The first time I met a resident of Wheeler, Texas, I made a snide comment: “Where’d your town get its name? It is full of wheeler-dealers?” Sometimes God pays me back for smart-aleck remarks. A couple Sundays ago, I substituted for the priest at Wheeler. During the opening prayer, a family entered church and filed into the last bench: a...

This article was previously published in Sword & Spade Magazine. Pablo Gonzalez, Fraternus Captain and prolific father,  experienced the power of a father’s priestly voice.   Have you ever walked away from a serious car accident? You are bumped and bruised, nothing serious, but your car is totaled. You look around confused and ...

[This Advent, I traveled to the border between the United States and Mexico. For two weeks, I served as a volunteer at a migrant shelter in El Paso. This post is the first of three installments that describe the grace I encountered there.] The road to El Paso pushes through an arid region of tall yucca and thin grass. South of Carlsbad, a mounta...

This article was originally published in Sword & Spade magazine.   Brian Speck tells how adopting a son with attachment disorders held great challenges. But then the story changed.   I converted to Catholicism in 2000 after marrying my wife, Leslie. For the first 15 years of our marriage I prioritized my career over my fai...

This article was published in Sword & Spade magazine. Jeremy DiPiazza, Fraternus Captain, realized what was  missing from his kids’ Catholic school education. ‘‘Train up a child in the way he should go; for even when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). My parents placed this bible verse at my bedside table whe...

This article was originally published in Sword & Spade magazine. A financial advisor notices how many men have  gained the world but lost their kids. by Justin Biance Raising children is an adventure, to say the least. A more appropriate description might be to say it is an ongoing experiment. Whether it is discipline, education, or t...

Written by Terry Rumore The following was originally published in Sword&Spade Magazine and is available for download. "Lead your family in prayer.” From recent experience I can tell you these five simple words have the power to turn a father’s world upside down. This challenge was put forth to a group of Fraternus men last year. Sin...

The opening chapter of The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, begins during the dustbowl when dry weather, over-tilling, and high winds stirred dirt into the air so much that “[the] dawn came, but not the day,” the sun being unable to penetrate to the crops and people below. When it settled, the men come out first, then the women, and then the...

Families are always on the go in today’s fast paced world. There’s swimming lessons, dance recitals, piano lessons, basketball practice, soccer games, school plays, church activities, etc. All this activity is pulling families apart. When I work with struggling families I often ask them how many nights a week they sit down to have dinner togeth...

Preparing our sons for manhood can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to teaching them about life and sexuality.  We want to protect them from pornography, inform them about the changes they will experience in puberty, and teach them about healthy sexuality. Fathers often ask me where to find good resources to accomplish these tasks wit...