The Song Remains the Same

Tonight at Mass (Saturday Vigil Mass), I was giving a very short presentation about the men's group in our area (The King’s Men) and the retreat that we will be having in June (Into the Wild) in Show Low, AZ when I noticed the almighty mass exodus…those who leave before communion or right after or during my presentation. I thought to myself “and the race is on.”

The saddest part of watching this happen is that the families who were leaving were being led out by the men. I can understand that there may be a few people that leave early due to an emergency however, I really don't feel that was the case here. About a good quarter of the church left before the final blessing. What kind of example is that father setting for his family?

Another thing that I found to be disturbing was the fact that the majority of the people who stopped at our table after Mass to purchase items or make donations to our group were who? You guessed it, the women and you know what? Thank God for them. They have always been the ones to take our children to church! They have always been the leaders of faith for our families! Once again, Thank God for the women in our lives! That is when I thought to myself, “Wow! Things don't seem to change. The song remains the same.” The women are taking the lead when it should be the men being the role model for their families.

I hear men talk about being emasculated by society today and that we should stand up and take our manhood back. I laugh when I hear that because it's all talk. God doesn't want us to talk the talk, he calls us to walk the walk. All of us, men and women in the Catholic faith were baptized as priests, prophets and kings. During our confirmations, we are called to become “Warriors and Defenders” of our faith. All the afore mentioned are very masculine qualities…priests…prophets…kings…warriors…defenders. So why are the men not stepping up to the plate?

The time to take back your roles is now men, Right Now! YOU make that decision to turn a new leaf and turn towards the face of Christ and ask for forgiveness for doing things “your way” all these years and ask for help to do “His will” and lead your family in the direction of Christ. Is it easy? Nothing worth having is easy but, I guarantee you that your life will never be the same again. Without God in your life, you have nothing. Does that mean that with God in your life all your problems will be solved? Of course not but, you won't feel alone or abandoned and you will be able to deal with them in a more positive and productive manner knowing that God has got your back.

What do you have to lose? I would encourage you men who are reading this to check out the following websites to learn more about becoming that leader, protector and provider for your family. www.thekingsmen.org and www.intothewildweekend.com