A Man’s Plan: A Doable, Concise, Effective Way to Be a Saint (Free Download)

A relatively famous man confided that his relationship with one of his sons was under duress. At one point during the conversation he blurted out, “Just tell me how to do it.”

Just tell me how to do it…

A man wants to succeed; to win.
He wants the diagram, the game-plan, the instructions needed to complete the task.
He must avoid failure at all cost.

Many of us will turn to YouTube to learn how to grout a tile floor, or fix a belt on a tractor, or fix the struts on the pickup truck. But what do we do when tensions mount in our relationships with our wife and children, or worse, with God?

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Generally, we don’t search for, or find step by step, how-to videos on raising sons, daughters, having great marriages, or how to solve the disconnect in our relationship with God.

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People are not projects.
Projects can be completed, relationships only terminate with death.
Yet, the earnest desire to solve the “problem” of a son, or a daughter, or a wife, a dissolving marriage or a crumbling family remains.

I am continually trying to develop ways to simplify the spiritual life.
To develop a concise framework that help us thrive in our divine calling, our vocation as husbands and fathers, our work, and as spiritual leaders who can impact and influence society positively.

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Considering this, I have developed a concise, doable, highly practical framework to help us become men of power, peace and influence—to become saints.

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I call it the 5P Plan.

Our lives can be segmented into five categories:

Prayer (Relationship with God)

Partner (Relationship with your wife)

Pater (Relationship with your children)

Provider (Your occupation and laboring at home)

Priest (Your role as spiritual leader)

In each of these five categories are several practices that put flesh on this 5P framework.
To the left of each practice is either a D (for daily); W (for weekly); M (for monthly) and A (for always).

 

	Prayer (God)
D	Daily prayer promises
D	Daily hidden sacrifice
	Partner (Wife)
D	10 minutes time with wife
D	1 daily act of affection/ encouragement to wife
A	Be pure (No porn)
W	Weekly date night
	Pater (Fatherhood)
W	Son/daughter date
D	1 daily act of affection/ encouragement to child
W	Take child to 1 daily Mass
M	Take child to Confession
	Provider (Work)
D	Evening family time (Abstain from work/phone)
W	Keep Lord’s Day holy (Abstain from all work)
W	Weekly tithe
	Priest (Spiritual Leader)
D	Nightly family prayer
D	Nightly family dinner
D	Bless each member of your family
W	Sunday Gospel reflection
W	Family fun 1x per week

 

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From this framework, I have created a bookmark, which you can download here, to help you to become a husband in the image of the Divine Bridegroom, a father in the image of God the Father, and a son who manifests the glory of the Son of God.

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The way to fulfill a purpose is to have a plan.
The way to fulfill a plan is to have practices that segment that plan into doable pieces.
The way to fulfill those practices is to participate in them daily, weekly, monthly.

This little bookmark can help us do just that: fulfill our purpose of being living saints.

Send me your feedback. I would like to know if this little tool is helpful.