Oscar began his talk during our men’s session this morning by talking about how we men like to win. That’s true. He then led us in a baptized and very fun version of “All I Do is Win”.

Oscar mentioned how we can, sometimes, leave men’s session talks feeling like men are evil, bad people. However, he spent most of the time building us up, so that we can know that we are winners, loved by the Father.

The world tells us that we need to be strong, play the part, and not show weakness or emotions. But we are more than that…we are greater than that.

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Near the beginning of today’s men’s session, Jason Evert mentioned a rather staggering statistic – as of today, not one man born in the United States of America has been canonized a saint in the Catholic Church – and he speculates that perhaps it’s because we have been listening to the wrong voices.

According to Vatican II, “When God is forgotten, the creature itself becomes unintelligible.” We need to remember that it is God who reveals us to ourselves, especially through our bodies.

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After giving a brief and humorous history of men’s sessions at Steubenville throughout the years, Mike Gormley launched right into speaking to us about what it means to be man.

Throughout the history of civilization, the definition of what it means to be a man has undergone significant changes and shifts. In some cultures, manhood has been associated with initiation rituals, and in some cultures the definition of manhood has been conveyed to younger men by their fathers.

Sadly, legitimate initiation rituals and role modeling are often lacking in American culture; therefore, some of us are struggling, and many of us don’t really know who we are. When we don’t know who we are, we can easily become passive and weak. But this is not God’s plan for us.

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Our men’s session today began with praise & worship, a game of “Nail it or Fail it” (which got everyone involved), and even some beatboxing which was done by volunteers from the crowd.

After these icebreakers, Kyle began his talk by reminding us of the story of David and Goliath. David was skilled at the using a slingshot. He had used the slingshot to ward off the prey who had attempted to kill his sheep. So, he used what he knew to fight the battle against Goliath.

Kyle challenged us all to consider what our personal Goliaths might be, including but, not limited to: low self-esteem, drugs, drinking, sexual sin, pride, selfishness, despair, laziness, and unforgiveness. Kyle didn’t list every struggle that any of us might have, but we all know what are own personal struggles are, right?

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The session for men began with a rousing call to worship by Adam Bitter. He shared the story of one of his friends who has cerebral palsy and who, consequently, has trouble raising his hands in worship. Even in his weakness, Adam’s friend pushes his body to the limits out of love for God. Adam called us to be leaders in worship, to give everything we have to Him. What an awesome challenge that I think we all need.

Pete Burds began by telling us about one of his childhood heroes, pitcher Randy Johnson. Johnson once threw a 105 mph fastball that accidentally hit (and obliterated) a bird. If you dare, you can view the video here.

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