Bay Area Men’s Conference Inspires Spiritual Leadership
By Catholic San Francisco
On March 8, more than 100 men gathered at St. Pius Catholic Church in Redwood City for the Bay Area Men’s Conference, a day dedicated to deepening their faith and embracing their roles as spiritual leaders. The event featured powerful talks by renowned speakers Doug Barry and Father Jerome Magat, as well as a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone.
A key theme of the conference was the call for men to step up their prayer lives as well as embracing their role as spiritual fathers and heads of their households. Throughout the day, attendees were challenged to take their faith seriously and lead their families with conviction and devotion.
Doug Barry’s talks focused on the necessity of men taking up spiritual authority over their families. He urged them to bless their homes with holy water, pray for their wives and children, and be steadfast men of prayer. Barry shared a personal aspiration: when his children come to his wake, they would see a rosary in his hands and rather than question what the Rosary is, they would recognize it as an extension of who he was. He emphasized three key actions for men seeking to grow in faith and spiritual headship: spending time with Jesus in the Eucharist, frequent Confession (every two weeks if possible), and being a warrior for Our Lady by praying the Rosary daily.
Father Jerome Magat, vice rector of St. Patrick’s Seminary & University, grounded his talk in Ephesians 5: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church.” He emphasized that a wife’s love for her husband is a response to the love he first shows her.
True fatherhood, he explained, is not only about providing material needs but also about protecting and leading the family spiritually. He pointed out that the strongest predictor of whether a child will continue practicing the Catholic faith into adulthood is whether their father practiced it.
Father Magat also warned the men about six dangers that threaten spiritual fatherhood: viewing illicit material online; abandoning spiritual responsibilities; contraception in marriage; prioritizing sports over Sunday Mass; excessive cell phone use during family time; and losing a sense of sin. He encouraged the men to combat these threats through prayer, frequent Confession, and participation in fraternal support groups.
In his homily, Archbishop Cordileone noted the irony of having a men’s conference on International Women’s Daybut said that there was a reason for this. Modern feminism argues that women need to be equal with men, even in their fallen state, including the consequences of sexual intimacy outside of marriage. In reality, this view of women doesn’t actually value women and what makes them unique.
“What does this really mean,” said Archbishop Cordileone. “What it really means is we actually don’t value women. That is, we don’t value what make them unique as women. We don’t value the gifts that are intrinsic to womanhood. We see them as inferior to a man…A Christian ethos, when it comes to intimacy between the sexes is not a matter of manipulating the natural ordering of things…Christian ethos means that men must behave as responsibly toward women as women must for their own good. It’s a respect for women.”
Archbishop Cordileone went on to talk about the need for a return to reality and to following the plan of God, not our own pursuits. We must turn back to God and put Him first, especially giving Him the whole of the Sabbath Day, not just going to Mass on Sundays but observing the Sabbath as Sabbath rest.
Ending his homily, he encouraged the men, similar to the speakers before him, to be spiritual fathers and leaders.
“The world needs Jesus and the world needs men to be true fathers, spiritual as well as natural,” said Archbishop Cordileone. “The world needs fathers, true fathers, to bring the healing grace of Christ to the world.”
The conference left attendees inspired and equipped to take up the challenge of being strong, faith-filled leaders in their homes and communities. Through prayer, Sacraments, and devotion, these men were reminded that their role as spiritual fathers is not just important—it is essential.
Photos: Mary Powers
