Forging Men "After God's Own Heart"

June 08, 2010 - 1:06 PDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

STEUBENVILLE, OH--"Our role as men," said Deacon Ralph Poyo, founder of New Evangelization Ministries, "is to pass on the blessing of God--to stand in the gap, so that others can receive the blessing they're supposed to receive." Over 150 men, double last year's attendance, came to "Sharpened on the Rock," the June 4-6, 2010, Men's Conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville. They arrived from across North America, trekking from as far away as Portland, Oregon and Ontario, Canada, and as near as Pittsburgh and Steubenville, to sing, pray, and learn together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Participants ranged in age from their 20s up through their 70s and 80s. One of the younger men, Michael Rokicki from Bayonne, New Jersey, said the conference was a graduation present to himself for completing his master's degree. "It's good to be among fellow men," Rokicki said. "Men often feel like they're the only one trying to live out their faith, the only one who struggles. You come to something like this and you realize, wow, you're not alone." Opening the conference, Deacon Poyo encouraged attendees to become "Men After God's Own Heart." The phrase comes from the time Saul sinned and lost God's blessing, which came upon David instead who was a "man after God's own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14). King David serves as a model for Christian men, not because he was without sin, but because "David just wanted to be with God." If we are serious about that, Deacon Poyo explained, our whole lives should change. The goal is to reach the place where, when people encounter us, they see Christ. That's difficult in our culture, but not impossible. "In this country," Poyo said, "we're not trained to be Christians. We're hedonists--trained to find pleasure and avoid pain." We will not become Christlike through our own efforts, but only through the power of the Holy Spirit. "Give me the courage to go to my prayer room, which is 10 more paces past the television!" Poyo said. Jim King of Holy Trinity Parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, commented, "Deacon Ralph gave us an interesting perspective that in trying to evangelize the world, we often become chameleons and try to blend in--and that's where we're creating a problem for ourselves." Fostering the necessary courage for personal conversion and standing out in a secular world has long been a hallmark of Franciscan University conferences, testified Reid Carpenter, president of Leadership Foundations of America. "Men from all over America have had their lives radically changed [at Franciscan University]--so I'm kind of intimidated to be speaking here today." Carpenter, former administrator for Young Life Ministries and a Catholic since 2000, presented "The Vision Has Its Time." "If there was ever a time, it's now. If ever there was a group of people who needed to be a light in the darkness, it's you. And if not you, who?" Drawing from Luke 8, where Jesus is awakened by the disciples to calm the storm, Carpenter told the men, "If you don't get yourself into impossible situations, you'll never wake up God." Carpenter, who brought a young Scott Hahn to Christianity, said that when facing an impossible situation, all they have to do is beg God to be more powerful at that moment, in that situation, than whatever challenge is facing them. The small group sessions offered an overview of such challenges, from the battle for "Personal Holiness" to "Establishing a Solid Prayer Life." "It's by trying to see Christ in all and be Christ to all that we evangelize," said Mark Joseph, one of the presenters at the "Evangelizing the Marketplace" session. At the session dedicated to "Helping Men Win the Battle for Sexual Integrity," Mark Houck, co-founder of The King's Men men's fellowship based in Pittsburgh, said, "I believe that the distortion of marriage and sexuality from porn is the biggest assault on the Church today." He said, "Our nature [as men] is to be in a battle, or on an adventure, or in a fight. We have the power to speak out on these issues. If we don't do it, who will?" Daniel Spencer, an advisory board member of the My House anti-pornography initiative in the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, said, "A minimum of 10 percent of the male population admits to sexual addiction to pornography and related issues. In the average diocese, that's 25,000 men. These are the addicts--not just the men impacted. Estimates of the men impacted are around 90 percent." The speakers offered several strategies to help men deal with these issues, including frequent sacramental confession and reception of the Eucharist, reducing opportunities for accessing pornography such as asking for hotel rooms without TVs and making visits to the Blessed Sacrament while on the road, and being honest with spouses and girlfriends about such struggles. Throughout the weekend, participants had opportunities for confession, daily Mass led by Franciscan University director of Evangelization Father Dominic Foster, TOR, praise and worship, and eucharistic adoration. Speakers signed books and networked with men over meals, offering advice on setting up men's groups, evangelizing their parishes, and handling personal struggles of all kinds. Danny Abramowicz, former NFL player and coach for the New Orleans Saints, wrapped up the weekend with an exhortation to the men titled "Overcoming Obstacles." "We think Afghanistan and Iraq are bad--we're in a spiritual war against the deceiver of the world, the devil. He's a liar, a cheat, and a manipulator. "Who do we think we are that we believe the devil is not going to come after us big time if he went after Jesus and David the Prophet?" Abramowicz, founder of Crossing the Goal ministries, called the men to self examination, going through a list of temptations and advising them to take practical steps to face these temptations down, including frequent confession and reception of the Eucharist, governing their tongues, loving God and their families more than money, supporting their priests in these tough times, and being in awe of God. He told the men it's a tough battle, but "It's 'triumph of the Cross', not 'triumph of the pillow'!" Upcoming Franciscan University summer conferences include the Religious Sisters Conference (June 15-17) for members of Catholic women's religious orders, the St. John Bosco Conference (July 21-25) for Catholic educators, the Applied Biblical Studies Conference (July 28-30) for anyone seeking a deeper knowledge and understanding of Scripture, and the Defending the Faith Conference (July 30-August 1) which focuses on Catholic apologetics. For more information, including a complete list of conferences for adults and youth, go to www.franciscanconferences.com. For audio recordings of the main talks by conference speakers, go to www.franciscan.edu/bookstore and click on the "Conferences" tab at the top of the homepage.

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Contact

Franciscan University of Steubenvil
http://www.franciscan.edu/News/Mens_Conference/
OH, 43952 US
Tom Sofio - Associate Director of Public Relati,

Keywords

franciscan university, conference, men, danny abramowicz, reid carpenter, pornography, spiritual war

Category

OTHER

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