For the repose soul of our beloved brother in Christ Tom Olechowski who was an integral part of helping the Men’s Fellowship get started. The below is the original letter from Tom challenging men in our parish to join a movement, to build stronger men, marriages and families. The program continues today and we continue to see great growth in the men of our parish.
Thank you Tom for helping to build a legacy for the men in our Parish and community.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Back on Sunday, February 9, 2020, Father Joy invited Mike Bonin with the Central Texas Fellowship of Catholic Men to come and introduce his group with the mission “helping men become disciples” and the vision “no catholic man left behind”.
After mass that day, several of us met with Mike with the hope to see what it would take to start a fellowship group here at Holy Family. With Mike’s help, Jason, Ace and I have been meeting for the last seven weeks reading and discussing study material on how to move forward.
We want to extend an invitation to all men of the parish and community to engage and become part of Holy Family Catholic Men’s Fellowship. Our mission is to encourage and embolden men to deepen their relationship with Christ, Family, Church, and Community by living their Catholic Faith in everyday life.
Like it or not, the world continues to change. There is spiritual battle raging all around us. Our church and our families are under attack. It’s time for men to become warriors in this battle to defend our church and our families. We know that men are hungry for spiritual formation and want to be better husbands, guardians, fathers, and leaders. We meet this hunger by bringing together and uniting men through fellowship, discipleship, and prayer using the model left for us to follow by Jesus Christ.
For every ten men in the average parish…
10 struggle to find a work-life balance
9 have kids that leave the church
8 have unsatisfying jobs
6 pay the monthly minimum on credit cards
5 have a major problem with pornography
4 divorce, affecting 1,000,000 children every year
1 has Biblical world view
Catholic men around the country have been meeting in small groups to study, pray, and have fellowship all with the intent of learning how to more fully live as Catholic Men……to live as true Disciples of Christ.
You will be joining a band of brothers that will support you on your journey. It is a powerful thing when you gather with a group of other men striving to do right by God and their families; the content and the fellowship can be truly transformational !
We operate on a “plug and play” format. In other words, we know that not everyone can make it every time so we encourage you to come when you can. No worries. One week before we meet, there will be a note in the church bulletin indicating the topic that we will be discussing at the next meeting. Any reading materials will be provided. Know that you are always welcome to join us to share your thoughts on a topic that we will be discussing that is of interest to you.
We gather at 6:30PM Wednesdays after Mass every week in the church hall with Men’s Reconciliation & Mass the first Wednesday of every month. If you have interest in joining us on Wednesday evenings please let us know and we will prepare a place for you, safely distanced of course during this time of socially restricted space! There is no pressure, no attendance record, no talking requirements……. just ordinary men coming together in a casual relaxed environment to get closer to Christ through Discipleship and Prayer. Men need this now more than ever! If you would like to join our fellowship but are not comfortable in attending the gatherings in person please let us know and we will keep you connected via phone, email, and/or text.
Please contact Ace Blankenburg, Jason Urbanovsky, or Tom Olechowski if you have any questions. We hope to see you all you men soon. God Bless all of You!