Where are the Men?

This is my fourth and last post on the Missionaries of Charity in Milan.

One day I did something no man should ever attempt to do. Well he can, but be warned, it is energy sapping. The Missionaries of Charity have a house that serves as a residence for over 25 women, some with young children. I went with the sisters and all of their women and children on a big outing to visit the shrine of St. Gianna Molla.

This time with all these women got me thinking, where are all the men? I was happy to be there. Overjoyed in fact. When else do I get to play with all these little children? But these children need fathers. Where are they? For me it was a reality check on how grave is the crisis of true masculinity in our world today. These men, for whatever reason, are not in the lives of their children. They have checked out.

As seminarians or future husbands, we need to continually rediscover what it means to be a man today so we can pass this on to future generations. We need good men to be good men.

We need men who are willing to sacrifice, to give up their lives, and it is not easy. I have learned from these women that caring for children is anything but easy and the only way it works is with sacrifice and ultimately with the grace of God.

The text I found enlightening on all this is by Fr. Roger Landry. Actually the one I will post here is more an outline of a larger text.

But I think we to constantly be deepening our own understanding of what it means to be a man. We cannot fail. Too many lives depend on us being what God has called us to be.

AMDG.