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Need to live the faith is urgent, conference speakers say |
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By Tom Bengtson
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Wednesday, 29 April 2009 |
Conviction typically spurs urgency. An entrepreneur with a great business idea usually can’t sleep until it’s implemented. A writer with a compelling book concept won’t think about anything else until he pours his words onto paper. People who are serious about something act on it as soon as they can.
 Faith and the Workplace
Tom Bengtson
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Speakers at the Archdiocesan Men’s Conference communicated a sense of
urgency with the call to action they delivered to the 400-plus men
gathered at the University of St. Thomas.
Catholic Answers apologist Tim Staples, former professional football
player Danny Abramowicz and Archbishop John Nienstedt made it clear:
The time is now.
“It is time for us to stand up and act like Catholic men,” shouted
Staples at the April 25 event. “It is time for us to stand up and be
counted as the heads of household we are called to be. We are fighting
for our very lives as Catholic Christians in America.”
Describing a 60-year deterioration of American culture, Staples said:
“We have become the frog in the proverbial pot and the water is heating
up. We have got to wake up as Catholics.”
Staples, a former Marine and a convert to Catholicism, outlined a
series of Supreme Court decisions which pushed God out of American
culture, from Everson v. Board of Education in 1947 which established
the concept of a wall of separation between church and state, to the
1973 Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion on demand
throughout the country.
“We kicked God out of our country, then out of our schools, then out of our marriages,” Staples said.
During the conference’s mid-day Mass, Archbishop Nienstedt leveraged
the day’s commemoration of St. Mark. “Mark gives us the shortest of the
Gospels; he had a no-nonsense style. He was concise,” Archbishop
Nienstedt said. “It is an urgent message of life and death. There is no
time for dilly dallying.
“Now is the time of fulfillment. Do not be content with a limp faith.
Don’t have a hollow and reluctant faith. Let St. Mark’s style be your
own. Now is the time to take your faith seriously; live the faith with
urgent seriousness.”
Abramowicz
Abramowicz, a former member of the New Orleans Saints who made the
NFL’s All-Pro team in 1969, told the men “you are not here by
accident.” He said, “God has a plan to transform lives.”
Recounting his struggles with alcoholism, Abramowicz urged the group to
seek the help of the Holy Spirit and the church through the sacraments.
“If the devil tempted Jesus, he will tempt you,” he said. “The devil is
after your soul.”
Abramowicz offered a three-part game plan: pray, go to confession and attend daily Mass as often as possible.
Father Thomas Knoblach and parenting expert James Stenson rounded out
the conference with counsel for avoiding Internet pornography and for
good fathering.
Internet pornography has become one of the devil’s most effective traps
for men. One in eight pages on the Internet is devoted to pornography,
accounting for a quarter of all Internet traffic. Father Knoblach said
30 million Americans spend an hour or more per week viewing Internet
pornography.
He urged men ensnared by an Internet porn habit to find the will to act
virtuously. He acknowledged difficulties but assured that men can break
free if they seek the grace of God that comes from the sacraments,
particularly confession.
Our only chance
Stenson said men bring hope to their families through the protection
they provide as household leaders. By being an example, fathers can
teach their children important lessons, such as honesty, restraint
against gossip and complaining, and how to live the commandments,
particularly the ones dealing with chastity.
Although most men understand urgency in the context of their work, few
of us live as if our faith were an urgent matter. For me, Stenson put
the challenge in the right context: fatherhood and family. We only get
one chance to raise our kids, and that chance doesn’t last long.
Growing kids magnify the urgency of living the faith.
Small business owner Tom Bengtson writes about the integration of faith and work. Contact him at
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