True Valor touts true “manly men”

Nearly 50 high school-age gentlemen from around the Diocese of Corpus Christi gathered at Blessed John Paul II High School on Feb. 18 to embark on a journey to celebrate Catholic manhood in a the “True Valor Retreat.”

“Everything on the retreat was hardcore from the games and food to the talks and prayer,” Benjamin Nye, who led the retreat sponsored by the Diocese of Corpus Christi, said.

“The arc of the day was to look at what it means to be a man of Christ versus what the world says and to grow in that understanding,” Nye said.

Joe Cipriano, Seminarian David Bayardo, Tom Nye, Ronnie Unterbrink and John McFarland delivered “hard-hitting talks” of their personal journey through manhood, scripture and the sacraments.

The talks were supplemented with extreme games including dodge ball and capture the flag. Those that suffered a battle wound in the action were the recipients of beef jerky.

In addition, each session had an accompanying skit in which participants played the parts of manly men, Jesus, Rocky Balboa, William Wallace, Tim Tebow, Luke Skywalker and Chuck Norris, and took out sad images of men that the world lifts up. The skits involved much violence, catchy theme songs and lots of laughter.

The day reached its highpoint in adoration, led by Msgr. Michael Heras, in which participants invited Christ to strip them of all that the world has pushed them to be and instead to be remade in Jesus’ truth.

“All in all it was a glorious day and an opportunity to go out and make a difference in our world,” Nye said.