John Harbaugh signs autographs at the 2016 Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conference. (Kevin J. Parks/Special to the Review)
Hawkins also attributed the spike in attendance to a social media push and increased outreach to the Hispanic and African-American communities. Two speakers offered break-out presentations in Spanish, and there were 100 headsets available for simultaneous translation of the main speakers.
The final speaker, Deacon Larry Oney, author of “Amazing Grace Overcoming Race,” grew up the son of a sharecropper in rural Louisiana.
“I didn’t like white people, like many of you are here today,” he said as the crowd roared with laughter. “I feel better about white people today – God does amazing things.”
Deacon Oney spoke about the importance of men acting as strong spiritual fathers for their families.
“Brothers, did you know we are in a battle right now?” he said, noting the breakdown of the family and rise of moral relativism. “We call evil good and good evil. We live in a time when there’s shaking upon the earth. God is calling every man to stand up and do something. The first thing to do is to praise God.”
Deacon Larry Oney speaks at the 2016 Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conference. (Kevin J. Parks/Special to the Review)
“You need to be this man of prayer that makes the world, the flesh and the devil tremble,” he said. “You look at the devil, and you say, ‘You’ve got to get through me to get to my wife and kids.’ “
Both Father Richards and Deacon Oney spoke of mercy.
“Mercy, gentleman, is giving something good to someone who doesn’t deserve it,” Father Richards said. “Who’s that? Every single person here.”
In his homily during the closing Mass, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori noted that the idea of mercy may not seem masculine to some men. They may see it as a plea to “please stop” to a person stronger than them, holding them in a half-nelson.
“I hope that’s not your idea of asking for God’s mercy, and I hope it’s not mine,” the archbishop said.
He noted that Pope Francis had called God’s capacity to forgive the “biggest proof” of his power.
“When we’re asking for mercy, we’re tapping into the greatest power of all,” Archbishop Lori said.
Archbishop William E. Lori celebrates Mass at the 2016 Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conferenc. (Kevin J. Parks/Special to the Review)
“A few of us got to talking afterward,” remembered Hamilton, a 48-year-old self-employed accountant. “If we had three men sitting outside talking afterward, then that was probably about half the men at daily Mass.”
Reilly Gates prays at the 2016 Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conference. (Kevin J. Parks/Special to the Review)
John Wallace, a member of the Westminster Council of the Knights of Columbus, rests a hand over his heart in a room dedicated to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the 2016 Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conference. (Kevin J. Parks/Special to the Review)
A cross bearer leads the recessional at the end of a March 5 Mass at the Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conference at St. Philip Neri in Linthicum Heights. (Kevin J. Parks/Special to the Review)
Also see:
St. Andrew by the Bay spearheads call for men to evangelize without going it alone
At men’s conference, Cardinal Wuerl says ‘the voice of our faith conviction has to be heard’
Ravens rookie talks football and faith
Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh finds winning combination