The Gateway to the West became a gateway to heaven this past weekend, as more than 1,100 men gathered in downtown St. Louis for the 2nd annual Catholic Men for Christ Conference. Held March 21st at America's Convention Center, adjacent to the Rams' indoor football stadium and a few blocks from the great Arch along the Mississippi River, the conference was a study in male spirituality.
The theme was "Be Not Afraid," and the tone was strong, straight and upbeat. Don't let politics, the economy or job loss get you down -- Christ has already conquered the world; trust in him alone. Most of all, don't let sin block your way to heaven. Go to Confession. GO TO CONFESSION! If you do nothing else, if you remember nothing else from this conference, go to confession.
Speaker after speaker made the point, and there were priests from all over the St. Louis Archdiocese tending the long lines of penitents. It was beautiful to see the renewal of this sacrament in so many lives.
The speakers were vocal and physical, strutting the stage, pointing their fingers, dropping to their knees to pray, opening their hearts with stories of pain, sinfulness, betrayal, reconciliation and redemption. The tone was a bit overwhelming at times, but it was real, and it was definitely for men. If someone walked in off the street, he might have thought it was an evangelical revival -- except for the constant reference to the Real Presence in the holy Eucharist, confession to a priest, the Blessed Mother and the Rosary. It was traditional, orthodox Catholicism like you've rarely seen before.
We've had enough of wimpy Catholicism, the speakers said. It's time for men to wake up and regain the spiritual headship of their families. Men have abandoned their battle stations and Satan has routed their families.
Fathers for Good had a display, alongside the Missouri State Knights of Columbus Council. We gave out flyers and information on the fatherhood program and the Order, and signed up a number of men for the Knights, some who had let their membership lapse and others who had never before been asked to join.
Men's conferences such as this one are spreading throughout the nation. Men are hungry for the true faith, one that is challenging as well as charitable and compassionate. Woven into the hard as nails message was a call to love -- love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Love your wife as Christ loved the Church, sacrificing your very life for her. Love your children, and tell them you love them.
"This will kill some of you guys," said one priest who spoke. "This will make you die inside and take every ounce of courage you have." He ordered the men that very night to write a letter to their wife and children, telling them "I love you."
Real men say "I love you."
Many thanks to the Archdiocese of St. Louis and its Office of the New Evangelization for hosting this conference and for making Fathers for Good an important part of it.
Brian:
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this past weekend. As a State Chairman for Missouri, I have seen the benefits of the Knights of Columbus in our communities and in our homes. This was a first for me in seeing great men coming forward and expressing a love for their faith and their Holy Mother Church. I plan on attending next year and I intend on following a Brother Knight, who went last year and brought his two sons to the Catholic Mens Conference this year. We have 44,000 brother Knights in Missouri and 34,000 Brother Knights in Illinois. Would it be great that all attended next year?
Posted by: Richard T. Wieberg, FS Council #1171 | March 23, 2009 at 09:39 PM