Oh Gaudete Sunday, how I long for you to come every year. There are a great number of reasons to be excited when it comes to Gaudete Sunday. Living in the Northeast, it means I am one week closer to the end of Winter, God (and almost everyone else I know) knows that I hate the cold and snow. Listening to the homily last night at Mass, Father did a great job of telling people that there was still plenty to rejoice about, despite the pandemic taking away many joys that we are accustom to.

Instead of potentially recapping a similar reflection here, I want to fall back on a tired old cliche, that either gives hints of positivity, or absolute eye-rolls.

Real men wear pink.

Oh no, the dreaded pink conversation. When we hear that word pink, we are using thrown right into images of little girls, princesses, Barbie Dolls and daughters. It should for us however, remind us of our Catholic masculinity.

As I was uploading the recording of my parish’s mass so that those homebound due to the pandemic can feel at home, I saw another parish had already uploaded theirs, and their pastor was wearing the pink vestments that are only authorized for wear twice a year, Gaudete Sunday and Laetare Sunday. Now to clarify, the vestments used on these two days are actually “rose”, designed to be of the same family of the violet vestments prescribed for Lent and Advent.

But I will reiterate the statement, real men wear pink.

Now that is not to say that if you don’t wear pink your not a real man, here is my point. As Catholic men, as Catholic Knights, we should unabashedly be prepared to do whatever it takes to evangelize and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ no matter what the hazard. What does that mean to to whatever it takes? It reminds me of a quote by Francis Cardinal George:

“I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history”

Even in the sacraments this act of suffering for Christ is represented. In the Rite of Confirmation, the Bishop used to lightly smack on the cheek after anointing the Confirmandi, this tradition started in the Middle Ages as a way to remind the candidates that you are now old enough to be a soldier of Christ, and here is a taste of the suffering that you might endure.

Real men wear pink.

That isn’t to say that you need to run out and buy a pink shirt, maybe the real message should, real men shouldn’t be ashamed of their actions, when they are done Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, for the greater glory of God.

Having coffee with a priest friend of mine this morning, we discussed the pink vestments, and he was quick to tell me that he doesn’t wear pink, he would consider wearing rose though, because Jesus Christ did not pink from the dead, he rose from the dead. We had a good laugh, and I told him whatever makes him feel comfortable!

Your challenge today men, is to continue to wear pink, and be unashamed to do so.