Catholic men, please accept my personal invitation to gather for a morning of worship, fellowship and inspiration

We all face times of trouble and trial in our lives, from health problems to the loss of a job, from challenges with children to reports which shake our trust in Church leaders.

Our faith helps us to set a steady course, to remain strong during these times of trouble and trial. Our parish communities help us do this. Coming together in communion through the holy Eucharist with fellow people of faith is our strongest source of affirmation and hope.

Other gatherings of faith can also buoy us. I would like to personally invite men to one such gathering coming up on March 22: the annual Men’s Conference. It’s a great opportunity for men from across this local Church to come together for Mass, find fellowship with men of faith, and hear inspiring speakers.

I’m humbled and honored to be one of the speakers for the morning men’s conference. I’ll be talking about “Becoming the Man God Wants You to Be.” It’s a work in progress for me as it is for all of us. I will share some of what I have found helpful in striving to grow as a person of faith.

Our keynote address will be by Dr. Douglas Bushman from the Augustine Institute. He’ll be speaking on the theme of the 2014 conference: “Set a Steady Course.”

Dr. Bushman will offer an inspiring message about God setting the course in our lives, and how our job, our dignity as Christians, is to trim the sails of our freedom in order to best catch the breath of truth that he sends to sustain us on our earthly pilgrimage of faith.

We’ll hear a testimonial by local hockey star and former National Hockey League player Brian Bonin on “How the Holy Spirit Changed a Guy Who Lived for Hockey to a Man Who Lives for the Lord.” You will recognize your own struggles to properly place priorities in your life in his personal conversion story.

The men’s conference is an invitation to place seeking the truth as the highest priority, and an encouragement to embrace the grace and humility required to be a man of conscience, which is necessary to be a man of truth. It will be a time to focus on our ongoing personal conversion to be the men God wants us to be.

The subtitle of the day’s theme is, “Christians, acknowledge your dignity.” The Church recognizes the inherent relationship between dignity and conscience. Our Catholic faith provides the content for conscience. Prayer and the sacraments open us up to the grace necessary to live as persons of conscience. We have inherent dignity because we share in God’s own nature and therefore must live as children of God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that we are incorporated into Christ by baptism, and so are “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” We participate in the life of the Risen Lord.

Following Christ and united with him, we should strive to be “imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love” by conforming our thoughts, words and actions to the “mind which is yours in Christ Jesus,” and by following his example. We belong to him and he longs for us to use all that is in us for the service and glory of the Father.

We need, with the help of God’s grace, to embrace our call to personal holiness to become the person God wants us to be. The 2014 Men’s Conference offers encouragement to embrace this call through the Eucharist, fellowship and inspiration.

The day also will offer opportunities for eucharistic adoration and confession. There’s a breakfast break right after Mass with refreshments (included in your ticket price).

Walk-in registration is available the day of the event, but to allow organizers to plan properly for food and print materials, advance registration is greatly appreciated.

Catholic men, I hope to see you there!