As summer gives way to fall, and especially in the next week or so, the religious education school year starts up once again and the urgent call for Catechists rings out throughout parish communities far and wide from Directors of Religious Education (D.R.E.’s) still scrambling to fill teaching positions. The vast majority of religious education ...

The role of women in the Gospel of Mark is partially typified by some traditionally missing information which is contained in other gospel passages. References to the Blessed Mother are present (Mk 3: 31-35; 6: 3), but there is no mention made of her words recorded in other gospels, particularly and specifically her conversation with the Angel Gabr...

In Fraternus, one of the hardest things to teach or re-teach to men is the art of conversation with young men and boys.  Men are very objective oriented, and our habits of work and education reinforce this – “what’s the mission and the course of action needed.” This simply doesn’t work in conversation, and I can prove it.  If I enter...

I am away from home on average about 14+ hours a day. Time spent away from my family adds up depending upon whether or not I’ve got any Spanish lessons scheduled after my regular work hours in my corporate gig. This all adds up quick to a lot of time apart from my family. We live in an age today where many of us commute to work, and that i...

“Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” an internal memo written by former-employee James Damore, caused a storm throughout our cultural landscape this past summer. Only a few days ago, Damore formally filed his class action lawsuit stating that a) workplace bias exists over and against men and women with conservative views at Google; and b) t...

You guys all know, if you happen to go to Mass on a regular basis, that the majority of faithful Mass goers are women…especially at daily Mass. Chances are, the parish is run by women as well, apart from the pastor. I remember my first assignment as a missionary and realizing there was only one or two women that would serve daily Mass. Where are ...

The phenomenon of “men’s groups” is interesting.  Of course, as inherent problem solvers, men seek out reasons to band together for a cause.  In fact, that’s the genius of homo sapien brotherhood according to evolutionary biologists – collaboration amongst potential competitors.  Just consider the achievement of the Knights of Columbus...

This article is an invitation to St. Joseph’s Farm, especially for men who have completed Exodus90 and want to take a “next step” in their fraternity.  Spots are open for November 17-19 for the men’s weekend, and November 10-12 for the father/son weekend. Fall is particularly beautiful in Western, NC, so don’t wait to sign up.  My w...

My interest in writing about what is clumsily called “men’s issues” happened accidentally.  I started working for Fraternus almost a decade ago and we started publishing newsletters for volunteers.  Fraternus trains men to mentor boys, but it became obvious early on that the harder issue was not “reaching boys”, but in having mentors wo...

When working with men dealing with a variety of issues, one thing I’ve found they all seem to struggle with is a lack of a sense of mission.  To live a happy, fulfilling and productive life, we need to know our primary purpose, our mission.  For men, that mission is to be effective leaders, providers, and protectors.  This is our nature.  A w...