Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde encouraged more than 500 men
gathered in Manassas March 5 to make an intentional plan for
daily living that includes prayer, authentic friendships and
reaching out to others in need.
The bishop said he was encouraged by the presence and witness
of the men and he told them “to open your hearts and let the
mercy of God overwhelm you.”
Bishop Loverde was the celebrant and homilist at the Mass
during the 2016 Men’s Conference sponsored by the Office for
Family Life and held at All Saints Church. This year’s theme
was “God, the Father of Extravagant Mercy.”
The keynote speakers included Michael Horne, director of
clinical services for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of
Arlington; Father David Pignato, a priest of the Fall River
Diocese and a professor at St. John’s Seminary in Boston; and
Damon Owens, executive director of the Theology of the Body
Institute.
In his homily during the Mass, Bishop Loverde used three men
from the daily readings to emphasize various degrees of mercy
– the Old Testament Prophet Hosea, King David and the tax
collector.
“They are an unlikely trio, but each with a challenge for
us,” the bishop said. “We are indeed weak. Original sin has
made us so.”
Like Hosea, the bishop said we must admit our weaknesses.
Allow David to challenge us by bringing us to our knees in
prayer, he said, while the tax collector challenges us to be
men of mercy.
“It takes profound humility to admit that our successes have
been through the grace of God,” he said.
In his opening keynote talk, Horne examined the benefits of
being merciful within two relationships: between husband and
wife, and father and children.
A healthy marriage is centered in Christ, said Horne, who
also discussed how positive and negative expectations can
impact marriage.
“Assuming that your spouse will let you down will weaken your
marriage over time,” he said.
In his professional experience, Horne said it takes couples
an average of seven years before they seek counseling for a
troubled marriage. “It should never get to that point,” he
said. “Address things before they become cataclysmic.”
Horne said it is a myth that happy couples never fight. “When
they fight, happy couples are able to show mercy. They know
how to repair and forgive,” he said.
“Love is about being vulnerable,” he added. “Those who love
us know how to hurt us.”
There must be an underlying respect within marriage with no
malice, Horne said. “If you unintentionally hurt your spouse,
ask for mercy. If we don’t know what the concerns are, we
can’t heal.
“Showing mercy isn’t easy,” he said. “Sometimes it requires a
super human effort.”
Horne encouraged the men to show their children love, respect
and forgiveness. He said successful parenting has two key
components: love and expectation.
“Perfection is a myth,” he said. “Love your children for who
they are. We have to love our children even when we don’t
like what they are doing.
“We will be hurt,” Horne said. “We will hurt others. It’s the
price of being in relationships. We must show love, patience
and forgiveness.”
Father Pignato’s talk focused on “Christ as the
Model of Mercy.”
Mercy is a forgotten virtue in many parts of the world today,
he said. “Why is modern man uneasy with the idea of mercy? Is
it a sign of weakness?”
He said mercy is lacking in the political discourse of our
time and even in parts of the church.
Tolerance and the acceptance of sin are not mercy, he said.
“It’s false mercy. It denies the very need for mercy because
there is nothing to forgive.
“The Sacred Heart of Christ is overflowing with mercy,”
Father Pignato said. “God shows unlimited mercy. He never
tires of offering it to us.”
He said the world needs to rediscover the mystery of God’s
mercy. “Without mercy, the world becomes a dark place.
“There is a need for conversion and repentance,” he said. “It
unlocks God’s mercy.”
In addition to conversion, we also must show mercy to others,
he said.
“Jesus Christ is the model through which we should measure
our lives,” Father Pignato said.
While dying on the cross, Jesus forgave those who crucified
Him and promised the Good Thief that he would be with Him in
paradise, he added.
“Mercy is a sign of God’s power, not weakness,” Father
Pignato said.
The Office for Family Life is supported with funds from the
Bishop’s Lenten Appeal.
