Why do some things impact us and other things bounce off? To take root and blossom, a combination of the right seed, soil, and exterior conditions is needed. Exodus 90 has the potential to change your life, as we have seen countless times in men across the world. But, for this to happen, we need to embrace the seed of the Word of God in prayer, till the soil of our hearts through the disciplines, and form the right condition with the support of our fraternity brothers.

Many obstacles will arise, seeking to prevent this transformation. All the things we are setting aside will flood back into our minds and hearts on occasion, vying for our attention. We will face distraction and discouragement, tempting us to give up.

Furthermore, the challenges of our secular age are immense, and we all feel it. When we look out into the world and even into the realities of the Church, it’s so common for men to lose hope. Is this what God meant for his people? What would our fathers in the faith think, they who shed their blood to preserve it? “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Many are tempted to despair today and become critical, cynical, and sarcastic. And it’s easy to sit around and wait for our leaders to act, thinking that there’s nothing we can personally do.

But, men, this is our time . . .

This is the time that our Father, in his perfect and loving providence, has entrusted to each one of us. We were not created to live in the past or to live in the future, but to live in the present: right now.

What’s uncommon for men today is to embrace the opportunity that lies in every challenge and to do something about it; what’s uncommon is to take to the ancient path that you have begun to trod in prayer, asceticism, and fraternity; and what’s also uncommon is to respond as generously as possible to the unique graces and gifts that God bestows uniquely upon you and no one else.

The influence of a good and holy man like you, who receives his identity from God as a son, and who then shares the love of God with those that have been entrusted to his care (especially his wife, children, brothers and sisters in the faith, and local community), cannot be measured.

If we allow this time to bear fruit in our lives, it will redound to others. There is no greater influence on whether or not a child will practice the faith as an adult than the faithfulness of their father. The fruits of a faithful man’s life redound to generations and into eternity with invisible and everlasting power. It is no wonder that the authentic Christian vision of masculinity has been attacked, warped, and forgotten in recent decades. It’s because the faith of the future depends upon you, the fathers of the faith.

Thank you. Thank you for saying yes to the journey.

May the Lord, who has begun your Exodus, grant your deliverance in his time, and generously bestow every grace and blessing to bring it to fulfillment according to his plan and purpose.

Men, this is our time . . . May we, united together in prayer and sacrifice, and after the pattern of Jesus Christ and our fathers in the faith, become the renewal that we seek and which the world and the Church so desperately need today.