St. Augustine, FL

The blog-sphere of FRATERNUS has been quiet for the past week because the FRATERNUS crew has been busy in prayer, planning and preparation for the upcoming year. Every year we set aside a few weeks during the summer in St. Augustine, FL to examine the past and prepare for the future or as a wiser man than I puts it - "plan our work and work our plan".

It is a time to be rejuvenated by our fellow brothers and be motivated for our part in the Apostolate. I already can not wait to be back with my brothers in Pensacola, FL.

1st FRAT Night is only 44 days away!

Pray for us.

T$

The Ranch has come and gone. It was amazing to witness the conversions. Confession for the first time in years, huge steps taken in the interior life and a new openness to vocation.
God is working in Fraternus and boys’ lives are being transformed. Now the energy is high, the excitement for the fall kick-off is over flowing, but it is time to come off the mountain and back home.

However, the beauty of this brotherhood is that it is not a one time experience; it’s not just a conversion. It is a relationship with God, our Brothers and our Captains. It is a lifestyle of becoming a disciple of Christ.
Now it is the time to practice virtue, to make the resolutions a reality and to pick up our cross and follow Him.

IHS - "In this sign thou shall concur"

Pray for us.

T$

Chatooga River, SC

Two weeks from today - literally this hour the 2010 FRATERNUS Ranch will be in action. It is a week like no other. Unique from any summer camp experience the FRATERNUS Ranch is life changing experience where guys from around the country come together as Brothers seeking brotherhood, adventure and a common Father.

Counting down…

Pray for us.

T$

Today was my second time to experience the brotherhood in The Men of St. Joesph at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Pensacola, FL. It is simple, masculine and authentic - Men seeking a live of virtue, a life of sacrifice and placing the family back in the Father’s hands.

The simplicity is beautiful. As brothers we pray the morning office, break into smaller groups and reflect of the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel. And the fruit that is being born is truly a multiplication of loaves.  Men of all walks of life are being drawn forth because the Truth is being presented. Single, married, military, working professionals, missionaries are all coming forth to join the brotherhood.

This is one more confirmation that God is restoring the Church and the spirtual fatherhood that is desperatly needed today.

Pray for us,

T$

Anyone who’s been involved with the development of FRATERNUS is probably laughing when I say its simple.  After all isn’t there ranks, virtue marks, handbooks, trips, agendas, etc, etc, ad nauseum?  Well, yes, but those are details that were hard to work out but the end program is rather simple.

Boys get together with virtuous men.  Virtuous men show boys how to be virtuous men.  Love begets action begets love begets action.  Games, movie clips, talking, challenges.  Guys do these things anyway right?  Is it really so complicated to have a group of men playing a game and watching "man movies" and then talking about reality (well the talking might not come as natural to all…).  FRATERNUS is very simple in it taps into something that’s deep in a man’s heart - the need for brotherhood, the hunger to know the Father, a yearning to be rid of the burden of sin.

FRATERNUS has made this huge assumption, that the hunger for God is deeply rooted in being human.  And, as one of those believers, I know that the reason we have seen this success is because we look to the Father for guidance, and we point the boys to Him.  They learn that a life in God is all they ever really wanted (although that love was sought in wrong places in the past).

Its simple.

Within the last year and a half, my "Fraternal" journey has taken me places

I never dreamed of going physically, spiritually, or socially. I have grown so much in my faith and much closer to God despite the daily struggles of life. Through the honesty and openness of HAWC I have received the best friends of my life, and I think I speak for everyone whose lives have been touched by Fraternus when I say I have truly found an excitement in my faith and spirituality that I fear I would never have found without Fraternus.

This is precisely why I am so concerned that Fraternus keeps its feet planted firmly in the ground so that it may thrive, financially, spiritually and in size. (numeraly?) To do this, we must stay prayerful and continue visiting Jesus frequently in the Blessed Sacrament. But, with prayer there must be action. I feel we really need to get ourselves out into the mainstream of Catholic society more. We need to utilize the Catholic Resources at hand! I am currently looking into getting some air time from the Catholic News Radio in town so that we can do either an interview or some sort of add to get the word out. But since Fraternus is so big it makes no sense why we wouldn’t pursue the best available. Yes, I’m talking about EWTN. I would try to do this myself, but I don’t want to do anything without the guidance and approval at headquarters. So, for now I am just putting my ideas out there to see what you all think.

God Bless,

Hunter E.

St. Paul’s Senior Brother

Pope Benedict’s message for the 83rd World Mission Day was made public on Saturday, September 5.  I plucked this quote for your consideration:

"The goal of the Church’s mission is to illumine all peoples with the light of the Gospel as they journey through history towards God, so that in Him they may reach their full potential and fulfillment. … It is in this perspective that the disciples of Christ throughout the world work, struggle and groan under the burden of suffering, even offering up their own lives. I strongly reiterate what was so frequently affirmed by my venerable predecessors: the Church works not to extend her power or assert her dominion, but to lead all people to Christ, the salvation of the world. "

Surely the word groan was used by the Holy Father in a reference to this past Sunday’s gospel when Jesus looks up to heaven and groans when healing the man with a speech impediment.  I think he’s also referring to 2 Thessalonians 2:8 when he mentions offering our lives for those we serve.  My prayer is that this holy suffering of love which causes us to groan and offer our lives when we see the burdens of others will give us a holy zeal for souls.  Sin is very heavy.  But our Lord promises that " my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Please pray for us this week as we are counting down to our first FRAT Nights (the weekly FRATERNUS meeting in each Chapter).  This week our Missionaries and Captains (adult volunteers) will be visiting classrooms and schools in order to offer personal invitations to boys who perhaps have never had a man seeking holiness offer an invitation to follow.  We have one more week until this year is officially kicked off.  Please pray for the Lord Jesus’ blessing upon us.

In Him,

Day 1: Sunday June 7, 2009 8:00pm

Mike Williams: " We are about an hour out, see you soon."

TVH: "OK, We will be ready to roll…"

So I thought. Months of preparation were about to be tested by 55 FRATERNUS brothers and 15 volunteers and staff. I continued to look through all the notes and double check everything. There was nothing left. The preparation was done. I looked across the ‘rustic’ bunkhouse to my fellow camp staff (Joey , Nick and Brother Paul Kostka ) with a look of anticipation. I tried to confidently exclaim, "I think that’s it guys, its just waiting now"

I walked outside into the refreshing Carolina evening. My heart was racing. Thoughts of doubt began too creep in,

" I have never done this before. I never went to summer camp as a kid, I never helped with a summer camp. How will I successfully lead a summer camp? What is summer camp? How did I end up here? Hey, did I leave the iron on?"

I could not afford to believe my doubts. I tried to give myself a little pep-talk…

"God is bigger, God is bigger, this is going to be sweet. We can do this. I can do this. Maybe I should get a puppy"

9:01pm

The 55 passenger bus somehow managed to squeeze in between the North Carolina Pine and into Camp Swannanoa (aka the FRATERNUS Ranch) right at dusk. We had 15 minutes of light left. I jumped on to the bus, my heart was racing. "They are here". "OK…start speaking" I thought to myself.

"What’s up…..are you all ready for the best week of the year?"

There response was overwhelming… something to the effect of

"RUSSSSSSSSSSSSSS"

I took that as a yes. "OK", I thought to myself "here goes nothing". We hoped off the bus, ran down to the field and played a quick game with the light we had left. After getting situated in their cabins, I offered a brief list of "Strong Suggestions" and an introduction to the theme of the week (Gideon, Judges 6-8) the brothers then headed to their squads for some small group discussion. Cabin time and bed soon followed. While the brothers went to sleep the captains and I meet briefly to discuss a few items and then it was finally bed for us.

Day 2

I woke up to Beethoven Symphony No 5. on my phone. Threw my shoes on and walked out in the still summer morning for a little morning exercise. I was surprisingly refreshed by the short night’s rest. There was a sense of peace in my heart. "Today is going to be good..really good". We began early with mass. Father Joe set the bar high and challenged us to strive for the same level of holiness that we expect of our priests. A breakfast of scrambled eggs, cereal and fruit followed and then it was off to the first round of camp activities that included high ropes, low ropes, climbing tower, the gau gau pit (no, there were not any sacrifices), hiking, ranch work, archery and riflery. It was amazing to watch the brothers work together in there squads. The rest of the day progressed with camp activities only to break for lunch and the Angelus. After dinner we headed down for the first of many talks that dove deeper into the theme of Gideon and God’s call for each of us and then squad time for personal reflection and sharing. It was a gift to see the guys take this oppurtunity and run with it. The night concluded with an intense game of 2-touch football/ ultimate frisbee / basketball.

As I am sitting here writting this, I am thinking "There is no way I can adequately describe the week in the alloted space I have…but I will attempt to hit the main points….

Day 3

Tuesday the highlight was Sliding Rock. After a hour bus riding winding through the hills around Brevard, NC we squeezed into the park to find the infamous 60′ natural water slide. After testing the water with my pinky toe, I announced that water is probably somewhere in the mid to upper 50’s (good thing I learned to take the temperature with my toes in college). Needless to say it was cold, especially for a bunch of Florida guys. By the time I made it down to the water’s edge behind the group I heard shouting and hollering as Father Joe courageously lead the brotherhood down the falls. They were stoked. Initially each brother was going solo down the falls, but after the lifeguard announced we could go down in groups we had trains of guys plunging into icy waters. This helped to cut the waiting time in line down to about 45 seconds which ment there was no time to warm up in the sun, I think I was shaking for the remaining 1.5hrs, but it was too much fun to think of cold…I was sliding down a giant rock with 70 of my closest brothers. After we all had our fill of cold water, wet granite and a sore back end we loaded up and headed back to camp for dinner then Talk #3 on Gideon.

Day 4

The last day at camp was by far the most intense. Guys were pushing the limits at everything. It was amazing to see where the squads progressed to in only a few short days. I spent most of the day running in between activities to catch the brothers in action on the ropes course, in the gau gau pit and scaling the mountains. We ended the day with Talk #4 and small groups. Due to a nasty gully washer (rainstorm) capture the flag was canceled, but it turned out to be blessing in disguise as we had extra small group and cabin time that included deep discussion, group push ups, cards and extra sleep.

Day 5

Mass. Breakfast. Pack the bus and we were off to the races by 9:59am (1 minute ahead of schedule). We headed north on the Blue Ridge Parkway where we had over a hour of scenic vistas and lookouts on our way north. We finally made it to Mt. Mitchell just in time for lunch, but do to the weather our view on the highest point east of the Mississippi River was limited to about 35 feet. We made the 2 mi. hike down the mountain to find warmer weather and clearing skies. After a short stop, we loaded the bus up and headed west into Tennessee. 4hrs later we pulled into our campsite on top of a mountain overlooking Lake Ocoee. The night ended with talk #5 and squad time. It was perfect…until all hell broke loose at 2am when it started to pour. Needless to say half of the brothers were swimming in their tents that night, but thanks to the courageous efforts of a few HAWC Brothers from Pensacola, everyone found a dry tent for the remainder of the night.

Day 6

The guys were up by day break (5:45am) due to the wet conditions. We kicked the morning off with mass, breakfast and then loaded the bus for rafting. The rest of the day was spent bumping, sliding and flying down the rapids of the Ocoee and Hiawassee River. It was awesome…one of the boats even lost their guide for a period of time. After rafting and a bite of grub in town we headed back to camp, broke camp, took a group pic and headed home. I am not sure who was more tired on the trip home…the brothers or captains!

I want to give a special thanks to (in no particular order)

Fr Joe, the brothers, the captains, my fellow FRATERNUS missionaries and staff, our camp doctors (Mark Kummer and Chris Wilkinson), the camp cook (Harvey Jones), the camp staff (Br.Paul, Nick and Joey), Jimmy (the bus driver), and the parents for making this trip possible!

Thanks be to God for an awesome and safe adventure! I cant wait till next year!

- T$

So I am officially moved into my 1940’s one bed room "cottage" on Anastasia Island just across the bridge from downtown St. A. I could not ask for a better location as I can now fulfill me dream of riding my bike everywhere. To church, work, town, the beach, the store, the laundry mat. There is something simple and beautiful about living within five minutes to everything I need.

Simple. I like simple. That is one thing I am looking forward to this year…simplfing my job. Now that I am permanently in one place I feel like I can fully invest in one place. There is still a sense of mystery to the new year, new place and new people, but I know God will make all things clear.

Whatever happens, it will be an exciting year. With Pcola and TLH in year 2, I have a sense that each chapter is going to grow in numbers, but more importantly  deepen spiritually. Out here in St. A. the captains and commander are ready and wide-eyed. Not sure what to expect, but at the same time there are high expectations. I am stoked to be apart of another kick-off year!

Keep praying for us as we enter this new year.. for the captains, youth, families, missionaries and staff that God may provide so we can continue to further the mission!

FRATERNUS!

T$

I can not believe this year has come and gone. Looking back, I never dreamed that everything would turn out like it has. This year has been a blessing for FRATERNUS, but more importantly for ever brother and family who has poured their selves out so generously.

It all hit me on my move from Pensacola to St. Auggie. I woke up Monday morning after the Accolade Ceremony with a car fully pack. Chris helped me load up a few last items, then we were off to Chic-fila for one last chicken breakfast burrito. It was a rather sobering morning, knowing that "The Base" was no longer home, and that God was sending me to a new city, new community, new chapter and a new home. Pulling out of St. Paul’s Monday morning after a meeting with Father Joe, I could not withhold the tears any longer.

Over the next six hours on I-10, I  there was a sadness, but there was also a hope and joy of what God has done and is doing in Pensacola.

FRATERNUS Pensacola, you rock! I will miss you!

I know I will see you soon at…The RANCH!

FRATENRUS!

T$