Maine Catholic Men’s Conference inspires attendees to live in apostolic times and reclaim sundays

The annual Maine Catholic Men’s Conference on Saturday, March 15 was a lively congregation of men from all across Maine. Fellowship flowed as men entered the St. John’s Community Center in Brunswick. Many men arrived alone and quickly found themselves in conversation with others in the check-in line. Others met with old friends and caught up over a cup of coffee.

An ambient sense of brotherhood grew as the day went on. In the first of his two keynote speeches, Bishop James Ruggieri spoke about how parish life has changed since the 1940s. In those times, which Bishop Ruggieri referred to as an age of Christendom, parishes were once the center of community life. Many families sent their children to Catholic school. Lay men and women were involved in fraternal organizations. Pastors frequently visited with their parishioners and inspired young men to become priests.

“But that church, that parish of the 40s, is not the parish of 2025. And I think we need to all acknowledge that. We need to accept that. And now, my brothers, we need to live in apostolic times.”

“In an apostolic time, the church is no longer the major influence in the society's overarching vision. The need is not for maintenance. It is rather for apostolic witness, my brothers, in building a distinctively Christian cultural vision and a way of life. The church in such a time understands herself to be very different from the world around her."

After Bishop Ruggieri’s first talk, participants gathered in St. John the Baptist Church for eucharistic adoration and reconciliation. As they read the word of God and prayed together, lines formed outside of multiple confessionals and lasted through the entire Holy Hour.

Stirred by the bishop’s words, conversation flowed easily among men who had not previously met during lunch. Several men noted that it was easier to open up to the others knowing that everyone shared the same core beliefs.

During the event, short presentations were given by men in different ministries of the diocese. Father Brad Morin, director of vocations, advised attendees to reach out to younger members of the Church and ask them how they relate to, and engage with, the Church. Fr. Morin emphasized this by citing personal experience, noting that his neighbor’s farm in northern Maine stayed in business because the farmer listened to his sons who had left to study agricultural business in college. The farm is still in business with the sons now leading it.

“It’s the same thing with our Catholic culture,” Fr. Morin said. “Part of that is involving the current young generation and listening.”

A witness talk was given by Dennis Leaver, author of Ragged Road: A Journey Toward Faith and Love. Leaver spoke about his divorce and the darkness and hopelessness he felt after it. “Over the next several months, I became more withdrawn. I was bitter, I was angry, woe was me. The darkness was settling in me more, and I was okay with that,” he said.

Leaver described, in deep personal detail, how he fell deeper into debauchery over time. Then, he received a letter from his brother, who was concerned about the way Leaver was living. His brother said that God loved him and had a plan for him.

“Well, that message just struck something inside, just resonated.” Leaver said. “And I began to think, wow, could God really love me despite all my sin and my shortcomings and my troubles? Did God really have a plan for me? Well, through a series of miraculous processes and things… and I became aware that God did have a plan for me. That Jesus, God's son, really died for me.”

Leaver went on to describe how he came to forgive himself and those in his life who had wronged him. At the end of his talk, he encouraged the audience to, “start asking God for some divine help. To get rid of any bitterness that you have in your heart, any past hurt. Maybe there's someone else that you need to forgive. Take a moment to search your heart. Use the power of forgiveness to push back the darkness.”

Bishop Ruggieri continued after a brief break with his second keynote speech. Addressing the concerns he brought up earlier in the day, Bishop Ruggieri said,

“This is really bigger than us. We're not going to solve any problems. And if we think we're going to save the world, gentlemen, we're really wrong, because Jesus has already done that.”

Bishop Ruggieri went on to explain the importance of reclaiming the Sabbath. He advised attendees to keep Sunday holy and make Mass a true priority during the weekend. He recognized that the weekend is often a busy time, full of tasks we assign ourselves outside of work. Bishop Ruggieri asserted, however, that making weekly Mass a priority, instead of just another task, is key to living a properly ordered life.

“Men, we want to provide. We want to protect. We want to be the valued ones, the courageous ones. There's a pitfall to all that. And the pitfall is thinking that, ‘I am God. I have to provide. I'll work harder. It depends on me.’"

Bishop Ruggieri explained his familiarity with these ideas, having grown up in American culture, a culture that often pushes men to be self-reliant.

“That false sense of self-reliance is inculcated in us from a very early age. ‘Work harder. Do more. You're not worth it if you don't succeed or work hard at success.’ We scorn people that we think are lazy.” Bishop Ruggieri admonished these disordered, yet very common, ideas stating simply, “It's a lie. It's really a lie.”

Bishop Ruggieri spoke about the tradition of the Sabbath. In the book of Genesis, God creates the world in six days, then rests on the seventh. The Jewish Sabbath, Saturday, serves as a reminder of what God did for us by creating the world and also by freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Bishop Ruggieri explained that Sunday is the Sabbath for Christians now because this is the day Christ died for us.

“We're free from death, brothers. Free from death by what Christ has done for us. The ultimate exodus. No earthly power can chain us. So, as we hear or as we experience this movement from the Sabbath day, Saturday, to now the first day, Sunday is now the day to commemorate Christ's resurrection, the true source of our salvation.”

Bishop Ruggieri gave specific examples of ways to make Sundays more holy. He recommended forming charitable groups at the parish level, gathering on Sundays to do works of charity. He specifically charged grandparents to invite their adult children and grandchildren over for dinner and “let the chaos reign” to have the whole family together on Sunday.

After the final keynote, the men in attendance discussed questions provided by the bishop on papers at each table. They reflected on their childhood and how their parents acted on Sundays. They discussed habits each of them has to keep Sunday holy. Older men provided practical insight for navigating family life. Younger men offered context and commentary on the difficulties of maintaining faith in a secular culture. Together, they committed to reclaiming the Sabbath in their own lives and living their faith more boldly.