Too often in today's world men are not expected to live up to their calling as men. They are often allowed - if not altogether encouraged - to leave their great potential unfulfilled. Bishop Robert Barron calls this the "Homer Simpson Effect."

The Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage is here to address that problem.

What is the Joseph Challenge?

Organized by lay Catholic men in St. Louis, Missouri, the Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage is a walking pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Joseph in downtown St. Louis. The pilgrimage takes place every year on a weekend near the feast of St. Joseph the Worker (May 1st).

What is the purpose of the Joseph Challenge?

Bishop Thomas Olmsted in his exhortation, "Into the Breach," writes: "Every man, particularly today, must come to a mature acceptance and understanding of what it means to be a man."

Part of being a man requires accepting monumental challenges and following through until the end, whether at work, in raising our children, being a loving husband, or in our particular hobbies or interests. Being a man means to keep trying, to not give up, and to constantly implore God's assistance in the face of whatever obstacle we face in living out our vocation and ultimately reaching our final destination of Heaven.

But today's world says it's OK if you don't overcome that obstacle between you and the greatness God wants you to achieve. It's OK to shrink from a challenge when things are difficult.

In days past, Catholic men would don suits of heavy armor, march thousands of miles on foot, and fight and die in defense of the Faith. Catholic missionaries right here in the Mississippi valley would travel hundreds of miles in the face of the unknown to bring the Gospel to native peoples. These were the challenges they faced. These were the challenges that made men of days past into saints.

Our modern world has its own set of challenges: pornography, "gender theory," attacks on religious liberty and the right to life, radical feminism, and the list goes on. These are the challenges that, if overcome, can make men of today into saints. But we have to be strong in body, mind, and soul.

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