Chastity, A Life Choice
On Sunday, I was asked to address a group of high school guys at the Colorado Springs Chastity Rally. The young men were very attentive and seemed very receptive to the words of my message. As I spoke to these 14-18 year olds, I was hit that men over 18 need to hear this message just as much. Living a life of chastity is a choice and it is a call for all of us, whether we’re single, dating, married or a priest. In a marriage, a man must remain chaste… be careful not to confuse this with celibate, they are not the same thing. Living chastity means that we are living out our sexuality in the way that God intended. If you don’t know if you’re living a chaste life, I highly recommend diving into books that talk about this. My recommendations include “Theology of the Body for Beginners” and “The Good News About Sex and Marriage”. Both books are written by Christopher West. If you’ve read these books and are looking for more, you can always read the documents that these books come from, “Theology of the Body” by Pope John Paul II.
Living a chaste life is fulfilling. It’s not easy, but it’s fulfilling. The world is telling us that in order to be cool, hip and a real man, we must be having a ton of sex with every woman we come into contact with. This is NOT what God intended for us. You have the power to choose. You can choose a life of emptiness, moving from one night stand to one night stand. Or, you can choose a life of fulfillment, by giving yourself as a free gift to your wife in the sacred act of marital love. In my mind, there’s no question which one is better.
Man up!
Fatherhood Friday – The Love of a Father
February 6, 2009 by admin
Filed under Fatherhood
I have two daughters. Lily and Emma. They are amazing and sweet little children. They mean the world to me. I would do anything for them. As I think about how I treat them… with such love and admiration, with kisses and hugs, snuggles and story time, prayer and discipline… I know, without a doubt, that my relationship with them is the most important relationship they will ever have. This isn’t to toot my own horn! Expand it in a broad sense: the most important relationship any young girl has is with her father. I do not take this responsibility lightly. At the foundation of all of their coming relationships (friendship/romantic/work/personal/professional) is the love that I show them. The burden lies solely on my shoulders, to show them how wonderful and precious they are. It’s my responsibility, as their protector and defender, to prepare them for the world. I must encourage them and build them up. I must help them to see the jewel that they are, the treasure that they are, the perfect creation that they are. A huge part in showing them this love is by loving my wife in the way that proves to all three of them that my wife is a jewel, a treasure and a perfect creation.
It is my goal, in my relationship with my girls, to have them set their bar high, to never settle, to never feel inferior or to never doubt their abilities. This is a monstrous goal. It is a gigantic task.
Man up!
Are You Like Adam?
Adam, you know, THE Adam. The first man. God’s creation. He was given dominion over all the animals, and the land, God gave him the crown of creation, Eve, as his wife and God asked him to “shamar” the garden. “What’s shamar, Dave?” In layman’s terms, it means to cultivate, protect and/or defend. [If God asked a guy to shamar his prized hot rod, would anyone drive or touch it? Probably not. Certainly, no one would have the opportunity to scratch it or damage it in any way.] Why didn’t Adam shamar the garden?
The serpent made his way in (Genesis 3) and began speaking to the woman. Often times, it’s portrayed as if Eve were alone in the garden and that Adam was somewhere else. The serpent, being cunning as he is, began to call into question what God said to them. Eve tried to correct him, but was unsuccessful in her explanation. (Read the passages in Genesis closely to pick up on this.) Eventually, Eve gave in and ate the fruit from the tree. Adam ate it too. See, Adam was there the entire time. He sat back and allowed the serpent to twist God’s words and confuse Eve. Had he been shamaring, as asked by God, the serpent would have never had the chance to even speak to Eve.
Shamar… do you do it like Adam or the guy with the hot rod?
Man up!
My Favorite Commercials
There were some funny commercials during yesterday’s amazing Superbowl game! Way to go Steelers! My two favorites were Jason Statham in Audi’s “The Chase” and Pepsi Max’s “I’m Good”.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZtRN4GfkCs]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rorbv0RWrbk]
I liked the Audi commercial the best because it seemed like a sweet car chase movie, which I enjoy. Jason Statham personifies cool (fit, agile, black suit, sweet car, amazing driving skills) in this spot. This spot, unlike many of the others, didn’t sell sex in place of a product. Good on Audi.
A TrueMan knows the answer to this question because a TrueMan is observant… without going back to the video clip first… What movie was showing on the marque before he turns down the Lexus? Bonus: What were the show times?
Man up!
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Last Day
Well, we’ve just about arrived. Kick-off to Superbowl XLIII is merely hours away and the anticipation of the game is on the minds of many sports fans across the country. Sadly, the anticipation of the commercials, which might be the larger anticipation, is on the minds of television fans and of people who like parties with lots of food. In the end, there will be a winning team (the champions) and a losing team. It may be the team you are rooting for, it might not. 50-50. Win – go down in history. Lose – be forgotten.
A quick thought today… God wants our best, given freely to him, in all we do. In the little things (hosting a party, being a guest, making comments about the plays, the calls or the commercials) during the game (and always) be aware of your words, your actions and your thoughts. A True Man never makes someone call into question his motivation, his intent or his character. Be a gentleman and a servant of Christ.
COMING SOON… since Superbowl Week is now over, we’ll be back to our normal posting schedule. Please watch for upcoming podcasts, video and the addition of the e-book, “The Biblical Man – e-book Edition” by Dave DiNuzzo.
Your comments and suggestions are appreciated!
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 6 (Mike Tomlin Day)
Only 2 days left until THE BIG DAY! (Go Steelers!) Superbowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals.
Before you read this post, please check out this clip of Steelers Head Coach, Mike Tomlin, at one of his Superbowl Press Conferences this week. CLICK HERE FOR THE MIKE TOMLIN VIDEO. (Notice specifically the video segment 0:45-1:36 – as he speaks about “the game plan”). Sorry I wasn’t able to embed it in this post.
What stands out to me in this clip is the attitude that Coach has. This is the youngest head coach in NFL history to ever take a team to the Superbowl. He’s constantly telling his players to be humble, play hard and to not underestimate their opponents. He sets the example of cool-calm-and-collected. He realizes that their team isn’t perfect, while at the same time continuing to shoot for perfection. His positive and optimistic outlook guides the Steelers towards greatness.
One of the reporters asks him about his “game plan” and if getting to the Superbowl was in his plan. He answers this (somewhat ridiculous) question by saying “of course it was my plan. It’s every coach’s plan, and it will always be my plan as long as I am coaching.” Liken this to our goals in life. If we go into our “season” without a game plan, without a set of plays and without the playbook, we’ll easily be defeated. (Note: our “season” is our life. The “game plan” is our daily plan of how we’re going to grow closer to Christ. The “set of plays” are our everyday prayers, actions, choices and the Mass and our “playbook” is Sacred Scripture.) If we set a goal of achieving the title of “champion” (heaven), we’re much more likely to be granted that salvation than if we never decide to shoot for anything in life. Set your goal towards God.
Man up!
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 5
Be a responsible man. Take responsibility for your actions. Sometimes, men (and women too, but men definitely take the cake in this category) like to blame other people for their mistakes, poor choices and general bad judgment. This is not good. This is not something you want to adopt as a characteristic to live by. Taking ownership and being responsible for what you say and do is a key to living a life of a True Man. Your witness, success, happiness and future will be much brighter if you “man up” and “bite the bullet” when you do something less than your best.
How is he going to relate this to football? Easy. Imagine that you’re watching a game on Sunday. How often (I’d say just about every time) do we see a player throw his hands up in unbridled disagreement to the referee’s call of a penalty?
Why can’t they just admit that the face-masking call is legitimate and that the holding penalty occurred and that the pass interference wasn’t a figment of any body’s imagination?
