By EmmaLee Italia | Correspondent

Aiming to help fathers guide their sons into manhood with virtue and good character, the first annual “Legacy of Virtue” breakfast and commissioning for men and boys was hosted April 22 in St. Mary of the Pines Church and Parish Center, Manahawkin.

The gathering was sponsored by the Men’s Ministries of St. Mary Parish, Barnegat, and supported by Cohort 25, which comprises the parishes of St. Barnabas, Bayville; St. Mary; St. Francis of Assisi, Brant Beach, and St. Theresa, Little Egg Harbor.

Following morning Mass celebrated by St. Mary’s pastor Msgr. Kenard Tuzeneu, and breakfast, Daniel C. Duddy, pastoral minister of athletics and guidance counselor in Donovan Catholic, Toms River, gave a keynote address that focused on masculinity in light of Christ, and how the busyness of daily schedules has affected the relationships between fathers and sons.

“Time is the greatest thing we can give to our sons, because it is the greatest gift that we have,” Duddy said. Why wouldn’t Satan attack our schedules and fill them up, or make us think that things are much more important to us than our own sons?

“What the world needs most is for fathers to come alive with their sons,” he continued. “We get caught up in things that we think are important, but that really are not important.”

He emphasized the need for kids and teens to put the brakes on the schedules, and make time for reflection.

“The fundamentals are simply getting on your knees, putting time aside to really develop a true, honest friendship with Jesus,” Duddy explained. “That’s wisdom for all ages. Kids need to slow down and get into peace and quiet. You don’t even have to pray, just listen. The four cardinal virtues are something that we really need to resurrect and get to our kids.”

Duddy also noted that boys need men to teach them about manhood, because they know what it means to be a man – particularly a Christian man.

“If a man does not know Christ, he is not a man – and if he listens to the world, he is going to be anything but a man,” he said. “We need to … really meditate on that Crucifix, and look into the eyes of Christ… That is the true definition of masculinity: the incredible generosity of the giving of our Lord Jesus Christ of his own self physically, emotionally, offering forgiveness and mercy at the same time through the Resurrection – that’s manliness.”

After Duddy’s talk, a commissioning ceremony allowed the men an opportunity to present a special gift to their young male charges. Participants took away valuable messages from the event, many learning something new.

“I could not wait to bring my son, Kyle– there are a lot of things we have here at our parish, but not that are father and son,” said Dan Donlon, who assisted with one of the men’s groups sponsoring the event. Kyle said that he learned “that if someone does something really harmful to you, you still forgive them.”

“That’s always a tough lesson to learn,” his father answered. “It was a great presentation … I could just tell by looking at [Kyle] that it was hitting home – that was nice.”

Peter Eschmann, came with his son, Peter III, and son-in-law, Mike DeNichilo, and grandsons Adam and David. He felt the event was a great opportunity, saying, “It just emphasizes to me the importance of father and son. The effort is not over – it must continue, and this is a beautiful first step.”

Gennaro Manza attended the event with his son and grandson, Gennaro Jr. and Gennaro III. He was pleasantly surprised with the presentation’s impactful content.

When asked whether he thought it was difficult to be a Christian male in today’s world, he responded, “Most definitely, especially in the school system. Christians are being picked on in the school system just to be politically correct, and it’s an issue you have to fight against.”

Video taken by freelance photographer Jeff Bruno contributed to this story.