‘Men’s shoulder to lean on is Christ’s and one another’s,’ March 10 conference affirms

WELCOME: Sacred Heart Sister Nancy Morris and Sacred Heart Sister Mary Pat Ryan were special guests of eighth grader and student body president Finnan MacRunnels, at the recent “Grandparents’ and Special Persons’ Day” at St. Raymond School, Menlo Park. “The day, dedicated to special people in the lives of the students, began with visits to the classrooms and culminated with a beautiful Mass led by the St. Raymond School third grade class,” the school said.
 
March 8, 2018
Tom Burke
 
“Men can speak to other men in a unique way; it’s important for us to get together so we can encourage, support and challenge each other,” Ed Hopfner, now in his fifth year as director of marriage and family life programs for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, told me about “Called to Lead,” a Catholic men’s conference, March 10 at St. Bartholomew Church, San Mateo.
 
Similar conferences and retreats for couples and families as well as a number of women’s events are already in place but gatherings singularly for men are a growing ministry, Ed said. “It’s important for men to periodically get together with other men, to reflect on and deepen their faith.”
 
Ed said the conference is to educate and help form men in their Catholic faith. “As Christians we are called to evangelize the world, beginning of course with ourselves and our families, yet most of us receive little training or formation in our Catholic faith once we finish confirmation, usually around high school age. We wouldn’t expect to do our jobs professionally with that level of preparation so it’s important we prepare ourselves as well as possible.”
 
I asked Ed if it is difficult to be a Catholic man today. “It’s difficult to be a Catholic today, especially on the West Coast,” he said. “We are in many ways a post-Christian society, and what people think the church stands for is often a caricature.”
 
The primary goal of the day is “for every man who attends to leave more firmly committed to his Catholic faith, and to sharing that with others,” Ed said. “We say this every Sunday at the end of Mass to go and announce the good news but how many of us are really prepared for that? The conference will give the men tools to do this.”
 
New friendships are also a possible outcome, Ed said. “I hope the men come away with friends who will support and challenge them to be better Catholic men.”
 
In addition to Mass with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone as principal celebrant, the day is made up of presentations by nationally known speakers including Doug Barry of EWTN’s “Life on the Rock,” and Tim Whitmire, a founder of F3 Nation, with a mission of “fitness, fellowship and faith” and geared “to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership,” its website said. Also included are “exhibits, with resources for the men as they go forward and, of course, a substantial lunch!” Ed said. “It’s a rare opportunity to have a day like this.”
 
“Called to Lead,” St. Bartholomew Church, 600 Columbia Drive, San Mateo, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. $45;  under 20, $20. Ed Hopfner, Hopfnere@sfarch.org, www.SFBayMen.info, (415) 614-5680.
 
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Susan and Gil Eliares, pictured here with Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone after the annual anniversary Mass Feb. 3 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary Jan. 8. The couple was married at St. Elizabeth Church, San Francisco. “The best part of our marriage is that we became one,” Gil said for both of them. “Everything I have is hers as well as hers mine. After many years, our love never changed and we became much closer to God and the Catholic Church.” Susan and Gil were among more than 100 anniversary couples celebrating their marriages at the Feb. 3 liturgy where Archbishop Cordileone said in his homily that “marriage gives a clearer vision of what love really is.”
 
ROSARY: A popular prayer year round and especially in Lent, the rosary is prayed regularly at more than a dozen parishes and other sites throughout the archdiocese including the Porziuncola Nuova Chapel, 624 Vallejo St. at Columbus, San Francisco, Saturdays, 2:30 p.m., followed by Chaplet of Divine Mercy, http://knightsofsaintfrancis.org/. Find other locations and times in a notice in this issue of CSF.
 
TAIZE: The sung prayer service takes place March 22 at St. Ignatius Church, 650 Parker Ave., San Francisco, 5 p.m., Brian DuSell at bcdusell@usfca.edu. “The sung portion of our prayer will be led by our student liturgical choir, myself, and Vlastimil Dufka, a Jesuit, who is an excellent oboist,” Brian said.
 
On March 30 at 7:30 p.m., Taize will be prayed at St. Anselm Church, Ross, (415) 453-2342, www.saintanselm.org. Stay in touch with Catholic San Francisco’s Calendar and the archdiocesan website for more Lenten opportunities.
 
Email items and electronic pictures – hi-res jpegs - to burket@sfarch.org or mail to Street, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109. Include a follow-up phone number. Street is toll-free. Reach me at (415) 614-5634; email burket@sfarch.org.