Our Mission
We are a center for experiential education, rooted in the Gospels, encouraging the transformation of human consciousness through contemplation, and equipping people to be instruments of peaceful change in the world.
Letter from Matt Sholler | May 2011
From Father-hungry to Fatherly
Father’s Day is around the corner and I am sure you are looking forward to honoring the men in your life. Why not celebrate them by supporting the “fatherly phenomenon” underway in our men’s work? I’m talking about the transformative power of father-hunger that can make men life-givers. In Fr. Richard’s book From Wild Man to Wise Man, he says:
"Many of the greatest, kindest and most effective men I have ever met were driven to their life's task by an aching father hunger that they often did not recognize themselves. It led them to be good students to mentors, help other boys, befriend other men, to nurture themselves because they had not been nurtured. But most especially they sometimes learn to seek, to desire and to trust that God is that loving and compassionate Dad they always wanted. And that's exactly what Jesus told us was true in his favorite story that we call the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)."
For 15 years, our five-day Men’s Rites of Passage (MROP), for example, has provided an experience that helps men unearth the harmful pain of father wounds and transform it into a source of life-giving inspiration. Over 4,000 men from 14 countries and 49 U.S. states have rediscovered that they are beloved sons of God who are called to lives of service, compassion and mentorship. In 2010, we were blessed to host a group of participants from South Africa, a country with its own need for continued healing between groups and mentoring across generations.
Despite the overwhelmingly positive impacts that the MROP and other men's offerings like our Drumbeat e-newsletter have had, we are still dependent on your contributions to make them possible. Consider making a gift today to the CAC that will help bring Fr. Richard’s transformative work to wider circles of men who are hungry to be life-givers to others. For a donation of $75 or more, we’ll send you a free copy of Fr. Richard’s newest book on male spirituality, On the Threshold of Transformation: Daily Meditations for Men.
And would you like to recognize that man who has given to your life as a father, grandfather, uncle, teacher, coach or mentor? Send us his name and we will include him in a special commemorative list that we will send out to our Drumbeat newsletter subscribers on Sunday, June 19.
Here’s to helping new generations of men turn father-hunger into fatherly energy for their families and communities!
