Quick Pulpit Announcement

Good Morning/ Afternoon, Ladies & Gentlemen my name is ______

1. On September 29th 2015 Bishop Olmsted released an apostolic exhortation to men entitled “Into The Breach”. This letter is Bishops battle cry to men! To summarize the document, Bishop Olmsted is calling on men to stop being victims of evil, and instead, prepare ourselves for the fight we were made to wage against evil. It’s no surprise that news of this letter has spread throughout the world filling the hearts of many men & women. You may have prayed for an end to the world insanity. Consider your prayers answered. I would recommend that you not only read “Into The Breach”, but also, I invite you to join over a thousand other Christian men from the Dioceses of Phoenix. On Saturday February 4th at Xavier College Prep Performing Arts Center for the 2017 “Into The Breach” Conference. To take advantage of the significant group discount, join the other men from the parish outside after Mass to get yourself a reserved ticket. Tickets are on sale after mass in the courtyard, Thank you!

Short Pulpit Announcement

2. Good Morning/ Afternoon, Ladies & Gentlemen my name is ______I would like to read the beginning of a letter delivered on September 29th titled “Into The Breach” from Bishop Olmsted to the men of the diocese.

“I begin this letter with a clarion call and clear charge to you, my sons and brothers in Christ: Men, do not hesitate to engage in the battle that is raging around you, the battle that is wounding our children and families, the battle that is distorting the dignity of both women and men. This battle is often hidden, but the battle is real. It is primarily spiritual, but it is progressively killing the remaining Christian ethos in our society and culture, and even in our own homes.”

Into the Breach continues, addressing the collapse of Catholicism in the US and the growing man- crisis plaguing our church. This Apostolic Exhortation, Into The Breach does not hold back observations & feelings many of you also recognize as the problem in America. One such problem is Men not keeping their Baptismal promise. This problem has assisted the collapse of the traditional family. Attacks through the Culture, Media, TV, and Secularism has confused the truth to the point that it’s no longer good to live a Virtuous life without ridicule. In this very pointed letter, Bishop Olmsted has managed to awaken a sleeping giant “You, The Holy Catholic Men”. You’ll want the tools to engage the enemy, you’ll want to know your fellow warriors from your parish, You’ll want to know what you can do to be part of the solution not part of the problem. This February 4th at Xavier College Prep Performing Arts Center Is a day for Christian men. I’d like to invite the men of this parish to this all-day event. This conference is designed to prepare us to be the men God intended us to be. Not this by-product of Television & Movies. The “Into The Breach” Catholic Men’s conference will have Guest Speakers like Bishop Thomas Olmsted, Patrick Madrid, & others. There is always a surprise guest that takes the crowd by storm. This Men’s conference also offers all day Adoration, Lunch, Confession, and closing with Holy Mass. This will be a Men’s Conference in Overdrive. Tickets are on sale outside mass or check the bulletin for more information. This event will sell out quickly so don’t wait to buy tickets. Tickets are on sale in the courtyard after mass at a significant discount or at www.CMFP.Org Thank you!

Long Pulpit Announcement

Good Morning/ Afternoon…..My Name is ______I’d like to tell you about the Bishops letter Into the Breach, written in September for the men of the diocese. The letter presents Bishop Olmsted’s views on the decline of Catholicism in the United States & how Priests, Deacons & Laymen of the Diocese of Phoenix should take a stand against the evils of the world. The letter starts: “I begin this letter with a clarion call and clear charge to you, my sons and brothers in Christ: Men, do not hesitate to engage in the battle that is raging around you, the battle that is wounding our children and families, the battle that is distorting the dignity of both women and men. This battle is often hidden, but the battle is real. It is primarily spiritual, but it is progressively killing the remaining Christian ethos in our society and culture, and even in our own homes.” That’s a pretty strong way to start, but it’s necessary for us to hear. He doesn’t mince his words when he wrote this letter and offers solutions to this plaguing problem. The letter continues with examples of some distractions that the modern world has caused. Into the breach addresses the problem of modern baptized Catholic men leaving the faith. It reminds us that a majority of us who remain “Catholic” neither know, practice, nor are committed to pass our faith along to our children. Supported recent research shows that large numbers of young Catholic men leave the faith to become “Nones”, men with no religious affiliation. Growing losses of young Catholic men will have a devastating impact on the U.S. Catholic Church in the coming decades as older Catholic men pass away and young men fail to remain and marry in the Church, accelerating the devastating losses that have already occurred. Massive cultural forces outside of the Church stand opposed to Catholicism: secularism, pluralism, anti-Christian bias, radical feminism, pornography, negative media, to name a few.

The letter mentions missteps within our Church that have hurt the Church too: failure to make men a priority, sex abuse scandals, in the priesthood and many others that contribute to the current Catholic “man-crisis”. In his letter Bishop points out core reasons for our current “man- crisis” & how bishops, priests and concerned laymen… have not yet made the evangelization and catechesis of Catholic men a clear priority. Men are being ignored by the Church. The Bishop desires to lead his sons and brothers more vigorously. He wants to lead us towards Jesus Christ, to better understand and engage in the Sacraments, to learn how to pray, to be the best fathers, husbands, brothers & friends and to learn basic apologetics. He wants us to know how to explain and defend our faith. Learning the basics of the Catholic faith is critical because in our post-modern culture which increasingly rejects faith, Catholic men who don’t know their faith cannot pass it along to their children. No one can take your faith or your education away from you. Only you have the power to do that, through neglect. My friends, whether you know it or not, we have a deadly fight on our hands. The lack of solid evangelization and catechesis has contributed to the exodus of Catholic men from the Church. If we men don’t know our faith, we don’t stay in our faith, and if we don’t stay in our faith, our families will collapse. This tragedy need not continue. There is a solution to fix this? With the help of Jesus Christ, Friendships with the men of this parish, standing together in this fight to the eventual eternal life We need some Catholic “Basic Training” 1. We all need to Read the letter written to us from Bishop Olmsted where he lays out a well written and heart felt plea to the men of the Diocese. 2. We have to connect with men from our parish and build friendships joining a men’s group or TMIY. 3. To get on the fast track we have to attend the Into the Breach conference on Saturday, February 4th at Xavier College Prep. This extraordinary effort hosted by the Phoenix Diocese brings us strong Catholic speakers from around the Country. This full day event has had over 2500 attendees in recent years. Lunch is included and the break in the day will allow you to sit with friend or attend confession by one of scores of priests waiting in the open field to help clear our Spiritual Slate. Tickets are on sale in the Courtyard after mass today for a significantly discounted price or just stop by the table to say hi. we are being called by our families, our church and our country to be authentic men. Let’s rise to the challenge and accept the call. We have been in this battle, let’s prepare to become the warriors God intended us to be Let’s fight this fight and win, as Jesus leads us through to certain victory. Jesus intends for us to become the best fighters & with His help, He’ll leads us to certain victory. Thank you.