"Pray Then Like This"

With these words from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus shares another learning moment with his disciples on how they should pray.

As a community of Catholic Brothers devoted exclusively to Jesus, we have taken His lesson to heart! Our entire life flows directly from and into our life of prayer.

“The Brothers’ life revolves around prayer,” said Br. Ted Psemeneki, our formation director. “We are drawn to the Lord and His heart through our prayer life. His love sets our hearts on fire to love others so they may encounter the Lord’s transforming power.”

Jesus Alone is Enough

The All-Sufficiency of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 12:9) is our founding charism that informs every aspect of our life together as a religious community. He is enough for us!

Our apostolic mission is to bring Christ’s profound love and transformation to students on secular campuses where the Catholic faith is severely challenged by the college world.

We also serve the Church by fostering and supporting young adult and professional ministries, men’s ministries and family communities. Through God’s grace and your generous support and prayers, we are proclaiming the enduring message that Jesus is the Hope of the world to college students and beyond. Thank you!

Powering Our Life

“Prayer is the supercharged fuel that transforms our life by seeking the Lord’s presence daily,” said Br. Joe Donovan, campus minister at our Rutgers University outreach. “Prayer helps us answer the question, ‘Lord, how do you want me to serve You today through our mission?’”

Liturgically, our prayer life certainly includes daily Mass, the source and summit of the Christian life. We also begin every day in our households with Brothers joining together to chant the Church’s Morning Prayer found in the Liturgy of the Hours. Most days of the week we also chant Evening Prayer together before eating dinner. Both Daytime and Night Prayer are prayed individually to provide more schedule flexibility in light of Brothers’ various service responsibilities.

The Brothers also worship the Lord charismatically most days to express our joy and thanksgiving in the personal Lordship of Jesus over our lives. In the course of our 42 years as a Brotherhood, we have often experienced the Lord speaking His prophetic word to us individually and as a community during our charismatic worship.

As for personal prayer, the Brothers spend at least 30 to 60 minutes a day in meditation (mental prayer), usually in our chapel before the Blessed Sacrament, seeking the Lord’s and the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and guidance. Brothers also devote at least three hours a week to study or spiritual reading (Lectio Divina), focusing especially on the Word of God.

After our prioritized time of prayer in the morning, the Brothers begin their service responsibilities. These might include evangelizing college students at one of our five campus outreaches, running meetings, serving others pastorally and spiritually, performing administrative duties, sharing with friends and supporters, preparing formation talks, or working with our mission partners such as Saint Paul’s Outreach.

“Simple tasks, even situations that are challenging, are often fruitful for us because our prayer life teaches us to trust in Jesus in all things,” said Br. Joe.

“The Church’s liturgical seasons, solemnities, feasts and other special days also help direct and add richness to our communal prayer life,” said Br. Ted. “We reserve a special honor for our Blessed Mother through a chapel icon depicting her, and by rededicating our Brotherhood to the Lord through Mary on the Solemnity of her Assumption.” Recently we had every Brother prayerfully write a meditation on one of the 20 mysteries of the Rosary, as a way to deepen our prayer life.

Giving thanks to His Sacred Heart

With Jesus at the center of our community’s life, the Brothers’ main devotion is to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On the first Friday of every month, we gather for a vigil and pray the litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It’s a helpful reminder of the Lord’s unconditional love for us. 

Another important component of our prayer life is our weekly celebration of the Lord’s Day at sundown each Saturday evening. Modeled after the Jewish Shabbat, this observance celebrates the Lord’s resurrection and all that Jesus has done for us. After an exhortation and an extended time of worship together with our guests, we enjoy a nice meal, deep sharings, and a relaxed evening together. Amid the joys and sorrows of our missionary labors, this weekly “reset” is very encouraging and life-giving.

“Jesus has graciously blessed our Brotherhood beyond what we deserve,” said Br. Joe. “Why wait until Sunday to thank Him when the Lord’s Day celebration lets us praise and worship Jesus over 36 hours!”