Meet Joe • Recent Press

2010

April 5

Joe Ehrmann speaks to Curley students and fathers about being a man in today's world

Baltimore Private Schools Examiner Meredith Bower

Baltimore Private Schools Examiner Link: http://www.examiner.com/x-19401-Baltimore-Private-Schools-Examiner

More than 130 members of the Curley community recently gathered for an evening of reflection and fellowship, featuring former professional football player Joe Ehrmann.

Sponsored by the Franciscan Youth Ministry of Archbishop Curley High School, Ehrmann's presentation, “The Father and I are One,” addressed the topic of what it means to be a man in today’s world.

“The heart is going to make a man successful, but so many of us learned that, to be a man, we had to separate our heart from our brain,” he said. Drawing from his life experiences, the media and other cultural messages, Ehrmann demonstrated that we are tempted with power, athletic ability and wealth as the real measure of manhood.

He says that is the lie that stunts our growth as real men and can lead to depression, isolation, substance abuse and violence. He asked dads and sons to discuss their male role models. He said, knowing where we get our ideas about masculinity will help us to understand what we believe are the characteristics of real men.

Then he asked, “If you were on your deathbed right now, what would you be asking yourself?” He suggested to his listeners that only two questions would arise:

1. How good of a husband/father/man/friend/son was I?

2. Did I make a difference in the world—did I live with purpose?

The evening concluded with a prayer service led by Curley President Fr. Michael Martin, who challenged the group to share their faith --dads with sons, sons with dads.