Ep 78 - Happy Father's Day

The Manly Catholic (00:00.61)
Hello all. Welcome to another episode of the Manly Catholic. I am James your host. And initially we are releasing this episode on Father's Day. So happy Father's Day to everyone out there. And you know, Father Daum and me, we're going to do a special episode. I was recording with him when I was out in California and my son did not adjust to the time zone difference.

The Manly Catholic (00:27.338)
So he was up at three and four a.m. We were recording at five and he was with me the whole time. So it was chaotic. So we did not get to this episode. So it'll be a shorter episodes. I do apologize, but we are releasing this on Sunday. What is that? June 18th, which is Father's Day. So again, happy Father's Day to everyone out there. And before we get started, though, as always, we'll start with a prayer and we'll do the Saint Michael prayer. So in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Saint Michael, the archangel, defend us in battle.

The Manly Catholic (00:55.298)
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray and do thou prince of the heavenly house by the power of God cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, we prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. So again, Father's Day, very special day of the year. And I know people say like, oh, Father's Day and Mother's Day, it's kind of pointless because we should be celebrating our...

The Manly Catholic (01:23.846)
mothers and fathers throughout the year. Of course that is true. But this, I think it's, it's just like in the liturgical calendar, right? And the church is that, yeah, we have like feast days for Mary and St. Joseph and Corpus Christi. We just celebrated on June 11th. And, but we know these things to be true, but sometimes it's good to have a reminder as well of how important fatherhood is because fatherhood truly is essential. And it really does matter.

The Manly Catholic (01:53.418)
more so than ever really right now. And you know, especially with masculinity being attacked, you know, toxic masculinity. Well, in fairness, I feel like that might be dying down a little bit, but I don't want to get into that right now. But fatherhood, for those of you out there who are lay fathers like myself, who are priests or ordained priests, you guys are absolutely fathers, spiritual fathers. Those of you who are adopted fathers, or those of you who are trying to be fathers, maybe you are not able to, we are all called

The Manly Catholic (02:23.874)
to fatherhood in some way. And I always loved this quote when Father Dhammi did this, the Into the Breach by Bishop Olmsted, but he quoted Pope Francis and he said, "'When a man does not have this desire for fatherhood, "'something is missing in this man and something is wrong.'" And I think that really, gosh, it truly speaks profoundly because I mentioned this on the podcast too, is I didn't always wanna be a dad. I didn't have this strong desire for that. And I...

The Manly Catholic (02:53.438)
Reflecting on that now there truly was something going on with me because we are all called to fatherhood And we realize how important that is In this day and age, especially with especially with children who grew up without fathers. We see how much that is effective in my In st. Pump, john paul II. He says becoming mom and dad makes us more like god You're called to remind everyone that all are baptized even though in a different way Are called to be a mother Or father so this truly is

The Manly Catholic (03:23.746)
the key for interpreting reality, honestly, and JP2 goes on to say, original sin then attempts to abolish fatherhood. And so you see, Satan thinks that this is, I know the, which saints basically said, the final battle will be between Satan and his demons and the family, but then, you know, St. Pope John Paul II even narrowed that down even further, it's actually to go after fatherhood. Because if you remove the father, the fatherhood,

The Manly Catholic (03:53.634)
The father is supposed to be the first line of defense. We talk about this all the time on the podcast. We are supposed to be the first line of defense. We are supposed to defend our family, defend our parish, whatever the case might be. That is us. And so when you remove the father, then everything else can kind of creep in. It's like, okay, there's no one to defend the wife. She might get attacked more spiritually. There's no one to defend the children. They might be influenced more by the outside world. And obviously as fathers, we can't prevent everything.

The Manly Catholic (04:23.546)
there's just a natural reality of the world that we live in, but when we are not doing our job, obviously it's more easy to infiltrate our family. So in original sin, continuing on what JP2 said, in original sin, we find a primordial rebellion against God's fatherhood, a desire to do away with fatherhood itself. So Satan's primary strategy, honestly, is to damage and abolish human fatherhood, the very relationship through which each of us first glimpses

The Manly Catholic (04:53.11)
what God's fatherhood might be like. And I think that really is profound is, you know, we always talk about God the Father, right? And we know, of course, God isn't male or female, but we talk about him as a father. Jesus talked to him about God as the Father, right? And why is that? There has to be this special, distinct, and unique relationship between children and the Father. And you hear about all the time, you know, people who grew up without fathers or...

The Manly Catholic (05:23.57)
you know, God forbid have abusive fathers who abused their role, who used their role to manipulate maybe their wife or abuse their wife or manipulate their children or even abuse them and how much damage that truly is inflicted on the individual who's affected by that. So it just goes to show if you have that strong relationship with your father, with your dad, there's no guarantee that you're going to turn out perfectly. I'm not saying that at all, but

The Manly Catholic (05:53.482)
It definitely gives you a leg up, I think, on those who maybe have not had the same blessings that you have had. Happy Father's Day to my dad. I know he always listens, and I love him for that. I grew up with an amazing dad, a dad who loved me and cherished me and was always there for me. And again, I know how blessed I am because not everyone can have that. And it really does reflect

The Manly Catholic (06:22.694)
how that is in relationship to that we have with God the Father in our relationship with him as sons especially and daughters too. And you know I think that was besides many reasons that's a huge reason why when the whole priest scandal came out because priests are spiritual fathers you know Father Dominic is a huge influence on my life he's a spiritual director he guides me and he leads me

The Manly Catholic (06:52.518)
And I think a lot of people saw that relationship, that special relationship that priests had with their parish, with their flock, and that relationship was abused, you know, because the church is supposed to be the safe haven, right? This place that people can go to for healing. And when that relationship was tethered and severed because of various scandals, that, that really shook a lot of people for obvious reasons, besides the abuse itself, but it, it damaged that relationship that we.

The Manly Catholic (07:22.658)
that we expect to have with a father, a father figure, if you will. And then, you know, that's why we need to pray for all these people too, because then that in turn will affect the relationship with God. So anyways, I'm kind of digressing a little bit, but being a father is.

The Manly Catholic (07:42.078)
It's truly the greatest blessing that God could ever bestow on you. And I know not everyone is blessed to be able to have biological children. I understand that. And coming from someone who was reluctant at first. I would not have changed it for the world. It truly is something that's amazing. And yeah, I want to take it back for a second. So when we Father Dabhamin did talk.

The Manly Catholic (08:09.078)
about this episode and he did want me to share an article. He was going to read it when, when we were gonna do the episode. So it is an article. It's a little bit lengthy. I'm just gonna kind of hit the highlights. I don't wanna read all this to you guys just for beta but I will post the link in the show notes for you guys and I'll kind of summarize some of the points as well along the way. But yeah, so this article starts off by saying of all things this country needs right now, this is talking about America.

The Manly Catholic (08:38.638)
Stronger borders, better paying jobs, some basic safety on our streets. Above all, America needs stronger men. There have been those that have spent decades running men down, blaming them for everything from climate change to the patriarchy. They are wrong. Strong men are not the problem. For America, stronger, better men are the solution. All is not well with men in this country. The numbers speak for themselves. Men are lonelier than ever before. They're dropping out of the labor force in greater numbers than ever before. They're struggling more with drug abuse and alcohol.

The Manly Catholic (09:08.15)
They increasingly forego a college education, even as they delay getting married and having kids. If any other demographic group was struggling to this extent, we would call it a national crisis. And that is exactly what it is. But some don't see it that way. They blame boys and men for the sins of the world. They say all masculinity is toxic. That simply to be a man is to make the world a worse place. They propose to do it, I'm sorry, to do away with traditional masculinity altogether.

The Manly Catholic (09:36.334)
There are those who try to re-educate men as early as preschool age, where too many boys are punished for aggressive play, and they don't comply, medicated out of their boyishness. As young men, they are denied the manufacturing jobs that allowed their fathers to earn good wages. The governing class, having long ago, shipped those jobs overseas and set adrift on college campuses, filled with activists who despised them. At bottom, this critique of men is rooted in the lie that men shouldn't be leaders, creators, and heroes.

The Manly Catholic (10:05.73)
but just consumers looking out for themselves. But the truth is exactly the opposite. We actually need men to step up. America's men have the power to transform this country for the better. Want to curb the epidemic of child poverty? Get a father to start contributing to his wife and children. Want to address the cataclysm of youth violence? Put a father in the picture. Men can help bring peace and order to a nation wrecked by crises. They can change the destiny of their families and whole neighborhoods.

The Manly Catholic (10:35.554)
power, once tapped, can be a mighty and world-shaping thing. Power alone, though, is not enough. Power only becomes true strength, a force for good when it is used in the right ways, of course, for the right reasons. What we need is a guide, a roadmap for what it means to be a good man. The story of the Bible is more than a collection of familiar tales. It is an invitation to men to find their place in the cosmos, to take up the role in a grand drama that supercharges their lives with meaning.

The Manly Catholic (11:03.638)
Beginning with Adam in the Garden of Eden, the Bible says, men are tasked with bringing order to the world, transforming chaos into beauty, the wilderness into a garden. To perform that noble task, every man must form his character. He must shape his soul. The path to manhood is the path to virtue. Men are called to form the character of husbands and fathers. They are charged to give themselves for others and humbly accept their own limits, just as Abraham devoted himself to his wife, Sarah, and trusted God's promise of a son to come.

The Manly Catholic (11:36.228)
Men are called to the character of warriors and builders. They must battle evil and bring beauty out of chaos, just as Joshua challenged the monsters of Canaan and David, laid the foundations for God's temple. And men are called to the character of priests and kings. They must bring the promise of eternity everywhere they go and use their power to preserve truth and liberty.

The Manly Catholic (11:58.87)
For years, American men have heard just one story that they're outmoded and oppressive, that the best they can do is stand aside and let today's elites run things. It's a story preached by our contemporary culture from cradle to grave. Stand down, be passive, you'll just make things worse. But it's now time to start telling a better story. It's time to call our boys and men to lead. And that is how you transform a nation.

The Manly Catholic (12:28.47)
So regardless of your political beliefs, I know they mentioned some political statements in there. The gist of the argument is the same. You know, men have just been kind of shunted in society lately. You know, you're toxic, you don't belong here. It's time for men to step aside. And that, it's just, it's not biblical and it's not in accordance with nature and how God intends it with the laws of nature. You know, exactly what it said in the garden, what did God task Adam to do?

The Manly Catholic (12:58.802)
I just want to, I really enjoyed that quote. It said, the Bible says men are tasked with bringing order to the world, transformed chaos into beauty, the wilderness into a garden. And to perform that noble task, every man must form his character. He must shape his soul. The path to manhood is the path of virtue. And yes, that really is hitting the nail on the head. The path to manhood is the path to virtue. And I think, no, we all, all of us men, we struggle with something. The biggest thing is right now is chastity.

The Manly Catholic (13:28.426)
or lust, you know, struggling with pornography and masturbation. And again, that's something that I have struggled with in the past and continue to struggle with at times too. You know, the, the great lie that you, you can just be that you don't need anyone, that you can just be everything that you need. You can, you can kind of just shut yourself away in a corner and, and you don't need to grow in virtue because you're not harming anyone. It's okay to live in sin because you're not really

The Manly Catholic (13:58.318)
truly harming anyone, which is the great lie. Was it St. Paul that says if you commit sin, you're not hurting just yourself, you're hurting the body of Christ? You know, as Catholics, we believe in mortal sin versus venial sin. Mortal sin, it literally is separating your soul from God. How scary is that, separating your soul from God? The great lie, gentlemen, is that you are not needed. That society is flourishing without you.

The Manly Catholic (14:28.37)
I think anyone who's not blinded by sin can see that simply is a lie. Men are needed more than ever. I mean, Bishop Olmstead, in his apostolic exhortation, Father Dahm and me talk about all the time how important that is, but he calls men to step into the breach. Because when men stop caring, that's when this nation, again in America, started to crumble. You know, you can quote statistics all day long.

The Manly Catholic (14:57.91)
you know, what the amount of men who are going to mass, the amount of men who believe in the transubstantiation who claim to be Catholic, if you don't even know your faith, then what the heck is the point? You know, and I say that in all sincerity, if you don't know your faith, what are you doing? Does sports actually matter? Does news actually matter? Does making money actually matter? We're talking about our souls, which live equal.

The Manly Catholic (15:27.61)
forever men. And that is the reality of the situation is that if you're not taking care of your soul, you will never become the man that God created you to be. You know, the great lie again in society is that just work hard, put your head down, earn as much money as you can, buy as much stuff as you can, sleep with as many women as you can.

The Manly Catholic (15:50.47)
you'll never be satisfied. Just look at all the sense, look at especially St. Augustine. He did all that. He lived that life. I think deep down if you look at it too, especially for those of you who are struggling again, this was me, a while ago is struggling with pornography and masturbation is, is you think that will satisfy you and then, and then you do it. And then it's so fleeting and you almost have this guilt in your conscious. Cause you know what you just did was wrong, but it's hard. You know, we, I just released an episode.

The Manly Catholic (16:20.114)
or I have not released it yet, but I'm going to with Jason Everett. He talks about chastity and he talks about pornography and the dangers of that and what it actually does to your brain. And we can talk about that all day long. But the point is that men, too, we recognize our weaknesses. We recognize this brotherhood that we need. And that's what Father Domine are trying to build with this podcast is a brotherhood of men, especially fathers, especially priests. We need each other. And this Father's Day, I am

The Manly Catholic (16:48.958)
challenging all you. This is James's challenge on Father's Day, is find at least one man that you can rely on, who you can be vulnerable with, who you can talk to about anything. Who says, hey, I'm struggling with this. Please pray for me. We all need at least one person. We cannot do this alone. And Satan loves when a man thinks he can put his head in the sand and do it all by himself.

The Manly Catholic (17:16.906)
Because we cannot gentlemen, we are human, we are sinners. We will fall continuously and we will continue to fall until the day we die. But we will never give up. And that is when we give up, that's when our soul is lost. So men do not give up. This Father's Day, you are loved, you are needed. If you are married, your wife needs you. If you have children, your children need you. Now more than ever.

The Manly Catholic (17:44.458)
men, I'm challenging you find one person, build a brotherhood, reach out to father, dominant me. Again, we're trying to build this community. We want men to feel supported, to feel loved, to feel challenged. That's why I'm challenging you. Excuse me, but we need each other and that's what we're here for. And that's all I have for you today. So happy father's day. Again, I'll leave a link of the article I just read in the show notes for you guys.

The Manly Catholic (18:12.322)
But God bless all you fathers out there, whether you're a lay father, like myself, a priest adopted father, we're all fathers in some way. We're all called to fatherhood in some way, way shape for, even if you are single, you are called to fatherhood in some way. And if you are a younger listener, you're like, I am not a father in any way, shape or form. I'm barely a teenager. I'm in high school, whatever the case may be. Start praying for that vocation. Start praying.

The Manly Catholic (18:42.238)
What kind of father is God calling you to be? Is it to the priesthood? Is it to get married? Is it to consecrate a life? What is that for you? So start praying for that. So everyone again is called a father in some way. Ask God in your prayers. Pick a saint, St. Joseph. Where's that man right there? St. Joseph. Ask for him to help you as well. Again, that's all I got to you. God bless. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. Until next time.

The Manly Catholic (19:11.65)
Go out there and be a saint.