I'm afraid of God. I’ve probably always been afraid of Him but just realized it – put it into those words – at the Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Mary. May she pray for me now and at the hour of my death. This may be Proverbs 9:10: “The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” I hedge (“may be”), because the “feeling” I refer to is claustrophobia: I am overwhelmed by His presence and power and feel the need to escape.

“I will fear, love and honor God above all others, even at the cost of my own life.” The early Church was full of martyrs. These men didn’t simply give up their lives for Christ, they faced their death with courage and — sometimes — even jokes! It is said that as St. Lawrence was being roasted to death on an iron grill, he teasingly told his torturers, “I am done on this side, turn me over.” Christ was so real to the early Christians that they counted death as nothing so long as they could be with Him. You may not have to die for your faith. But you may suffer from “soft martyrdom,” such as losing friends over your beliefs. The word “martyr” means “witness.” By holding true to Christ’s teachings, you are witnessing to a higher order of values.

Our world has become aggressively crude and divisive, while the societal pressures on men and boys to hate their own masculinity has taken its toll on all of us. So what are Catholic families to do? John Heinen recently joined The Homeschooling Saints Podcast to talk about Bringing Back Gentlemanliness.