Saint Mary
Men's Ministry
Ridgefield, CT
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FAITH FORMATION
FELLOWSHIP
To help the members of our Saint Mary Parish Men’s Ministry as husbands, fathers and single men, develop a deeper relationship with God and the Church, we recommend the following resources to promote the fellowship which we see as a great source of strength in our spiritual lives:
There are many places in the Scriptures that speak of the value of fellowship:
- In the Gospel of John, Our Lord says “By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
- And John himself in his first letter wrote that “If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other . . . If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves.” (1 John 1:7-8)
- And Luke , the author the Acts of the Apostles, tells us in his second chapter that “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals, and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
“Community is faith’s testing ground, where a belief in God – sometimes palpable, most times barely discernible – boldly confronts the situations of daily life and proclaims that each of us, in ways great and small, has the power to bring that divine presence into the world.” (Paul Wilkes, Beyond the Walls)
“Men move from acquaintances to friends and eventually become brothers. No Christian ever led a vibrant, obedient life on his own. There are no successful Lone Ranger Christians.” Patrick Morely in Pastoring Men, rightly points out that men who know Christ show Christ to other men. As we become more open about our lives, we experience authentic fellowship.
We strongly recommend that all of our members:
- Make every effort to prepare for and engage in our Saturday MM small table discussions; explore and make connections via new personal relationships with other men on the journey
- Form smaller MM sub-groups that schedule meetings in addition to our MM Saturday gatherings; meet during the week to deepen your understanding and friendships
- Join an existing Cursillo group; it is not necessary to attend a retreat before joining a group; visit our STMMM website for a listing of existing Cursillistas and groups
- Join Catholic organizations:
- Become involved in some form of Parish service / ministry
