Pontius Pilate, What You Did Was NOT Manly

I thought several times throughout Holy Week, as well as when I watched “The Passion of the Christ” on Friday night, that Pontius Pilate (pronounced pon-chus pi-lot) was not manly in his decisions to condemn Jesus to death.  He tried, yes, at first, to tell the people that Jesus had done nothing wrong.  Where he went wrong was when he worried about what sort of uprising the Jewish high priests would start and what the people would do.  He let self-preservation win out over justice. 

He’s infamously remembered by Catholics in our Creed (our profession of faith) “…He (Jesus) suffered under Pontius Pilate…“.  This is because Pilate had the power to prevent Christ’s horrible torture, scourging, carrying of His cross and His death, but failed to act; all out of fear.  He was a coward.  Even the movie “The Passion of the Christ” (picture above from a scene with Pilate and Jesus) shows Pilate’s wife as a hero and a servant, with compassion and deep sorrow while Pilate simply looks on, worried about himself.  Pilate leaves us with a good example of what not to do. 

Christ tells us that we’ll be persecuted because of Him, because we follow Him and because we love Him.  We should be ready and prepared to persevere.  We prepare for this by training (prayer and fasting, mostly).  When it comes down to it, who will you side with?  Will you take the easy way out and deny Christ or will you stand firm in your beliefs, in your faith and in HIS love and witness for Jesus?  Only time will tell. 

Again, society tells men that we must look out for ourselves and self-preservation.  Christ, the Church and TrueManhood.com say something different.  We all say “defend Christ, defend Mother Church, defend Truth” – God will provide for us and will raise us up on the last day.  A True Man does this.  A man like Pontius Pilate doesn’t.  What kind of man are you?

Man up!

7 Days of Virtue; Day 4 – Temperance

Think of virtues like your muscles.  You work your muscles out so that they can perform for you when needed.  Virtue is the same way.  You practice, work on the virtue and then, when the time comes, the virtue is there and ready.

Day 4 of the 7 Day Journey through the Virtues: DAY 4 – TEMPERANCE.

Temperance moderates our attraction to pleasure.  This can be any form of pleasure… physical, emotional, sexual, mental, spiritual, etc.  There is an opposing vice that we should stay away from… insensibility (the complete rejection of any pleasure).  Pleasure, in and of itself, is not bad, as long as it is ordered and moderated.  There are three major vices that go along with temperance that we all deal with, in one way or another; it is NOT manly to indulge in these sins!

1. Gluttony – inordinate consumption of food and/or drink.  If they need a fork lift to come get you from the booth to your car, you ate too much.  We are incredibly guilty of this in America with our portion sizes.  A way to fight gluttony is by fasting.
2. Drunkenness – hinders our reason.  Drinking to excess means that we are willingly depriving ourselves of our reason (St. Thomas Aquinas).  A HUGE problem in our culture.  Men, drunkenness is not manly.  Being able to stop after 1 or 2 drinks is manly and it doesn’t just mean you do this when you are driving.  This is at home, at a party, with a DD, where ever.  Losing all ability to think, function, act and control yourself is cowardly.  Be a man, put the drink down.
3. Lust – is destructive and causes harm.  Sex, like fire, is a good thing  – in context.  If a fire gets out of control, it destroys.  If it is used how it is intended, it gives off warmth and can be used to cook.  Sex is the same way… if we make the choice to be chaste, we are ordering our sexuality in the way that God intended.  Don’t be fooled by society, lust is destructive.  Everyone’s NOT doing it – there are those of use who strive for it who are living chaste lives, even in our marriages.  St. Thomas Aquinas said: “A man who gives into his lust has weaknesses.  From this weakness means that he will give into his passions.  He is not free to love.”  Are you weak?  Be virtuous, control your sexuality, don’t let it control you.

Temperance guides us so that we do not fall into these sins.  Being temperate means that we know when enough is enough, too much or sinful.

Man up!

The Power of a Purposeful Lent

Today is the start to the Liturgical Season of Lent.  Lent is often times looked at as a set of rules about not eating meat on Fridays and a time of giving something up; a fairly militaristic/dictatorial outlook if you ask me.  I’m not going to get into the specifics about fasting and why we do it, or about what the Church teaches about Lent.  What I want to get into is the power that a purposeful Lent can have for a person.  As with most things, if we choose to “get by” with the minimum, we’re not going to get much out of it.  If, however, we decide to embrace the teachings and challenges of Lent, I believe that we will gain a great deal. 

For many of us, Lent tends to be a time of re-commitment, year after year.  In order for Lent to be powerful and to make a difference this year (as opposed to Lent being just a period of 40 days that bore no spiritual fruit – like last year), we must be purposeful in our decisions and lifestyle.  I suggest that you write you plan down.  After you write your plan down, read it regularly.  I also suggest that you tell someone else your plan so that they can hold you accountable to your word.  Do the same for them.

I suggest that everyone not only give something up (broccoli and peas don’t count) but add some things as well.  I typically add a form of prayer, a form of discipline and a form of service to my fasting choice(s).  This year, my wife and I (for our family) decided to only purchase the essentials at the grocery store (milk, bread, vegetables, fruit, etc. – the stuff that goes bad quickly) and to eat what’s already in the house, including, no meals out.  It’s a fiscal decision and a simplification decision.  I’ve made  a commitment to making a workout a priority again, to praying the stations of the cross every week, whether by myself or in a group and I’m going to volunteer at least one day at Habitat for Humanity.  The “give up” part of my Lenten devotion this year is to only consume water as a beverage, no other liquids (Pepsi, tea, etc).  Ouch!  In your journey, it might be too much to add a bunch of stuff.  Add something, even if it appears to be small.  If you can’t handle the small stuff, you’ll never be able to handle the big stuff.  May your Lent be powerful.

Man up!