(By John Katz,Editor,The American Dossier)
We are fortunate to live in a country where we can freely pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness with the freedom to worship as we are called by God. During the American Revolution, General Washington ensured that there were chaplains to meet the spiritual needs of his soldiers. Washington also encouraged those chaplains to stop swearing and gambling, because he told them “it was unseemly to ask God’s favor on their efforts if they were constantly insulting him by their behavior.”
Our publication is focused on Political and Cultural issues. However, our mission and focus are on Christ and His Grace. We are called to remind you to pray not only for our leaders but for each other.
According to Mt.Vernon.org , George Washington was known to have attended services associated with the following Christian groups: Presbyterians, Quakers, Roman Catholics, Congregationalists, Baptists, and Dutch Reformed. He recommended days of prayer and fasting as a means of seeking divine assistance and supported the proclamation of days to praise God.
There has been much been written about George Washington and his religious beliefs, and perhaps even he had saints who saved him.
Can you name the Saints who saved you?
In recent weeks I reconnected with an old friend Mark Houck, the founder of The King’s Men.
I was invited by Mark Houck to go on a Samson Retreat in the Pine barren country of southern New Jersey (Ironically land of the folklore of the New Jersey Devil).
Whenever one thinks of South Jersey, one tends to think of its trinity of delicious indulgences of Mack and Manco’s Pizza, Johnson's Popcorn, and Fralinger’s Fudge.
I had not been on a retreat for over three years. The last retreat I was on was rather difficult and I did not know what to expect on this time around. This weekend retreat was centered on the humanity of Samson, the humility of Christ, and the Theology of the Cross. It was a much needed and beautiful encounter and grace-filled in that the indulgences were sincerely from the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Mark opened the retreat by reminding us that as Christians we are called to ‘sainthood’(non-canonized),holiness (even saints had their sin and cross to carry), the Cross of Jesus, and the Trinity while reflecting on the significance of Samson from the old testament and his human struggles.
Because of original sin we are not perfect. God calls us all to a path of ‘sainthood’ to live a holy and virtuous life to get to heaven. Because His love for humanity is unconditional one does not need to become canonized to become a saint.
We are now in the season of Lent. We live in a world full of temptations and vices. As Christians, we are regularly called to renew our "Armor of God." As described in Ephesians 6:11: we are called to "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Lent is also a time to ask for God’s healing to revitalize our path to His grace and mercy.
There have been incidences with people and places in my life with what I call God-incidences. This has been through the witness and role modeling of ‘saints’ (un-canonized) and ‘Saints’ (Canonized).
It is through the virtues of sainthood that God brings us to His grace.
There are many ‘Saints’ and ‘saints’ who saved me, either by their intercession or through interaction with someone of their namesake (You know who you are):, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, St. Therese The Little Flower, St.Francis of Assisi, St.Charles Borromeo, St. Matthew, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta, St. Pope John Paul II, St. John Neumann, St. Bernadette, St. Bernard, St. Anne, St. Jude, St. Katherine of Sienna, St. Isaac Jogues, St. Augustine, St. Norbert, St. David, and Samson...
The more I reflect, the more I can name.
And to my Protestant friends, please note it is ultimately God who leads us to His grace through his human instruments. We Catholic Christians do not worship saints whether they are canonized or not. We seek their intercession to guide us to God.
St. Francis calls out in his Peace Prayer…”Lord make me an instrument of your peace…” as we are all called to ‘sainthood’ (not necessarily canonized).
Saints are not God. They too not have struggled with sin in this life as we all do. However, we can look to examples in their life that can lead us closer to God. Our highest duty in life is to bring each other to Christ’s light.
So why a Samson retreat and the saints?
Much like the days of the American Revolution, men are still in need of spiritual aid and times of reflection. Today the wars that plague us are the modern day attacks from the devil whether it be the issue of sexual abuse, pornography, abortion, drugs, and alcohol.
So while on retreat I encountered God through Samson, three saints, and a rose. As a Jewish convert to Catholicism, I can relate to the significance of Samson’s sacrifice as like Christ he surrendered his life for his people.
Three saints who touched my life at pivotal points that I reconnected with during this retreat are: St. Francis of Assisi, St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta, and St. Therese of the Little Flower.
St. Francis of Assisi touched my faith at a young age with his love for animals. He was also exemplified through the Capuchin Franciscan community whom I studied with as a freshman in high school.
There was a beautiful painting that I saw in my room of St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Despite her charity and works of mercy, she encountered what St. John of the Cross called the Dark Night of the Soul where she struggled with feeling God’s presence in her life while still maintaining her faith. I had the blessing to have met her when I too was struggling in my life. I believe that God's grace has protected me since.
Finally, I have looked towards St.Therese of the Little Flower because of her virtue of simpleness. I have grown to appreciate her ‘little way’ especially later in my life. I received a book about her in 8th grade and have not read it completely, yet at unexpected times have been called to reflect upon her story.
As a man, let alone as a married man, it is so easy to get caught up in pride whether it be self-indulgence or simply feeling weary of forgiveness. These are realities and areas that I have struggled with on occasion.
Going on a retreat is something like getting an oil change or resetting a compass. Sometimes we need to reset our compass so we can continue to walk towards sainthood. It all comes down to believing that God welcomes us to pick ourselves up in the Theology of the Cross. We are called to accept God's healing, grace, and mercy in the Eucharist.
I can honestly say that I have walked away from this encounter with more profound faith and understanding. We are called to stand firm in the Lord in our pain, struggles and battles. We cannot walk alone. We are called to accept and receive God's embrace of unconditional love and are called to live, pray, and walk on a path of sainthood with each other towards God’s mercy.
I do believe by faith that my prayers were answered as I did see a rose, which is considered a sign from St. Therese that prayers are answered.
For more Information: Contact : Mark Houck mark@thekingsmen.org
When is the next Samson Retereat? November 7-10, 2019
A Samson Retreat is built for men who are seeking healing and God's grace.
Please visit samsonretreat.com to learn more.
There is also a healing retreat for women called the Judith Retreat. Please visit judithretreat.com to learn more.