Fraternus Chapters are born from and always pointed back to the parish life, because it is in the Eucharist that true Christian brotherhood is most manifest. Fraternus helps to recruit and train men in a parish to become “True Mentors” – mentors rooted in prayer and challenged to go and earn from the boys the right to be heard through building genuine friendships.
The brotherhood then has three opportunities to get together:
Weekly meetings called Frat Night are the foundation of a Chapter. The flow of a Frat Night is simple: there’s play, teaching (known as King’s Message), discussion, and challenge. The discussions flow from the weekly Sunday Mass readings and prayers and revolve around learning the seven virtues of faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
But, learning about virtue does not make one virtuous. As such, at the end of Frat Night a tangible challenge is given, a way to live out that virtue that week: making your bed, getting up early to pray, serving in a local soup kitchen, etc. The challenge is then reported on next week.
From St. John Bosco to Bl. Pierre Giorgio Frassati to St. John Paul II, saints with a particular skill at reaching the hearts of young men know that when you bring boys out into creation they become more open to the Creator. This experience of the outdoors is needed in a world saturated with media and materialism, especially in the teen years. Fraternus Excursions are designed with a common theme and goal, namely, learning about our true identify as men. Sometimes only when we disconnect from daily life and go into the wild can we realize this true identity.
Once a year the entire Fraternus Brotherhood comes together at the National Fraternus Ranch – a weeklong adventure and retreat.