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!
Catholic Men’s Conference at FUS
This past weekend, I attended a men’s conference at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. I’d like to share a few thoughts from the weekend and a few challenges that correspond.
First off, we are all sinners. No matter how long you’ve been involved in your faith, or how many ministry ‘things’ you attend, or the number of men you’ve spoken to at conferences or how old you are… we all have room to grow. Keep working on getting better! It’s a daily thing, not just a 60 minute thing on Sundays.
Secondly, the vast majority of the Catholic population doesn’t live for Christ. They live for themselves. We all must turn away from sin and have a conversion. On Friday night of the conference, the evening’s speaker spoke of how St. Paul wrote about baptism. The imagery that St. Paul used showed that the waters of baptism are not waters of life (as most believe), but actually waters of death. These waters of death kill off the old self and require us to be born anew in Christ Jesus. The coming out of the waters requires us to live differently. This different way of life is radically different from what the world tells us life is all about. The reward of this life is not of this world, but of life eternal with God in Heaven.
Lastly, I want to convey the incredible need for additional men’s ministry programs around the country. We need to have a men’s ministry program everywhere and need to reach out to more men. No one man can do it all. So, if you are in an area that doesn’t have anything for men, then get started! I can get you the resources needed to start small faith formation groups, or to start a men’s conference, or do to weekend retreats, or whatever it may be that you’re looking for. The important element here… if there’s a need, then step up and fill the gap.
TrueMan up!
RMCMC 2010 – Get There!
March 10, 2010, Colorado Springs, CO –
The Rocky Mountain Catholic Men’s Conference (RMCMC), taking place Saturday March 20, 2010 and hosted this year at the Pikes Peak Center in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the second year for the event. Last year’s conference saw 750 men in attendance, with hopes for many more this year. The lineup of speakers, including three bishops from Colorado, should do the trick in drawing a great crowd. Speakers include Bishop Michael Sheridan (host bishop, Diocese of Colorado Springs, CO), Archbishop Charles Chaput (Archdiocese of Denver, CO) and Bishop Fernando Isern (Diocese of Pueblo, CO) as well as Steve Bollman, Bill and Billy Moyer, Dr. Tim Gray (President and my graduate studies professor at the Augustine Institute), Curtis Martin (President of FOCUS, and my former boss), Dennis Murphy and the renown bio-ethicist, Fr. Tad Pacholczyk. The event will be emcee’d by Sean Dalton (a dear friend of mine) and music will be performed throughout the event by Shaun Garrison.
I highly encourage any men within driving distance (and those who can afford a plane ticket) to attend this event. Cost of the conference is $45, including lunch. Vendors (including myself for TrueManhood Men’s Ministry) will be present as well. Get There!
For more info or to register, visit the conference website by clicking HERE.
Man up!
Fighting for Manliness Video
February 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Blog, Faith, Fatherhood, Virtue
I finally got some of the video edited from my talk at the 2010 FOCUS National Conference in Orlando, FL on New Year’s Eve 2009. The talk was titled “Fighting for Manliness” for the Men’s Impact Sessions. The crowd for the two sessions totaled around 1,500 college men.
The video below is only part 1 of the 50 minute video.
In this talk, I highlighted some major points, including: What is Manliness?, Manly Leadership, Living Virtue, Fighting the Giant of Pornography and more.
If your content is removed by your server, click HERE to view the video on YouTube.
