Priestly Fraternity

Throughout this past year, I've had the pleasure of participating in a faith-sharing group with a number of my brother Holy Cross priests. All of these men are assigned to Notre Dame or to neighboring parishes, and all have been ordained within the last eight years.

There were, in fact, so many of us interested in such fraternal support that we had two groups. We called ourselves the Cavanaugh and Nieuwland groups, as the respective rooms we met in were named for these famous Holy Cross priests.

At the end of the fall semester, and again at the end of the academic year, both of the groups gathered at our La Porte Center for some time away together. Fr. Tom Eckert, csc provided wonderful steaks for our evening meal and can be seen here working with Fr. Greg Haake, csc in the kitchen:

After all the Sunday Masses were complete, and the local priests had spent time with their moms for Mother's Day, we had an evening social . . .

and dinner:

After cleaning up, a couple guys had to head back to South Bend for late night Masses on campus or for commitments early the next morning. But a number of us were able to relax and enjoy great conversation late into the evening and to spend the night in La Porte. In the morning we had Mass together, went out for breakfast at a local diner, and then slowly made our way back home.

Sharing faith and ministry with these brothers has been a real highlight of the year for me, and I will undoubtedly miss this fraternity while I am away in graduate school. Thankfully, before I head to D.C. I'll have another chance to gather with some of these men in La Porte . . . in June, all of the men ordained five years or less will gather for the "Early Years Workshop," more affectionately known as, "Baby Priests' Camp!"