DEAR EDITOR: Please allow me a space in your newspaper to highlight this concern that I have that affects me, our prayer communities, our Church lives and most importantly, the society.

WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE OUR MEN.

Over the years, we have seen the need for more of our young Catholic men to "step up to the plate" and become faithful to the call by God to become His servants via the priesthood, permanent diaconate and consecrated life.

Given the constant attack by the Evil One on men to destroy societal and family units, and ultimately themselves, there is grave need for us to pray for them more than ever.

Some have risen to the challenge and are becoming very conscious of their vocations, but there are so many more out there, who need our prayer and encouragement to be our priests, brothers, monks, and spiritual directors of tomorrow.

There is also a great need to pray for men to be more faithful in their relationships with women, so that they are driven (for want of a better word) to honour God through the matrimonial sacrament.

More and more families are being created outside the sacramental vow, and this is quite acceptable by society, but it is not acceptable to the One who created the family unit.

Parents need to become "old fashioned" in training their children, in the sense that they need to bring the values of the Church back into society to help make things right. People are now comfortable with having a family without "the strings attached" – the marital vow.

This trend is a spiral for the following: an open invitation for broken homes, encouraging immorality via common-law relationships (as this union is a clear case of fornication), and making a mockery of our loving God's covenant and His love for us.

Another issue is the shortage of responsible men. As a single woman, I have had great difficulty in meeting Catholic men who are faithful to the Church and its values, and more importantly, men who are willing to live a life that is pleasing and acceptable to God.

Their ignorance about what the Church stands for, and what Jesus would sanction as acceptable, does not help them in being good candidates for a relationship, if the woman is well grounded in her faith.

Most prayer meetings are attended and run by women, and this should be of grave concern to the Catholic community. I am aware that some prayer ministries are actively reaching out to the men in the Church, but it needs to be a greater country-wide, even worldwide, effort.

The relationships that are common in society are mostly sexual, and not one of nurturing and support, which would eventually lead to a marriage relationship that is blessed by God, and would grow as such. We must continue to pray for our men that young Catholic women may have hope of being married within the faith.

Our constant prayer and intercession can solve all these issues. We must encourage our young men to live the life of a true Catholic, and aim to please God in everything they do, and by that example, we will have a better nation, and ultimately a better world.
Marina Marcano   via email

DEAR EDITOR: I would like to congratulate your newspaper on the great improvement and excellent articles in recent months. I used to brush over most of the articles before, but now I read everything, it’s interesting and exciting.

Fr Taylor’s “Viewpoint” on Pentecostalism was very interesting.  I agreed with him completely until I read Marion O’Callaghan’s “Viewpoint”. She sure has her facts and it breathes new hope and energy into me. Thank you Marion.

Fr Henry Charles’ articles on traditional devotions are great. Keep writing them Fr Charles and the Archbishop’s articles on his Lenten Retreat. Great too.

I would like to just mention that Fr Joe Harris was on EWTN, Living Water Retreat on Wednesday, March 21 and his talk was excellent. I wish you could get it and put it in the Catholic News.
Keep up the excellent work!
Anne Barcant, St Ann’s