"It’s a guy thing."
STOP. What was the first thing that crossed your mind when you read that line? Honestly?
Though I don’t have a real track record for successful prophecy, I’d hazard a guess that you probably thought of the typical male refusal to stop to ask for directions, or the blissful unawareness that a new dress is new. Perhaps your mind even turned to the cheerful periodic neglect of personal hygiene.
Even if this is (thankfully) not the case, it seems quite likely somehow that you did NOT find yourself suddenly overcome with mental associations such as "self-sacrifice," "gentle strength," "passionate unconditional love," or "manifestation of the living Christ." Congratulations if you did. I certainly didn’t, and perhaps you didn’t either. This raises a most remarkable question.
My dear fellow Catholics, why not?
One of the fun things about being Catholic is that you are supposedly ready to die for all these incredible "doctrines," a word which is often roughly translated as "intellectual positions about which I would argue strenuously with a non-Catholic." For instance, you are certain that you have a "guardian angel". Maybe you could give me ten reasons from Scripture, Tradition, and "Touched by an Angel" defending why you believe in your guardian angel. But have you spent ten seconds today really thinking about the fact that there is an invisible power with an intelligence and capacity to love light years beyond our own whose whole job 24 hours a day (our time) is to console and protect you? Craziest of all, it is with you right now, as you read these words.
I find that kind of freaky (in a good sort of way).
But so it is with most of what we "believe." Can you imagine what a supercharged exhilarating existence would be yours if you really focused on the living Christ whenever your knees hit the kneeler, or if you joked around with your guardian angel whenever things got rough, or if you thought that this incredibly beautiful immortal woman really was listening whenever you stumbled through a chain of monotonous Hail Marys? That kind of lifestyle may be a very different definition of "sanctity" than the one we’re used to, but is it so far off the mark?
Of course, this concept is nothing new—it’s the struggle of our lives as Catholics. Our hope is not only to "be better" and take less time holding up those confession lines (though that has its importance). We also ache to grow in awareness of the insanely lovely world in which we live, to let reality soak through our cultural blindness until we’re finally in touch with His world, until we don’t so much believe in Him as live in Him.
This struggle is definitely prominent in our conceptions of our identity as men and women. I’m sure most of us could write a splendid paper on the Catholic definition of "manhood." But what really floats around in our hearts might be closer to what first popped into our heads at the beginning of this article. The reality is so glorious and we know it, but it is very difficult to let that truth replace everything we’re used to thinking. Among all the ways we already try to do this, the time has come to get together and do something in public.
God’s providence is amazing, because at this pivotal time near the end of the Jubilee Year, He’s raised up (unknown to each other) two independent celebrations to awaken us once more to our true splendor as sons and daughters of the Father. This past Saturday, we experienced the Jubilee Day for Women, and with it the beautiful effort to truly honor women in Christ. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving break, November 28th, this campus will celebrate the Jubilee Day for Men.
It will be a a unique event in the Jubilee Year, a day to realize just how magnificent our call to live as men in Christ actually is. All men who wish to participate will offer a special prayer and sacrifice that day, knowing they do so in solidarity with the rest of their brothers on campus. This will be our little way of living manhood and not just talking about it. There will be several events, but the highlight of the day will be the evening Mass in Christ the King Chapel, which will focus on this theme of real Catholic Manhood.
After Mass, men and women will gather together outside the chapel for a Eucharistic procession, walking beside Christ pretty much as the apostles did. Aron Little, Marian Hall Residence Director and all-around spiritual guy, will close the day with a few reflections in the Gallery.
Ladies, we humbly ask you to mention a prayer for the men of this campus and of the whole world. We are organizing a 24-hour rotation of adoration hours in the Port from midnight to midnight that day. Each hour will be given to a different ladies’ household so that they may pray that both the men of this campus and those of the whole world will live in the love of Christ. (If would like your household to join this adoration schedule, please contact me at x6944 or e-mail me at manalive@catholic.org.)
Men, God created each of us to be a hero in Him. He calls us to be Christ, even in a world sinking under the combined weight of Seinfeld’s ego, Superman’s steely perfection and Homer Simpson’s gut. May His dream come true.
St. Joseph, you who taught Jesus Christ how to be a man, pray for us!
