What does it mean to be a man? We live in a time when the meaning of what it means to be a True Man has all but been lost. The vast majority of men are searching for meaning in their lives but don’t know where to find it. Many seek it in success, money, possessions and sex. Sadly, no man can ever find himself or the meaning of his life in these things.

We hear about the vocations crisis and how we need good priest to come into the Church, but there is another "Vocations Crisis" that is probably doing even more harm to our Church than the lack of priests; the “Other” Vocations Crisis is the crisis of Husbands and Fathers.

Of course this crisis is nothing new; it has been going on for a long time, ever since Adam failed to protect Eve from the temptations of the devil in fact. He froze in the face of danger and thereby exhibited a flaw that all men would deal with for many years to come…passivity. But there have been times in history when husbands and fathers where more in tune with what it means to be a True Man, to be a True Husband, True Father…a True Knight for the Kingdom of God. Arguably, the 20^th Century saw the greatest increase in this crisis in all of history.

God created man for a purpose; to be the head of his family, to lead his family to God and protect his family from the dangers of the world, the flesh and the devil. This purpose requires that men strive to live lives of heroic honor, virtue and purity, in an impure world. However, the 20^th century could also be labeled the most impure society in all of history.

Modern Men started to loose their sense of purpose early on in the beginning of the 20^th century with the feminist movement wanting to equalize the roles of men and women. Later with the introduction of contraception and the “free love” movement that followed in the 60s more and more men became enslaved to a sense of false manhood, a manhood based primarily on financial success and sexual prowess. Isn’t it ironic that in an attempt to equalize the roles, the feminist movement played a major role in the most intense period ever for the objectification of women? Women are valued less now for true womanhood than ever. With the onslaught of pornography, more and more women are falling victim to the mindset that to find love is to be sexually desirable. But I digress and this is a topic for yet another time.

Men are just as much to blame if not more so for this “vocations” crisis. We have abdicated our roles due, yet again, to passivity; the very same flaw that our first parent Adam displayed. We live in a time when false men are fighting false battles, because they have no idea what it means to be a true man; many display swaggering machismo to compensate for a loss of their true sense of purpose.

Man and woman are not to only ones to blame here. Remember that the serpent was also present in the garden, just as he is present today, and with a renewed intensity. The devil has one goal in mind; to destroy humanity. He is also a great strategist and he knows that to defeat any foe, you must take out its leader. Man was created by God to be the “head” of the family, while woman was created to be the “heart.” When the head is cut off from the body, the body dies. Our society is filled with many dead bodies.

The evil one knows the easiest way to render a man helpless, to cut him off from the body; by attacking him with lust and enslaving man to the sins of the flesh. This is why our society is the most sexually immoral society ever. With the easy accessibility of porn on the internet, Satan has been able to enslave more men to sex than ever before. St. Thomas Aquinas said that when man gives into the sins of the flesh, his intellect becomes darkened. So much so that even simple truths can not be understood. Many men are living lives in the darkness. This is why men have been abandoning their families in record numbers, if not by outright abandonment, then by passivity, leaving their families like a body without a head. As The Irish philosopher Edmund Burke observed, all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Sadly this problem is passed on to the next generation because sons will often follow in the footsteps of their fathers. Only when a man comes to recognize his weakness and call upon the grace of God can he begin to break this generational curse.

More men in the middle ages knew their true purpose in the family than many men do today. They practiced the "Code of Chivalry" in which they knew that the key to true manhood was to place women above themselves; to serve and honor women and protect them, especially their wives. They also knew that it took a knight to raise a knight. They knew that the only way to ensure that their sons would be worthy to lead their own families was to strive to be a role model for a life of virtue. They also knew that they where instrumental in determining the fate of their daughters and strove to be the model of the man that their daughters would one day marry. Now while not all men of that period lived this ideal, many did and many also knew the supreme importance of spiritual headship. They understood the importance of being the primary instructor of the faith for their children. This can be seen exemplified in the life of St. Thomas Moore, who placed the welfare and salvation of his wife and children as most important job of his life, even above that of Lord High Chancellor of England...second most powerful man in all of England.

St. Thomas Moore knew that to be a man of heroic honor, virtue and purity, he must also be a man of prayer and a man who defends the supreme Truths of the Catholic faith. He knew that only by centering his life on Jesus Christ and our Lord’s presence in the Holy Eucharist could he have the strength to be the True Man that God created him to be. St. Thomas knew that this meant great sacrifice and was not willing to compromise on any of his beliefs, even if it meant losing his own head...defending the sanctity of marriage. King Henry the VIII had Thomas beheaded because Thomas would not support his decision to go against the Church and divorce his wife. St. Thomas Moore is a model for own times, and there are many others like him. His example shows us the answer for the “vocations” crisis of fatherhood…in fact the priestly and religious vocations crisis as well, because when fathers begin to model the Truths of the faith, then their children will be more inclined to do so as well.

Adapted from a talk given by Kenneth Henderson at the 3^rd Annual Hudson Valley Catholic Conference on July 21^st, 2007

[Let Us Know Your Thoughts About This Article]

Forward-to-a-Friend

[Back to Top of Page] 

Robert Peters, President of Morality in Media, recently wrote a letter to J.W. "Bill" Marriot Jr., a prominent Mormon, to protest the availability of hardcore pornography in Marriott Hotels. If more of us would follow his example, there would be less pornography.

He wrote that he avoided staying at Marriott Hotels, "despite their quality and affordability, because Marriott Hotels is a major distributor of hardcore pornography on its pay-TV channels." However, in visiting a family member, she reserved a Marriott room.

While checking in, he noticed that four types of movies were available: Comedy, Drama, Action and Adventure. "Hallelujah," he thought, "no porn." He made a mental note to write Bill Marriott to thank him.

However, before checking out, he clicked on "Menu Options." There he found not only a link to "Hollywood Movies" but also an "Adults Only" link touting such titles as "Horny Housewife Auditions," etc.

Peters wrote, "You should be aware that distribution of such materials contributes to the breakup of marriages, to prostitution, to sexual assaults against both children and adults, to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and to the erosion of decency.

"You should also be aware that in the 1973 "Miller v. California" obscenity case the Supreme Court said that persons who traffic in materials that 'depict or describe patently offensive 'hardcore' sexual conduct are 'subject to prosecution for the sale or exposure of obscene materials.'"

Ironically, Morality in Media once gave an award to Bill Marriott's father for his efforts to fight pornography. His son, however, decided to accept the income that porn channels pay. Similarly, General Motors, whose car sales have faltered, has a new revenue stream from its Direct TV that carries obscenity.

Therefore, Peters warned Marriott, "Morality In Media is of the opinion that a criminal prosecution of a 'mainstream' corporation that is in the business of distributing hardcore pornography is long overdue."

To drive his point home, Robert Peters released his letter to the press last week.

A Marriott PR man called Peters to say that the decision was a corporate one, not a personal decision by Bill Marriott. Nonsense. Surely he has influence. What if readers of this column added their voices by writing Bill Marriott (Marriott Drive, Washington DC 20058)? You could say, as did Peters:

"It is my earnest hope that even after so many years of ignoring complaints about the sale of pornography in your hotels, you will yet do the right thing for your family, church and nation." Any loss of customers addicted to pornography "will be more than offset by the gain in customers who want to stay in nice but also pornography free hotels." You could pledge to stay in porn-free Best Western Hotels.

The good news is that every state and the federal government have laws to protect the public against this filth. The sad news is that so few citizens complain that prosecutors concentrate their energies on other crimes.

In 1986 U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese released his "Final Report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography." As one of few reporters covering its hearings, I wrote columns about the Commission's difficulty in coming to any conclusion.

The Commission had only four conservatives (Dr. James Dobson), three liberals (Ellen Levine, then editor Woman's Day) and four middle-of-the-roaders. At one point, the Commission voted 5-4 that the graphic material was "not harmful" to families.

Stunned, I wrote a column noting the "Commission could not agree if it was harmful, for example, for films to depict graphic portrayals of fornication, of orgies involving a number of men and women, of homosexuals doing fellatio on one another, or of incest."

I provided the names and addresses of the "libertarians" and suggested that readers note that "Alaska and Nevada residents buy five times as many porn magazines as North Dakota, and have a rape rate six times higher. More coincidence? Nonsense," I argued. "An FBI study of 37 murderers confessing multiple killings found 29 used hardcore and soft-core porn to fuel their anticipatory fantasy."

That column sparked 1,000 letters, according to the Commission's staff. At the next Commission meeting, Dr. Park Dietz, a psychiatrist and professor of law at the University of Virginia, acknowledged the letters prompted him to switch his vote:

"In the citizen mail, the concerns were overwhelmingly in the direction of asking us "to do something about the problem." When he voted that the material was "predominantly harmful" all other liberals and moderates who voted wrong, switch sides, making it unanimous!

Your letters can make a difference. If you don't complain, you are the problem.

I was just speaking to a friend the other day who made a very good suggestion. He suggested that I put together a list of hotels and motels that DO NOT offer porn. If a list where to be publicized and started to get circulated it could have a three-fold effect. (1) It could begin to embarrass hotels that offer porn. (2) It could actually begin to affect revenue for these hotels if a movement started and (3) We could bring it to the attention of offices (including church and apostolate offices) that their travelling staff should (out of "prudence") select the hotels that do not offer porn. This is a good way to SEND A MESSAGE to the hotels that insist on letting the money dictate their management decisions and find themselves in the pornography peddling business.

I want to ask you that if you know of any hotels or motels in the USA that DO NOT offer porn to email me with their information. I will add it to my Safe List of Hotels and I will even send a letter off to them letting them know that I and many others appreciate their choice in not providing pornography. I will also let them know that we will be sure to promote their business on our website.

You can contact me here. Be sure to put SAFE HOTEL at the top of your message. Please be assured that your name and all private information will not be published in any way.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Help True Knights to get this Movement going! Be sure to forward this Newsletter to all your friends and family.

Join the True Knights Crusaders Today!

Satan doesn't like the fact that we are making progress in helping families regain a moral footing in this time of immoral decay!!

True Knights International Apostolate was founded in 2004 to actively seek and counsel  Christian men away from activities that threaten their families, marriages, and well-being. True Knights focuses primarily on men who are fathers of children still living at home. However, we warmly welcome Christian men of all ages, callings, and states in life who are courageous in battle against the attacks of the world on the family, pure in heart, and chaste in all areas of their lives.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, True Knights’ primary mission is to help enable men struggling with sexual addictions to break free from their bondage and fulfill their vocations as husbands and fathers. Our work at True Knights has been recognized as a badly needed ministry by many and the producers at EWTN and have asked me to come on shows like "Life on the Rock" and "The Journey Home" just to mention a few. If you would like to read some of the endorsements you can click here. True Knights publishes materials regarding the harms of pornography, recognizing addictive behaviors, and using the spiritual riches of faith to overcome these issues. This ministry also provides an internet forum for those struggling in these areas to come together in a faith filled atmosphere for fellowship and support, as well as phone counseling.

I am available to come and speak to your parish, conference or retreat to help by my witness and educate about this problem and what can be done to defend against the attacks. At our website, TrueKnights.org we have provided a lot of information for people to get help with many articles, resources, and materials available to help educate you and we have much more we need to accomplish.

We need people like you to join our True Knights Crusaders and help us with your monthly support. The True Knights Crusaders is a group of generous Christians who pledge their support of just $25 a month—or more—so that we can meet our expenses and continue our mission. I think you’ll agree—just $25 a month is a small price to pay to help save a soul and bring the truth to a world plagued by immorality. You can help us so we can continue to reach out to families and men every day with the truth of the Catholic faith in this world of moral decay.

To join with your fellow Christians who are giving $25 or more each month, just click below to make your online pledge:

---

Join the True Knights Crusaders today!
	We have three levels of giving: Bronze Cross Level Silver Cross Level Gold Cross Level
Please use this Link to Join!
*You can also make a special one time contribution as well.