Two Stories
I came across this story a while back, and actually used it at a retreat I ran to intro a talk on virtue. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
THE FIRST STORY: Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn’t famous for anything heroic.
He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie.” He was his lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie’s skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid Eddie very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie also got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.
Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocities that went on around him. Eddie had a soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn’t give his son; he couldn’t pass on a good name or a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al “Scarface” Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great.
So, he testified. Within the year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine. The poem read: The clock of life is wound but once, And no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.
THE SECOND STORY: 
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the ship he saw something that turned his blood cold: a squadron of Japanese aircraft were speeding their way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger.
There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber’s blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly.
Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch’s daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.
This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29.
His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. So, the next time you find yourself at O’Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch’s memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It’s located between Terminals 1 and 2.
SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?
Butch O’Hare was “Easy Eddie’s” son!
Man up!
“Fighting for Manliness” a HUGE Success!
My talk on New Year’s Eve was a HUGE success! I gave the ‘Men’s Only’ Breakout Sessions on December 31st at the FOCUS National Conference in Orlando, Florida. FOCUS is the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, a college campus ministry outreach organization that radically turned my life around in college. It was an honor and privilege to be asked to speak at this year’s conference. The conference was a five day, action-packed, intense conference with great speakers, great sponsors and incredible celebrations of the Holy Mass. There were around 4,000 college students gathered together to celebrate their faith. The witness of their vibrant faith is energizing and invigorating, I wish you could have seen it!
My talk focused on a few main points: manliness = virtue, manly leadership (imitating Christ), the evils of pornography, the just treatment of women and living manliness. I wanted to be intense and “in your face” with my talk, and from the feedback I received, the men really enjoyed it. I think it would be disrespectful and counterproductive to water down the message to men, so I was intense and in your face.
A video of my talk will be available in the coming weeks, so please check back later.
Fr. Emil Kapaun – A TrueMan, and Great Example of Holiness
Father Emil Kapaun of Pilsen, Kansas died a hero at the young age of 35 in a North Korean POW camp in 1951. His message of hope and resolve to never give up still resonates today. The family of Chase Kear hoped that praying to Kapaun would help heal Chase, who was critically injured in 2008. Now the Vatican is investigating whether Chase Kear is a miracle, and whether Kapaun deserves to be a saint. Whether the Church officially canonizes Fr. Kapaun or not, we can all take many lessons from him. He was a true servant, always putting others and their needs before his own. He broke racial and religious barriers by being courageous enough to speak and live the Good News of Jesus Christ as Lord. May He rest in peace. Here is a good site to read more about Fr Kapaun, and now two trailers about a documentary that was made about Fr. Kapaun.
Version 1:
Version 2:
The TrueManhood Code
The singing cowboy, Gene Autry, had certain rules about what it takes to be a cowboy. I think what he had to say works not only for cowboys, but for all men.
If you’ll notice, Mr. Autry clearly stated that a cowboy ‘MUST’ do these things… they aren’t options. A TrueMan, too, doesn’t have the option to tell the truth or not, or to be a good worker only some of the time. A TrueMan can’t only respect women on occasion or have clean personal habits from time-to-time. In order to be a TrueMan, we work to possess the character of a real, authentic man, living out the role that God created us for, and we do it at all times. The life of a TrueMan isn’t simply a switch we turn on when we’re in public, or when we’re in a job interview, or when we’re trying to impress someone. It is a lifestyle, a complete and totally devoted lifestyle in which we surrender all unto the Lord, for He is our master and our purpose. The TrueManhood Code is a life of virtue.
May you always live virtue, and in all things, glorify God.
Man up!
For the Sake of Others
Something that’s been on my mind lately is the idea of suffering… suffering not in the sense of physical anguish or truly desperate spiritual tribulations, but the idea of suffering in the sense of offering up troublesome times for the sake of others. There are plenty of times in our lives when we can look selfishly upon a situation and complain about how bad we have it. There are plenty of times when we have a skewed view of what’s actually happening in our lives. These times call us to a higher standard, they call us to holiness.
I want to submit a challenge to everyone reading this post. The challenge is this: over the next seven days (start today and go for one week), I challenge you to step outside of your own mindset and put yourself in the shoes of those around you. Once you do this, I challenge you to offer up your suffering for them. By offering up your suffering for them, you are asking for grace to be abundantly poured out upon them. You take the little situations (or big) that are hard to deal with, and you place them at the foot of the cross. You do this for others around you, not for yourself. So think about the homeless person you drove past today asking for some spare change, the cashier at the super market, a newborn in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and offer up to the Father all your struggles for their sake. Maybe your sacrifice will lessen the troubles they experience.
This sort of behavior is counter-cultural. It may feel weird at times, and you will probably never know the outcome of your sacrifice, but I guarantee that it will change your life. Anytime you can lessen your selfish behavior and grow in holiness, I recommend taking that opportunity.
This time of year, I often think not only of the birth of Christ, or merely of the uncompromising “Yes!” of Mary, but also, the incredibly manly sacrifice of St. Joseph. Do you realize how hard the journey to Bethlehem would have been? Not only DID HE WALK HIS PREGNANT BETROTHED TO BETHLEHEM 100 MILES AWAY from Nazareth!, he put up with public ridicule, family shame and abandonment for being associated with an unmarried pregnant woman and still chose to raise Jesus. I can imagine St. Joseph (an incredible example of TrueManhood) never complaining, never mistreating Mary, never giving in on anything for Jesus. What an incredible man. May we all follow in his footsteps and be strong for Jesus, even in the face of suffering.
Man up!
To a Child, Love is Spelled T-I-M-E
Please take some time to watch this video. I think it’s easy for us, especially those of us who are parents, to lose perspective of what’s important. This video hit me profoundly and I have been striving to incorporate other’s desires, views and opinions into my daily life.
Man up!
Man-ifesto, Needs Context
A message about the Docker’s “Man-ifesto” came through my inbox today and I wanted to draw some attention to it. The point of what Dockers is trying to do comes across, however, I think it needs some explanation in order to make it better. This explanation sets the context of what manhood is, why it is vital and how a man can live TrueManhood.
I really like the parts about gentlemanly behavior. I tend to believe that chivalry is dying, but I know that it can be resurrected from the dead if men would take a few extra seconds here and there to help women out (it needs to then become a mindset) AND if women allow a man to be a gentleman. The loss of masculinity in our culture is overwhelming, which is a big reason why I operate this website. Males tend to give into societal pressures (vanity and pride are big here) and because of the idea of “cultural manliness” (if you don’t know what this is, you need to read more of my writings here! Use the search box to find CULTURAL MANLINESS!) are often rewarded for doing so. If you haven’t heard Brad Paisley’s song, “I’m Still a Guy”, he mentions lots of stuff about the decline of masculinity: “These days, there’s dudes gettin’ facials, manicured, waxed and botoxed. With deep spray on tans, and creamy-lotiony hands, you can’t grip a tackle box. With all of these dudes linin’ up get nudered it’s hip now to be feminized…” It’s funny, haha, but true. A way for us to gauge our own behavior and motivations is to look at the most manly men we know. This doesn’t mean Chuck Norris and Charleston Heston, this means TrueMen, like St. Joseph, St. Thomas More and Jesus Himself! These men exemplify manliness, they are our guides.
The Dockers Man-ifesto takes jabs at stuff like salad bars, misbehaved children and complacency, but it never answers the question ‘why’.
The term “wear the pants” is typically misconstrued and misused; typically the term means something similar to dominate, or rule over. This is NOT the role of a man. A TrueMan leads, yes, but not with an iron fist. A TrueMan makes decisions, but not by force. A TrueMan loves and honors and respects. (In the coming days, as soon as I have my voice back, I’m producing a video talking more about this topic.)
And let’s be clear, the “call to manhood” is to live virtue! In Latin, virtus means manliness!
I urge men and women to read through Docker’s Man-ifesto and determine what areas should be worded differently if it was the TrueMan-ifesto. Maybe I’ll do that too, and post my thoughts on it. Your comments are appreciated.
Man up!
