8 Tips for Catholic Men

1.  Surrender. We have to surrender on an ongoing basis to Christ for His will to be done in our lives.  Guys, we are not in charge…as much as we want to be!  St. Ignatius of Loyola once said: “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.”
2. Pray. Work on developing a daily prayer routine with the goal of at least an hour a day devoted to prayer.  Sound difficult?  Think about how much TV we watch a day.  Consider how much time we spend in our cars each day and how much time we devote to exercise.  We have more than enough time for prayer if we plan for it, schedule it and commit to it.  Pray the Morning Offering or other prayer before you leave home-10 minutes, Rosary in your car or while exercising-20 minutes, Daily Jesuit Examen-15 minutes, Prayer with all meals-5 minutes, Prayer with our children and spouse-10 minutes. Add it up-we just did an hour of prayer.
3. Become passionate about the Eucharist. Want to fully experience Christ and be closer to Him?  Seek out the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist in daily Mass when possible and spend quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament in Eucharistic Adoration every week. St. Francis de Sales once said: “When you have received Him, stir up your heart to do Him homage; speak to Him about your spiritual life, gazing upon Him in your soul where He is present for your happiness; welcome Him as warmly as possible, and behave outwardly in such a way that your actions may give proof to all of His Presence.”
4. Go to Reconciliation more frequently-OK, we are hopefully praying and asking for God’s help with our burdens, but we are still saddled with the sins we commit daily.  Go to your Priest and partake of this wonderful gift we Catholics enjoy, but may not utilize enough-the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Commit to going once a month.  A thorough examination of conscience and honest confession will lift your spirit and keep you on the right path!
5. Accept and Study our Faith. Accepting the teaching of our Church is necessary, but so is the knowledge that our full understanding may take time.  Trust that two millennia of Church teaching is probably much more reliable than what you or I might conjure up on our own.  Go to a parish bible study, take apologetics classes, read Scripture and the Catechism, and read great Catholic authors like Peter Kreeft, Don DeMarco, Scott Hahn, Francis Fernandez, G.K. Chesterton, Fr. Groeschel, Fr. Spitzer, Pope Benedict XVI and Blessed John Paul II.
6. Practice Detachment. Let’s ask ourselves if we really need “it”, what ever “it” is.  Let go of the material things that are in the way of our prayer lives, church attendance, charitable giving, friendships, volunteering and certainly our relationships with Christ.  The Catechism (2556) says, “Detachment from riches is necessary for entering the Kingdom of Heaven.”
7. Understand our True Vocation. For those of us blessed to be married and have children, we must recognize that helping our families get to Heaven and being good husbands and fathers (and not our business careers) is our real vocation.  It is so easy to allow our family to serve our work (my issue many years ago) instead of having our work serve our family…and in turn, our family to serve the Lord.
8. Be Courageous. Christians are meant to stand out, not blend in.  Blending in speaks to conforming and making sacrifices so our faith becomes part of the mainstream…and we need to fight it!  We live in difficult, trying times.  Families are under attack, our children are at risk, many people are blind to the need to respect and value all life and atheists are one of the fastest growing groups in the world.  We have an opportunity to be beacons of light and good examples of Christ’s redeeming love.  We will be judged one day on the fruits of our apostolate and hope to hear Jesus say the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”