775 Challenge Plan
7 Challenges/7 Weeks/5 Graces
1. Challenge – God is challenging us to come to realize that it is time to stand up and be counted, and make our spiritual life a higher priority in our personal lives. (Mt. 6:33)
Support (Holy Spirit)—Brothers, isn’t it about time to give God at least a portion of our time and effort? He is like the United Way—all He wants from us is His fair share. We spend incredible amounts of time on all kinds of various things but when it’s time for the Lord, we are too busy or we could care less. THIS ATTITUDE HAS TO CHANGE.
Opposition (Devil)—Why do you want to waste your time on all that boring stuff? If you go to church on Sunday or every so often, that’s plenty good enough. All you need to do is treat people OK. I promise you, if you get involved with that spiritual business, YOU WILL END UP LOSING ALL YOUR FRIENDS.
2. Humility—Humble ourselves before our awesome Creator, as the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph did, so that He can begin to change our hearts to become holy men of God. (Sir.3:18)
Support (Holy Spirit)—Brothers, many of us in this world are not in awe of the Lord: we treat Him as though we are on equal ground with Him. Our pride prevents us from recognizing Him as our Lord and Savior. Only the Lord can change our stubborn heart to a heart that can accept Him as our Savior so that He can mold us into holy men of God. ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS GIVE HIM PERMISSION.
Opposition (Devil)—Hogwash! In this dog eat dog world you live in there is only one way—every man for himself. If you want to climb to the top, do it your way and don’t depend on anyone—including God. Remember, Frank Sinatra’s song, “I DID IT MY WAY.”
3. Service—Open our minds and hearts to His word and the teachings of His Holy Catholic Church, so that we can better serve God and our fellow man in our everyday lives. (Mk. 9:35)
Support (Holy Spirit)—Brothers, we have been placed on this earth to serve God and our fellow man; not to be self-serving. The world tells us to grab and obtain as many things as possible, and this will make us successful and happy. But deep in our hearts, we know that the only way that we will be truly happy and at peace is to SERVE GOD AND OTHERS.
Opposition (Devil)—You talk about serving others? You’ll end up getting shafted in the deal. You need to take care of yourself and don’t worry about others—that’s their problem. If someone needs help, let them go to God for help. YOU HAVE ENOUGH ON YOUR OWN PLATE TO WORRY ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE.
4. Boldness—Once we have been touched by the Holy Spirit inwardly,, we then go forth to boldly proclaim Jesus Christ to our fellow man that He is the Way, Truth and Life.
(Mk. 16:15; Jn. 14:6)
Support (Holy Spirit)—Brothers, we boldly make our opinion known concerning our rights and privileges as citizens of the United States. Also, we enjoy having discussions with each other concerning sports, politics, and entertainment: but when it becomes time to defend our faith or proclaim Jesus Christ in our lives, we become mute. We need to ask the Holy Spirit, our personal trainer, to give us the courage to boldly PROCLAIM HIM IN OUR WITNESS TO OTHERS.
Opposition (Devil) How many times do I need to tell you—a good Catholic never talks about two things and that is religion and politics—that’s God’s job. Another thing, you start talking about Jesus to people and they will start talking behind your back, “THERE IS THAT JESUS FREAK!” DO YOU WANT THAT HANGING OVER YOUR HEAD?
5. Commitment—Commit to the Lord that you will attend or start a men’s sharing prayer group for at least seven weeks/sessions and that you will attend at least one men’s conference. (Ps. 37:5)
Support (Holy Spirit)—Brothers, we commit all sorts of time to watching sports or reality programs on TV, or attending various sports or social events or participating in fantasy leagues; but if we are asked to get involved with a men’s prayer/sharing group, we avoid it like it’s the plague. We make the excuse that those types of meetings are for women and weak people—real men don’t get involved. REAL MEN DO GET INVOLVED with prayer/sharing groups.
Opposition (Devil)—Committing to church once in a while, on Sunday, is enough. Who wants to attend a men’s prayer meeting with a bunch of pansies that complain and tell sob stories? IF I WERE YOU, I WOULD STAY WITH YOUR REGULAR GROUP OF GUYS—at least they have fun and knock down a few ‘brewskies’ and tell some great jokes.
6. Fellowship—We will ask the Holy Spirit, while attending these small sharing groups to give us the courage to be open to share with our fellow men what is truly in our hearts. (1Jn. 1:7)
Support (Holy Spirit)—Brothers, most guys have a difficult time sharing especially about things that are personal in our lives. Typically, you ask a guy, “How is everything going?” And his response is, “Everything is great.” When, in fact, things are not going well at all; he is having problems at work or in his marriage or he has health issues and he has nowhere to go to share these things with other men. Everyone needs a place of fellowship where they can share their concerns and know that THESE MEN TRULY CARE.
Opposition (Devil)—Real men keep personal things to themselves—they don’t share it with others. It’s none of their business. Other men don’t care about your problems, they have their own! I WOULDN’T TRUST THEM—THEY’LL GOSSIP.
7. Perseverance—Persevere in prayer to ask Jesus to give you the strength and the courage to follow through with these challenges. (Eph. 3:14-21)
Support (Holy Spirit)—Brothers, the reason that many of us won’t either step out or stay with attending or starting a men’s prayer group in our parish, is because we are fearful for what other men will think of us. We are simply ashamed to admit that we attend a prayer group. In fact, I can remember a young college man telling me that he would tell his friends a lie rather than admitting to them that he attended 5PM Mass on Sunday evenings for fear that they would make fun of him. We must persevere in prayer to ASK JESUS TO GIVE US THE STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO OVERCOME THESE FEARS.
Opposition (Devil)—Why do you want to join something like that? None of your buddies will join even if you would like to. So, you’ll be stuck in that deal by yourself. Think about it! If your buddies found out that you attended those fellowship meetings, they would ‘bust a gut’ laughing at you. It’s not about needing courage, it’s about using your head and common sense. ASK JESUS TO HELP YOU WITH SOMETHING ELSE—LIKE HITTING THE LOTTO.
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