One of the Best Days...

Yesterday, I went to the 13th Annual Catholic Men's Conference for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa. This was the 4th conference I've attended, and was one of the best days I've had in a long while. I love going to this conference. It's uplifting to see so many men gathered together to try to better themselves as Catholic Christians, and as men.

The morning keynote speaker yesterday was Father Phillip Chavez. While he wasn't the most dynamic speaker I've seen at one of these (that title belongs to Jesse Romero), Fr. Chavez's talk was the best I've heard. I would love to go into paragraphs and paragraphs on what he said, but I don't know if anybody would read everything. His focus was summoning all men to the fullness of Christian manhood. So here are a few points:

1) Men are to be leaders, protectors and providers for their family.
2) Men and Women have equal, but different roles in the family.
3) Boys will be boys and we need to let them be boys. You can't take away a boy's 2nd Amendment Rights. Jesus wanted all men to be warriors for God.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. I was moved and inspired by what he said. I'd be happy to talk with anybody about Fr. Chavez. I attended 2 breakout sessions with him as well. Here is his website:

http://frphillipchavez.org/

Then it was time for lunch and Reconciliation (confession). This is my favorite part of the day. I always feel so great when I'm done with Reconciliation, I don't know why I don't go more often. At lunch, I struck up a great conversation with an older gentlemen. It's neat to get to talk cross generationally like that.

The afternoon keynote was Kenneth Henderson. He continued to build on Fr. Chavez's talk by discussing some of the biggest problems that face men today. Mr. Henderson became Catholic in 2002 after years of struggling, so he was a really good resource. I attended his breakout session as well.

The day closed with Palm Sunday Mass with Archbishop Hanus of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The Palm Sunday Mass is always beautiful. We read the full Passion of Christ, which is always a powerful reading. Amanda and the kids joined me for mass, which made the day even better.

I am very fortunate our diocese offers something like this every year, and I'm even more fortunate that each year they find speakers that really inspire me, and occasionally convict me. Feel free to talk with me about this day. I'm eager to share what I learned.