Making Sense of It

Allow me first to write that I am not a moral theologian.  I don’t speak from a substantial place of authority on this post (nor do I normally), but as usual, I want to share some thoughts on the topic from a manliness standpoint.

With the recent news of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, there has been a lot of talk on how one should respond.  I’ve heard of many different responses – some that I agree with, some that I disagree with (and that I’m opposed to) and some that are neutral.  Have you heard these responses?… “USA! USA! USA!” or “We should not rejoice in the death of a man.”  or “He had it coming!” or “Proverbs 11:10” or “I won’t lie and say I wasn’t excited about last night’s news.”  The list goes on and on.  Many responses get much worse.

First, in response to the outpouring of patriotism… we, as proud Americans, should always have an outpouring of patriotism, not just on July 4th, on Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day or on a day when one of the worst terrorist leaders and threats to America has been eradicated.  Do you always fly the stars and stripes, or only when it is fitting for celebration or your cause?  I proudly fly our flag every day.

Next, in response to “He had it coming” or other hate-filled responses.  Yes, the man was a terrorist and a militant one at that.  He was responsible for countless deaths, all across the globe.  I guess we could say, “Live by the automatic rifle, die by the automatic rifle.”  Nonetheless, the response should not be joy in his death.  Instead, I suggest going beyond the initial emotional response and thinking rationally about the situation.  (This is NOT to say that Bin Laden didn’t risk the sort of demise that he experienced.  Of course, in the militaristic fashion in which he lived, with nearly the entire world’s military forces looking for him, and with the excessive force that he displayed, there was a good chance that he was going to die in a fire fight.  And certainly, there is something to be said about our incredible troops going in and attempting to disarm and arrest Bin Laden so that he could be tried in a military court of law.)  It is hard for some of you reading to believe that there’s a better response to Bin Laden’s death than ecstatic rejoicing.  I challenge that idea by suggesting that we look at it in a different light.  (Note: this doesn’t take away what he did, what he was responsible for, who he instructed and what they might have done or will do, or any thing else.  It is merely the virtuous response.)

Here’s what I wrote on Facebook earlier today and some of the responses that my post got.  I wrote “I don’t know about anybody else, but considering that my brother, some of my friends and many other great Americans and Foreigners are in the middle east fighting for our freedom, we should rejoice not in the death of a man, but in the hope that the war may end and peace (which has never seen the light of day in the middle east) may come to all peoples.” I then commented, “Here is what the Church, our guide, says: “In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.” – Vatican Statement on the Death of Bin Laden”

These are the comments that followed:

• “Thank you. I was kind of sickened at the reaction here, actually.”  (From a cadet at the Air Force Academy who witnessed her fellow cadets assembling in the middle of campus to celebrate the death of Bin Laden with cheers of excitement, dancing, loud music, chanting and so on.)
• I then responded, “I saw a video from last night at the Academy and thought I should post something. Although there is pride in being American, it should be there every day, not merely when we have a military victory and certainly should not be at the death of any man, woman or child.”
• “Thank you David for being the voice of reason. I have been very conflicted about this event since I learned of it last night during the Phillies game and the crowd started cheering “USA.” I couldn’t understand why people were so proud to have killed somebody–even a man responsible for the deaths of so many others.”
• “If we are going to stand up and say that all life is precious, we need to mean “all”. Even when we struggle to find forgiveness and compassion for a sinner.”
• “Right on, Dave”

Now, I’m sure that many others wanted to respond differently.  I understand, and can relate because of the many thoughts that ran through my head when I heard the news of Bin Laden’s death, to be glad that the hunt for Bin Laden is over.  I had shimmering hopes that maybe the war will come to an end sooner than planned.  I wondered if my brother, or anyone I know who is serving in the middle east, was a part of this mission.  I wondered what my father, a 30-year Air Force Veteran and Veteran of two tours in Viet Nam thought.  I even thought things in regards to Bin Laden’s Muslim Extremist faith and how all that might play out in the coming days, weeks and months.  None of that matters.  A man is dead and we, as Catholics, should mourn the fact that he did not know Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Life is not about military victories, nor parties in the street, nor anything else.  Life is about achieving the ultimate gift of eternal life in Heaven with God.  Plain and simple.

This probably shouldn’t be the last time we discuss this topic, so if you’ve got thoughts, comments, or suggestions, leave them below in the comment section.

Again, here’s what the Catholic Church said today: “In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.”

TrueMan up!

LIFE Group – Runners Run, Christians Pray, LIFE Runners Do Both!

One of my favorite things to witness is when people figure out what they’re passionate about and use their passion for the greater good.  I hope that comes across here on TrueManhood.com – my passion of helping men grow into authentic masculinity in the image of Jesus Christ, the TrueMan exemplar.  As I often say, “I do this to help men who are where I was get out of that place, or if possible, help a man to never go where I was.”

One such group of people that are passionate about something and have put their passion to use for the greater good are my comrades in prayer and in the fight against the culture of death who founded The Living Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group; Pat Castle, Rich Reich, Steve Castle and others.  (LIFE Group, which can be found on the web at www.LIFEgroup413.org.)  Here’s how they got started…

FAITH JOURNEY: The Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group seed was planted by the Holy Spirit during faith conversations between running partners Pat Castle and Rich Reich, while they were training in the mountains around Colorado Springs in preparation for the Pikes Peak Ascent and Air Force Marathon in 2006.  That seed grew into more faith sharing/prayer time while reading the Living Faith devotional together before work, while serving as chemistry professors at the Air Force Academy.  When Rich moved to the Univ of FL for his PhD in 2007, that morning devotion continued over email.  In Dec 2007, Pat began sharing their morning devotion emails with family and friends.  In Jan 2008, Pat’s brother Steve suggested starting a blog…Rich set it up and came up with the name…and Pat took off sharing the LIFE Group Devotions with everyone he could reach.  The name, Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group, focuses on the Christian’s calling to live the faith by sharing and defending our faith.  The name also points us to the greatest of causes, LIFE, to save babies (and families).  In 2008, Pat and Rich co-founded the LIFE Runners half/full marathon team, feeding into and from the LIFE Group and focused on actively raising awareness/funds for ProLife.  Steve Castle joined as author #3 on 5 Aug 2009.  With Steve’s encouragement and Rich’s activation, on 22 Oct 2009 we began posting our devotions on Facebook.  On 10 Jun 2010, we began selecting our own verses from the daily Mass readings.  On 5 Oct 2010, Rob Rysavy sent out his first devotion as weekly author #4.  On 30 Sep 2010, we started posting a guest author devotion on Thursdays…our weekly author #5 to round out the weekdays.  On 15 Nov 2010, the authors launched our current website…and included Phil 4:13 in the name (http://lifegroup413.org).  What began as a faith conversation between Pat and Rich during a long mountain run…is now a Living in Faith Exchange between over 600 ProLife Christians!

If you’d like to get involved, visit the site and subscribe.  The devotions are great – and, if it’s not already part of your day, it might be a great way for you to start praying every day.  Another awesome thing they do, which you will see if you visit their website, is run half and full marathons in the name of saving babies and families.  What an awesome project!  Their goal for 2011 is to raise $25K for a pregnancy bus that gives pregnant women free ultrasounds.  87% of women who see their unborn child on ultrasound don’t abort.  LIFE Group runners are doing great work in decreasing the number of abortions in America.  “Runners run, Christians Pray… LIFE Runners do both!”  (You can follow LIFE Group on Facebook too.)

I want to highlight something here.  It’s how I started this post, when I spoke about passion.  When you are passionate about something, it becomes what you live for, what you put your efforts toward and an awesome way to witness to others.  Pat and Rich did this.  By remaining disciplined and devoted, they have now brought great meditations and prayers, especially prayers for the unborn and the end to abortion, to thousands of people, and brought them all to the foot of the cross and laid them down at Jesus’ feet.  Do you have something you’re passionate about?  Does something really get you going?  Can you use it for the greater good of society?  I challenge everyone to think about that and make it happen!

TrueMan up!

“All Gave Some, Some Gave All”

Check this video out.  It’s worth the 4 minutes, especially on a day when we should be remembering those who have served our country for our freedom and even more so, when we should be remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom.  Don’t take your freedom for granted.  Don’t take our veterans for granted.  If you see a soldier, either active duty or veteran, go up to them, look them in the eyes and thank them.  Teach your children to do the same.

Catholics Murdered by Muslims in Baghdad

In an attack on Syrian Catholics worshiping at Mass on Sunday (Oct 31, 2010), 58 people were killed, including 2 priests and 75 people were injured.  The attack was conducted by Muslim extremists.

When will the world wake up and realize that Islam is NOT a peaceful religion?!?!  This story makes my blood churn.  This sort of injustice and attack against humanity must be stopped.  Here’s the story from Catholic Online.

‘The October 31 attack on the Syrian Catholic cathedral in Baghdad that killed 58 and wounded 75 has shocked and horrified the Catholic community and all people of goodwill. We join Pope Benedict XVI in expressing our profound sorrow at this savage violence and offer our heartfelt prayers for the victims, their families, and the Church and people of Iraq.’

More Destinations

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) – We were among the first online sources to report on the evil actions of extremist Muslims which were committed against the innocent Catholic faithful of Iraq while attending Holy Mass. I wrote an article entitled, Catholics Killed at Mass in Iraq: Extremist Muslims invade Church, Murder Priests .

Of course, the reaction from the Holy See was immediate. Pope Benedict XVI expressed his profound sorrow and solidarity. On the Feast of All Saints he called for an end to the “heinous episodes of violence that continue to ravage the people of the Middle East.” He addressed the “grave attack on the Syrian Catholic cathedral of Baghdad, (where) dozens of people were killed and injured, among them two priests and a group of faithful gathered for Sunday Mass.”

The Pope called the faithful around the world to prayer, ” I pray for the victims of this absurd violence, which is even more savage because it struck defenseless people, gathered in God’s house, which is a house of love and reconciliation…. May everyone unite their efforts so as to end all violence.”

We received an extraordinary number of letters in response to that article on the massacre against Catholic Christians in Iraq by extremists Muslims. Many of our readers asked why this evil act of terror and violence was not covered by the mainstream media and Major Press sources. It took a while, but it finally was. As the news came out, Catholics, other Christians, other people of faith and all people of good will uniformly expressed outrage, deep sorrow and shock at the barbaric act. The sacrifice of their lives must not be forgotten. It points to the growing persecution against catholics and other Christians in Iraq and throughout the Middle East.

We present below the full official statement released by Francis Cardinal George, the President of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops on November 1, 2010. This great Churchman is equally strong in his remarks referring to this “most recent murderous attack”. He placed it within the context of the ongoing persecution of Christians in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. Once again, we invite our readers around the world to pray for those who were killed while attending Holy Mass, for their families and for all our brethren in Iraq who are in deep mourning over this evil act.

*****************************

Statement on the Attack on the Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad, Francis Cardinal George, OMI

The October 31 attack on the Syrian Catholic cathedral in Baghdad that killed 58 and wounded 75 has shocked and horrified the Catholic community and all people of goodwill. We join Pope Benedict XVI in expressing our profound sorrow at this savage violence and offer our heartfelt prayers for the victims, their families, and the Church and people of Iraq.

In the recent Synod on the Middle East, the bishops from Iraq spoke of the perilous situation facing Christians and other minorities in that country. They recalled: kidnappings for ransom; bombings of churches, schools, and other property occupied by Christians; threats to Christian-run businesses and livelihoods; and the death of Archbishop Rahho and other priests following kidnappings.

Together with this most recent murderous attack, this pattern points to an appalling lack of basic security. Many Christians have been forced to leave their homes or have fled abroad in search of safety. Many have little hope of return to Iraq in the near future.  The Synod called on the international community to help Iraq “put an end to the consequences of a deadly war and re-establish security, something which will protect all its citizens .”

The United States bears responsibility for working effectively with the Iraqi government to stem the violence. Our Conference of Bishops raised grave moral questions prior to the United States military intervention in Iraq and then called for a “responsible transition.”

While we welcomed the end of U.S.-led combat in Iraq, we share the Iraqi bishops’ concern that the United States failed to help Iraqis in finding the political will and concrete ways needed to protect the lives of all citizens, especially Christians and other vulnerable minorities, and to ensure that refugees and displaced persons are able to return to their homes safely. Having invaded Iraq, the U.S. government has a moral obligation not to abandon those Iraqis who cannot defend themselves.

At the conclusion of the Synod, the pope said, “Peace is possible. Peace is urgent. Peace is the indispensable condition for a life of dignity for individuals and society.”

We offer our prayers and solidarity with the suffering Christians of Iraq at this terrible time of loss and horrific violence. We stand with the bishops, Church and people of Iraq in their urgent search for greater security, freedom and protection. We call upon the United States to take additional steps to help Iraq protect its citizens, especially the most vulnerable. “

Here are just a few pictures you can find while doing an internet search of Islam.  Seems like the opposite of peaceful to me.

Absolutely Ridiculous.

The Power of One

The following story, written by a website writer, is very disturbing and I hesitate to include it on my website simply because I do not know enough about the topic to speak to it specifically.  What I will write about is the power of one man.  As you will read in the linked articles below, Alfred Kinsey had incredible power and influence.  His power and influence continue to this day and have [negatively] shaped the culture and specifically, the view of sex, sexuality and morality.

I write to share this thought… you, as one man, have an incredible opportunity to influence!  Your scope of influence may be one other person, or it may be the entire society!  If Kinsey, just one man, could influence an entire society, for over sixty years, just imagine what you might be able to do.  But, you can’t do it sitting at your computer alone – you must get to work!  Do something!  If you don’t know what that is, figure something out and get started!

So, here is the crazy-gross article about Kinsey and his “scientific” experiments, which were basically just legal-pedophilia… CLICK HERE.

And then, CLICK HERE for another article about Kinsey.  This article happens to include some information from the Air Force Academy from the 90’s, but that has nothing specific to do with this post – even considering my past involvement there.

I hope to do some more research and find out more about Kinsey and his “findings”, as well as report back more details about how screwed up he was.  If you want to do some research your self, check out a book by Susan Brinkmann called “The Kinsey Corruption: An Expose on the Most Influential ‘Scientist’ of Our Time.”

TrueMan up!

Outstanding College Council Award – Council 8200

Congrats to the Knights of Columbus, Council 8200 at the United States Air Force Academy for being named the 2009-2010 Outstanding College Council!  This council is near and dear to me, as it is and has been my council since 2004.  Congrats, men!  I am a lucky man to be a part of this great council and apart of so many of the lives of the Knights in 8200.  For any Catholic men who are reading who might not be a Knight, I highly encourage you to join.  If your council is inactive or “deadlocked”, as we sometimes refer to it, then take the bull by the horns and start something.  Resurrect the council and get others excited to be Knights.  Pope John Paul II once said, “All Catholic men should be Knights.”  Take his advice, and my push, and get involved today.

Knights of Columbus is a fraternal, service organization and has the tenets of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism.  Here is an article about the award-winning council.

“To be named Outstanding College Council is an exceptional distinction; and it requires exemplary achievement across the spectrum of program categories. College councils know that their challenge is to foster a culture of life on their campus and to strive, through their actions, to build a civilization of love.

This year’s winner demonstrated a strong commitment to community service, social justice and spiritual formation. An outstanding college council not only knows and accepts these challenges, but faces this task with a sense of dedication and determination that elevates the entire Order and promotes a new evangelization.

Last year, Brother Knights at Our Lady of the Skies Council 8200 at the United States Air Force Academy offered service to Mary’s Choice, a home and helping hand Program for young women that provides them opportunity to reflect and learn in a loving, structured home for the duration of their pregnancies with ongoing support. By cutting ten cords of firewood, they saved the facility thousands of dollars on heating expenses. The council also collected winter clothing for families assisted by Mary’s Choice.

To offer spiritual formation for Catholic men, the council organized several annual retreats, as well as bimonthly dinners featuring guest speakers on Catholic manhood and vocational discernment. Exemplifying the chivalry that marks true Catholic gentlemen, the council also hosted a dinner to honor the women of their community.

To affirm the bonds of fraternity, this council organized a wide of variety of social activities, including mountaineering expeditions, and held outdoor activities and sporting events. The council also sponsored a “Man Talk” freshman recruitment event that drew in a large number of prospective members.

These men embody Father McGivney’s founding vision for the Knights of Columbus. When a student’s young brother died suddenly, these brother Knights intervened personally to raise funds to pay for the cost of her airfare home and to assist her family with funeral costs.

In recognition of their exemplary accomplishments and service, Our Lady of the Skies Council 8200 at the United States Air Force Academy was named Outstanding College Council for the 2009-2010 academic year.”

TrueManhood.com on CatholicTV.com

I’m excited to announce that TrueManhood.com will be featured on CatholicTV.com on Friday, August 27, 2010!  I am honored and privileged to have been invited onto their program called “This is the Day”.  The show airs on Friday, LIVE at 1030am EASTERN, with rebroadcasts all week.  Please join me in celebrating this new endeavor for our ministry!

Although I’ll only be visible via internet video (hopefully the technology works properly!), it will be a big step and lots of exposure for us!  Tune in.

For more information, please visit CatholicTV.com.

« Previous Page — Next Page »