Formation or Nothing: Desert Catholic Orders for Catholic Husbands
Sons of the Burning Ground
You Are at War
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
Husband. Father.
The enemy doesn’t ring the doorbell. He creeps through every screen, every book, and every so-called “Catholic” voice you let into your home. Every word you read either makes you a man of discipline and sacrifice or leaves your soul exposed and your house undefended.
No one is coming to save your house but you.
Shield Mary. Sword Christ. March.
The Test of Every Word
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
(Romans 12:2)
The world floods you with noise, and you feel it daily in the anxiety, the feeling rushed and scattered, and possibly even physical pressure in your head. All of the headlines flatter the ego and keep men asleep.
The clever and comforting things you read? They are lulling you to spiritual death and leaving you unchanged and unformed.
The Catechism is blunt:
“Catechesis is an education in the faith…with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.” (CCC 5)
Every word you allow into your soul must be measured by this:
Did it form you?
Did it drive you to repentance, action, or discipline?
If not, it’s poison.
Test every word and burn what is useless.
The Tradition is Formation
“Whoever hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” (Matthew 7:24)
The Desert Fathers wrote for Eucharistic order and clarity. They bled for their brothers and left behind codes for survival:
“If a man remembers his sins, God will not remember them.” (Abba Poemen)
“Our life and our death is with our neighbor. If we gain our brother, we have gained God.” (Abba Anthony)
The Catechism confirms:
“The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends.” (CCC 25)
If what you read doesn’t strike your ego with force and call you higher, it isn’t Catholic tradition; it’s a lullaby.
Demand doctrine that has battle scars and cast out what flatters you.
What Real Formation Looks Like
Here’s a checklist for every message:
Calls you to confession, fasting, sacrificial love?
Arms you to govern, fight, and endure?
Puts you before Christ, not yourself?
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9)
Even beauty must be judged: Does it magnify God or sedate you?
Consume only what trains you and scorn what sedates you.
The Hard Word—A Testimony
For me, it was this:
“I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter.” (Matthew 12:36)
That cut me. It forced me to measure every word I speak, every word I allow into my house.
Abba Isaiah said: “When God wishes to take pity on a soul and it rebels, not doing His will, He brings it sorrow and afflictions.”
If your reading never sends you back to your knees, you are wasting your strength, and you don’t have it to waste.
Let the hard word hit and let it break you toward God.
Concrete Formation Tools
These are your minimum standards as Catholic husbands:
Daily Rosary: Mary is your shield. No exceptions.
The Angelus: Three times daily for a rhythm in your life guided by the Incarnation.
Psalms over scrolling: Pray the war songs.
Physical Training: Sweat daily. Your body is your first battlefield.
“Discipline your body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27)
Train as if your sons' souls depend on it, because they do.
Training Protocol from the Field
Take these rules:
If the words don't challenge you, burn them.
If the advice doesn't drive you to the altar, ignore it.
If the leaders you follow aren't scarred, move on.
Lead your family or watch it collapse. Your strength is owed and your blood is due.
The Desert Catholic Final Warning
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
If you keep scrolling, you will be slaughtered.
If you keep consuming, you will be consumed.
There is no third way.
Orders:
If the message isn’t about formation, turn it off.
If it doesn’t arm you, walk past it.
If it doesn’t forge you in cruciform fire, reject it.
The Last Line
“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all you do be done in love.”
(1 Corinthians 16:13-14)
Your house is the outpost, and you are the shield. If the words entering your home don’t form you, they deform you and they will do the same to your family.
It’s formation or nothing, damnation or discipline. Extreme? Maybe, but this is the narrow path, and we knew this is what it would be. War is extreme, and you’re in one whether you accept it or not. The Desert doesn’t care about your feelings or your perceptions, only about survival.
Choose what survives the crucible. The rest is for the fire.
⸻
Built in the Desert. Covered by Mary. Forged in Fire.
☩ Sans Peur
– Emmanuel