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Ecce Homo- Beholding Jesus the Man and Imitating His Manly Virtues .Pptx Ecce Homo: Beholding Jesus The United Nationsthe Man and and Human Trafficking:Imitating His How the Holy ManlySee Engages Virtues the Discussion and Work Fr. RogerFr. Roger J. Landry J. Landry Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See toSecond the United Annual Nations Southeastern New England Men’s Conference Louisiana Summit on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking May 9, 2018 Holy Family Parish Hall, E. Taunton, MA September 8, 2018 The Crisis of Contemporary Manliness There is a widespread crisis of manliness in culture and in the Church. There are various causes: Radical Feminist attack on masculine virtue Gender theory Bad role models: from wimps, to hypermacho supermen, to flawed athletes and celebrities. Very few imitable good men depicted in movies, on television and in contemporary literature. Likewise not enough role models in the Church today of saintly, manly bishops, priests, deacons, catechists, dads. Not enough devotion to St. Joseph The Crisis of Contemporary Manliness “Behold the Man”: Problem with images of Jesus. Robert Powell’s famous depiction in Jesus of Nazareth Stick-figure, weak depictions in crucifixes, bulletin covers, and catechetical textbooks. Un-inspiring kische statues of the Sacred Heart. Misunderstanding of Jesus’ meekness as well as his words about “turning the other cheek.” The result is that meditation on Jesus often does not have the impact on Christian men that it should. They’re often not challenged to imitate his manliness, because to radical feminists, Jesus’ manliness is offensive. Questions for Christian Men Jesus says, “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” (Lk 6:40). Are we becoming more and more like him? Are we building on identity as Christian men on the rock of Jesus’ manly identity or on some form of quicksand? (Mt 7:24-27) How much does becoming one with Jesus in Holy Communion affect our overall identity as Christian men? When Jesus came to the Nazareth synagogue, people took offense at him. Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house” (Mt 13:57). Do we honor him as he comes or take him for granted? Behold the Man: Being Awed by Jesus “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.” (Jn 1:1-3) “One who is coming after me is mightier than I. … He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11-12) “Whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God’” (Mk 3:11) “He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. … They were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?’ (Mk 4:39-41) “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk 1:32-33) Behold the Man: Being Awed by Jesus “Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mk 11:9) “A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” (Lk 2:32) “They were all amazed and said to one another, ‘What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.’” (Lk 4:36) “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (Lk 10:23-24) John the Baptist “saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’” (Jn 1:29) “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; 14 but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (Jn 4:13) Behold the Man: Being Awed by Jesus “The woman said to him, ‘I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking with you.’” (Jn 4:25-26) “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. … Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.’” (Jn 6:35, 52). “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him [on] the last day.” (Jn 6:40) “Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.’” (Jn 8:58) “Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’” (Jn 11:25-26) Twenty Traits of Jesus’ Masculinity Going through the Gospels, we see Jesus’ manly virtues on display. Some are easily appreciated as manly virtues in most cultures; some others are not because manliness is misunderstood. There are lots of ways to describe Jesus’ masculine virtues and to order them. Different people could label and organize them in diverse ways. The most important thing for Christian men, however, is to seek with the God-man’s help to imitate them! Son He tried to help us ground our identity in our divine filiation and in the Father’s love. “The Father himself loves you” (Jn 16:27) “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come” (Lk 11:2) “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Lk 11:11-13) “Jesus said to her, … ‘Go to my brothers and tell them, “I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’” (Jn 20:17) Son Jesus’ identity flowed from awareness of his own divine filiation. Baptism: “A voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” (Mt 3:17). Transfiguration: “Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my chosen Son; listen to him.’” (Lk 9:35). His prayers all focused on the Father, to whom he commended his spirit. He revealed to others his relationship with the Father “The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.” (Jn 3:35) ““My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” (Jn 5:17). “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also. For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.” (Jn 5:19-20) “The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.” (Jn 5:36) “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30). “How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (Jn 14:9-11) “I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (Jn 16:32). Chaste Bridegroom Jesus identified himself as the long-awaited Bridegroom prophesied by Isaiah and Hosea. “Jesus answered them, ‘Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.’” (Lk 5:34-35) “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.” (Jn 3:29) “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.” (Lk 12:35). Jesus was a chaste, virginal spouse who called us all to purity of heart, since lust changes the intentionality of a human being from a self-giver to a taker.
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