The elderly woman praying a rosary in the front pew of church? Her daughter is married to Ernest Hemingway’s son. The district judge who serves on the pastoral council? He was General Schwarzkopf’s driver during the first Iraq war. The old cowboy at the feed store? He rode bulls with Chris LeDoux and is mentioned in one of the singer’s ...

This article was previously published in Sword & Spade magazine. Fr. Matthew Buettner, Spiritual Director at St. Joseph College  Seminary, Charlotte, distinguishes loneliness and solitude. Man is a social animal. Most of us enter the world in the context of a community, principally, a family. Even the Son of God stepped onto the stage of...

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 ...

by Fr. Matthias   It is my road trip home after a summer in a Midwest spiritual boot camp for diocesan seminarians. For 10 weeks, I have studied, pondered, and conversed with others about the spiritual life of a diocesan priest. We focused on the spousal elements of celibacy, the joys and demands of spiritual fatherhood, and the need to ...

From a distance, the cloth patch on my shirt—vaunting the Lone Star of Texas—looks like a badge. The two-way radio on my belt commands respect. Mounted on my steed with a Stetson pulled low over my brow, I’m tempted to introduce myself as Fr. Walker, Texas Ranger. Actually, the uniform is only that of a safety volunteer at a local state pa...

by Fr. Jack, Guest Contributor on https://priesthoodinsideout.org/ And He called twelve to be with him . .  and said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” It’s after midnight and near freezing. My buddy, Carter, and I stand still and peer into the canyon. It has sharp shadows. The moon lights...

In times past, God spoke to his people in partial and fragmentary ways, but in these, the last days, He has spoken to us through His Son. Hebrews 1:1 I have a great-nephew who bears my name. When I get a chance to introduce him to someone, I always point out that he is the “new and improved model.” And I’m sincere about that. Luke is fo...

I had a brother who wasn’t from my family. We worked a ranch down by the border... Ol’ Rocko got fired by the boss man. Now he works a 'dozer in Eagle Pass.                           from “Canvas,” Shane Smith and the Saints I envy pilots, bronc riders and quarter-backs. Their jobs require grit and fortitude and they...

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...

As someone who sees perennial bachelorhood as a societal sickness, recommending Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry might seem counterproductive.  Jayber, Berry’s main character in the novel, is a small-town barber that finds himself an “ineligible bachelor,” as he puts it.  He never marries, never has kids, and in that way is “free” of the bu...