, and invoking their gods.  This is not something often celebrated in our culture.  Faith, especially of warriors, is often seen as unnecessary and as a weakness.  Clearly, these Viking warriors invoke their gods, and find need to be in prayer, sacrifice, and worship of their gods.  It’s hard at times to watch because they believe that their gods call for murderous, ravenous, barbaric behavior, and a crude form of justice, so naturally it doesn’t lineup with Christianity.  One flaw, typical of Hollywood… the element that shows Christians in a horrible light – as weak, superstitious dummies, incapable of personal thought and masculine leadership.  Besides that, though, I’m impressed.

I find it very interesting that faith is found as such an important and normal part of their lives.  That’s what I want to highlight… their faith that is all-encompassing.  They think about their gods constantly.  It is engrained in the show by being engrained into the lives of the characters.  The characters are constantly talking about their gods, and the imagery shows that.

The second point, and maybe even more important, is how pro-life the show is.  It seems a contrast to a barbaric, ravenous people, but in this last episode, the wife of Earl Ragnar gives birth to a child that has a limb that apparently doesn’t function fully.  They don’t really show it exactly, but they refer to him as a ‘runt’.  At one point, Ragnar discusses with his wife about the child never having a full life, and asking the question “what could his life possibly amount to?”  The wife says, “Yes, you are correct, but I love him.”  She gives the child a chance.

There’s a scene where, during the night, Ragnar goes into where the baby is sleeping, and he takes him, walking out near the river.  As a viewer, I was spellbound, questioning what Ragnar was going to do.  He takes out his hatchet, and it looks like he’s going to kill his son, saying “there is no other way.”  The scene cuts away to Ragnar walking away from his son, leaving the viewer wondering.  This is a symbol, to me, of parents who feel like they have no other option when it comes to abortion.  There is seemingly nothing else they can.  It turns out that Ragnar didn’t kill his child, but rather, he chose life!  Even though it was incredibly difficult for him to do, he chose life!

I think it’s interesting, in our culture, that is so pro-death, so ready to discard the humans that appear to be less-than, that this show would embrace faith and would embrace concepts of masculinity (albeit flawed, tremendously), but it embraces life.  The concepts of masculinity are interwoven throughout, especially the topics of being a husband, a father, a friend, a brother, a worker/provider, a warrior, and a follower of God.   I will continue to watch.

Note: There are some potentially scandalous parts of this show, specific to sexuality.  You may choose not to watch because of that.

TrueMan up!

Because I’m Happy

Recently, World Down Syndrome Day was celebrated to bring awareness, and as an attempt at equality for those who have Down Syndrome (DS), and for those who live and work with people with DS.  I missed posting this information that day, but better late than never.

Why am I deciding to write on this topic, something seemingly distant from authentic masculinity?  I’m not the father, brother, cousin, or neighbor of someone with DS.  Why do I care?  Because, as with most social discourse, men play a vital role in doing what is right and for protecting innocent life.  In a culture that talks highly of equality, “tolerance”, and “not judging”, it’s amazingly sad to me that somehow it is acceptable to discriminate because someone looks and acts differently than you or I.

For those who may not know, Down Syndrome is a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement; humans with 47 chromosomes (as opposed to the “normal” 46) have Down Syndrome.  Regardless of the medical side of things, we know something very important – people are people, and every human person deserves the right to life.  (Watch this awesome video giving you a tiny glimpse into the joy of life lived vigorously.  Watch it closely – it is pertinent to the discussion.)

Many (seemingly countless) pregnancies are terminated because the baby is thought or believed to have DS.  My own niece was one of these babies “thought to have Down’s” – and the doctors were wrong.  They were simply guessing, but advised the parents to terminate.  Thank God that my sister-in-law wouldn’t consider abortion. 

So here’s where the authentic masculinity comes in.  Males – be TrueMen, and stand up for life.  Defend the most vulnerable among us, and put an end to abortion-on-demand, especially for ridiculous reasons like “the quality of life of this child will not be suitable for every day living” or “they won’t be normal” or “it will be difficult to raise this child.”  If you happen to be SO BLESSED to be a father of a child with Down Syndrome, embrace the gift that God has given you.  Look at the parents of the babies in the video… they have true joy at the life and love that is their child.

It is amazing to me, how pro-life (from natural conception to natural death) our small middle-of-nowhere town is.  We have several families with children with DS, and if you asked any of them, they will tell you how radically changed they are, for the better, because of their child.  In a time in our culture where people with DS are considered diseased, sick, worthless, and/or a burden on society, we see families here embracing their gift.  A friend of ours recently told my wife, “When we first found out that our daughter had DS, I wondered what God was doing and why He chose me for this path.  Now, I realize that she’s the blessing that I needed.”

Some of you already know that I have a long-standing offer, but I will re-offer now, and certainly many more times during my lifetime.  I promise that this offer is not about me – but rather, about the babies.  The offer: if you, or someone you run into, is considering abortion, but are willing to discuss not murdering your child, even for one simple phone call discussion, I pledge to adopt your child, love them as their biological father, and pay for all of your pregnancy expenses.  This offer includes babies with Down Syndrome.  Spread the word – your baby deserves a loving family – let us help you.  I will do this for countless babies, if only to save their lives.

TrueMan up!

A Priest, A Rabbi, and a Lawyer – Civil Liberties Under (Blatant) Attack

Here’s a pretty good video about the HHS “Healthcare” Mandate.  If you haven’t seen the previous post from Archbishop Dolan, please click HERE to watch that video and read that post first, then watch this video.

They fail, in my opinion, to really distinguish one of the biggest problems here.  Yes, the cover the civil liberty assault well, and

certainly the Rabbi spoke well about this not being a Catholic-only issue, and so forth.  However, what they fail to mention is that there is a fundamental difference between what the Catholic Church teaches on contraception, sterilization and abortion versus the idea of “women’s health.”  No matter how it is spun, even by medical doctors (OB/GYNs at the forefront), contraception, sterilization, and abortion ARE not healthcare… they hurt women and kill babies.

For those in favor of this mandate, they state issues about, as the press secretary did over and over in his press conference, “increasing access to these important preventative services.”  This is their attempt at watering down the mandate so that it seems as though it won’t really effect that many people.  This is a lie and is a blatant one at that.

Men – as you see this Priest, Rabbi, and Lawyer doing, you must also do.  You must stand against the attacks that are befalling our country, our communities, our women and children, and our Church.  This must end.

TrueMan up!

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