FRAT Night #1 on the Bayou saw great success when over 80 boys joined forces from the towns Golden Meadow, Galliano, Cutoff, and Larose.  The registration sheets were flying around and pizza being stuffed down as they made their way into St. Joseph’s rec center to join in some fun.  The night saw many positives with Lord of the Rings leading the way as the movie clip, and a scene out of Braveheart taking shape just moments earlier as a literal roar came from the comp time game of bayou-version dodge ball.

The boys were introduced to prayer at different times throughout the whole night.  A brother who experienced Ranch camp this summer led us to start and we finished with the FRATERNUS prayer invoking our four patrons of South Lafourche.  The feeling of the night went from guarded unknowing to a gradual opening as boys from different parts of the same bayou flowed together to see what this new chance for brotherhood was all about.  What a great opportunity it is to see these four bayou communities become one under FRATERNUS!

What is it that attracts the masculine heart to the sword? Is it the power of having a weapon within our hand, or is it the battle that is logically assumed when we see this noble piece of steel? Living life involves battle and it is no coincidence that when we see a shining blade, as men we are drawn to it. Our imaginations are stirred and we think of what once was, and what could be and what things would be like were I to have ..a sword…

FRAT Night #2 in South Lafourche left little to the imagination. Swords of all shapes and size had come carved and crafted in the hands that carried them. There were some proud South Lafourchians, and they had right to be, as some of the swords they wielded were downright pretty. Some were sanded to a shine, others painted to perfection. The swords these boys showed up with revealed not only the great effort they put into them, but a bright future in their commitment to FRATERNUS. Boys from all up and down the same bayou, coming from four different communities, were joined once again as one FRATERNUS of South Lafourche. What a powerful force it will be when we can say, “All four one!” and as a brotherhood in South Lafourche—“One for all.”

P.S. Click below.

The other day, while I was sitting at a lunch table at Assumption Elementary Catholic School with some of my newest best friends, the following scene arose.

8^th Grade Boy #1: (In the middle of a mouthful of pizza) “So why are you here?”

Me: (Taking a break from my sandwich) “Well, I was hungry, and I was in the area, so I decided to come have lunch with you guys. I don’t like eating alone.”

Some silence ensues

8^th Grade boy #2: “You know what you remind me of?”

Me: “No, what?”

8^th Grade boy #2: “This reminds me of Billy Madison”

8^th Grade Boy #1: Nods approvingly as he goes back to eating his pizza slice

Me: Exit stage left, and crawl under the table and hide. Aaaaaaand SCENE!

I had to laugh. I mean that was funny. There aren’t many things to say back that other than “Yeah, haha” (voice fading into a mouthful of thoughtful sandwich chewing)

Obviously, Billy Madison is not what I was going for. This would be like a football coach ending his first football practice of the year, and having a player approach at the end to say “Hey, you remind me a lot of Richard Simmons”…
Gee, thanks.

As funny as this is, it is also a sad witness into the state of affairs we find ourselves in today. The fact that there is absolutely no image conjured up the memory bank of a young boy to comprehend what was happening. This man wants to sit and eat lunch with us??? The image of an immature, underachieving character like Billy Madison was the only comparison he could think of for why a man would be at the lunch table.

And it has dawned on me. This is why I am here. This is why we need FRATERNUS. This is why I will be back at that lunch table later this week. It is an uphill battle against a culture totally void of what we hope to do. Much of the early process is knocking down the walls of unfamiliarity with love.

Sort of like Donkey Kong.

Which, for the record, is in fact a much better game than Mortal Combat. Thanks Billy Madison, you at least got one thing right.

Over and out.

Titus

With 15 returning captains and 5 newbies at our Cathedral Chapter, this past Saturday’s training (which began with 8am Mass in the Bishop’s Chapel) could not have been more of a blessing. We are currently in the process of training some of our new missionaries as well, with hopes of sending them into at least four different schools by next week. Finally, pray for our new Chapter in Hendersonville, TN  - God is blessing this expansion with many boys (and therefore, a growing need for captains)!

And in case you were wondering, the above picture is what a day of training looks like for FRATERNUS captains. Don’t you want to take the challenge?

B-Rad

Can you imagine what a house of young adult men who are seeking holiness could do to transform a city? My thoughts are that it will start a groundswell of renewal that will propagate through a city, a community and ultimately a culture.

The starts of a Mission House are being developed in Pensacola, FL. Currently 4 Fraternus Missionaries are stepping forward and boldly living their faith in a way currently unknown to many in our small city.

Pray for us!

T$

To give you a snapshot into the beauty of brotherhood, here’s a glimpse into a day with a FRATERNUS Mission Director:

Saturday, Aug. 21st
6:45am Men’s Bible Study with 25 potential captains at our new Chapter in Hendersonville, TN
9:00am Breakfast meeting with Commander & Officer Core of Cathedral Chapter
1:00pm HAWC with 2 missionaries, 8 freshmen brothers, and 2 seniors who came as mentors
4:00pm Post-HAWC cool-down in the neighborhood pool
6:00pm Vigil Mass at Aquinas College
7:00pm “Theology of the Body” lecture from Sr. Jane Dominic, OP

And I just returned from 7:10am daily Mass at Fr. Ryan High School with nearly 10 of our FRATERNUS brothers.

I love this job.

September is a busy month for us.  It’s also a strange juxtaposition of ups and downs.  We have the ups of kicking off and the downs of a very difficult month financially.

The beginning of the year always brings in news from excited Chapters who had a bigger turnout than expected.  Last year, Nashville had over 80 boys for their first night!  This year we’re already hearing about HUGE news from Pensacola (I can’t post it, because I’m sure Tommy will want to).  This Sunday is the first FRAT Night in South Lafourche, LA and we’re expecting a massive turnout and I use the word "massive" selectively.

BUT, it’s also just before the "giving season" that happens at the end of the year (due to taxes).  There’s no dinners like in the springtime, and staffers are swamped with kicking off Chapters so fundraising takes a lot more extra effort.  So the kick off gives us a new drive to push forward, but the donations slow and almost seem to hold us back.

Would you please commit to pray for FRATERNUS this September?  Pray for big donations and big turnouts at FRAT Night.  Also pray that we, as a team, are committed to putting ALL of our trust in the Father - He’s never let us down when we do.

In Christ,

J. Michael Craig

Their mission is truly bold. The anti-culture out there exposes children to pornography everywhere; if you doubt this, you have not recently been to a pharmacy, a bookstore, or a grocery store, nor have you taken a good look at the "spam" folder in your e-mail. So Fraternus attempts to instill into young men the old and character-forming virtue of purity. (One wonders – I do not know the answer to this question – whether any comparable organizations for young women do the same.) The anti-culture corrals boys into those pinfolds called "schools," with less and less time conceded to them for vigorous play, indoors or outdoors. So the men of Fraternus take the boys out for hikes, and for a week’s adventure on the ranch, complete with whitewater rafting. The anti-culture preaches the goodness of boys pairing up with boys for sexual fulfillment. So the men of Fraternus give boys the chance to develop their personalities in the context of healthy brotherhood.