Be a Man.

By: Missionary Team

Be a man.
Being a man is something that no one honestly knows about anymore. It’s one of the greatest mysteries of our times. To think Sherlock Holms had some insane mysteries! But they will never come into comparison on what it means to truly be a man. There are a couple of things that especially stand out to me that people never do and thus never truly become men.

Do what's right.
As a man, you need to do what is right. I joined Hard as Nails Ministries at the end of the summer 2020. For me giving up everything that I was used to was in a sense impossible to do. But for myself I needed to come to Hard as Nails to help heal me of my wounds. I didn’t want to do it, but this was what I needed to do. It was the right thing to do.

Doing what’s right is something that happens to be very difficult and not many people are up to the challenge. It often means that you will stand up for the right even though it may seem like the world is against you. Saint Paul is a prime example of manhood. St.Paul stood up for the Catholic faith, he did what was right, and he kept pushing even though everyone was against him. St. Paul stood up for what was right to the point that he was beheaded for it. A true man will never back down from what is hard, he must persevere even in the most impossible of tasks.

Take responsibility
Responsibility means that if you make some mistake in life you had better be the person that either apologizes first or fixes the problem. If you have sex with a girl and she gets pregnant you shouldn’t run from that problem you need to be there for her and your child. This happens all too often where the kid never knew his/her father. This is all because the father wasn’t manly enough to take responsibility for what he did and instead dumped everything on the girl and left her alone. This is not right at all! Taking responsibility is taking care of business, not going only 50%, you need to do everything to the fullest. Don’t be pawning off your work to someone else you must do what your job is for it is your task and no one else's.

I had to take responsibility for my team on a 75+ mile walking Pilgrimage. I was the one that everyone counted to make sure the tents got set up, that we stayed together, etc. Taking responsibility is hard to do, but if you don’t take responsibility, who will?

For each will have to bear his own load. Galatians 6:5

Protect others (especially the ones you are placed in charge of).

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
-John 15:13

Something that I say to people that are put into my life by God for some reason or another is, “I have hired myself out to protect you.” I usually would say this to a girl because come on, I’m a guy. But the point is that I promised them protection. I’m not going to stand idle and watch someone harm them in any way. This is something that men need to do more. Laying down one’s life (the most precious thing that they have) for another is the greatest form of love and of manliness. Jesus Christ, the perfect man, came down to earth from His heavenly throne, became human and died for us. He laid down his life for us so that we could live on. Now that is what a real man would do.

Be Courageous.
Being courageous is something that we as men are always told to do, but what does it mean to be courageous? Being courageous is taking that step forward, it's about getting your hands dirty, being courageous is standing up for yourself and for your beliefs. This is what being a man is all about. Having the courage to do what's right, to take responsibility, to protect those that can’t protect themselves. When you are a true man these things should be the easiest things to do. You need courage to care for the girl you got pregnant, you need courage to stand up for what you believe is right, you need courage to die for the one that you need to protect. Being courageous is something that people talk about but no one ever does anything about.

There was a guy who started mocking the Catholic Faith and saying how fake it was. For me I didn’t want to confront this man. I was afraid, I didn’t think I would know what to say. God gave me the grace to have the courage and I was able to explain what the Catholic faith is really about. I was courageous in the face of a lion, I stood my ground solid in Faith. To be a man is to be a lover of God, than others, than himself last.

“To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible. It is to feel shame at the sight of what seems to be unmerited misery. It is to take pride in a victory won by one's comrades.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry