BAY CITY — An estimated 450 men from the throughout the Diocese of Saginaw gathered Saturday, March 19, at St. Hyacinth Church for the sixth annual diocesan men’s conference, “Respond to a Higher Calling in Jesus Christ: Being a Man After God’s Own Heart,” and to hear from Bishop Joseph R. Cistone, Frs. Graham Keep, Joe Krupp and Tom Forrest and from Peter Herbeck.
The conference, sponsored by the diocese and the Saginaw chapter of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men, kicked off with fellowship and song, followed by Mass with the bishop.
“Keep fixed in your mind the face of Jesus,” the bishop told the men. “Allow the Lord to reveal the things in your life that are incompatible with Him. And allow the Lord to work His healing presence within you this Lent. Then commit yourself, with all your heart and soul, giving all over to the Lord.”
Fr. Krupp’s talk — “Why Does a Catholic Man Need Repentance and Conversion and a ‘Higher’ Call? — reminded the men to not get caught up in the world.
“We sometimes live our lives like we are a cog in a machine,” said Fr. Krupp, a Montrose native with degrees in history and public speaking from the University of Michigan-Flint who went on to become a comedy writer hearing the call to the priesthood. He earned a master’s degree in divinity from Sacred Heart Seminary before being ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lansing in 1998. “We need to embrace what God is offering us. We do not think about our lives enough. What God is offering us is what we need and we know it. Deep inside each of us is the very power that raised Jesus from death. Jesus is calling us to life. You are a light to the world. You are salt for the earth.”
Herbeck, vice president and director of missions for Renewal Ministries, offered “What’s at Stake if I Don’t Answer the Call? What’s it Cost if I Do?” Herbeck also is the co-host of the weekly television show “The Choices We Face,” the host of the daily radio show “Fire on the Earth,“ and co-host of “Crossing the Goal,” the show for men broadcast weekly on Eternal Word Television Network.
“The world is truly different the last 25 years,” Herbeck told the men. “We are in a battle today. The family is the core that we need to protect. St. Paul gives us guidance. We must each submit to the Lord. The world tells you that you are your own master. But put your trust in God. Don’t hold back from the Lord. Put it all in, everything you have.”
“The Tools You Need for Living the Higher Call” was Fr. Keep’s talk. He is a diocesan priest currently assigned to St. Boniface Catholic Church in Zurich, Ontario, Canada. He was ordained in 1993 and has served in various parishes throughout southeastern Ontario, as well as military chaplain to Canadian reservists. He is also chaplain and co-coordinator for deaf ministry in his diocese and a delegate to the International Eucharistic Congress.
He also talked of a battle
“We are in the midst of a war for souls,” he said. “How do we fight battles? With a game plan. Recognize the battle, prepare for it and protect yourself. The world tells us we each have our own truth. But that is a lie. There is one truth, given from God.”
Fr. Tom Forrest, a Redemptorist, closed the event with “The Great Commission: No Bystanders, No Excuses.” He was ordained in New York in 1954 by Cardinal Spellman. For the first 23 years of his priesthood, he worked among the poor of the Caribbean. From 1978-84 he was director of the International Office for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. He has traveled to, and spoken in, 104 different countries and his articles and books have been translated into a number of languages. He met with the late Pope John Paul II many times, including numerous supper meetings. He has organized two worldwide retreats for priests, one in 1984 and the other in 1990. He is presently the International Director of Evangelization 2000, a Catholic effort to promote Church renewal through prayer, proclamation of the Word and the formation of a more evangelistically activated people of God.
“We have to focus the world’s attention on the saving souls,” he told the men. “Get busy! We have to be dynamic to make something glorious happen. We need to usher in the rebirth of Christian fervor in the world. Dynamism! We have to get busy. Not busy as a bee. But busy as a believer. Busy as an apostle. Busy as a conqueror of sin. Busy as an apostle of Jesus Christ. I’ve had 83 years of life and all of them were good. God couldn’t’ have been better to me. God is good. It is delightful to be working for the glory of God.”
The reaction to the conference was positive.
“Powerful speakers came to minister to us, to open us to the Lord Jesus Christ,” said one senior. “So He could penetrate our hearts and every one of us will leave this place to be able to minister to others.”
“All these men hunger for God,” said another senior. “We started with Mass. Each of the speakers spoke to a need in our hearts. And we men, we need each other. There is no such things as a Lone Ranger Christian.”
“They were practical talks,” said one man. “I am very glad to be here. And it is very encouraging to see so many attendees.”
“It was joyful,” said one young attendee. “All of the speakers were great. You sometimes sit in church every week and it is sometimes hard to grasp. But these speakers helped to put it in a way that everyone can understand.”
Dan Fitzpatrick, the conference director, was pleased with the results.
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It was fantastic, the best conference we’ve ever had,” he said. “We had an unsurpassed lineup of speakers. The final sendoff (Fr. Forrest) was tremendous coming from a man who is saintly, holy, a good friend of popes and saints. It was awesome. Our attendees told me that every single speaker hit a home run.”