World Series Baseball and Manliness

Did you know there’s a correlation between baseball and life as a man?  (Actually, if you’re good, you can probably find a correlation between lots of “things” and life as a man.)  Anyway, I had these thoughts this morning, and seeing as how the Rangers battle the Giants in this year’s World Series, I thought I would share them.

As you probably know, the Texas Rangers have never been to the World Series.  Ever.  This makes it a historical year.  The Giants, as the season started, were quoted as being a bunch of “misfits” and “nobody’s”.  Neither team was expected to succeed, especially at this level.  That’s where the manliness-factor comes in.

Imagine that you are a Texas Ranger, or the entire franchise for that matter.  You are the underdog.  You’ve never REALLY succeeded at the level which you should.  You are always falling short.  This is us… at one stage of our life or another.  But, as the Rangers have proven, you don’t give up, you keep working and working hard.  You work and work and hopefully, someday, all that hard work will pay off.  Do you ever feel like the underdog?  Like there’s no point to continuing?

Imagine that you are a San Francisco Giant.  You are expected to lose.  You are expected to be a nobody.  You are written off and never given a chance.  Yet, somewhere deep down inside you, you put the effort forth and have a determination that could split an atom.  You don’t let your critics get to you, you keep fighting and in the end, you laugh (to yourself, because you are humble) at the remarks, doubts and critiques that were thrown your way from the start.  Have you ever experienced this?  Have you ever felt less-than-good-enough?

But guess what… even though a man may feel like quitting, like listening to the nay-sayers, or like laying down like a lame dog and dying, he must know that he must continue on.  When we get to this sort of thinking (we like to refer to this as logic, but we know there’s nothing logical about it) we must remember that we’re not in this fight alone, we have the entire rest of the team.  Here’s how it works in baseball, and how it relates to real-life for a man.

See, in baseball, the pitcher and catcher do most of the work.  (Are you the one dealing or the one receiving?)  The catcher signs the certain kind of pitch he wants and the pitcher delivers.  If the ball is hit, other teammates are involved.  On some plays, there may only be one or two players involved, but on some plays, the entire team is involved.  Then, as the game goes on, the pitcher might become tired – the coach calls for another man from the bullpen to relieve him.  The relief pitcher comes in and takes over.  At some point, a pinch runner might come in, or a pinch batter.  These teammates all relieve one another when one man needs a break.  In our lives, we must remember that we’re on a team and that we have the opportunity to both be relieved and to relieve.

As you watch the Series this year, don’t forget that you should be a team player.  Never does only one many win a baseball game, let alone a World Series.  And, if you’re feeling down or like the cards are stacked against you, don’t give up.  Keep fighting and you might just end up at the place of your dreams.

TrueMan up!

True Devotion to Jesus, Through Mary

Today is the feast day of St. Louis de Montfort.  St. Louis lived in the 17th and 18th centuries and his greatest contribution to the faith was that of perseverance in the face of critique and encouragement of the Church to be devoted to Jesus through Mary.  For many, this Catholic teaching is hard because they may see devotion to Mary as an unnecessary practice, and in some cases, as blasphemous.  Others may see devotion to Mary as something less-than-manly.  On the contrary!  Devotion to Mary, which St. Louis stressed in both writings, words and deeds, is the way to grow incredibly close to her son, our Lord, Jesus.  As men, we have a great deal to learn about obedience and can learn a lot from Mary’s example.

First, the Maryology… there’s too much that would go into giving a dissertation on Mary here, however, I will draw attention to her place in salvation history.  Mary accepted God’s will in her life and enthusiastically followed.  Through her ‘yes’, Christ came into the world.  Christ means King, and Mary therefore is the Queen Mother.  The Queen Mother sits with the King petitioning for His loyal servants. (1 Kings 1:19.)  By her ‘yes’, we reap the benefits of our Saviour.

St. Louis shows us that the theological virtues are the way to TrueManhood.  He set a great example for us to achieve the virtues of faith, hope and love.  The world attempts to tell men that these virtues are feminine and unnecessary.  Take a look at just about any piece of media and you will see a direct attack against these virtues.  St. Louis demonstrated great courage in the face of opposition and persecution to strive for faith, hope and love.

Lastly, a brief word of encouragement in regards to the Rosary.  Faithful Catholics don’t just ‘say’ the Rosary, we ‘pray’ the Rosary.  The Rosary is a mixture of reciting communal prayers (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, etc.) AND a deep meditation (simultaneously, mind you) of the mysteries of the Rosary.  The mysteries point directly to Christ’s life and ministry, culminating in His saving work of dying on the cross for our sins – the greatest example of manliness we have!  Pray on!

The Rosary is our sword in the battle of Good vs. Evil.

TrueMan up!

Play Through the Whistle

We’re into the second half of Lent, and I think some encouragement would do us all some good.  In 18 days (plus Sundays – these are feast days in the liturgical calendar and do not “count” towards days of fasting) Christ’s passion, death and resurrection will be remembered.  Whatever you decided to “give up” or add for Lent this year should bring you closer to this mystery of our faith.  It should unite your knowledge of what Jesus went through for you and me with the physical sacrifice in which you make for Lent, thus making Lent more meaningful and more purposeful.

Lent isn’t about impressing anybody with what we give up or with what Lenten devotions we increase, it’s about personal conversion – a turning away from sin and a turning towards God.  I’m struggling this Lent, anybody else?  There’s a lot on my plate and my Lenten devotions have gone by the wayside multiple times.  I try to remind myself that through perseverance we obtain holiness.  I really need to “get back on the wagon”, so to speak, and continue persevering through my laziness and indifference.  I encourage you, if you’ve let your Lenten sacrifices ride, to take the time and energy to decide if you really need(ed) the penance or not.  If so, keep doing it.  If not, find something else, more important for you.  Have a great rest of Lent.

“Turn away from sin, and be faithful to the Gospel.”

Man up!

7 Days of Virtue; Day 3 – Fortitude

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 3 of the 7 Day Journey through the Virtues: DAY 3 – FORTITUDE.

Fortitude is also called COURAGE.  This is a great virtue… very manly!  Fortitude ensures firmness in difficulty.  It is a resolve to resist temptations.  The opposite of fortitude is timidity (cowardice) –> don’t be a coward.  Courage helps us to persevere in everyday life.  Courage moderates our fear and it helps us live for something great in our lives.  There are 3 sub-virtues of Fortitude:

1. Magnanimity: means “Greatness of Soul”.  Being Magnanimous means that we don’t shrink from greatness.  Be especially careful not to fall into vanity when thinking about Magnanimity; it is an easy trap to fall into.  Being Magnanimous is incredibly manly!
2. Patience: Endurance of difficulties through Joy and Peace.
3. Perseverance: Determination.  Makes us persist firmly to carry through. 

Fearlessness and Rash-boldness are counterfeit vices, meaning that they may appear to be courageous, but are actually vicious.  When a man is fearless, he doesn’t give death or evil their due respect.  When a man acts out of rash-boldness, he takes on something that he shouldn’t.  Be careful to protect against these. 

Man up!