Men: Step up!

Greg Raymond, a local jeweler who initially rejected the idea of becoming a retreat master at Manresa House of Retreats, encouraged the 560 men at the Archdiocese of New Orleans Men’s Conference March 15 to use the power of confession, the Blessed Mother and the Eucharist to step up and change a fallen world.

His rousing testimony – “a call to action” – closed out the annual conference, which ended with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

“This is a call to action, to step up, to be the men we were created and called to be,” Raymond said. “If we’re honest with ourselves and we sincerely take a true, honest look at the state of the world that we live in right now, we simply have to conclude that we are living in dark and very challenging times in this world – a world that is full of division, violence, greed, poverty, hopelessness. A world that is in utter chaos.

“Our own country has lost it moral compass and ignored the Christian principles and foundations that it was founded on. 

“Yes, it’s dark and dismal, my brothers in Christ, but listen to me when I say it is not over by any means. With our faith in God, we can truly turn this around. But it’s going to take every single one of us to do so.”

Get a ‘car wash’

Raymond said the power of confession is like “a car wash for the soul,” but too many Catholic men are duped by the devil – whom he called “the knucklehead” – into believing they are unworthy of forgiveness and allow sin to build upon sin.

He cited Old Testament stories of Moses parting the Red Sea and Gideon defeating a much stronger army as signs that God has the power to overcome any evil of this age.

But, since God is a God of free will, men need to make a choice to turn from sin, he said.

“So, the question we must ask ourselves right here today at this conference is: ‘What’s stopping you from saying yes?’” Raymond said. “Most of the times, it’s the knucklehead telling us we’re not good enough.”

Raymond recalled how, for four years, he had resisted an invitation by a Jesuit retreat master to become a retreat master himself because he did not consider himself worthy.

Finally, another priest told him, “God doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the called.”

“I literally felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted off my shoulders,” Raymond said.

Raymond said the rosary was “one of the most powerful weapons against evil.” He said while some might consider the prayer repetitive and “boring,” when it is tied to Scripture, it comes alive.

“If you’re struggling with something in your life, you bring Momma Mary into it, and I guarantee, you’ll turn the corner in no time,” he said.

“We are called to be ambassadors of Christ’s light in this dark world,” Raymond said. “We are called to be missionaries of his mercy. And, remember, we don’t have to change the whole world at one time. We can do it within our own circle of influence, one person at a time.”

The conference, whose theme was “I Trust in You,” went off at St. Dominic Church despite the threat of ominous weather.

Damon Owens, executive director of the Theology of the Body Institute, told the men their identity as sons of God has called them to a unique, irreplaceable relationship with God and each other, and that should inspire them with missionary zeal.

Greg Boudreaux of The Vigil Project,  joined with the schola from St. Joseph Seminary College to lead the men in hymns during eucharistic adoration. Boudreaux said song has the power to lift up unseen prayers from the depth of the soul.

Next year’s men’s conference will be Feb. 28, 2026.

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