The Fallen Tree in My Backyard

In early June of 2020 I was relaxing in my living room when I heard a terrible crash. I thought one of my children had fallen down the stairs. After searching I found that a huge branch from one of the oldest and largest trees in my yard had fallen to the ground. I thought that tree would be standing long after I was gone from this place. Now, our backyard would never be the same.

Since the beginning of 2020, institutions and traditions I once thought of as rock-solid fixtures of our cultural landscape seemed to have come crashing down as well. With the pandemic and the political unrest, our lives have been altered in ways we never thought possible. Even the incredible experience that is the Connecticut Catholic Men’s Conference has been hit hard this year.

 
Mourning, Surrender, Clearing, Repurposing

After going through the stages of grief over my tree (“How could this have happened?” “Maybe we can still salvage the rest of the tree!” “God, can’t you fix this?” “What’s the use?” “Okay, time to get going!”), I had to roll up my sleeves, summon some help and begin clearing away the debris. I hired a tree service to take down the rest of the tree and began splitting the usable wood to burn during the winter. I thought about how hard the work was; and yet, there was a sense of peace in surrendering to the inevitable and looking forward to the comforting fires the old tree would provide in the months ahead.

I have seen the CCMC Committee roll up its collective sleeves and get down to the work of salvaging this year’s conference. For my part, I had already grieved and let go, practically writing off any possibility of an event for this year. Thank God, however, that the saintly and sober men of the committee have pushed forward and discovered new ways to retool and repurpose the conference so that the men of Connecticut can once again benefit from time spent in fellowship and worship around a common cause.
This year, the committee decided to hold the conference outdoors at the Holy Land site in Waterbury, a fitting venue that has recently received a grace-filled makeover as well. Since we could not have nationally known speakers, the members of the committee stepped up to take on the challenge and provide talks for the men. This has pleased me in a special way, as I have always felt there are many undiscovered sensible souls in our own backyard with wisdom to share.

 
God Working to the Good All Things

The planning has continued and much of the conference will be very much the same: great speakers, fellowship, Confession and Mass; and yet so much will be different, and in many ways better than ever before. This will be a beautiful opportunity for the men of Connecticut to see just what their local brothers are made of. It will show men in an even more practical way what it means to have a personal apostolate. I even believe it will lead the men who join us this year to consider the greatness of belonging to a local Body of believers who share in the responsibility of sharing the Catholic faith with the state of Connecticut and the world.

The details are continuing to come out and I urge you to consider joining us this year to add your own unique and wonderful contribution to our event. We can show our state, our country, and our world what men of faith can do when we put our minds and our hearts into serving the God who loves us. We can see what it means to help shape the Church that so beautifully and completely shapes us. We can find renewal, restoration, and new hope following the struggles of these many months. We can strive to be men who carry out our calling to love the world for Christ.
 

A Little Less Shade; A Little More Closeness

The tree will soon be just a memory; and yet each warm fire the wood provides will bring new memories to share. They will remind me that, even as I grow older and my family members move on with their lives, each day forward is a new experience we can share and a new chapter in the story of our salvation as we live as children of God. It is truly an act of grace that a fallen tree can become such a blessing when I yield to the lessons it brings.

I know all that we have been through has removed a little safety and shade from our lives; and yet, we are never removed from the shelter of our Father’s loving care. He shapes and retools us each day through the struggles and brings joy out of the jumbled mess and peace out of pain. What a shame it would be for the Catholic men of Connecticut to miss out on all that God will do for us at this year’s Connecticut Catholic Men’s Conference. I hope you can join us to witness all that God has in store for the moments and the years ahead – for us as individuals, for our families, our parishes, our country, and our world!