Man-Up or Perish says Catholic Priest to Other Men

'Men are not called to be women and vice versa. We are different -- not better, but different -- and men are called to be fully men'.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Christian Newswire) - In the past forty years, society has seen a shift in gender roles. Men have become more feminine and women have become more masculine. So says Pennsylvania based Catholic priest, Fr. Larry Richards. He has made it his mission to clear up this gender confusion and issued a specific challenge to men in his new book, Be A Man: Become the Man God Created You to Be.

"There is a difference in the way men and women were created," Fr. Richards says. "Men are not called to be women and vice versa. We are different -- not better, but different -- and men are called to be fully men. This needs to be dealt with up front because it's a problem -- in the Catholic Church and in the world itself."

In Be A Man, Fr. Richards recounts his own struggles to learn true manhood and he shares inspiring personal stories from men he has counseled and served in his decades of being a priest. The book encourages men to appreciate the differences between men and women, to focus on the right goals in life, to acknowledge one's faults and admit weaknesses and limitations, and to be masculine without being "macho." Fr. Larry asks: "Would you take a bullet if someone was raping your wife?" He thinks the answers might surprise people.

Fr. Richards does not apologize for where he gets his worldview. Be A Man looks at the biblical male role models of King David from the Old Testament, St. Paul from the New Testament, and "Jesus -- the Alpha and Omega of all men." "Jesus Christ Himself reveals to us what it is to be a man," Fr. Richards said. "It is about taking the one life that God has given us and giving it away. When men are invited to die for others, they put others' needs above their own. To be like Christ, and like all great men, will cost men their very lives."

Published by Ignatius Press, Be A Man helps men to rediscover the importance of the spiritual life and encourages men to be a man of true love and wisdom. Fr. Richards also encourages men to pursue holiness and to find strength in faith and in genuine love. Each chapter of Be A Man ends with tasks that must be accomplished and questions for discussion and reflection.

Even though Fr. Richards is a celibate priest, he does not ignore the issue of sexuality and directs men to have a proper attitude in their given state of life: single or married. He says that the deepest need in a man's heart is to be loved and that is exactly where God wants to meet him. According to Fr. Richards, true holiness is a by-product of love.

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Fr. Richards offers a guarantee with his book, especially for those who are skeptical. "Read the book. Accomplish the tasks at the end of each chapter, no matter how hard or how 'hokey' you may think them to be," says Fr. Richards. "I guarantee that if a man commits himself to each task and challenge, in the end his life will be changed forever!"

For more information about Be A Man: Become the Man God Created You to Be or to schedule an interview with Fr. Larry Richards, please contact Christine Schicker with The Maximus Group at 404-610-8871.