Story by Randy Porter
(SNR) - Called the 2021 Men’s Rosary March, Catholic men of all ages will march and pray publicly Saturday, Oct. 2 through downtown Lincoln on their way to the State Capitol building where they will rally and hear speakers.
The march begins at 9 a.m. at The Newman Center, 320 N. 16th St. Led by laymen, the organizer is a parishioner at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln, Ryan Patrick.
At the Capitol, various speakers, including clergy, will share testimony and thoughts about being Catholic men.
“Bring your sons, brothers, fathers, and friends to publicly pray for our nation and Church,” said Patrick, a Lincoln attorney and father. “Also bring your rosary and any other holy items you wish.”
“This event truly is what it says,” Patrick said. “It is simply men marching publicly through downtown Lincoln while praying for our nation.”
Then, they will meet at the Capitol to hear lay and religious speakers on topics of authentic Catholic masculinity.
If successful, organizers hope to have the march annually.
The event is not totally his brainchild, Patrick said. He got the idea from an Instagram account. The main difference is to take this march a step further by involving speakers.
His own thoughts about fatherhood caused him to consider the need for Catholic male leadership, said the attorney, who converted to Catholicism in 2016. It was somewhat difficult for him to find ways to share his faith with other men. If finding Catholic fellowship was difficult for him, he said, he felt it may be for others.
The Oct. 2 march will provide an opportunity for men and young males to begin to work together in fellowship, Patrick said. It will demonstrate that Catholic men are proud of who they are, and hopefully inspire others to publicly display their Catholic masculinity.
“I want to make it clear that laymen need to be more involved in their churches,” he said. “We count on priests, but they are intended to lead us in matters of faith. Laymen still need to step up and be public and not rely on our clergy to do it all for us.”
They can offer prayers and take other actions for leaders in our society and government, he explained. The nation faces dark times. Abortion, for example, is one issue where political leaders need to make better choices.
There are great Catholic organizations for men such as the Knights of Columbus, Patrick said. Catholic manhood, however, must be more than fraternity.
This march is meant to inspire men to participate in public events and organizations as Catholics — to be more involved — not only within the Church, but also the nation, he said.
“It truly is just men walking and praying and intimately working together to meet new men, create new fellowships and inspire them to be the leaders we are called to be,” he said. “You are not just a Catholic on Sunday morning.”
Tom Venzor is executive director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference. He is also a husband and a father, and a member of St. Teresa Parish in Lincoln. He said the march is a monumental opportunity for men and the diocese to bear the light of Christ in the public square and be witnesses of his love and grace.
It’s critical that men be witnesses to the power of God in a time and age where religion and faith may be diminishing, Venzor said.
“In our culture, it’s important that men rise up to be witnesses to the Gospel.”
Patrick shared the idea with him and he thought it sounded “awesome,” said the executive director, who advocates for the public policy priorities of the Catholic Church and advances the Gospel of Life.
“If we aren’t witnesses to the gospel, people will be more challenged to encounter the love of God who asks us to be his disciples,” he said. “Men should boldly witness to our faith in public to bring men together to pray for our country, for strength, our community and more.”
He added: “I think we live in a culture and time when we are told to keep faith within our churches or homes and not in the public square, at work, or elsewhere in public. Men may feel those pressures and that faith is not a masculine venture.”
However, the fact of the matter is God came to us in the form of a man, Venzor pointed out.
“The ultimate manly thing to do is to have faith in God and wear it on your sleeve — publicly. When fathers witness to the faith, it strengthens their family, community and Church.”
Women also have leading roles in the Church, but in many cases have already been more open to public displays of faith, Venzor said.
Sometimes, men can be vulnerable and have a tendency to avoid public displays of faith. There is a lot of cultural pressure for men not to show faith in public.
Nevertheless, there is a renewal of programs of faith for men across the country and this is one example of it, Venzor said.
“It’s also living a life of virtue among our friends and avoiding vice. We need to show that moral uprightness means we are no longer slaves to sin.”
Courage is to do the right thing in the face of something difficult.
“There are many challenges to living a courageous life,” Venzor said. “But that’s the beauty of witnessing to the Gospel: to live a bold life, to step up. Our job is to live our faith life publicly and to help others see the freedom of a life lived with Christ.”
Why is there a desire for men to come together at a time when society tries to force us to hide our faith, he asked?
Look to Scripture, Venzor said. The Word of God clearly teaches that through community we can be set free.
“And clearly, men are made to have masculine relationships with others, including men in fellowship with each other. We can sharpen and strengthen one another and go back to our daily lives,” he said.
For more information and to RSVP, search for “2021 Men’s Rosary March” on Facebook.
Speaker hopes to inspire men to publicly display Catholic faith
by Randy Porter
(SNR) - To a high degree, Catholic men can be hesitant to publicly express their faith, according to Jeremy Ekeler, associate director of education policy at the Nebraska Catholic Conference.
Ekeler will be one of the guest speakers at the 2021 Men’s Rosary March set for Saturday, Oct. 2 in Lincoln. He will speak at the State Capitol Building where men will rally after marching and praying from the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center, 320 N. 16th St., where they will meet at 9 a.m.
The current, secular cultural climate is not conducive to men publicly praying or showing their faith in other ways, said Ekeler, who has 19 years of experience in education, from early childhood through high school. He has been a high school teacher and coach, taught at the college level and was principal at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ School in Lincoln for six years.
“I sense movement in the right direction,” he said. “But there’s still a lot of men who show a reluctance to publicly display their faith.”
There is peer pressure not to do so, the educator said. It takes bravery and courage to do that. That is a call to manhood. Even if you are ribbed, or joked at, for praying at a meal, for example, internally, those people must respect that.
Ekeler learned about the march from Tom Venzor, executive director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference. Venzor told him to expect a call from Ryan Patrick, who largely organized the march. Subsequently, Ekeler and Patrick discussed guest speakers, and Ekeler agreed to be one.
During his career as an educator, Ekeler strongly inspired men to strengthen their Catholic fatherhood and manhood.
Among the topics he will speak about at the rally are the role of the father as the giver and son as the receiver. To give to others is the theme of the spiritual union between men.
The formation of men cannot be overlooked, Ekeler said. It’s natural for men to have close relationships with other men, but they can be hard to form. Men may have fewer, but closer friends.
There are other men looking to be brave models of faith. That is a big first step, Ekeler said — drawing more men of faith together. We become disciples by witnessing to others. We need each other to become disciples.
“It’s really easy to feel like the secular culture is the only voice, but there are countless men of faith whose voices need to be heard for our families, the community, the Church and the nation,” Ekeler said.
