Southern Nebraska Register
Gatherings held in Lincoln, Hastings and McCook to help participants refine skills.
More than 100 Catholic men gathered at three locations across the diocese Feb. 22 to refine their skills of acting as leaders in their own faith, the faith of their family, their parish, and in the community.
The main event was held at North American Martyrs Parish in Lincoln, and simultaneously telecast to St. Cecilia in Hastings and St. Patrick in McCook.
The day started with Mass celebrated by Bishop James Conley, followed by breakfast, talks, small group discussion, adoration, lunch, and brotherhood. Bishop Conley, originally scheduled to address the men after Mass, left to celebrate the funeral Mass for Sister Veronica Volkmer, M.S. He instead delivered his message in his homily. He started with a reflection on the Gospel that day, which was the feast of the Chair of St. Peter. He said the Lincoln Diocese has always had great leadership from the lay men in the diocese, and that men have “stood in the gap” for many years across the diocese.
Bishop Conley then explained he had great expectations for the diocese if all the men in the diocese banded together even more intentionally as brothers, to work even more effectively in the building up of the Kingdom of God.
Father Ed Hopkins, L.C., traveled from Atlanta to deliver two talks. His first talk centered on an effective tactic Satan uses against all men: the lie that men must handle things on their own, apart from God and apart from their brothers. He explained that this isolates a man, sets him up for failure, and stokes insecurity in his heart, which leads him to run from his obligations and duties, or to put on a false front to hide his insecurities and fears from the people who love him. As a result, the man never seeks or receives help, and this often leads to despair.
In his second talk, Father Hopkins challenged participants to consider whether the current age is a time of peace or a time of war. He proposed that if demonic forces are attacking things such as innocent and defenseless lives, the sanctity of marriage, the institution of the family, the peace and harmony of childhood and adolescence, femininity, and masculinity, it seems like a war to him. He asked what the men are willing to do.
In an exercise, the men agreed that if they saw an armed mob approaching their neighborhoods, they would join their brothers grabbing anything they could in order to form a defense of their loved ones. Father Hopkins said invaders are already in their homes.
For example, while not all use of technology is bad, there are many evil things available to anyone and everyone, regardless of age, through technology. Men, he said, are often unaware of the messages being consumed by their own family members. Additionally, many men consume evil information.
The men were challenged to consider what they have allowed to have power over them: “To what, or to whom, have I given power over me?” Leaders cannot allow the enemy to have power over them. Only Christ the King can have power over people, and by following the orders and the battle plan of Jesus Christ, can men hope to defend and protect loved ones, making salvation possible for themselves, their spouses, and their children.
Father Hopkins said this cannot be accomplished alone. Men, including priests, need a band of brothers with a united front against evil. Since many homes have already been infiltrated, he said, this is an urgent matter, telling participants to not delay in forming relationships with other men in their families, parishes and communities.
The last talk of the day was delivered by Dan Donaldson of Heroic Men, from Denver. The organization strives to offer men engaging resources, coaching, and mentoring. Donaldson explained that the first step is each individual man’s relationship with Jesus, which he called “divine intimacy.” He asked: “Do you have a daily prayer routine? Do you spend time in adoration, with Scripture, receiving the sacraments, allowing the Holy Spirit to form your soul and your conscience?”
Donaldson walked the men through a simple Lectio Divina – an ancient method of reflecting prayerfully on God’s words – on the day’s Gospel, which many attendees identified as one of the high points of the summit.
The second step is to form true friendships with other men who share the goal of eternal salvation. Donaldson provided a statistic from a survey completed in 2017, saying 31% of Catholic men do not have a true friend. This statistic may be even more dire today, given the impacts of the pandemic, the increase of virtual relationships through technology, and the loneliness and isolation of the secular culture. Donaldson offered practical advice.
“Don’t go home and call up a guy and ask him to join your men’s group,” he said. “Call him up and ask him to join you for a cup of coffee or a beer.”
The idea, he explained, is to begin with authentic friendship, based on the realities of life.
“Guys are typically not ready to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in two seconds when it comes to living a life of discipleship,” he said. “It is always best to start simple and then to grow with your friend, whether you are catching up to him on the path of discipleship, or whether you are a little ahead of him.”
The third step is to avoid spiritual “addition” and to embrace spiritual “multiplication.” This means that the end goal is not to find a little group of friends and add guys to that group. The end goal is to continue reaching out to men so that one’s parish and community has numerous groups of men who are all in the battle and on the path of discipleship.
Each parish needs multiple groups, he stressed. This ensures that within each community, there are numerous options for men who are invited or feel called to embrace their mission as Catholic men. The groups will differ in age, style, schedules, charisms, personalities, needs, and the members’ particular place on the path of discipleship and sanctification.
During his talk, Donaldson handed out more than 80 free copies of “Making Missionary Disciples” by Curtis Martin, which explains how this process has brought about success in the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).
Organizers of the summit are planning another men’s event for 2026. For more information, contact Bob Sullivan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
