Journey Home - Former Non-Denominational Christian - Marcus Grodi w Doug Lessells - 10-25-2010

good evening and welcome to the journey home my name is Marcus Grodi your host for this program each week EWTN gives me this great privilege of introducing to you men and women who guided by the Holy Spirit some kinds nudged by circumstance a variety of ways that God uses to get their attention yet he helped them by grace to come home to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and particularly a deeper relationship in the church the body of Christ being a part of the family of God and so that's what our program is about and now we're in our fourteenth season so welcome to the program our guest tonight is Douglas ELLs some of you especially in Ohio or viewing this program are gonna recognize him it's a pleasure to have him on the program because I recognize him from his work in local television and sports and will certainly talk about that in a moment but it's a well great pleasure to welcome you Doug to the program great to be here Marcus thank you very much it's good to see you we've bumped into each other absolutely had the pleasure of introducing you at the Catholic men's conference a few years ago that's right which those of you again in Ohio the men's conference has been growing every year hasn't it it certainly has we had a record attendance last year and both the men and women now at the Laoshi building at the Ohio State Fairgrounds so it's it's going gangbusters great and I think was that this last year or the year before that one of the reasons that was such a great attendance is that the crossing the goal team were the actual speakers two years ago yep Danny Abramowitz and Peter Herbeck and and it I think they're spot on in terms of you want to reach the Catholic man football is a good place to start and these guys just they talk about you know Danny Abramowitz his book spiritual workout for a former Saint from a New Orleans st. and they just have some some great messages and I encourage everybody to check that out on EWTN as well crossing the goal maybe program maybe later in the program might get into a discussion about the relationships between the faith life and in the sporting world because there I'm one that really believes that especially a sport like football you know that there's more to it than purely the game that there's a lot of character building teamwork a lot we can learn about our our imperfections and the way we get along with one another when we have to work together on a team like football or any sports with value to it absolutely so but it can also be become the center of people's lives and in that process they forget about the the true point of life which is our relationship with our Lord but let me quit talking it out of the way and invite you as I do every week to start from the beginning and give the audience where'd you come from spirits well I grew up in Edison New Jersey Marcus my parents wonderful parents taught us all the right lessons be good to others do the right thing moral ethical type values but not a faith-based upbringing my mom was a cradle Catholic from Boston who as my dad later told me after my mom passed questioned the Catholic doctrine when she was at a Catholic college she went to Regis College a small liberal arts school outside Boston she went to Catholic grade school on high school and college and and evidently had some questions about her faith and from what my dad explained was told at that time by the priests that you know that's just what we teach just buy into it and she kind of felt like it was a blind faith and so she she fell away from the church and and unfortunately it was at a time where she about my dad who was second generation agnostic came over from England and and my two brothers and I I think we were pretty much headed to third generation agnostics in our family growing up but you know it's funny I I spoke at a Catholic men's luncheon a couple of months ago in Columbus and I started thinking I mean I have vivid recollections Marcus growing up as a child we went to a Unitarian Church my dad's thought was we're going to expose our children to religion and we discussed at the Unitarian fellowship Judaism Catholicism Protestant faiths and you were sort of left to determine what you believed well that is not anything I think a 10 11 year-old child is capable of maybe some are maybe I wasn't smart enough assimilating that and figuring out what your faith is so and then at age 13 my dad thought well you know I've exposed my kids to religion it's up to them to decide whether they want to continue to go to church and our Unitarian fellowship was probably 40 minutes away and we just sort of stopped going and you know 10 year-old kid it was more time for me to go out and play football you know third thing your old kid so I really didn't have any direction in my faith but you know it's funny about that time as I think some young children may have a tendency to think about I remember thinking about what happens when I pass away what what where do I go what what do I is there a heaven is there a hell I remember having a numb feeling as a 10 and 11 year old that when I pass from this earth is that it and without any real formal church life as a child around that time I just started praying to God and I wasn't directed to my parents didn't really encourage it but I I would just get on my knees simple prayers asking for the well-being of my family and and for those less fortunate and and and it just it sort of started with that and then I went off to college and I got into my broadcasting career and fast forward to 1990 and I'm 33 years old I'm a sportscaster at the NBC affiliate in Columbus and and I feel like I'm living my life in in a good way I'm volunteering for charities I'm helping the less fortunate but I'm not living a life of faith and and at that time of former OSU football player by the name of Calvin Murray I'm gonna pause you there there because this is that you know that's a really good event your life I think when that happens I'm gonna pause you know to back it's just a little bit like because your experience growing up in that Unitarian environment which is interesting because Unitarianism even it when it began its purpose was not to say it doesn't matter what you believe they're all equal but that's kind of the message you were getting right I felt in a way I mean it sure in in a maybe unintentional way but by saying there's this faith this faith this face you choose for yourself the end you might choose any of them or it doesn't matter you it's interesting you came out of that at least though with with an underlying conviction that there must be a God right that's what you're kind of telling us right at least out of that childhood somehow in there the grace of God who created you in the image of his son that seed planted there did sprout a little bit right absolutely we're literally at times consciously turning to God all right so you have that as your background you jumped away ahead was there an influence at all in college in that it was to continue to drop out of the way just not important compared to everything else in life and again because I don't think I had the solid foundation Marcus it did drop away I mean other priorities getting your education for me I was driven to become a sportscaster which is a very competitive business I mean the thought of going to to church on a Sunday while I was in college didn't cross my mind and so really your assumption was and as I want to connect is I know there are men and hwachun here we get caught up in this is that if you were to take a step back from yourself and look at what you did in college the choices you were making the accomplishes this was you yeah this is what you accomplished that's how you would have saw that it wasn't God blessing you or wasn't it was always grace yeah it was what you were did and if you were gonna complicate things it was up to you to do it was my well not God's will absolutely and at the time of course I didn't realize it and again while I was exposed to the Unitarian Church and I later did a little research and Unitarian is basically one God as opposed to the Trinity and I realized again without the parental sort of influence in the direction and the nurturing it was I think naive to think that I'm gonna come out with any sense of who God is what my role in life is I mean I've learned so much since coming to the church about what I didn't know then is it it's like they say my dad's favorite quote youth is wasted on the young and you think back gosh had I been exposed to it when I was young too maybe you know I think a lot of our viewers either themselves are seen around them that this was a time period when a lot of parents felt that way and that maybe it's not my responsibility to to impose a faith on my children now that would that would characterize I'm sure my my parents thought process and maybe a lot of men today even now as they're adults wonder whether I should or shouldn't because of the way they were handed it and I can say as a parent of two children I absolutely believe now having experienced that that no they the kids need that direction I mean you know they need to learn how to color inside the lines and how to write and how to do math why wouldn't you spend the time to help them understand what they need to do from a from a faith perspective spend at least as much time on that and I think just in general we leave too much of that's a chance and and you know now I know that and I've had this conversation with my dad I mean I don't begrudge the way he brought us up but in hindsight yeah I think you need that direction to know what what what and you said it best Marcus my well not gods well at the time I thought my will wasn't in perhaps not in concert with God's will but when you look back at it of course if you're concentrating on your will and not God's will well that's not the way where God created me by the grace of God he he still may have been leading you and making sure that but I mean you think about it it just as you're saying if we're not helping our children early on at least have as a part of the equation of their life that we've got to ask what will be right in the eyes of God we're not preparing them for the times that were making decisions in college all the decisions you were gonna make in college what career my life marriage all those issues well I and I would say I favor much more stronger than that not not at least directing it's the most important direction the the educational process is important the social process is important all of that flows from helping our children understand this is our faith this is God's will and now that I have the opportunity to experience that with our five-year-old little girl you realize gosh life is so much easier if you come at it from that perspective a lot of the other issues and and as we develop my story I'll admit that there were directions I went in that in hindsight we're not the direction God wanted me to go in because God was not a real factor or direction in my life well as I'm hearing your story I'm also hearing the formation of a conscience right I would say that sure there's good and bad in that and sometimes consciousness aren't formed and sometimes the conscience gets full of baggage and sometimes good and bad it's our conscience how we're gonna make decisions so even when we have an awakening to faith our conscience isn't always sudden cleared clean and now I'm starting fresh again we've got stuff to work through so okay we're fasting forward into the 90s right and you're doing sport broadcasting locally yep at channel 4 in Columbus and and again I think I'm leading my life in a in a way where I'm considerate of others I'm spending a lot of times I worked with Jimmy Crumm who is one of the great humanitarians in the history of broadcasting oh just watch YouTube well thank you but Jimmy forty years at channel 4 and just did so many things with everybody knows what he did with recreation unlimited in the Easter Seals when he retired I went back and looked and figured out he was involved in raising about 21 million dollars for charity in his 40 years at channel 4 and what a lot of people didn't know is on his dinner break like Woody Hayes he'd be over Children's Hospital visiting kids I mean I tell people that Jimmy taught me a thing or two about broadcasting but he taught me a lot more about being a great human being so matter of fact he was but and it's interesting because I came to the Catholic Church after Jimmy had retired and we talked a little bit about our faith but not a lot and and I kind of regret that Marcus I wish I had spent more time talking to him about that but I know he was buried in a Presbyterian service and and and Jim absolutely was a man of faith I like me I don't know early in my life that it was a huge you part of his life I just don't know but but I have to figure based on the wonder what he did things that Jimmy did absolutely it was it was based on so he wasn't influenced I knew them just so absolutely yeah just seeing what Jimmy would do I mean he worked tirelessly for the people less fortunate and so so again I was doing all those things but you can do all those things and still not be doing what God wants you to do in every area of your life and and in 1990 as I mentioned a former OSU football player Calvin Murray great guy who I just got to know through mutual friends gave me my first Bible well you know how much is your faith being directed by God if at age 30 is the first time you're actually looking in the Bible so that was kind of an awakening for me well and then I started dating a gal who we were going to a Christian Church I had you know quote come to Jesus and but we obviously weren't acting in the way that Jesus would would want our lives to go we had a baby out of wedlock now thankfully because we're Christians the thought of not having the child never entered our mind and we welcome to a beautiful baby boy Nicholas into the world in 1990 and and I struggled with whether I should marry my son's mom and it was actually our pastor who said don't marry because you have a child marry because you love each other and and I struggled with that and we made the decision not to marry and she married I later married and our son we we brought up and and I was a dad in every sense of the word and but that was a seminal moment for me Marcus because I realized gosh I'm not living by God's westco's and wondering that because you call I'm here real quickly with almost within a year you get a Bible and faith right the comeback of in a church and then of course you have a child right and all that's within a about a year that's that's fast absolutely and and and I realize I am NOT leading the life that God wants me to lead and it's interesting and as we develop as I later find out my conversion to the Catholic Church that it's more than just faith there there are a set of rules a set of rules that Jesus Christ wants us to follow for our well-being and all by the way premarital sex is one of the it's a violation of a rule and and and that rules there for a good reason and and I I came to learn that in hindsight but I I knew that that I wasn't living the life that God wanted Watley often is described as you know that the the long distance between the head and heart mm-hmm we could also describe it as a long distance between head and conscience right right and so you were accepting your faith in Christ probably maybe even an evangelical context you may actually have done that publicly right oh yeah sure you know that you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior and so it's in your head a conviction it's starting to seep in a little bit but you've got a 30 year conscience right that hasn't had the influence of God I mean that's well that's the part of the I mean we're not looking for excuses for the mistake you made that's not the point but you're affirming the need to grow takes a period of time and again I and it's interesting you could be my psychotherapist as I think about this if I had one where you go back and you think about the influences without that that foundation from a youth I'm big on sports analogies being a former sportscaster I Drive my wife crazy Marcus but I mean think about a you know you can say I'm a professional football player because I got drafted by a team but if you're not running the right pass routes if you're not coming to the meetings on time if you're not putting it in the effort you are a football player in name only I mean you're not going to be a professional football player very long in in the corporate world there are rules and regulations and parameters well when you think about it both of those are good examples but they take a backseat to our faith and yet if you have a faith but it's not directed by some parameters and some rules and some regulations which once you start to understand the faith are there as I mentioned for a very good reason then I'm a Christian in name only I'm not I'm not leading a Christian life and and I knew it then and and it gave me pause for thought and I and I certainly got more active in the church and and quite honestly the the biggest single blessing in my life then followed that I met a lady about a year later who cradle Catholic she's from Puerto Rico her mom is an exile from Cuba who just wonderful gal who again did not wear her Catholic faith on her sleeve but was not at all unwilling to share her faith I think she just kind of felt like you know let's fill this out and you know I joked that she she stalked me and in fact I I would take no well I wouldn't take no for an answer with my my then girlfriend then fiancee and now wife and and I knew I felt had over heels in love with her Maria Infante and she brought me to the Catholic Church and and what I came to realize and understand through dating her was wow this is as I mentioned before this is the structure this is the the these are the boundaries this is the the the box in which the faith makes sense and and I think once you understand what the parameters are it makes it a lot easier for you to to follow the faith and and so that's where I I went through our I our CIA in 1994 and and became a Catholic Easter weekend of 1994 my wife and I were married three months later and and I as we all know your walk is a lifelong journey Marcus I think I've learned so much more since then we're in fact doing right now a catechism study with father kuraby and and I was actually convicted at the Catholic men's conference last year where Patrick Madrid said you know the reality is most Catholics or many Catholics we don't know enough about our faith we're ignorant about our faith so so as I learn more it just strengthens my resolve to become the best man the best Catholic the best Catholic man I can be well let me ask you then on just a let's say a doctrinal shuh for a lot of who come from very staunch evangelical backgrounds when they come into the Catholic Church their doctrinal issues there's a lot of things that stand in the way it yours is a little bit different because you went from Unitarianism if you want to call it that it was just the environment you had - it sounds like a very brief evangelical period yes right into Catholicism for there any doctrinal you have to deal with the drug title barriers coming into the Catholic churches what you know it's interesting I I felt that I did not because I heard on Catholic Answers as a matter of fact on st. Gabriel Catholic radio in Columbus I thought it was explained so well when someone talked about someone called in and was asking about well what do I say to my non-denominational evangelical Christian friends who questioned our faith you know who's right who's wrong and that's a question we all hear and and the host put it in such great terms when he said you know obviously we're not to criticize another Christian faith but from our perspective it's the wholeness of the faith it's if you believe that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ that it is the church that was founded by Jesus Christ it actually exposes you to the fullness of the the relationship with Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ wanted his followers to have so from that regard Marcus it was actually easier for me because what I realized was in terms of the the perhaps differences in doctrine and in belief was predicated on a on ignorance I didn't know what the basis for my faith was and for me Catholicism was was wonderful because it gave me that basis again how could I have been a quote evangelical Christian and have a baby out of wedlock well because I wasn't living the faith I didn't know what the what the the parameters and the rules were and again I just think that you know to call yourself anything without understanding what defines you as that thing is in hindsight naive on my part so the I had few issues and it was again a blessing to have been directed to the Catholic Church for my wife and her mother mom goes to Mass every day prays every day you know for me to learn more about the Catholic faith made it easier for me to embrace it and and realize that any of the the differences or the the doctrinal issues we're not issues at all for me and it was the Catholic Church was the basis for me - okay I know that I've always had it in my heart that there's a god well now I know that you know what God's trying to direct in my life that Jesus is his son he died for my sins this is what we need to do - to please Jesus it quite frankly was only a couple of years ago where the purpose of life and it was so well described in a Catholic men's group meeting was to know love and serve God well I felt like I knew God for twenty years before I came to that conclusion Marcus how do you see now that you have a message and I and I know that you do how do you see that the life God in His sometimes undiscernible wisdom led you through all those years how has that prepared your present message and what ways has that prepared your present message that you have for people when these whether it's a Men's Conference or doing the radio program for Catholic sports and are in our local area how is your life helped your present message that's a great question and and I would say it's helped me direct people don't waste a lot of time not going to the source of the answers don't don't just let years go by while you try to define who you are and and what God's will is I mean if you believe in your heart that my purpose on life is to know love and serve God and I believe that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ it makes it pretty simple for me to head in that direction I mentioned this this talk that I gave to the Catholic men's ministry luncheon in Columbus I was asked to do it and I'd never really you know typically is an MC or as a host I'm on your side of the table I've never really been an easier to be another yeah exactly to give my story and I started thinking about that and and I think this sort of answers your question I thought you know if you're and again big into analogies if a professional athlete how did that person become a professional athlete well they started playing Pop Warner football or Little League baseball when they were five and then they got into travel baseball and then if they were good enough they played in high school and then they were drafted and they played a ball in double-a and triple-a and at the age of 24 they if they're good enough and they're blessed enough they go to major league baseball after spending 18 years hitting throwing running and and and playing that game well a business CEO same type of deal typically has a bachelor's and a master's and 20 years experience in dealing with these issues and and I tell people that it's kind of like the baseball player you develop during that time what's called muscle memory where it's a well known concept that after swinging at a baseball bat literally thousands of times through your youth your muscles are trained to swing that bat in the most effective way to meet the ball and I could do something that science says is impossible examiner meeting a round ball exactly and and then in the corporate world maybe it's mind memory where you've done all these wonderful had all these experiences over 20 years and in education well I like to think of it as moral memory that you get through the time that you put into the faith and my message probably would be Marcus if you are going to exert the effort and have the discipline to do that to become a great athlete or a great business person wouldn't it follow that in order to become the best possible Catholic and the best possible man son brother husband that I can be I need to put in the discipline to do that and and again it's it's not rocket science it's it's getting into the word it's attending immense weekly men's group which I've had I've been blessed to attend in Kol this with with men who can be accountability partners it's it's and it's for for kids for women whatever that that organization is that help get you to get you closer to God it's attending Mass daily or weekly so the message is don't waste a lot of time figuring out what the the structure is go to your Catholic Church go to Mass get involved in activities that will help you find the answers right away and and I I kind of wish I had that in my youth well you know just to bring analogy even just within the church that's why for example within the Catholic Church for a man to become a priest you don't just all of a sudden have a conversion to Jesus Christ on Friday and then and then within a year you're leading a congregation which sadly outside the Catholic Church happens all the time when men have awakenings and they're in a particular denomination that because he happens to be a good speaker or a charismatic personality well he's risen to the top and there he is leading people when his faith is almost tofu I mean in there's no depth of it whereas the church is always emphasized that it's a long process not just become a priest but or to become a bishop but for every one of us to live out our faith it's a day-by-day long term growth sometimes like you we go through rough times but then your example of your child is that very quickly you're Christian but you were not spiritually prepared still to make the right decisions in the midst of the spiritual battle CS Lewis and his wonderful book Screwtape Letters in that where the demons are trying to keep a guy from becoming a Christian well the mmediately they fail he becomes a Christian and the demons are figuring okay now what do we do well they want to make him fall immediately yeah well sue and someone declares their Christian the temptations are gonna come mm-hmm well were you prepared for that let's talk we're gonna take a break now but let's dig more into some of these issues also want to find out more about excuse me your work with the men absolutely here in Columbus okay back a bit welcome back to the journey home our guest tonight at Douglas ELLs he's no longer on the regular networks here in town right but you but about eight years ago my wife said could you possibly do something for a living where we might see once in a while so I got out of time sports casting nights weekends holidays and got into advertising and PR and doing some entrepreneurial things but I have had the opportunity to stay involved with the Catholic High School football preview show on cinq abriel radio and so no not full-time broadcasting much to the delight of my wife well there's so much we can talk about I love sports too and talk a bit about that in relationship to the faith do you see that the whole meaning the sporting world is what you'd want to call it right and it's amazing oh yeah in fact sometimes when you look into the stands of any professional football game you see people that have gone a little bit overboard in in the the fanaticism in sporting work but talk about the relationship to the sporting world of sporting phenomenon and the faith well I think like anything if you have it sports is a false god it's a bad thing if it's a diversion and a fun thing in an activity it's a good thing and sports you know from my perspective as a sportscaster Marcus my I mean my favorite sport to cover high school football I mean it's at its essence its its innocence its youth going out and enjoying the fun of the game and to take that to the next level through my work with the Catholic high school football preview show and st. Gabriel radio which we do every Friday at 6 o'clock and we do the Catholic High School game of the week the 7 area central Ohio Catholic schools will the sails and Bishop Watterson and Hartley will cover their games I had the opportunity to talk to some coaches I mean bill Franks is a great example this guy where sports and faith intersect bill Franks is the head coach at Newark Catholic he played and I'm old enough to remember Bill when he played for nua catholic back in the mid 80s they won three state championships in his time at high school which is just amazing if you win one you're blessed and then once remember those days right para oh yeah they they they've won Newark Catholic has won over all seven state titles but three of them while bill Franks was there he went off to the University of Dayton Catholic College and played football there and he got into coaching and he ascended rapidly his smart guy knows the game and he has a young head coach was at Newark High School and they had just won a league championship and he was on the cusp of of professionally you know really moving up the ladder he took a pay cut to go to Newark Catholic because he knows the value of a Catholic education and how important it is and you know I've said this many times one of my favorite quotes Billy Graham the Reverend Billy Graham said a a youth coach can have more influence on a kid in a season than a pastor or a priest or a rabbi might have in his tire childhood think about that I mean good and bad so to have a guy like Bill Franks as your coach to me is such a great thing because he's not just talking X's and O's he's talking about the development of character talking about his faith my son played hockey for DeSales and to hear the you know the the messages that the coaches are able to deliver in a Catholic school where you don't have to worry about praying before a game and you don't have to worry about you know the faith-based messages I just think that you and I touched on it briefly in the first segment like many experiences in our youth sports is such a great teacher I mean the the value of working hard and sacrifice and in handling adversity and all those are life lessons that you need in your faith in your professional life and whatever you know your your personal life so it's and it's a great vehicle I think Sports is a great vehicle to be able to share your faith yeah one of the things that I always like pleasure footballs on my favorite as well as basketball but and it's the sport casters that kind of do this a little bit in other words we'll hear about the quarterback or the great running back the Heisman Trophy right they're the ones that get all the airtime how great they are but the beauty of football is that if it wasn't for that tackle or the center that quarterback wouldn't be anything the beauty of that is it recognizes every one of us has unique gifts and a place to play in the great work that we have together as a church I mean that's it's not just the bishop it's not just the priest it's every one of us right and and in a way we're kind of moving into the issue also of the men's work because in some ways that's one of the main things we can use sports to get the men to realize that every single one of them is that image of Jesus Christ and has that place to play in the church in the community in their family right well we talked briefly again in the first segment of crossing the Gold team you know if you've heard and our viewers obviously have Danny abramowicz his story I mean raised the Catholic upbringing in Steubenville and went to the NFL and fell away from the church well again falling away from the church is is not listening to the rules and and the the the structure the the doctrine the the catechism of that he realized I have to do all those things to play pro football I I have to run the right route I have to attend the right meetings I have to understand the defense's I have to go to film study but I'm not doing that in my faith so my faith is withering while my professional you know sports ability is is is on the rise and and he came to a point in his career where he realized you know without the faith none of this means anything and and it's it's there's analogies where that sports background can can really help men dial into oh I get it I need to apply the discipline I need to apply the work I need to put in the effort in order to achieve with my faith like I've been able to achieve as an athlete yeah you mentioned your listing of all the rules one that's fascinating I'm putting you on the spot here but I want you to theologically extrapolate on the importance of running the route think about that a football player and the effect on the team the outcome if if the tackle doesn't run his route I mean the impact on that I mean from your experience talk about for the audience for the men out there how what that says about our responsibility not just for us but for everybody else around us right that well again for an offense to work well everybody has a role like you say the left tackle better be blocking down if it calls for a running play or the right guard needs to be you know holding off the defender if it's a past play and the quarterback has to you know go through his progression hit the right receiver the receivers have to run the proper routes well to me my faith is the game plan for that if if I'm not doing what I need to be doing on a day-to-day basis which is we've said is getting into the word father Larry Richards at the Catholic men's conference last year well I was convicted Marcus when he got up there and he said no Bible before breakfast no Bible no Bible no breakfast no Bible no bed so he says you got to get into the word when you get up you got to get in the word before you go to bed and then he asked the question he said so do you pray every day ah you know he says the response he gets from guys I try you try do you try to eat know you pray so I think that sports analogies are great that if you just realize there are certain things I have to do to make this play work there are certain things I need to do on the job to make this deal work well there's certain things I need to do in my faith and if I don't do it it falls apart and it's getting into the word and it's in it again I from good Catholic men just like a player will take advice from a good coach hey this guy can help me learn he can help me improve what I'm doing on the field good Catholic men I know from my perspective can help me understand what's the game plan what is it that I need to do so that I can achieve as a good father a good disciple a good servant to Jesus yeah I remember the movie athletic movie too complicated even described but when they do me remember is that the guy was given a chance to be a quarterback but the the line didn't like him so they were right I'm purposely not running their routes mmm not giving him protection so every time the quarterback got the ball he was he was demolished right and to me that reminds us about our responsibility Christ gives us as a part of the team of the church it's easy to stand back and criticize those in positions of leadership but hey they cannot do their job without our support without our prayers without us running the routes that we're supposed to do without trying to run their routes no no that's their job we have our jobs and isn't it interesting as we define what our job is and again if we're doing it properly we're asking God what what is our job we're Matthew Kelly another great influence who I've had the pleasure of hearing if the men's Catholic Conference about spending ten minutes in the classroom of silence I love that expression where you ask God what is your will for me and then you stop and you listen well you know there are nuns whose direction from God is to pray every day for hours and and I just as I started to think about well what is each one of our or what what is our role god what do you want from me if you stop and listen it kind of like a football team everybody has different roles I mean I may not be able to devote four hours a day to prayer but that person who does Wow what a leader on the spiritual team will that person is this network EWTN founded by Mother Angelica and her sisters who that's their main calling was prayer right I mean that is the foundation of this network besides that of course the prayers and contributions of our supporters but really Mother Angelica and her deep commitment to prayer which you know that's what now she is mostly dedicated I think we have an email here that we can take let's see if I can read it it's a refined print here Dave from Miami writes as an avid sports fan I'm intrigued by the new numerous references I see a players openly expressing their faith from making the sign of the Cross to participating in Bible studies it seems that many professional hath are as enthusiastic about Christianity as the sport they play I don't remember this openness as much in the past is this a more recent movement or was it just not mentioned as much previously you know that's a good question and I would probably attribute it to the fact that media is so expansive now that before it probably wasn't covered as much I would I would venture to say that there have been I mean Johnny Unitas strong Christian you go back through the the annals of sports there have been a lot of you know Notre Dame and the Catholic football and and and I think that it's probably in the last 20 or 30 years that athletes are expressing it more I mean I think it's wonderful at the end of college football games you'll see Ohio State and their opponent they get down take a knee after the game and they pray and I think so people see it more than perhaps they've seen it before but I've been involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for a long time Anthony Munoz who was left tackle all-pro NFL Hall of Famer for the Cincinnati Bengals helps organize youth teams and my wife it's funny we talked about it when she played you know high school volleyball at Bishop Watterson and they had a strong Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization there so I think those are great organizations that that help our our student athletes again take the basis which is their faith which is their church and then from that all things grow I was just thinking another great lesson we learned from supports because not only how to take winning but how to take losing okay well you you learn I've read and there have been studies done on this that and it's not rocket science we all know it we don't want to experience it but it's true you learn more failure than you do through success and and isn't it interesting again those life lessons that we we take away when we've had the opportunity to I mean I as a sportscaster and a fan the last thing I want to see as a football team go into a championship game undefeated typically because I like the sting of losing so that you cannot want that feeling ever again and realize okay what have I learned from that what can we what can we take away from it and move forward yeah I remember the year couple years ago right but no in Ohio State well they defied the odds on that one they didn't lose a game but they almost lost every game of the scene that's good member that oh yeah it was they pulled it out with Miami and double overtime but every single game oh yeah Purdue on fourth down Illinois overtime yeah exactly I mean and I think again learning to our suffering is a part of the Catholic faith even more than it is in the non Catholic traditions is that suffering is a necessary part of our journey but it's how we deal with it and not only is that for our owns religious growth but for those around us mm-hmm right I mean if a coach takes a loss badly with bad language and blaming the refs and all of that that gives a message to his squad right well and my wife again my my Catholic advisor who who led me to the Catholic Church is always reminding me lifted up to God good bad indifferent lifted up to God what is your will why why am i experiencing this what do you want me to learn from this what is your will for me to move forward from this I've got an email Michael from Tulsa Oklahoma I am very involved in mentoring youth and was wondering if mr. Lascelles could give me some suggestion for how to possibly share my Catholic faith with these young people who come from all different faith backgrounds sure well again I think that once the revelation that that I I got from my conversion was that the Catholic faith is the church that Jesus Christ founded and so let me go right to the root let me start there again with the you know the sports analogies that's the playbook once I have that playbook and I'm not trying to say that the writer needs to to convert every youth that he's counseling to Catholicism right away but certainly you're starting with the playbook I mean if you have the wrong playbook your offense is going to go nowhere so let's start with that and then give them the opportunity you know through your discussions to get into the word to get get into their faith to understand their faith again I I'm a big believer in catechism and and I'm coming Marcus from a standpoint of somebody who wasn't involved with that in my youth and I'm still doing it now at age 53 you know give them the the the right playbook and the instruction and allow them to learn and be there to answer to their questions you know that that's most of it but but help them understand that again the same discipline that it takes to go out and be successful as an athlete or in school you need to apply that in your faith life you you need to get into the word you need to understand what it is that God wants you to do and you get that through the Bible and through through youth group is a wonderful thing to have your kids that you know you want to influence involved in and and and hear the word of God you and I were both brought up during the 60s 70s 80s in many ways are some of our formation as men what it means to be a father what it means to be a husband came through a difficult time because the 60s 70s 80s a lot of the attacks were on men sometimes from the feminists you know and so sometimes men today come out of that with insecurity about what how do I be a good father how to be a good husband and I'm wondering and you're becoming Catholic how does that helped you be a better father be a better husband well it's helped me understand that by our faith the doctrine is that we are called upon as the men to be the spiritual leaders in the family and and certainly my wife has a big role in that but is it is my responsibility to our children to to be a role model a the spiritual leader the the the leader of the most important area of our life which is is our faith so just having the discipline to do that every day having the understanding that we need to get into the word and again I've gotten a lot of help from my wife who reminds me that you know we need to pray in the morning we need to I know you're busy you're trying to run a business we have to but but you have to just look at what are the priorities what's the important thing that we need to do and obviously get your family to Mass every Sunday and and and and direct them in a way that you know is what God wants you to to do you know one thing that I've learned to appreciate my Catholic faith even more than my evangelical previous background is the important part of humility into being a good husband and father I mean I still growing on that you know in terms of recognizing you know I'm a responsibility spiritual leader but it doesn't mean I'm always perfect that's you know and we talked a little bit about the Catholic men's conference I tell you Marcus I was asked to emcee that seven years ago I had never attended before it wasn't that I was averse to it it just wasn't on my radar I tell men that that is the most enjoyable inspirational motivational day of my year because the messages that we're talking about you get I mean we've had great speakers you spoke there Matthew Kelly Robert Rogers last year who lost his entire family in a flash flood and it's funny that just the message that you just mentioned he Robert Rogers was talking about how his faith sustained him through that terrible tragedy he knows his wife and four kids are in heaven but he talked about what it takes to sustain a relationship now and what you need to do in terms of showing the respect to your wife and I'm one of these I guess it's my sportscasting background I'm I'm more orally oriented than than written and I just take hope it's notes from these speakers and that was one of the the areas that that he touched on and and I encourage men to be around men who again you know the the seven secrets to success this book what does it tell you to do follow people who have been successful what it coaches do they emulate successful coaches you as a Catholic man if you want to be a better Catholic man what are these Catholic great Catholic men do you know what what what is it that Patrick Madrid about getting into the the catechism which again I'm doing now with his father corapi series which is which is awesome what is it that father Larry Richards who says you know no Bible no breakfast no Bible no bed well that's convicting that that's the answer that's how I find out you know that's what I always do in front of a Saints the Saints of the church has always put those in front of us so that from an early age we learned them we understand why they're Saints and the sacrifices they make and how by grace God led them to be a deeper union with him we've got another email this comes from Brent Rhode Island I've never had much faith in God but lately have been feeling a tugging for something more how do I build a relationship with God well that's great it starts with prayer I mean it is just to get on your knees every night morning and and again I I tend to quote like coaches quote their influences I quote great Catholic men Matthew Kelly is one of my favorite who said spend ten minutes a day in the classroom of silence and again that means God what what do you want from me what is your will for me and be willing to listen so it starts with your prayer life I would say it also includes obviously getting into the scripture it's going to mass it's going to mass if you can on a daily basis a weekly basis join a men's group a men's group is just or if you're a woman join a women's group and we have different issues men and women obviously and you know a men's group is not only an opportunity for you to learn more about the faith but to have an accountability partner to have men who are who can truly I mean my I'm 53 my men's group has a lot of guys who are in their 70s and and it's great for me because I'm around guys who have been in the faith for 30 40 years who again I'm always writing down notes that's a great thing to do I so so it's all of that it's just getting going to the source of your faith which is it starts in prayer but it includes every opportunity to expose yourself to those influence is that will help you get closer together one thing I want to add it into that email because he said he was feeling a tugging and it seems to me that in prayer one of the first things he needs to do which we both need to do and he's begin by being thankful to God I mean this is a thankfulness and recognizing just the fact that he's recognizing a tugging where's it's coming from that's God that's God himself in his grace in his love and so we begin by our thankfulness recognizing that that tugging wasn't me all of a sudden gettin intelligent he was God reaching out to you just in your own life I mean this guy that brought you a Bible it wasn't an accident right right well and if you go to your church and and we go to adoration at st. Andrew I'm a parishioner in Upper Arlington and there's there are little booklets on how to pray and again it starts with being thankful to God it starts with worshiping God it starts with being reverent to God and and all those little I mean I'm not that smart Marcus the more the direction I have that helps me to do what it is that I need to do to get closer to God I'm gonna take all that advice again a good tired of the sports analogies but if I if I think this is a great way to run a particular route as a wide receiver and I get crushed every player I'm missing ball you know this coach over here I stand on the sidelines who's been around football longer than I've been alive who says would know you really want to do a head-fake to the left and go right and I do that and I catch the ball I'm gonna do that so so all the the material that's out there that's in the church I mean stop in to your your your local church your Catholic Church and pick up the the little booklets on how to pray and follow all that I've got a minute to go real quick let's say that somebody's out there watching right now that's where you were whether it's Unitarian nothing or maybes made mistakes though he loves Christ why would they why should they come home to the Catholic Church because it is the the rock it's the foundation it's the basis from which everything else follows you need a foundation of the proper way to build your faith just like you need a foundation in the proper way to bake a cake play a football game become a corporate executive and to me it helped me to eliminate a lot of the other options that were fluff but that didn't head me in the right direction so my encouragement would be why would you not go I mean if the guy who invented the engine says this is how you fix the engine I'm gonna go there and if the man who started the the Catholic Church His Church Jesus Christ if I can go and and talk to him as close as I can obviously through prayer and through understanding the church and understanding how he built that engine known as our faith that's where I'm gonna start all right doc thanks so much thanks for having me yeah and before - see you soon thank you these men's conferences here in Columbus thanks so much for your work and your continued work on a radio with the Catholic Broadcasting you do for st. Gabe's that's fun I'm enjoying it's a blessing okay thank you for joining us on this program I hope that his story was an encouragement to you it helps us see all the different ways God touches our lives and draws us back home to him so god bless you can see you next week you

Channel: EWTN

Views: 13,846

Rating: 4.6538463 out of 5

Keywords: EWTN, Journey, Home, Marcus, Grodi, Doug, Lessells, Former, Non, Denominational, Christian, Catholic

Id: RGRZEKXH9UI

Length: 56min 11sec (3371 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 26 2010