Jesse Romero was inspiring and a ball of energy. He does not practice a wimpy faith but in your face Catholic evangelism. Peter Herbeck told it like it is. "The temptations of this world have men by the balls". I could not have said any better! Matthew Kelly was once again wonderful. Check out any of his books. They are great. I heard only a small portion of Patrick Madrid because I went to confession before mass. Father Wehner (who has been on the show) was great to talk to. If he is in charge of future priests the we are in good hands.
Still, I can't possibly give you a sense of what it was like if you were not there. I thought all weekend about what I wanted to say about my experience. Then I realized that it goes beyond words. To hear almost 2000 men sing " Adoramus te Domine" (We adore you Lord Jesus Christ) shakes your soul. Then to hear pure silence before the blessed sacrament in the monstrance. There is such power in silence. We hear God in silence. That's why the world buries us in layers of noise.
To look over and see men stand in line for over an hour to confess their sins and see that line continue for 8 hours reminds me of how weak I am and I am not alone. I think about how many times I have have fallen away.
I was asked why this event was needed. There is already promise keepers, why do the Catholics need to do their own thing? Much of it is like any evangelical gathering. There was praise and worship songs, powerful speakers preaching the love of Jesus. So what's so different about this?
The Eucharist.
I know it's hard to understand, but the Eucharist is the root of everything true. It must be firmly believed, celebrated and lived because it Jesus' gift of himself to us. "The bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world" (Jn 6:51)
The Eucharist changes everything for it is Jesus. The modern songs cease, reverence fills the place and all bow before Jesus. That is what make this different, needed and more powerful than any other spiritual pep rally.
I pray that more men will come to the understanding that you are needed on the battlefield. The world is starving for truth. Yet so called truth is being sold on every corner. So my challenge is not to just talk but do. Don't tell me, show me. I want at least 5000 men there next year. The date is April 12, 2008. It's my desire that this website will be used in a powerful way to make that happen. If you would like more information on how you can get involved right now, please email me.
6 comments:
So how was the gathering?
The Gathering was FANTASTIC. They said there were about 1700 men there and the speakers were absolutely awesome. Mass, sacraments, WOW. I will be back again next year.
"Peter Herbeck told it like it is. "The temptations of this world have men by the balls". I could not have said any better!"
It is so tasteless to hear Christian men speak so crassly. I was sorely disappointed to hear Chuck Swindoll do the same thing recently.
It seems like so many men's gatherings of late provide an excuse for coarsness, and for others to applaud it as "manly".
We don't need gatherings. We gather enough every Sunday. What we need is more men and women serious enough about their relationship with Christ to go out to this hurting world.
I think you missed the point. We don't gather every Sunday. A few may but the call is for those that don't. The feminization of the Church has caused many men to just stay home. That may not be true in every church, but for the most part it is.
What you consider crass, I condier true and it speaks the language of those outside the church. Keep in mind it was not a pastor who said it and the message was true. Women teach the children. Women take them to church. Dad stays home. Men are not longer leaders. They are portrayed as stupid oafs that have little meaning beyond being a sperm donor.
You are right. We do need men that will take faith into the home, workplace and even into the church.
True doesn't exclude crass. Crass is not fitting the Christian. With so many other things out of order, this is one of the easiest to fix.
There is a story I heard about a speech Tony Campolo gave. He spoke for about an hour and then shouted a foul word. Guess what everybody remembered?
I'm not promoting foul language but I can understand it's use in certain situations.
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