{"id":1276,"date":"2010-04-18T08:37:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-18T08:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2010\/04\/thanks-to-the-support-of-other-catholic%c2%a0men\/"},"modified":"2017-01-24T19:04:13","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T00:04:13","slug":"thanks-to-the-support-of-other-catholic-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2010\/04\/thanks-to-the-support-of-other-catholic-men.html","title":{"rendered":"Thanks to the Support of Other Catholic\u00a0Men"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/a>I spent Saturday morning at the Boston Catholic Men\u2019s Conference in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in the South End. No, that\u2019s not me at left. That\u2019s Danny Abramowicz, former NFL tight end for the New Orleans Saints, author of Spiritual Workout of a Former Saint, <\/i>and creator of the EWTN show \u201cCrossing the Goal.\u201d \u201cCoach Danny\u201d and his \u201cteammates\u201d were the featured speakers at the conference. What follows are my notes from their talks.
<\/a>
First speaker was Peter Herbeck, Vice President and Director of Missions for Renewal Ministries. On the topic of \u201cConversion,\u201d he spoke of Easter readings in the Acts of the Apostles and asked how Paul was changed from a man affected by the circumstances of everyday life to one who was contented everywhere. Paul realized that the problems of life do not arise from circumstances but from sin. That, Herbeck said, is the message of Jesus on the Cross: \u201cI came to put away sin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sin, he said, is the drive to push God to the margins of our life. The martyrs, by contrast, went to their deaths in joy, refusing to bend to the powers that be. Their freedom of spirit \u201cblew people\u2019s minds.\u201d Today, by contrast, the vast majority of Catholics live a sort of \u201cChristian minimalism,\u201d asking, \u201cWhat\u2019s the least I need to do to get to Heaven (or Purgatory)?\u201d Mass once a week, confession once a year? This is putting Christianity at risk. Herbeck quoted Pope Benedict as saying that in vast areas today, the light of faith is in danger of going out.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

John Paul II called us to lives of \u201cGospel radicalism,\u201d to believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is acting in us today. To have a \u201ctotal and radical\u201d faith, Herbeck said, is like playing no-limit Texas hold\u2019em with Jesus Christ and going \u201call in.\u201d But we don\u2019t do this, we bet a chip or two, because we are seduced by our culture. Look at the Archdiocese of Boston, with 1.8 million registered Catholics of whom only one-sixth (300,000 people) go to Mass on Sundays!<\/p>\n

Abramowicz was next, speaking on \u201cTransformation.\u201d He began by talking of living the fast life of an NFL star and seeing his marriage and his own soul in peril. He entered Alcoholics Anonymous in 1981 and began to practice his faith more seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Danny\u201d said there are three types of people, represented by three circles. The first type has no Cross in the circle. The second type has the Cross just inside the circle, but not at the center. In the third type, the Cross is at the center of the circle. Then he described the \u201cSpiritual Workout\u201d needed to place the Cross at the center of our lives. This includes (1) having a serious prayer life, \u201cstretching out in prayer,\u201d making a daily appointment with the Lord; (2) running away from temptation which, he said, \u201cstops fifteen minutes after you are in the grave\u201d; (3) going to daily Mass for spiritual nutrition, the Word and the Eucharist; (4) quieting the chatter of daily lives so that we can be like Elijah, who heard the word of God \u201cin a whisper\u201d; and (5) gathering together as men.<\/p>\n

Abramowicz ended by describing a heart attack he suffered in 2007. On the operating table, about to go under anesthesia, he prayed, \u201cLord, the timing\u2019s not right here. I want to help raise my four grandchildren. But if it\u2019s your will, I accept it.\u201d He said that at that moment \u201ca perfect calm\u201d came over him. Then he asked the men in the Cathedral: \u201cIf that was you on that table, would you be ready?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

Final speaker of the morning was Curtis Martin (above), who took the theme of \u201cEvangelization.\u201d Martin is the founder of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), which evangelizes on campuses across the country. He spoke of the \u201cdark cold spiritual winter\u201d that Boston has survived and of the \u201cnew springtime\u201d into which we are moving. He challenged men to take responsibility for this: \u201cDo you think there\u2019s another group of men like this in Boston, a group of men that God is calling? [Pause] You\u2019re it.\u201d Then Martin asked each man to ask, \u201cWhat is God\u2019s deep personal plan for me?\u201d Martin asked us, \u201cDo you believe that God\u2019s plan for you is better than your plan for you? If Jesus Christ is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all.<\/i>\u201c<\/p>\n

Pope Benedict, he said, has taught that the purpose of evangelization is to address poverty in all its forms. \u201cLord, what form of poverty do you want me to address?\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin quoted Catherine of Siena, who told the Pope, \u201cIf you are what you were meant to be, you would set the world on fire.\u201d The problem, Martin said, is that men are basically, essentially lazy. \u201cThe devil is counting on this one thing\u2026. Many of us are paralyzed by fear of failure. If a man thinks something might make him look weak, he won\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin noted that Hall of Fame baseball players fail seven out of ten times (batting .300). Those who succeed just have \u201cthe highest FQ\u201d (failure quotient): They fall just as many times as the rest of us, but they get up one more time.<\/p>\n

Martin ended with a quote from Benedict\u2019s first homily as Pope: \u201cThe world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a great morning.<\/p>\n

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I spent Saturday morning at the Boston Catholic Men\u2019s Conference in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in the South End. No, that\u2019s not me at left. That\u2019s Danny Abramowicz, former NFL tight end for the New Orleans Saints, author of Spiritual Workout of a Former Saint, and creator of the EWTN show \u201cCrossing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThanks to the Support of Other Catholic\u00a0Men<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I spent Saturday morning at the Boston Catholic Men's Conference in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in the South End. No, that's not me at left. 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