Giving yourself to others is what it means to love, Franciscan priest says

Franciscan Friars of the Renewal Father Stan Fortuna of Bronx, N.Y., performs a song during the fourth annual Indiana Catholic Men’s Conference on Oct. 17 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. He urged the 950 participants to “man up” and accept their responsibilities as Christians. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)

By Mary Ann Wyand

Strumming his guitar, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal Father Stan Fortuna of Bronx, N.Y., played short melodic riffs that invited 950 participants to listen closely to his preaching at the fourth annual Indiana Catholic Men’s Conference on Oct. 17 in Indianapolis.

His upbeat instrumentals and vocals communicated hope and humor to the men and teenage boys in the packed conference room at the Indiana Convention Center.

Then he challenged them all to become “Lions Breathing Fire”—the conference theme taken from the writings of St. John Chrysostom—during his talks on “You Got to Man Up” and “The Myth of the All-American Male.”

Quoting the late Pope John Paul II’s speech on Aug. 12, 1984, he emphasized that, “ ‘Man is precisely a person because he is master of himself and has self-control. Indeed, in so far as he is master of himself, he can give himself to others.’ ”

Giving yourself to others “is essentially what it means to love,” he explained, and requires faith, truth, integrity and honor.

Faith changes men into “lions breathing fire,” the friar said, when they open their hearts to Christ and allow grace to transform their character.

“Truth is sincerity in action,” Father Stan said. “We need to go into the truth, [but often] we’ve put the fast food culture into the culture of the Church.”

John 3:16 reminds people that, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life,” the friar said, adding that people should also remember Revelation 3:16, which emphasizes, “So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

That’s a clear warning to believers to practice their faith daily, he said, in the midst of all the distractions and sins prevalent in secular culture which separate people from the love of God.

Turn to the sacrament of confession, Father Stan advised, for spiritual help and support on a regular basis.

“Reconciliation helps me to master myself and have control over myself,” he said, “… in my actions, in my character, in who I am as a person, and in how I speak.”

Sharing his conversion story, Father Stan said he grew up Catholic but fell away from his faith as a youth.

“But God was … waiting for me,” he said, “… swooped me up through a Catholic Bible study [group] and brought me back [to the faith].”

He joined the Franciscans in 1979 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1990.

Quoting from Webster’s Dictionary, Father Stan said “truth is a transcendent, fundamental or spiritual reality, something that goes beyond ourselves.”

Always “man up” as men of faith and integrity, he said. “We’ve got to ‘man up’ to the higher up” because we have unique opportunities and responsibilities to positively influence our culture.

“[Pope] John Paul was a ‘lion breathing fire,’ ” Father Stan said. “He was the all-world male, and he can help us to be all-American men steeped in truth. The truth will set you free for love.”

On March 1, 2002, the friar said, Pope John Paul emphasized that, “The Gospel lives always in conversation with culture for the eternal Word never ceases to be present to the Church and to humanity. If the Church holds back from culture, the Gospel itself falls silent. Therefore, we must be fearless in crossing the cultural threshold of the communications and information revolution now taking place.”

To “man up” and be all-American men of faith, Father Stan said, Catholic men must practice the sacraments faithfully.

That means participating in prayers and songs during Mass as well as going to confession, he said. “If you become a pierced one and let this love [for God] bore a hole in you, then … grace comes into you. … One of the coolest songs that you can ever sing is ‘Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.’ You can make a great confession in less than three minutes.”

As a result, Father Stan said, “we can be transformed into the newness of life [and] … become ‘lions breathing fire.’ ”

In the Gospel of Luke, the friar explained, “Jesus said, ‘I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing’ ” (Lk 12:49).

“This knowledge that comes from the truth, which is our sincerity set in action, will … affect our character and speech,” he said. “We want to be careful about the language that we use. God is offended when we use bad language and don’t say the good things that people need to hear.”

The “myth of the all-American male” originated from the erroneous belief that we are in control, he said, even though we know that God is the Author of Life.

“We don’t want to suffer,” Father Stan said, “but everybody has to suffer. … The salvific lifting up of the Son of God on the cross has its eternal source in love. In the cross, love is lifted up. … As ‘lions breathing fire,’ the fire that we breathe is love. The source of this love, of this fire, is rooted in the depth of the mystery of the cross because in the depth of the mystery of the cross is the heart of Christ. … The love flowing from the heart of God and working through the heart of man is the force that renews the world.”

St. Pius X parishioner Mike Fox of Indianapolis, co-chair of the Indiana Catholic Men’s Conference, said after the event that he appreciated Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein’s participation.

“We feel blessed to have the archbishop here to open the conference, and also to do his ministry as our shepherd by hearing confessions,” Fox said. “I know he was here a couple of hours this morning hearing confessions, which is wonderful.”

Fox said he was also encouraged by the number of participants, “especially in hard times when a few extra dollars are difficult,” and by the number of men who went to confession.

“At one time this morning, we had the archbishop and 15 other priests hearing confessions,” Fox said. “Last year, we had 400 to 500 men go to confession and I would imagine the numbers are the same this year.” †