Masculinity and Formation of Priests

The priesthood needs men formed in the masculinity of Christ.  This can mean many things, the point is that Christ the true man is the only one who can defeat evil and suffering.

Because Christianity is now seen as a part of the sphere of life proper to women rather than to men, it sometimes attracts men whose masculinity is somewhat doubtful.  By this I do not mean homosexuals, although a certain type of homosexual is included.  Rather, religion is seen as a safe field, a refuge from the challenges of life and, therefore, attracts men who are fearful of making the break with the secure world dominated by women.  These are men who have problems following the path of masculinity.

I am not a psychologist, and I cannot speak on an over-attachment to the feminine, but there is a truth that masculinity, as a needed virtue in the seminary, is something that is generally ignored in formation.  This may be one of the problems with why the church has a difficult time attracting men to Mass, and serving the Church.

What is it that draws soft or effeminate men to the seminary, and why is this not dealt with in formation?  Podles offers the prior explanation for the former question, but the latter can only be understood if it is admitted that there are many bishops, faculty, and priests, who suffer under this vice and are, therefore, unwilling or unable to recognize it, or address it.  All seminaries are not equal: some relish in their softness, others have select faculty that will privately admit to the problem, but for fear of offending colleagues and bishops, refuse to speak out on it.  In my years of seminary formation, the most controversial conference was given by my former Bishop, Robert Carlson, on the vice of effeminacy. Some faculty and students were offended—the truth always stings—and felt my bishop either somehow lacked compassion, or was mean-spirited in discussing such an issue.  This must end, and as with all problems, its solution begins only with admitting its existence, and the reality that many seminaries breed an effeminate culture.

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Lib Theology

The poor suffer in many ways, but watering down or misinterpreting the teachings of Christ does not help.  The "poor will always be with us" and true justice may never be attained in this world. 
Those wondering why the Pope has certain orientations and tendencies must realize that he comes from a part of the world that is steeped in what is known as "liberation theology."

As historian Thomas Bokenkotter summarized it, the view, in that part of the world, is that classical theology seemed removed from day-to-day experience, especially the experiences of the suffering poor. Liberation theology is a call to struggle against the social forces of oppression.

The Pope's inclinations in this regard have been displayed on a nearly daily basis since elevation to the Throne of Peter, intermingling with the homeless, building them showers, letting them tour the Sistine Chapel, and even paying for tickets so they could go see the Shroud of Turin. Soon the Vatican will have a hostel for the homeless.

While the Holy Father is not formally a part of the liberation theology movement, which has been accused of socialistic leanings, it is a dominant viewpoint in many theological parts of Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and his native Argentina. In short, it was an organic part of Christianity and Catholicism; it apparently pervades the air; he was surrounded by it.

In many ways, they have reinterpreted the life of Christ in light of their experience of the poverty-stricken.

These influences were on exhibit to an extent with publication of the Pontiff's much-awaited encyclical on the ecology. The simple message -- one hard to argue with, to a degree -- is simple social justice.

But does it go to an extreme?

"They stress the mission of the Church to take part in building the kingdom by being a visible sign of the Presence of the Lord within the struggle," wrote Bokenkotter. "Therefore they insist the Church must again become poor in solidarity with the poor if it is to be an authentic sign."

That mission -- working for Christ through the poor -- is done through social means, which implies an engagement with worldly forces, instead of an otherworldy approach to salvation.

This may explain the Pope's less-than-enthusiastic embrace of claims of apparitions, particularly ones that he may see as Westernized.

His proclamation -- "We are a poor Church" -- came in his very first address to the world as a successor to Saint Peter. Is it liberation theology or, simply following the Sermon on the Mount?

John Paul II stated that capitalism and socialism both had their good points but have been misused (as in hyper-capitalism or Marxism) and sharply criticized those extremes. Here is a quote that some called nearly Marxist. It's from -- John Paul II:

"It is manifestly unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate excess goods, squandering available resources, while masses of people are living in conditions of misery at the very lowest level of subsistence. Today, the dramatic threat of ecological breakdown is teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness, both individual and collective, are contrary to the order of creation, an order which is characterized by mutual interdependence."

That Pope never went quite as far, in these criticisms, however, as the current Pontiff, who is not Marxist or socialist but also decidedly is not an Ayn Rand capitalist.

In the view of liberation theology, the critical is favored over the dogmatic, to counteract the tendency of institutions to fossilize.

The Pope has also demonstrated such criticism.

Jesuits have been tied to the movement. Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, strongly opposed it. There are good elements to it, and also worrisome ones. It comes down to a matter of balance.

"How influenced are they by Marxism?" asked Bokenkotter. "No one accuses them of subscribing to Marx's atheistic materialism, but they have been charged with using Marxist analysis as a tool -- exclusively, according to Father Arrupe, the Jesuit General, in a famous letter of 1980." It's a charge that was hotly denied. Anyway: the Pope has never openly endorsed the theology.

But influenced by it?

In South America, words often come out in a blunt and effusive way. And liberation theology itself encourages "dialogue-type sermons" at Mass -- something for which Francis has become famous. As they see it, it is the fulfillment of the direction commanded by Vatican II.

More than anyone since Paul VI, Francis is "the Vatican II Pope." According to the South American-based theology, the Church should have what Latin American bishops -- in a formal statement -- called a "preferential option for the poor."

One major player in liberation theology was a Franciscan named Leonard Boff, who battled with Cardinal Ratzinger and interpreted the theology as wanting to restore respect for the many charisms and gifts Jesus promised His followers and all members of the Church. Yet, said Boekenkotter, liberation theology also saw a Church whose "priests and sisters worked and lived in the slums and peasant villages, with their own religious organizations and speak much less about Fatima and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and much more about the Jesus Who showed special love for the poor."

Pope John Paul II showed sympathy for aspects of the theology and softened Cardinal Ratzinger's rebuke of it. Ironically, Benedict and Pope Francis agree on environmental issues (Benedict was called "the Green Pope," and even installed solar panels on the Vatican roof), and as for other matters, the current Pope has instructed his staff to keep Benedict's direction as far as the liturgy. In many viewpoints, there is no final line of distinction.

Liberation theology considers great landowners and business moguls and wielders of power as the enemy. It envisions a Church whose "essential values" include access to resources by all people and the priority of work over capital (Pope Francis often speaks of this), with special compassion for the aborted, the elderly, the abandoned, and the lonely.

It is right out of the pontifical script of the past two years.

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The blessings in store for you

God has blessings stored up for you. He may be waiting for you to "cast your net off the right side of the boat" (the side He tells you to; John 21). He knows where the fish are. He can put a coin in a fish's mouth! Just remember not to be discouraged or envious of others when they're blessed: It's right before the flow of a new major gift that the greatest angst or opposition or lacking often arises against us (as a test).

Were the fishermen not woefully short of fish?

Yes. But they were near to Christ and they went from empty nets to one so full it should have burst (but did not!). They listened to the Him. They cast in the right direction. It was one of His last lessons before He ascended.

The right direction is your purpose in life, your mission, your port, your destiny.

It is lack of hope and faith (underline hope) that often prevents a release of stored blessings. There is the "night of no fish." In the darkness, despair erases faith.

It's also envy: We look at others and may be sad when we still have an "empty net" and they get something special -- a big catch. We act as if that special "something" -- the gift, the blessing, they have received, their catch of fish -- should have been for us.

If that happens to you, just remember that it wasn't meant for you. It didn't have your name on it. In fact having it may even have been a stumbling block for you: slowed down your pursuit of true purpose in life. You'll never find joy in what was intended for another. Live life as it unfolds. "Your ways are not God's ways (Isaiah 55:10).

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Effeminacy

The oft used expression "take it like a man" has truth to it.  Jesus endured suffering like a true man (masculine).  Femininity on the other hand, does not endure suffering but consoles it (desires to take it away).  A man overcomes it, destroys it.

The Church needs priests who are truly masculine, true men, to absorb and defeat suffering for his flock.

The Church teaches that persons afflicted with homosexual tendencies who wish to live in accordance with God's will are called to observe chastity. Hence the talk about "chaste homosexuals."

 

All Christians are called to chastity, whatever their state in life. But this stress on the chastity required of homosexual Catholics sometimes tends to orient our focus too much on sexual activity alone. For example, take the case of a homosexual Catholic who is chaste but effeminate in his manner. As long as that person is chaste, there is a tendency to shrug off the question of effeminacy. An effeminate man is laughed off as "just being eccentric." Some people seem to find effeminate men endearing; "My, how friendly he is!" others will say.

The implication in this sort of laissez-faire attitude towards effeminacy is that it is completely acceptable so long as it is not accompanied by homosexual actions - that the chaste homosexual can be as effeminate and flaming as can be but is praiseworthy so long as he is not engaging in sodomy.

 

Such a view is very reductive and fails to comprehend the entirety of the problem posed by homosexuality. Homosexual acts are certainly immoral, but so is the homosexual tendency and all its manifestations, including effeminacy.

 

Is effeminacy actually a sin? St. Thomas Aquinas takes it further and says effeminacy is a vice - that is, a habitually sinful disposition.

 

Effeminacy in the classical tradition is seen as a kind of "softeness." The Latin, mollities, means literally "softness", but in various contexts can also mean irresolution, tenderness, wantonness, voluptuousness, weakness, or pliability. It essentially occurs when the traits traditionally associated with the feminine are found in the man.

 

The sum of these traits in a man constitute the vice of effeminacy, which St. Thomas, following Aristotle, says is a opposed to the virtue of fortitude. The effeminate man is he who is incapable of "manning up" and enduring the challenges of life. St. Thomas notes how this is opposed to fortitude or perseverance:

"Perseverance is deserving of praise because thereby a man does not forsake a good on account of long endurance of difficulties and toils: and it is directly opposed to this, seemingly, for a man to be ready to forsake a good on account of difficulties which he cannot endure. This is what we understand by effeminacy, because a thing is said to be "soft" if it readily yields to the touch" (STh, II-II, Q. 138, Art. 1).

But it is not merely yielding to difficulties that make a man effeminate or soft; a soldier may be tortured for information and eventually yield, but that does not make him effeminate. Another thing is necessary. St. Thomas explains:

"Now a thing is not declared to be soft through yielding to a heavy blow, for walls yield to the battering-ram. Wherefore a man is not said to be effeminate if he yields to heavy blows. Hence the Philosopher says that "it is no wonder, if a person is overcome by strong and overwhelming pleasures or sorrows; but he is to be pardoned if he struggles against them." 

Now it is evident that fear of danger is more impelling than the desire of pleasure: wherefore Tully says under the heading "True magnanimity consists of two things: It is inconsistent for one who is not cast down by fear, to be defeated by lust, or who has proved himself unbeaten by toil, to yield to pleasure." Moreover, pleasure itself is a stronger motive of attraction than sorrow, for the lack of pleasure is a motive of withdrawal, since lack of pleasure is a pure privation. Wherefore, according to the Philosopher, properly speaking an effeminate man is one who withdraws from good on account of sorrow caused by lack of pleasure, yielding as it were to a weak motion" (ibid).

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eMangelization III

The New Emangelization Project has documented that a key driver of the collapse of Catholicism in the U. S. is a serious and growing Catholic “man-crisis”. One third of baptized Catholic men have left the faith and the majority of those who remain “Catholic” neither know nor practice the faith and are not committed to pass the faith along to their children. Recent research shows that large numbers of young Catholic men are leaving the faith to become “Nones”, men who have no religious affiliation. The growing losses of young Catholic men will have a devastating impact on the U.S. Catholic Church in the coming decades, as older Catholic men pass away and young men fail to remain and marry in the Church, accelerating the devastating losses that have already occurred.
While there are massive cultural forces outside of the Church (e.g. secularism, pluralism, anti-Christian bias, radical feminism, pornography, media saturation, etc.) and missteps within the Church (e.g. failure to make men a priority, sex abuse scandals, homosexuality in the priesthood, etc.) that have contributed to the Catholic “man-crisis”, the New Emangelization Project has conducted dozens of interviews with top Catholic men’s evangelists that suggest that a core reason for the “man-crisis” is that bishops and priests have not yet made the evangelization and catechesis of men a clear priority. Men are being ignored by the Church.
To gain deeper insight into the critical role that priests play in the evangelization and catechesis of men, the New Emangelization Project fielded the Helping Priests Become More Effective in Evangelizing Men Survey in the Fall of 2014. Over 1400 practicing Catholic men from the United States from over 1000 parishes participated in the survey, including solid responses from age groups and zip codes.

Catholic Men Need Basic Training

A key theme that has emerged from the survey is that many Catholic men have not learned the most basic elements of the faith and, as a result, don’t practice the faith.
While the Church has a great reservoir of spiritual insight, the survey findings indicate that large numbers of men are not looking for sophisticated theology. Rather, men desire for their priests to more vigorously lead them to better know Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph, to better understand and engage in the Sacraments, to learn how to pray and to learn basic apologetics. Learning the basics of the Catholic faith is critical for, in a post-modern culture that increasingly rejects faith, Catholic men who don’t know the faith can’t pass the faith along to their children.
Men need priests to lead them through Catholic “Basic Training.”

Men need to be drawn closer to Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Few priests are systematically teaching men to draw closer to Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Only 21% of men “strongly agree” that their priest teaches “men to draw closer to Jesus Christ” and only 17% of men “strongly agree” that their priest helps men “grow in their devotion to Our Mother, the Virgin Mary.”
Men want to have their priests teach them about the Perfect Manhood of Jesus Christ and promote a growing understanding and love for Mary and Joseph. Men commented:

We need to know the root of our disordered desires and understand them as Christ lived them out. Once we order all our thoughts and feelings towards the imitation of true masculinity, Jesus Christ, it becomes a battle that men want to fight. Men need a fight, a realization of the spiritual battle that we take part in every day.

Promote a consecration & devotion to Most Holy Mother Mary in hopes that she can help lead us to her son Jesus Christ, our Lord & Savior, and that we can then do the same for our families.

Promote devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph.

Give a more clear description of what it means to be a true man like St. Joseph.

Men need to taught about the Sacraments and Prayer

The Sacraments and prayer are essential for the spiritual lives of Catholic men. The New Evangelization Project research shows that large numbers of Catholic men do not understand or engage in the Mass, Reconciliation and prayer. Despite the urgent importance of drawing many more men into a passionate engagement in the Sacraments and prayer, few men “strongly agreed” that their priest was actively helping men to better understand and participate in the Sacraments and prayer:

16% teach men to understand and get more out of the Mass.

17% challenge men to get to Confession regularly.

Respondents thought that their priests needed to more effectively teach about the Mass, Adoration, Reconciliation and prayer, and to lead men to more fully engage in the Sacraments:

Take time to teach men how worship of God begins: at the Sacraments.

In my opinion, orthodoxy attracts men to the liturgy and the sacraments because it helps our bodies realize the wonderful mystery that is the Mass.

Speak to people about the rubrics and the liturgy and what we are all supposed to do or not do.

Offer more Confession.

I think the first step is to increase the frequency of Confession in the parish, and help men to grow in devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Hold monthly evenings consisting of Adoration, catechesis, Reconciliation, and general spiritual direction for single and married men, using one or two reliable laymen to assist as organizers. This could serve as a template or foundation to grow ministry to men.

Teach men how to pray.

Despite the fact that the men who responded in the survey are practicing Catholic men, they sense the need to grow in their understanding of the Mass, Confession and prayer. The majority of Catholic men who are not practicing the faith have an even greater need; it is imperative for priests to evangelize and catechize men on the fundamentals of the faith (e.g. Sacraments and prayer).

Men need to be taught how to defend the faith

The New Emangelization Project research shows that half of Catholic men cannot adequately explain the Catholic faith to others. Only 15% of survey respondents “strongly agreed” their current pastor taught “men to defend the Catholic faith with full loyalty to the Magisterium.” Respondents commented about the need to help men better defend the faith:

Teach men to defend the faith.

I believe people need to know their faith and be able to defend it and take part in apologetics. We need a reawakening.

More homilies which discuss the reality of Hell, and discuss the unique Truth, that it is the Catholic Church which is the Church founded by Jesus Christ; and that we must be willing and prepared to confront and defeat the arguments of people who teach otherwise.

The lack of solid evangelization and catechesis has contributed to the exodus of Catholic men from the Church. Men who don’t know the faith won’t stay in the faith.
What’s needed now is for bishops and priests to commit to a New Emangelization, an effort where millions of Catholic men are taught the basics of the faith.
- See more at: http://www.newemangelization.com/uncategorized/priests-need-to-lead-catholic-men-through-basic-training/#sthash.FrFGgICq.dpuf
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