So, we’ve had this blog for about a month now, and you may be wondering who we all are. To start, we are much more than simply a group of guys who came together to write a few blog posts. This blog is merely an outlet for our fraternal life together and our life of prayer. Through it we hope to bring the light of Christ which we have experienced into a rather dark world.
When this whole Fraternity began, we all seemed to have recognized our own brokenness and woundedness. We also saw the brokenness and woundedness throughout the universal Church. Ultimately, this led us to a couple conclusions.
First, by ourselves we are totally insufficient. Because the priesthood is greater than one individual mortal, it cannot be undertaken as a personal project. It must be rooted in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ which is shared in by the priests of His Church. So, the more in which the fraternal life is shared among His priests – the more His priesthood is active in its fullness.
Secondly, it is only in our brothers that we can clearly see our own woundedness and find healing. I think about soldiers in battle. Because of the idealism of youth, the adrenaline of action, and the scourge of pride, it is very possible for an individual to overlook his own mortal wounds. In a real way, soldiers need each other to say:
“Bro, you’re bleeding from the jugular!”
As can be imagined with a man bleeding from his neck, he is on the verge of losing consciousness, and already knocking on death’s door. His thinking becomes cloudy and his vision is severely impaired.
And so it is with us.
Simply because of our mortal condition, all of us have experienced the most severe wound – that of original sin. It has caused us to be filled with our own egos, to choose pleasure over virtue, and even to refuse the mercy of God who seeks to bind up our bleeding jugulars.
But in the environment of true Christian fraternity, it becomes possible for a brother in Christ to bring us back to consciousness and our immediate need for the Divine Physician. When a community is established on the primacy of love and the mutual desire for integral wholeness, it becomes possible to point out the weaknesses and wounds of a brother – not for the purpose of condemnation and shame – but for the purpose of restoration and healing.
So, who are we?
A few guys no different than the rest of humanity since Adam. Fortunately, we know there is a Physician who has never lost a patient who was faithful to His directives. Sometimes, though, we know the treatment options are painful and would rather be avoided.
That’s why he gave us brothers – to keep us close to the Physician and on the treatment plan – even when we can’t see straight or are oblivious to the blood of our egoism gushing from our jugular.
A Voice in the Wilderness 