A Journey of Faith, Part 2
Last week, I began a reflection on role of men in the church, and in the world as a whole. I wondered out loud, where are all the men? These are my final thoughts, for now, on how we can move forward.
Moving in the right direction
Men need to be encouraged, affirmed, and challenged by other men that they respect. One of the problems with this is that there is not an abundance of respectable men in the world. This moment meant a lot to me personally, but like many other positive experiences in my life, it planted in me a deep desire to recreate this moment for others who were, or would eventually be, in my life.
Step one was obviously to become a respectable man. I had to be someone that other men and women could admire and would therefore look to for affirmation, encouragement, and challenge. But what did that mean? I knew that it looked different for everyone; however, I did know a few matters that were universal:
There is nothing more attractive than virtue and holiness.
Everyone respects a man who has faced a hard battle and come out victorious
Most judge a man by his intellect, his appearance, his strength, and his character
Knowing these things, I gave myself an idea of where my focus should be. This meant I had a hard road ahead of striving to be as virtuous as possible, intentionally placing hard challenges in my path, and caring for my appearance which included putting my body through some grueling workouts. One of the best ways we can support the men in our lives is by supporting and guiding them to grow in these areas. As a man who is, or will be, an example, these are crucial areas of your life that you need to grow in. As a woman, this means that you hold high standards for the men in your life, maintaining a careful balance of supporting and pushing them in each area.
What do we do from here?
I believe it’s time we put an intentional focus on encouraging men toward greatness. I’m extremely excited about doing Exodus 90 because it forces me to become a better man in many ways alongside some other men pursuing the same excellence. I think we all can do a number of things outside of that to help develop other men. As men, we need to seek out other men to disciple and hold accountable. One of the most powerful things we can offer the world is our example. As women, you must accept the fact that at a certain point, your sons aren’t to be your babies anymore. I’ve had this conversation with my own mother and she’s changed drastically in order to support me in my manhood instead of trying to keep me in my boyhood. I am forever grateful in her making this crucial, albeit grueling, shift in our relationship. There is a time for everything, as Ecclesiastes 3 tells us. Maturity allows us to accept when a time has come and when it has ended.
We all must support, challenge, and form the men in our lives to be the best version of themselves. This is always more easily accomplished when we ourselves are focused on being our best. Men need good examples. If you are a man, ensure that you are being a good example yourself and seek out other good men to be in your life. If you are a woman, understand the importance of the men you surround yourself and your families with. Your selection of your husband and the father of your children will literally impact generations of your own bloodline, so choose wisely.
Who can best sponsor this mission?
I believe this entire mission to raise up great men in this generation has to be committed to the care of St. Joseph. This past Monday afternoon, I prayed in the sanctuary of this parish, which happened to be named St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. I was moved to light a prayer candle near St. Joseph’s statue there and was inspired to read a few prayers to him that I had on me at the time. I read a reflection in my Daily Roman Catholic Missal on him, during which the importance of this great Saint finally hit me.
Here is a portion of it:
“Let us hear what St. Teresa says of the confidence which all should place in the protection of St. Joseph: ‘To the other saints,’ she says, ‘it appears that the Lord may have granted power to succor us on particular occasions; but to this Saint, as experience proves, He has granted power to help us on all occasions. Our Lord would teach us that, as He was pleased to be subject to Joseph upon the earth, so He is now pleased to grant whatever this Saint asks for in heaven. Others whom I have recommended to have recourse to Joseph, have known this from experience. I never knew any one who was particularly devout to him, that did not continually advance more and more in virtue. For the love of God, let him who believes not this not make his own trial. And I do not know how any one can think of the Queen of Angels, at the time when she labored so much in the infancy and childhood of Jesus, and not return thanks to Joseph for the assistance which he rendered both to the Mother and to the Son.”
St. Joseph was an OG, there’s no way around it. I highly encourage you to entrust your prayers and petitions for the men in your life to him.
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This reflection is a part of Seeking Excellence's EXODUS 90 series, which took place in the months leading up to Easter.