By Brian Freyberger
“I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth (echo, echo, echo)” Lou Gehrig said this, but I beg to differ. I consider myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
I’m surrounded by a loving family, but more than that, I have men in my life who influence me to be a better man. A man striving to live a holy life. A man focused on what God wants. A man who fails every day, but gets up and tries to do better the next day.
I’m a lucky man and this Lent reinforced it.
For the past few years, God has planted on my heart a phrase, “See Christ, Be Christ.” It’s a reminder to me of the dignity of EVERY single person I encounter. I don’t live it as well as I would like, but the men of the Seton Men’s Breakfast Club (MBC) and I talk about it almost weekly. Some say the person who really annoys you might be the most difficult to love as Christ loved or that the stranger can too often be overlooked. For me, I would say my family sometimes is the toughest – not because I don’t love them, but because I take them for granted and let my guard down at home.
I’m a lucky man to have other men to push me to be a better father and husband.
That brings me to Lent 2018. I’ve engaged with a smaller group of men to do Exodus 90 – yeah, I realize lent is only 40 days – we started early. The journey with these men has given me new insights on my prayer life and why I do what I do. I was reminded by one of my brothers that everything I do spiritually should be focused on drawing me closer to Christ. While I knew this, I’m a ‘list guy’, so at times, I get caught up in checking things off and feeling good about doing vs. growing.
I’m a lucky man to have other men to remind me that doing is not as important as growing.
On Good Friday, the That Man is You (TMiY) group had a special day with the Lourdes water experience. We reflected on our desires as well as our struggles related to these desires. It was a profound moment for me. As I completed the desires, I kept writing “See Christ, Be Christ” and I was getting annoyed at the silly questions. Then I experienced the session and Mary smacked me in the back of the head – ever have that happen? It was as clear and bright as the candle next to me. Freyberger, you need to see Christ in yourself and be Christ to yourself if you ever think you can see Christ in others and be Christ to others.
I’m a lucky man to have guys bringing programs like this to Seton to challenge me.
Maybe lucky isn’t the right word. I’m a blessed man. I am surrounded by Catholic men at Seton who strive every day to live the Catholic faith in this crazy world. I have a God who loves me and never tires of my failures and missteps. I have a Savior in Jesus Christ who wants a relationship with me. I have an opportunity every day of my life to See Christ and Be Christ to each person I encounter. I consider myself the most blessed man on the face of the earth… thanks be to God.