Into the Wild Retreat Program

I have the distinct honor of working for a great apostolate, The King’s Men.  I’ve been with the ministry 9 months and have accomplished some great things and have learned even more.  The ministry is thriving, expanding and changing lives.  What a great thing to be a part of!

The King’s Men ministry does many things, but one that I want to encourage you to become involved with is called “Into the Wild.”  (www.IntoTheWildWeekend.com)  Into the Wild, or ITW, is an experiential, outdoor retreat program centered around men becoming leaders, protectors and providers in a Catholic modality.  As far as retreats go, it is THE MOST DYNAMIC RETREAT EXPERIENCE FOR MEN IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TODAY.  Mark my words – there is nothing like this retreat and nothing so dynamic for men to avail themselves to.

On the retreat, men experience more things than I could possibly list here and certainly could not do justice to with mere words.

The King’s Men are hosting 5 ITWs this summer.  One has passed – four additional retreats will take place in 2011… August 11-14 at Hickory Run State Park in Jim Thorpe, PA, September 8-11 at Raccoon Creek State Park near Pittsburgh, PA, October 13-16 at Allegany State Park near Buffalo, NY/Erie, PA and October 27-30 at Pocahontas State Park near Richmond, VA.  For more information and to register, click HERE.

Here’s a 10-minute video about ITW.

Attend – you will be glad you did!

TrueMan up!

St. Joseph – The Days After Christmas

If you’ve spent any time on the website, you surely know that I am a huge fan of St. Joseph.  He is, besides Christ Himself, the best model of authentic masculinity for a man to emulate.  Wanna be a TrueMan?… be like St. Joseph.  After all, he raised Jesus!  Quite obviously, St. Joseph knew what he was doing.  Have you ever thought about his role in the days following Christ’s birth?

Picture this… Mary gives birth to Jesus.  Joseph then sees shepherds, visitors and Magi from the east come to adorn his foster son.  Then, angels appear and sing praises about this baby boy.  What would be going through your mind, if in the hospital labor and delivery room, people come and sing songs praising your child?  We can’t really fathom what was taking place before Joseph’s eyes, nor what was going on in his head.  Then, imagine that an angel comes to him, again, and tells him that someone (King Herod) wants to kill his newborn son.  If you’re anything like me, your first inclination in this situation would have been to grab the firearms and ammo and go on the offensive.  Not Joseph.  He heeded the warning from the angel, then he WALKED HIS FAMILY TO EGYPT!  That would have been approx 300 miles, or more!  They walked!  A woman who had just given birth, a new born and this holy, faithful, virtuous man called Joseph.  He did this to protect his family and the salvation of all of us.

Now imagine being in Egypt.  Joseph has no idea how long they’d be there.  He left his carpenter shop, tools, projects, friends and home behind, back in Judea.  What did he do for work in Egypt?  How did they worship?  Where did they live?  How did he continually protect his family in this foreign land?  What and where did they eat?  Did you ever think of these things?  Have you ever thought about how St. Joseph did all this?  Have you ever thought how you would react in a situation like this?  What you would do if your family was in danger?  In need of shelter, food, protection?

St. Joseph did all of this, and quite handily.  There are good reasons why St. Joseph is the patron saint of so many manly things, like workers, carpenters, fathers and holy death.  His virtue was incredible.  Learn about him, follow him to his son.

TrueMan up!

Tuesdays with Daddy – Selfishness Impedes Service

My daughter has been sick for several days.  Because she is a toddler, it is difficult to really pinpoint what’s happening with her, what hurts and how to make her better.  I’ve been at a loss for exactly what to do, and although we’re trying, she doesn’t seem to be getting better.  At least not as fast I my wife and I would hope.  As I’ve been observing her and contemplating solutions to this problem, I realized something today… selfishness impedes service.  What do I mean?

When you’re in charge of someone else, and their entire well-being stems from your actions, it’s plain to see that they not only rely on you to make good decisions, but to be at their service.  This isn’t to say that I wait hand-and-foot on my children, but it means that my daughters, especially when ill, need me to be selfless in regards to them.  And, I want to be a servant-leader for my family and for the world, which requires me to continually learn how to better serve them.  I look at my life and realize (quite often) how selfish I can be.  I like what I like, the way I like it, when I like it, how I like it.  This gets in the way of my ability to truly serve my family.

Where did my selfish tendencies come from?  Besides my fallen human nature, my tendency toward selfishness stems from my past pornography use.  It made everything I do, even serving my sickly little girl, about me.  Because of this revelation, I realized that the only way to do that is to look to the cross.  I must unite my failures in life to the struggle Christ experienced on the cross so that I am purified of my tendency toward comfort, self-pleasure and ease.  My little girl needs me to be one hundred percent committed to taking care of her and if I don’t watch it, I’ll put myself before her, falling into old patterns and losing sight of the cross.  If this happens, my selfishness has won and drastically impedes my ability to serve.

I urge everyone to take a step back, especially during Holy Week, to evaluate the areas in your life (vicious behavior) that require change.  Figure out how to change those things and continue to work on them until you possess the virtue that overcomes that vice.

Man up!

Fr Benedict Groeschel, a TrueMan

To call Fr Benedict a TrueMan is an understatement.  What a witness, a leader, a servant!  A great example to everyone.  I came across this Grassroots Films video – even thought it’s a few weeks dated, I wanted to post it.

For those who don’t know, Fr Benedict Groeschel is one of the most well-known Catholic priests of our times.  He started the C.F.R.s, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and many other organizations and projects.  (For a good article on Fr Benedict, click here.)

7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 2 (Troy Polamalu Day)

T-Minus 6 Days and counting until Superbowl 43…

Many of you are familiar with the star of the top-ranked Steeler defense, #43 Troy Polamalu (pronounced: poh lah mah loo).  You’re probably familiar with him because of his tenacity, aggressiveness, number of sacks and interceptions, and especially because of his long, curly, black, Polynesian hair.  (Not familiar with Troy? Click HERE.)  You might not be familiar with him because of another reason… his Catholic faith.  Polamalu is a devote Catholic, a genuine family man and a humble servant - off the field.  This picture of him seemingly contrasts his playing style – on the field.  Troy disagrees.  He believes that his passion (for football) on the field is directly related to his passion (for Christ) off the field.  He was quoted in the Pittsburgh Catholic saying “Football gives me confirmation of how I can carry out my faith.  It’s my way to glorify God.”  He also recently started a philanthropic foundation that benefits our service men and women!

His teammates have some things to say about him, too.  “Knowing Troy and how he carries himself, he brings light to the team,” said offensive lineman Alan Faneca. “Everybody respects that.” “He’s definitely one of those guys who lead by example,” said quarterback Charlie Batch. “He’s not a talker when he gets out there, but you see the work he does on the field and produces every Sunday. When you put that combination together, yeah, he’s one of those guys that you’re going to follow … and he doesn’t take for granted that he’s blessed with incredible speed and instinct.”

Leading by example… that’s TRUE MANHOOD.  Way to go Troy!

Check out the full story from the Pittsburgh Catholic HERE.