2nd Annual Fall Men's Conference = Success

Tremendous Success

We had our 2nd Annual Fall Men's Conference yesterday and it was a tremendous success. +Taylor Marshall's talks and Q & A session were engaging, enlightening and empowering. Recognizing the upcoming close of the Year of Faith, this year's stated theme was Answering the Call to Holiness.

Two By Two

We had over 90 men in attendance from 15 different parishes. Two of the men travelled nearly two and half hours to attend the conference. While we only had a few more men attend than last year, I am particularly excited by the number of parishes represented. (Next year we will not book the same date as Texas-OU weekend.) This is an opportunity for existing men's groups to network and collaborate. For those parishes without men's groups, it is an opportunity to develop new apostolates. In this sense the conference was truly about iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17).

Upcoming Posts

I hope to devote a few upcoming posts to some of my thoughts from listening to Dr. Marshall's talks and from conversations I had with some of the men. Three main points I will elaborate on are: 1) the need for men to reclaim their authentic masculinity, 2) looking to St. Joseph as a role model and 3) how to develop a spiritual plan of life.

Dr. Taylor Marshall signing books and answering questions.

Three Talks and a Reflection

Dr. Marshall, who is founder of the New Saint Thomas Institute and author of 3 Catholic books, gave three talks and then graciously stayed to conduct a Q & A session. Fr. Alfonse Nazzaro, Parochial Vicar at All Saints Catholic Church in Dallas, Texas, gave an inspiring reflection on need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Caveat

I could tell that the guys who attended the conference were leaving spiritually rejuvenated and ready to implement some of the things they had learned. One of the points I made to the men as we were closing the conference, was to put on the armor of God because they were sure to come under attack from satan. The thought that came to mind is that an army is most vulnerable after a major victory in battle. The soldiers are susceptible to an attack because they have left their guards down. They have relaxed. I once heard a priest say that the devil never rests. Please join me in continuing the to pray for the men who attended the conference.

Thanks

On behalf of all the Joe Catholic team, I want to especially thank Two Hearts Catholic bookstore for donating all the books and the rosary we gave away as door prizes. Finally, we want to thank all the wives who provided all the morning and afternoon snacks.

2013 Men's Conference - Social Media

Follow the 2013 Men's Conference with keynote speaker +Taylor Marshall by following us at #joecatholic on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Direct comments from the conference can be followed on Twitter @dgonz15.

2013 Fall Catholic Men's ConferenceFeaturing Dr. Taylor Marshall

Announcement

Joe Catholic, in collaboration with the Adult Formation team at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Carrollton, is hosting its 2nd Annual Fall Catholic Men's Conference. We would like to extend an invitation to the men in the DFW Metroplex to attend the conference.

Conference Information

The Fall Catholic Men's Conference will be held October 12th, 830AM-330PM in St. Catherine of Siena's new Education Building. This year's registration includes a $20 fee (scholarships are available for those with need). Each participant will receive a catered boxed lunch and a Catholic gift bag. Reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration will be available as well.

Keynote Speaker
This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Taylor Marshall, former assistant director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington, DC, and author of three Catholic books. He has also been featured on EWTN's The Journey Home and Catholic Answers Live. Dr. Marshall's three talks will include:

• "Saint Joseph: Pattern for Leaders, Husbands, and Fathers”
• “The Catholic Man: Why We Lost Catholic Masculinity and How We Can Restore It”
• “Liturgy of Life: 9 Practical Ways to Take Your Spiritual Walk to the Next Level

Fr. Alphonse, priest at All Saints in Dallas, will be giving a brief reflection on the sacrament of Reconciliation.

ONLINE REGISTRATION

First Men's Conference a Huge Success!

Photo by Amechi Amnugi

The Called Answered
Yesterday morning eighty-eight men answered the call to man up and get serious about being the spiritual leaders of their families. These men attended the first Fall Men's Conference at St. Catherine of Siena, sponsored by Joe Catholic, the Knights of Columbus #13408 and the RCIA team. The theme of the conference was Learn, Live and Share the Faith.

For Men By Men
The conference centered on talks presented by three men from the St. Catherine parish: Mark Connolly, Lindon Leners and Don Gonzalez. They spoke on Conversion, Formation and Evangelization.  Michael Hoffman, who is a professional motivational speaker and a St. Catherine parishioner, emceed the event.

Sacraments and Sacramentals
The conference also provided the attendees the opportunity to spend time in Eucharistic  Adoration and to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. Each session was sponsored by one of the three organizations. Additionally, three copies of the Catechism of the Catholic Church were given away. Local Catholic book store, Two Hearts donated copies of Father Larry Richards' two books and an autographed copy of Dr. Ray Guarendi's book. Upon registration the men were given "swag bags" (donated by Guadalupe Radio) containing rosary and confession guides, prayer cards and note pads and pens donated by a local business.

Feed My Sheep
The men were fed both body and soul. The Knights cooked up a high-tone version of pork and beans: pork loin, green beans and broiled potatoes. The spiritual food was certainly provided in the sacrament of reconciliation as Fathers Mathew and Augustine heard confessions for over two hours!

Appreciation and Thanks
First, this could not have been a successful weekend without the participation of all the men that took time from their busy schedules to invest in their spiritual growth. A special thanks goes out to our priests for their willingness to hear each and every confession, over two hours without a break. We all know that behind (to the side and often in front of) every successful man is a strong woman. We thank the women of SAC and the Ladies of the Knights for providing the morning and afternoon snacks. We also want to thank Dave Palmer (Guadalupe Radio) and Two Hearts Bookstore family for their generous donations. Finally, a heartfelt thanks to all the men of the Knights and Joe Catholic for giving their time, talent and treasure into planning the conference.

Why Do We Need Community?

NFCM

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12).

Man is wired to be part of society to be part of a community. Aristotle made this observation:

Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god. (Aristotle, Politics)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says in section 1879 that individuals need to live in community, that it is part of our nature to live in association with others. In other words, God made us to be communal people. We see this in the formation of the early Church as its members "devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life" (Act 2:42).

The Second Vatican Council made a similar observation in Gaudium et spes (#23):

One of the salient features of the modern world is the growing interdependence of men one on the other, a development promoted chiefly by modern technical advances. Nevertheless brotherly dialogue among men does not reach its perfection on the level of technical progress, but on the deeper level of interpersonal relationships.

We are not wired to live in isolation or to live our faith alone, but share it with others. Christ told His followers (that's means us too), "Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house" (Matt 5:15).

The Catechism (1890) goes on to teach that "there is a certain resemblance between the unity of the divine persons and the fraternity that men ought to establish among themselves." I believe this is precisely the role that small men's faith groups, like Joe Catholic, serve. This goes to the heart of iron sharpening iron. We need to be able to lean on others in difficult times as well as share our victories so as to inspire each other to keep walking the walk.

One step in that direction, might be registering for a men's conference like the one being co-sponsored by Joe Catholic at St. Catherine of Siena on September 22nd. Registration information is available HERE.

Blogathon 2012: Recap

For the last 31 days, I have participated in the WordCount Blogathon 2012 challenge to write every day of May. I have tried to write insightful and informative posts, hoping that you might find them useful. I have tried not to water down anything or get too caught up in theology (hard to do as a new theology student). I have tried to add a bit of wit and humor when appropriate.

Joe Catholic hit some high marks during this 31 day run. We had our highest page viewership for one month. By the time this is posted, we will have broken the 30,000 page views threshold. This may not seem like much, but considering it took nearly 3 years to rack up the first 10,000, I think it is. I believe having the faith to cast the nets into deeper waters is paying off. Viewership has continued to grow exponentially each month. I attribute this to the Holy Spirit and not to anything I have done in particular.

I will be falling back into a more regular routine of posting 3-5 times a week. In the coming weeks we hope to relaunch a new comprehensive Joe Catholic web site with all the social media bells and whistles.  I will keep you posted. We plan on integrating this blog into the new site.

The Joe Catholic leadership team is also in the planning stages of organizing its first Men's Conference at St. Catherine. We hope to have more news soon. We are targeting the beginning of the school year.

Here's a list of the Top 5 Viewed Posts from May:

1. Breaking the Chains of Pornography
2. God Answers Prayers
3. Five Films that Influenced My Faith
4. Advice for Graduating High School Seniors and Their Parents
5. Why Do We Call Mary, Mother?

North Texas Catholic Men's Conference

April 28, 2012, Joe Catholic is taking its gathering on the road to go see the men of Crossing the Goal at the North Texas Catholic Men's Conference.

The speakers will include Danny Abromowitz, Peter Herbeck, Curtis Martin and Brian Patrick.  They will speaking on Conversion, Transformation, Evangelization and How to Start a Men's Group. Additionally the team will be joined by Aux. Bishops Deshotel and Seitz.

The sacrament of Reconciliation will be offered throughout the day. There will also be an opportunity for Eucharistic Adoration and for praying the Holy Rosary. Mass will be celebrated and Aux. Bishop Deshotel will conduct Benediction.

The conference is being hosted by the Brothers of Christ at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Plano, TX. If you register before April 13th the investment in your spiritual development is only $25. After that deadline it goes up to $35.