A Call to Action
- Brandon Ashton
- Oct 6, 2016
- 5 min read

Ladies, unlike last week, this post is written primarily for men, but feel free to read it and hold your brothers-in-Christ accountable.
Gentlemen, let’s talk about women. We don’t like to admit it, but women hold power over us. Once we see a pretty girl, we find ourselves doing things to grab her attention, like sitting next to her in Mass, “coincidentally” being in the same places she frequents; basically, we stalk her. One of my friends even climbed a mountain barefoot, offering all his pain up for a woman who is now his wife.
When I was in eighth grade, a girl caught my eye (for the sake of privacy, let’s call her Rapunzel).
Rapunzel was a beautiful, well-meaning young woman, but her values were not in line with mine at all. As the months and years went by, instead of acting on my feelings and asking her out, I found myself breaking down my values and beliefs to better fit the values and beliefs of Rapunzel. I wanted her to like me, and I thought that the only way to do that was to make myself more similar to her. By my junior year of high school, I thought a child was a choice, that marriage could be changed to whatever we want it to be, and I thought the opinions of a 16 year-old girl held more weight than the teachings of the 2000 year-old Catholic Church. Our friendship ended in my senior year, and I was crushed. My whole person was built around her, and when she was removed, I crumbled. However, I picked myself up. I invited God into my life, and, very slowly, I built myself up with Christ as my foundation.
From reflecting on my friendship with Rapunzel and having to rebuild myself, I learned that what makes a man is not how accepted or liked he is, or even how he looks. No amount of beards and hair product will make you into a man. What makes a man is holding onto your values and acting towards them in the face of whatever life throws at you. Action makes a man.
Hopefully, you know the story of the Fall. Since we were kids, we’ve learned about how in the beginning, the Earth was a paradise filled with puppies, rainbows, and frolicking. Man was created from clay, and woman was created from man’s rib; a little weird, but also…kind of cool. Then Eve had to go and mess everything up and listen to a snake with legs. Thanks a lot, Eve. However, that is not the whole story: Adam, man, was given the duty to protect Eve, the crown jewel of creation. As St. John Paul II said, “God has assigned as a duty to every man the dignity of every woman, and to every woman, the dignity of every man.” So where was Adam when Eve met the serpent? Genesis 3:6 says that, "[S]he took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Adam was with Eve, yet he did nothing to protect her from this terrifying creature. The snake was not like Kaa from Disney’s Jungle Book who made his eyes go all woogly and hypnotized Eve into eating the fruit. The Hebrew word for what tempted Eve is nachash, which is basically a dragon-snake. Eve was probably petrified, face to face with a dragon. As if failing in his duty was not enough, Adam later tries to push all of the blame onto his wife by telling God that she made him eat the fruit. True, Eve should not have tempted Adam with the fruit, but Adam, by doing nothing, shares just as much blame as Eve, if not more, for the Fall of Man.
What if Adam had protected his wife from the dragon? What if he fulfilled his duty as a man and acted to defend her? We cannot change the past, but we can learn from our forefather’s mistake. Action makes a man. No man has ever achieved sainthood by doing nothing. We cannot sit around all day doing nothing and waiting for good things in life to come to us, we must, through the help of Christ, bring good into this world.
In the book of Acts, the last words of Christ, before He ascends into Heaven, are: “‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?’” (Acts 1:8-11) I want you to pay attention to the words, “As he was going.” The angels came even before Jesus was gone. The apostles could not waste any time staring at the sky, they needed to get to work; they needed to act. Christ gave them a purpose, and with that purpose, a mission: “Be my witnesses… to the ends of the Earth”. That mission extends to us, here, today. As men, we must witness to Christ through our masculinity. We must own who we are; we are leaders, we are protectors, and we are witnesses. We cannot stand by the sidelines, frightened to engage like Adam did. We must follow Christ, the new Adam, and spring into action.
When we see someone being put down or bullied, stand up for that person. When we feel called to pray, pray on that moment, do not put it off. If someone needs help, help that person. There are so many moments in our lives where it is scary or uncomfortable to act, but comfort leads to being passive, and Christ vanquishes fear. Do not worry about what the people standing around you think, because at least you had the courage to act. If in a moment you feel scared to do the right thing, to take a chance, take a second and pray. Courage is a gift of the Holy Spirit, so the only way we can obtain it is through prayer. Also, think about this: We do not know how many days we have on this earth. If tomorrow were your last day on Earth, would you regret not taking that chance?
In all your actions, men, be genuine! God made each of you unique; He made each of you with different gifts. Not all of us are called to be bearded-lumberjack-firefighters, but that doesn’t make us any less of a man. Being a man involves acting in light of humility, obedience, and love. Look to the example of St. Joseph: when he was told to flee to Egypt, he did. When he was told to “take the Virgin as his wife and teach her child to be a man,”* he did. Joseph did not piddle around wondering if his neighbors would still see him as “cool”. If you want to be a better man, follow the example of humility, obedience, and love that St. Joseph sets before us and pray for his intercession.
Men of God, like St. Joseph, you are all called to greatness; you are called to sainthood. The Holy Spirit has given you tremendous gifts that will help you bring Christ’s light into this dark world. So, if you want to lead, if you want to defend what you hold dear, if you want to be a man, step forward. Rise with all the saints and angels at your back, and take action, for action makes a man!
*Chris Muglia “Let it Be”
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