Diocese holds first Men’s Conference

MEN OF FAITH  Bishop Serratelli with (from left) Deacon Len Deo, Father Paul Manning, Danny Abramowicz, Deacon Joseph Puskas, Peter Herbeck, Deacon Peter Cistaro, Peter Burak and Deacon Richard Reck at the first Men’s Conference in Church of Paterson held at St. Paul Inside the Walls, Madison, Oct. 15.

MADISON  It’s game time! Catholic men need to get in shape spiritually, undergoing a transformation of their souls to get ready for the competition of all eternity — evangelizing to others about the faith with the mission of crossing the goal line of a heavenly sort by helping to bring souls to the saving power of Christ. This is a difficult task today in a society that seeks to push God out of the public square.

That’s the urgent directive that inspired more than 200 men from the Diocese and beyond — from teens to seniors — during the first Men’s Conference in Church of Paterson, guided by the theme “Crossing the Goal: Leading Men to the Cross,” on Oct. 15 in the auditorium of St. Paul Inside the Walls here. Issuing this faith-filled imperative were several dynamic speakers that morning, including Danny Abramowicz, a former NFL receiver and author of the book, “Crossing the Goal: a Saint Goes Marching On”; Peter Herbeck, missions director of the Michigan-based Renewal Ministry; and Peter Burak, Renewal’s outreach director. Also during the event, Joseph Spada of St. Joseph Parish, Mendham, gave a powerful witness talk, while Bishop Serratelli served as main celebrant and homilist of the closing Mass.

“We are excited to have you here as brothers in Christ,” said Father Paul Manning, St. Paul’s executive director and diocesan vicar for evangelization. “Jesus is beckoning us. Make Christ your goal,” he said.

Originally, Jesus was not Abramowitz’s goal, while playing for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers in the 1960s and 1970s, and in the business world after his retirement from sports. His constant partying took a toll on his family life with his wife and three children. One day, he looked in the mirror at his “dark soul” and “cried out, ‘God help me.’ ” Soon after, Abramowicz sobered up with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous — and God.

“The most important fight isn’t with the N.Y. Giants. Wake up if you don’t see that the battle is on. We need to see how many souls we can affect. We’ve got to put our lives in Jesus. We have to make a choice,” Abramowicz said.

Abramowicz presented the men in attendance with the following “four-Ws” formula for strengthening their relationships with Christ and evangelizing:

• Will of God: conversion. Develop a personal relationship with Jesus, submit to his will and pray through the power of the Holy Spirit.

• Word of God: transformation. Reflect the Scriptures and the “Catechism of the Catholic Church.”

• Witness to Christ: evangelization. Receive the Eucharist regularly. Witness through words but more importantly how we live our lives.

• Winning Crown: Eternal Salvation. Understand that earthly crowns won’t satisfy us and that Christ is the way the truth and the life.

In his talk, Burak sounded the following alarm: “My generation, the millennials, need witnesses. We are falling apart. We are spiritual but not religious. We are not going to Church. What we need is discipleship.” He suggested that the men here take four actions, while evangelizing: pray, because they need to show the faith that they are trying to spread; ask the younger generations questions to seek to understand them; “lean in to touch the suffering flesh of Christ in others,” and be spirit filled: “radically open to the power of God.”

Joe Spada, senior owner and board member of Summit Financial Resources Inc., Parsippany, spoke about feeling empty after having experienced great material success. Through praying, listening to personal witnesses and attending retreats, he developed a relationship with Jesus that prepared him to become a good husband and father, repaired his relationship with his own father and has given him “comfort and strength” to battle cancer and mourn the death of his younger sister from cancer.

Afterward, Herbeck gave a powerful talk that sounded yet another warning — that “the faith in danger of dying out” because “society is pushing God from the human horizon,” plunging the world into darkness.

“But the light is revealed through Jesus. The Church is the only answer for the world. Jesus imparts courage and wisdom. There is an enormous untapped resource in this room to build up the body of Christ and pursue souls. That’s a game changer. We need men on fire for Christ to be in the game. The King is in you. Are you going to let him out?” Herbeck said.

Before the closing Mass, priests on St. Paul’s staff and visiting clergy heard confessions of many of the men in attendance. Before the liturgy, Bishop Serratelli proclaimed, “What a great day for a Men’s Conference. You came to find the presence of God in your lives.”

In his homily, Bishop Serratelli took account of the rapid changes that have taken place in our society — from gay marriage to test-tube babies and doctor-assisted suicide.

“Christ brought us the answers to our problems. The world has put Catholicism on trail. Our silence will lose the case for Jesus in our society. But if we acknowledge Jesus, we will win others over to the Lord,” Bishop Serratelli said.

After Mass, Father Manning thanked the many sponsors of the Men’s Conference and the St. Paul’s staff and diocesan deacons, who helped make it happen. They included the two deacons, who organized the event: Deacon Peter Cistaro of St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany, who also serves as director of the diocesan permanent diaconate; and Deacon Len Deo of St. Ann Parish, Parsippany, who served as the event’s master of ceremonies.

Among the participants was 15-year-old Adam Raffay of St Michael Parish, Netcong, who attended with his brother, father and his grandfather, Deacon Joseph Keenan of St. Michael’s. He called the “powerful” talks inspiring because of their message that money does not alone make anyone happy and because “I want to go deeper into my faith.”

Another audience member at the Men’s Conference was Rick Ochner, a diaconate candidate at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pompton Plains.

“It was great to hear what other men deal with. They brought a passion and love of God and wanted to share that. They live an experience of God’s will and want to reach out to other men to follow God,” Ochner said.

Also impressed, Allan Wright, St. Paul’s academic dean, called the Men’s Conference “a great experience to witness so many men gathered together to be inspired and educated on the importance of the faith and leadership that men can provide.”

“For too long men have been on the sidelines and the speakers bore witness to what a positive impact one man of faith can have,” Wright said. “I hope this is the beginning of a transformation for some of the men gathered and for others who have been fighting the good fight of faith that they were encouraged by the message and the presence of other men.”