R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


In this scripture, Matthew added in spirit in order either to indicate that only the devout poor were meant or to extend the beatitude to all, of whatever social rank, who recognized their complete dependence on God.

Pope Francis speaks of feeding the poor, and I could not agree more (as I am one of them to some extent). But, we also have many more in our country, and in our Church, who are spiritually poor. Some men I talk with say if they live the Commandments then all is good. Yet, stats are out that good portions of Catholic’s do not believe in the real presence of the Eucharist.

Could this be why we see many Catholic’s falling away to other churches that are not Catholic? Is it that many don’t understand how or why going to Mass each Sunday is a good way to maintain our belief and reverence for God and the Eucharist?

This is why it is important to talk about it with others, and especially other men. As Catholic men (and CMCS-Men) it is important to be a work in progress at doing and bringing Jesus Christ into your daily life and all of your relationships.

This means connecting the dots with each other on how to live our spiritual journey. But how can this really happen? Well, the position for CMCS is to say things to Men that you won’t hear at Mass. … or from other men ‘on the street’.

As much as you may hear Women say “Men don’t talk”, one thing I’ve noticed especially at our annual Men’s forum is men need to talk … not only with their wives and family, but with other men as well.

In other words, Church is for learning your Faith, receiving the Sacraments, and to be in Community with the Eucharist. When you go to Mass you’re equipping yourself to share – evangelize – outside of church what you believe. As St. Francis says, “share the Gospel and if necessary use words”.

So what I’m getting at is that, as a Catholic Man, when you practice your Sacraments, like receive the Eucharist, you are not a practicing Catholic unless you do something with it …. Outside of church!  When you pray the Rosary, again, it is an outward expression of your inner belief, until a transformation takes place where the Light in your heart radiates to others.

Likewise if you are married, since you are the priest of your household, you and I are to serve our wife and children just as Christ serves His church to be a redemptive agency in the world -- to get our family to Heaven! 

For example, at a parish I visited a pastor asked the parents at a Confirmation “Are you the vocation director for your children”? Meaning to say, are we striving to be the Man that God has called us to be, and lead by example our family as to what their vocation is in life and how to use that to serve the Lord?

Here are some ways to support living as a practicing Catholic man right now today, to bless the poor in spirit, and to make it into the Kingdom.

With some you can do yourself, and others we can help, just ask:

Kindness: Help each other make it through life.

Prayer: Ten minutes each day, tell Jesus how much you love him, and make time to listen to the Holy Spirit speak to you - gaze at the crucifix. 

Reading: Subscribe to a daily Catholic devotional or read your Bible online.
Tip: Ask God to speak to you, and then open the Bible and start reading the first thing that jumps off the page at you. IT WORKS!!

Devotion: Spend time each day with the CMCS “A Man’s Prayer” (PDF) and / or “A Prayer for Employment“ (PDF). Let the words speak to you, direct you. Men have shared how much these prayers are transformational.

Virtues: Follow Bishop Perry’s Virtues of a Catholic Man (PDF). Work on one at a time, but make it a goal to work on them. Okay, some guys don’t like goals, so look at them as solving a problem (to grow in virtue).

Support Yourself: Join or start a Parish Small Men’s Group. Join the CMCS Blog community and make comments (“Follow” here). Be at the next Bishop’s Men’s Forum each year on the Saturday after Easter Sunday.

Support Others: Donate to CMCS your time, expertise, money, or subscribe to the sponsored Cell phone service (A great gift for Dad’s & Grad’s – Best of all supports Pro-Life!).

Worship: Worship the Lord Jesus Christ who makes life truly worth living, as opposed to the temporal things of this world – money, sports, food, cars, women / porn, booze, work, etc. – more of Christ, less of you. Keep it all in perspective and moderation, and remove what your conscience says is not good for you, as the Church teaches.

Courage: To be a great leader of people — inspire them to follow you, not your rules.

Thanks for Reading.


Make it a great week. See you in your inbox again next Monday.

Frank J Casella,
CMCS Executive Director

The other day when I was on Twitter a quote I saw from sales guru hit me:

"You become what you think about all day long.".

It made me ponder on what I think about every day, which lead me to realize how much my thinking, and lifestyle, has changed over the years.

I used to be more selfish, helping and serving others with the end motive of serving my own needs and ego, and praying for my own needs -- talking to God more than listening. St. Francis says [that] it is through giving that we receive, and I took it literal.

Today, when I give of myself I do not look for what I receive, because the real gift is how God is blessing others through me .. which I may never see. My agenda has become Gods agenda. Said another way, I live my life as a prayer.

If we focus our attention on bad news and gossip, and distractions, we will miss God's incredible, visionary, optimistic purpose for every believer: to grow so much in our faith that we shine like beacons to everyone around us!

God's vision for each church is that we would grow so much in our love for God that we'd love people the way He loves them: unconditionally and passionately. He want's us to be filled up with Christ's grace, truth, and purpose so that everything we do will reflect Him to those around us.

I assure you, the longer you look at Jesus on that Cross (crucifix), the more He will speak to you about who you are and how you can become more Holy.

The greatest image I have of my late father is how he prayed the rosary, looking at the Cross, each morning in a room with only the window light, just him and God, before leaving for work.

The greatest image my children say they have of me is how I kiss the crucifix each morning as soon as I wake up. What they do not see is how often I spend just gazing at it in holy contemplation.

"If a hypocrite is standing between you and God, it just means the hypocrite is closer to God than you are." -- Zig Ziglar