Sixthirtyone

Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Alicia Smith

God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission.

- Cardinal John Henry Newman

What is your mission that you have been chosen by God to do?

For young men on campus who would like to become stronger in body, mind, heart, and soul, and who would like to grow closer to God, the Newman Center invites you to consider this question along with fellow students in our men-focused ministries. Through prayer, spiritual retreats and time spent together in fraternal service to God, we seek to grow as individuals by working together in community, improving ourselves and the lives of those around us.

Every man who wishes to dedicate himself to personal growth needs companions to support his effort, for it is a lifelong challenge to be a man in this society.

Man and Sin: A man does not seek instant gratification; rather he is patient. A man does not have need to justify his behavior; he either lives above reproach or admits his faults. After admitting his faults, a man conquers them; he knows how much life is wasted by repeating mistakes. A man forgives himself and others, regardless of the gravity of the sins committed, and without haughtiness in his forgiveness, because he understands that true freedom is dependent upon that forgiveness.

Man and Strength: A man realizes that there is strength in humility. A man is a rock; he is steadfast in all things. A man realizes that a faith in self without a faith in God is foundationless and prideful. A man knows all his strength, physical, mental, and spiritual, comes from God.

Man and Mortality: A man knows the brevity and smallness of his life in relation to the created world, and he accepts that he must toil every day, without rest. A man lives in the present: James 4: 13-17: "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow, we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit.' You have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead, you should say, 'If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.' But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin."

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