Editor’s Note: The seventh annual ManUp South Jersey Men’s Spirituality Conference, which had as its theme, “Men of Faith, Messengers of Hope,” took place Nov. 8 in Haddonfield.
As a first-timer at ManUp 7, I didn’t know what to expect, but seeing the crowds, I had a good feeling.
Warm, infectious smiles from priests, deacons and others greeted me at the front door, an assembly of men hugging men, generating a genuine spiritual power that you could feel within seconds. I followed others into the gymnasium, where vendors filled the room. After browsing and partaking in several conversations, I turned to the gym’s walls.
Championship banners of Paul VI sports teams silently advertised triumph, historical reminders of greatness past. And as I considered the backstory of each team’s road to victory, its difficulty, the individual efforts, I found it fitting that victory greeted all of us here at ManUp.
I found a seat in the auditorium, and by a show of hands, more than half of those in the room indicated it was their first ManUp event. It was a record-setting attendance of 700. I shook my head at the connection to the number seven — a symbol of hope, enlightenment and sense of purpose — knowing it wasn’t by accident, but a reminder that Jesus was with us.
Recalling that the average person on any given day encounters 10-30 daily interactions (mainly with friends, family, and colleagues), and that a fair 15 percent involved others, I later looked up a quote I know by Father Kazimierz Ligeza from his devotional, “365 Reflections On The Word Of God.” He reminds us: “We need to share Christ’s preaching and liberating mission”; he then quotes Saint Teresa of Avila, who said, “Now Jesus has no other mouths, ears, hands and feet than ours.”
Opportunity … check.
Responsibility … check.
Featured speaker Chris Stefanick emphasized framing your mind with faith and being grateful for everything – primers for his main theme of joy. Six memorable quotes:
“Joy comes first, then comes success.”
“Joy can come on your death bed or in jail.” “The evil one is terrified by Joy.”
“You need Joy to enter the battle.” “Stop underestimating your Joy.”
“First and foremost, we need to become people of Joy.”
Speakers Eddie Morris and Deacon Steve Javie told powerful stories about success, loss and answering the call, but it was the shorter speeches from Bishop Dennis Sullivan and Deacon Anthony Cioe that hit home with me.
Like Stefanick’s joy, Bishop Sullivan and Deacon Anthony emphasized the word “we.” By choosing such an inclusive word, they placed themselves on equal footing with the rest of us – showing that we’re in this together.
Powered by Bishop Sullivan’s “We must call on God with insistence; We need to call on Him with our hearts; We need to know that God hears you, He loves you, and He expects you to call on him,” and Deacon Anthony’s “We must learn to study our faith; We need to become the best versions of ourselves; We need to love God first and then to love everything else; We need to be open to His presence; and, We need to know what the power of the Eucharist is,” the phrase, The Weatitudes, came to mind.
Joy and We seized the day.
Between breakfast, lunch, seminars, speeches, personal confessions and vendors, there was no pause in the day’s occupation until day’s end. At that time, an altar table displaying the monstrance sat center stage.
With a penetrating royal-blue background surrounding its brilliant white light, the perfect setting for reflection and contemplation had been set. I thought of the chalice and what was inside it, visualized Jesus taking the road to Calvary, stumbling, falling, then getting up again to finish the journey. As those thoughts segued into my journey – a journey full of stumbles and falls and getting back up again – tears came to my eyes, and I said thank you.
I couldn’t be sure what others were thinking. But the feeling that filled the room was electrifying. It was an energy I’d never felt before, an energy I wanted to last.
When the day was over, I made one final stop to the gym, only this time with a different perspective. Within those subtle spaces between banners, reservations for future victors had been made. Not by pretentiousness or boastfulness, but by the power of belief in hope, faith and effort that run together. And as I thought about every single message spoken on this extraordinary day, every message designed as a formula for victory in Jesus, I saw myself in the gaps.
I can do better. I can do more.
ManUp 7 was the book you didn’t want to put down, a concept that started in the mind, found its way into the heart and then settled into the soul – its sense of power and energy a persuasive call to action not for later, but for now.
Gary Kaschak is a parishioner at Saint Simon Stock, Berlin.
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