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!

Unnerving Situations in D.C. and All Over

I’m overwhelmed by what’s taking place in our country.  The decision by our nation to elect Barack Hussein Obama as president is proving disastrous.  What’s a TrueMan to do about all of the mess being made in Washington?  I’m at a loss.

I would really appreciate your comments and questions on this post because I think that a healthy dialogue among men who see what’s happening (whether it be with the health(death)care bills, socialist ideals, deceitful politicians hiding behind the title “Catholic” or other) would be good.  It would help me, I know that for certain.  But what’s a TrueMan to do when he sees his government wielding unhealthy amounts of power and influence?  [It’s not new, but it’s worse than it’s ever been – my humble opinion.]  Do we grab our guns and start a revolt?  Do we stand by and watch socialist politicians ruin America?  Do we do something else? I don’t know that there’s any good answers right now.  Obviously, one thing we should be doing is praying for the conversion of Obama’s soul, as well as his elected officials, we should be praying for the end to abortion and we should be praying for a quick and just fix to government run healthcare.

Please comment.

Man up!

7 Days of Super Bowl Stuff -SBXLIV- Day 5 “Discipline”

“You need to be that much more disciplined with what you’re doing and execution becomes that much more critical.”  – Drew Brees.

In this clip, Saint Head Coach Sean Payton, Quarterback Drew Brees and Running Back Reggie Bush demonstrate their knowledge of their formidable opponent, the Colts.  We see from their words their understanding of how good the other team is and especially in Brees’ section (:24-:44), he brings up an incredibly important topic of discipline.  Discipline for these men on the football field is essential.  Each player has a role, an assignment, a task.  On each and every play, if each player doesn’t perform their task, the rest of the team suffers.  It takes discipline, on every play, from everyone player, in order for their goal of the play to be successful.  The players may need to remain disciplined when it comes to their foot work, to their hand placement, to their form, to their route, to their fake, to their block, to their gap assignment, to their zone, to their man, etc. and so on.  Prior to each game, they must be disciplined with their workouts, their knowledge of the playbook, training, learning and taking care of their bodies.  Each player plays a pivotal role in the success of each play.

Click HERE for the YouTube link.

The same goes for us, in the spiritual life.  We must become and remain disciplined in regards to our spiritual practices.  We each have a specific role to play on our spiritual team, and when members of the team don’t perform, the rest of the team suffers.  This is why we are referred to as the body of Christ.  “…all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.” [Read: 1 Corinthians 12.] The discipline that we must have starts at the beginning of each day.  Discipline involves our actions, words and thoughts.  If we remain disciplined, our prayer lives are strong.  We fight temptations.  We make virtuous decisions.  We live as Christ demonstrated for us.  Discipline in the little things makes us disciplined in the big things.

If you’re struggling with discipline of a daily prayer life, I recommend that you focus on that.  I share in your struggle, because prayer can be tough some days.  Becoming disciplined in your prayer means that you spend time, daily, speaking to God.  If you’re a married man, imagine not speaking to your wife for a month, and see how good the relationship is at the end of the month.  Probably not very good.  God is the same way.  Open your heart to Him and speak.  However, God gave us two ears and only one mouth… listen twice as much as you speak.

Man up!

Encouraging Men to Get Involved

Here’s my latest article on iibloom.com, posted yesterday.

For some people, it’s a struggle to figure out why men aren’t involved at church and church-related events. When we take a look at a typical parish in the United States, we see a Church that is struggling to entice, encourage and strengthen men as leaders. Why is this? Is it the content, is it the timing, is it the other people in attendance? Is it something internal? Do they feel emasculated by it? Is it a lack of catechesis? Is there a power struggle? Or maybe even something else?

(Please note, this article is a generalization; please keep this in mind. Many men are fully engaged in the life of the Church and many parishes have a thriving men’s population. The point of this article is to find ways to help encourage men who aren’t involved to become involved.)

Men won’t get involved in “stuff” if they don’t see a value in it. Also, they aren’t likely to attend a new event, group or club unless they know someone else who is attending, and know them well. Another reason men won’t get involved is if they see the stuff as weak, lame or feminine. Unfortunately, many men see Mass, Church events, groups and retreats through this lens. On my website, I have mentioned that the Church is “by women, for women,” and this is a big reason why men aren’t involved. I say this because the vast majority of parishes in the US have a very lopsided attendance and volunteer demographic. The reason for this is because men fail to step up and into leadership and volunteer roles. 

Men shouldn’t be forced into praying like women pray, it doesn’t work for us. Men need to pray the way men were created to pray. Men shouldn’t be forced into activities that are similar to women’s activities, it does’t work for us. Men should participate in activities that they were created for. There’s a difference, and that difference is important.

The difference is, as the late Pope John Paul II often talked about, is that men and women were created equal in dignity, but different in role. In order for men to fulfill their role, their lives must be oriented correctly towards what they were created for. A great place to see what it is that men were created for is to read through the creation narrative in The Book of Genesis.

So how do you encourage men to participate? It’s tough to know, exactly. I think that a great way is to get to the heart of a man…that which God put deep inside each man. It’s different from anything else in the world, and hard to explain. See, men want to be rugged and tough. They want to shoot stuff, and fix stuff, and build stuff. They want to protect and defend, they want to love and be loved. They want to feel a purpose and be accomplished. Unfortunately, so many men don’t know how to do any of that stuff.

If we want men to participate, we have to encourage them, build them up and GIVE THEM A PERSONAL INVITATION. Personal invitations, from men they trust and respect, might just be the thing to get a man involved in the Life of the Church. The personal invitation should be in person, not over phone, texting or email. And once the invitation is extended, the event better not stink! Or be lame! And, it better not be associated with ‘sissiness’! If it does, he’ll never come back.

I encourage all the faithful, if they know a man who needs to be involved, to be like St Monica. St Monica, the mother of St Augustine, prayed unceasingly for her son. Augustine was a wandering-soul. He lived a life of incredible sin and his mother still prayed. He became one of the greatest saints and writers of the Church. That man who you know might just be the next St Augustine.

Click HERE for the article on iibloom’s site.

A Father’s Prayer

A Father’s Prayer by Douglas MacArthur

In early 1942, when heading out-numbered United States forces in the Philippines, the late General Douglas MacArthur prayed this prayer many times at morning devotions, according to Major General Courtney Whitney, his long-time military aide. This prayer for his son, Arthur, is a spiritual legacy any son would cherish.

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee-and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength.

Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain.”

Man up!

Tuesdays with Daddy – Morning Offering and Daily Readings

I had an idea to implement some special prayer time and Scripture reading into each day with my girls.  Even though they are young, I’m finding it very fruitful.  My two year old and one year old don’t listen intently, nor would they have total comprehension if they did.  That’s not the point.  The point is that each and every day, in the morning, my children know that God is number one.  Here’s what I’ve been doing.

Every morning, I get my children from their rooms, we do the necessary change of diapers/underwear, comb the hair and do morning hugs and kisses, and then we head into the kitchen for breakfast.  Before any food is consumed, and before any milk in sippy cups is drunk, I have the girls join me in the sign of the cross, and I hold their hands as I offer our day for Christ.  I want them to get in the habit of praying, of giving God our “firsts”, if you will.  I also want them to know that we should make a sacrificial gift of ourselves to  God.

After making our morning offering, I then put their bowls and drinks in front of them, and they begin to eat.  This is prime time for their attention, so I began reading them the Scripture readings from each day; Sunday or weekday.  I found an “app” on my phone that has all the readings from each day, which works out nicely because I always have my phone handy.

This entire process takes just under five minutes.  My girls “stay with me” that long, so it doesn’t become tiresome, like some other prayer options we’ve tried.  One of the best things about spending this time with them is that I’m actively participating in their spiritual growth.  Their spiritual growth is my responsibility as their father.  I cannot take that lightly.  They see that prayer and time with the Word is important to me and they become used to it.

I’m going to continue this process until I see the need to change things up.

Man up!

How Men Were Created To Pray

In response to a comment, stemming from a recent post: The question was asked, “How were men created to pray?”  Please note, this post, as with all my posts, comes from my experiences and may or may not take into account every aspect of the topic.  If you have additional thoughts, questions, doubts or replies, please write them in a comment below.

I believe that men were created to pray in a manner that is wild, unrelenting and strong.  What do I mean by that?  I mean that a man has to pray in the same way that he was created.  It doesn’t make sense to do it any other way.  We were created, as evidenced in the creation story in The Book of Genesis, to protect, defend and guide.  (See Genesis chapter 2, specifically verse 15).  Adam was instructed by God to do all these things as the man, the one who has dominion over the earth and the creatures of the land, air and sea.  This was no small task.  Adam was given a great amount of responsibility.  Until the fall, Adam relied totally on God to direct and guide him.  We should take this as a guide – that in all things, we should ask God to direct and guide us.  After the fall, Adam was distanced from God and he toiled in the fields.  This is where we find ourselves today.  We toil, in whatever profession we have, and specifically, we toil in a real way when it comes to our conversations with God.  Why is this?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 397, explains this clearly.  It says, “Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command.”  We do this daily!  No wonder it’s so hard to pray!

If we know that we must trust God and that we must have reckless abandonment to God’s commands, then it will help us to pray.  If we know that we were created to protect, defend and guide others, it will help us to pray.  Now, some practicals:

• Find what works for you.  We’re all different and there are many different ways to pray.  Whatever your preference, do it often!
• Remember that prayer is a relationship with God.  It takes two; God always does His part.  Are you doing yours?
• Make your life a prayer.  Every chance you get, talk/listen to God.  (Guess what, you’ve got lots of chances to do this during your day!)
• A Man was created with a wildness within his heart – live wildly for God.  Your prayer can be wild, rugged and intense.
• Do it often.  Did I mention this already?
• Prayer is NOT an emotional thing; emotions may come about during/after prayer, but prayer itself is not emotional.  Our prayer is based on our faith – if our faith is founded on the Truth, then it is stable and unchanging and our prayer must follow that model.  If our faith isn’t founded on the Truth, then our faith (belief in God and His dominion over us) can change as quickly as the wind.
• Use helpful “tricks” to guide your prayer.  One easy one is ACTS – Adoration Contrition Thanksgiving Supplication.  Adoration is praising God, adoring Him, fervent worship of Him and His glory.  Contrition is asking for forgiveness for our sins; NOT in place of Confession!  Thanksgiving is thanking God for the blessings in our lives.  Supplication is asking God for the things that we need in life.

I suggest that you read up on men of the Bible, as well as Catholic saints, to get more ideas on how men pray.  Find one of these men that you share similarities with and try to emulate him and his style of prayer.  These men came before us and succeeded (and sometimes failed) in order to pave the way for us.

Man up!

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