The King’s Message connects the virtue of the night with the movie clip. Movie clips illustrate virtue in a familiar medium helping the Brothers to listen to the King’s Message. The main points and content of the King’s Message are provided in the Fraternus Weekly Lesson, the weekly newsletter for Fraternus volunteers.
Current Year
Your First Frat Night - 09/13/2023
"Do you really want to be a saint? Carry out the little duty of each moment: do what you ought and concentrate on what you are doing."
In this clip Peter is leading the warriors of Narnia into battle with the forces of the White Witch which will determine the fate of Narnia. Peter must rely on a strong brotherly bond with the Narnians for them to prevail.
Your Second Frat Night - 09/20/2023
"It is better to be a child of God than king of the whole world."
Your Third Frat Night: Sacrifice - 09/27/2023
"All our religion is but false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not a universal charity for everyone – for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as for those who do us good."
Your Fourth Frat Night: Order - 10/04/2023
"Peace is the tranquility of order."
Your Fifth Frat Night: The faithful man is humble.
"You fast, but Satan does not eat. You labor fervently, but Satan never sleeps. The only dimension with which you can outperform Satan is by acquiring humility, for Satan has no humility."
This week’s Virtue Illustration is from the movie Superman: Man of Steel. In this clip, Clark Kent is sharing his concerns with a priest about a planetary invasion by General Zod. We see a flashback in which a young Clark is being bullied by several kids, and he restrains himself from using his superhuman strength to fight back. This shows great restraint and humility on the part of Clark. In a later clip we see Superman first learning to fly, laughing with joy at the thrill of the flying, and it ends with him plummeting towards the earth as he is still learning to control his powers. A humbling experience indeed!
Your Sixth Frat Night: The faithful man is strenghthened by brothers in Christ.
"Those who fall alone remain alone in their fall, and they value their souls little since they entrust it to themselves alone. If you do not fear falling alone, do you presume that you will rise up alone? Consider how much more can be accomplished by two together than by one alone."
This week’s Virtue Illustration is from the movie Saving Private Ryan: In this scene from Saving Private Ryan, a group of men arrive to take Ryan home. Ryan refuses to leave his brothers-in-arms in their time of need. The faithful man is strengthened by his brothers in Christ. Private Ryan’s brothers have been killed in battle and he is the last surviving son in his family. By military rule, he is to be released from the Army and returned to his home. Ryan refuses to leave his brothers-in-arms.
Previous Years
The prudent man engages in spiritual reading
"You will not see anyone who is really striving after his advancement who is not given to spiritual reading. And as to him who neglects it, the fact will soon be observed in his progress."
The charitable man adores Jesus in the Eucharist
"Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are proceeded by a personal encounter with Him...The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world."
The charitable man loves God with his whole being
"In the long run there will be but two kinds of men: those who love God and those who love something else."