Valley men gather to grow in fatherhood, Catholic faith

By Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
March 1, 2007

The 20th century saw a rise in atheism and agnosticism — or a “descent into darkness” — Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said during a Feb. 17 Mass for the diocese’s Catholic Men’s Fellowship group.

One effect of this has been a decrease in the role fathers play in instructing their children in the faith.

“Your faith as men is a very important gift in our world and for your families above all,” the bishop told the 60 men who gathered at the Diocesan Pastoral Center.

“Something happened in the 20th century to the faith of men,” he added.

Bishop Olmsted said that in catechetical resources from the 19th century and earlier, the presumed teacher for the family was the father. He would teach his children their basic prayers and explain the Creed to them.

Now, the bishop went on, many fathers don’t pass on the faith to their children, neglecting their role as spiritual head of the family.

Catholic Men’s Fellowship hopes to change that.

“We’re on a mission, and the mission is to deepen our understanding of fatherhood,” said Mike Phelan, director of the Office of Marriage and Respect Life Issues.

Catholic Men’s Fellowship offers men a vision of what Christian fatherhood should be, and teaches them the virtues and skills needed for fatherhood.

“The whole concept behind this is to help men understand their relationship to their children. This is not something that is handed off to the wife,” said Ed Wilmowski, a director for the program.

He is certain that when a father’s faith is active — when he attends Mass with his family and leads them in prayer — the effect can be powerful.

“We have four children and all four are practicing Catholics today. One of the reasons for that is that early on I understood what my responsibility was to those young people we were raising,” he said.

After Mass, the men gathered to hear Ed and Carolyn Lebeau, local Catholics, offer practical advice in raising Catholic children, gleaned from their 50-year marriage and six children.

Ed emphasized the need for a father to lead a family’s prayer life. His family would go to confession together monthly and pray morning and evening prayers daily.

He said his children were “normal” and often resented the early morning prayers and his insistence that they always eat supper together. But in the end, he and his wife have seen the fruits of their labors.

The fellowship group, which meets once a month, is open to men of all ages and states of life. Every man is called to a type of fatherhood, whether he has children or not, Phelan explained.

Meetings have consistently attracted 60 or so men.

But, as the bishop pointed out, the group could never be too full.

He challenged each man present to invite one other man either to the next meeting of Catholic Men’s Fellowship, or simply to Mass if he doesn’t already attend.

“The faith doesn’t get handed on except by our personal witness and the invitation to come,” he said.