Why are Relationships Important, and What are Their Fruits?

The key word in the name Catholic Men’s Fellowship is the word Fellowship. Fellowship distinguishes the ministry from other evangelical outreaches of the Church and it defines it. To enter into fellowship is to enter into relationship with other men who gather in Christ’s presence in an atmosphere of trust, equality and anonymity to share personal feelings and experiences.

Self-Knowledge/Discovery

It is in relationship with Jesus Christ, family, and community that we come to know who we are and to realize the potential with which God created us. Our natural abilities, our dominant emotions, our likes and dislikes are all discovered in significant interface with others.

Transformation

By giving completely to another in a committed union, we are radically altered. Ironically, we do not lose identity but instead find it. It is in giving that we receive. “He who loses his life shall find it – he who saves his life shall lose it” (Luke 9:23). Without the transforming outcome of fully entering into relationships, no true growth is possible. St. Paul describes the change that took place when he surrendered his life to Jesus in these words “I no longer live, but Christ in me” (Romans 9:12). To experience a gradual or radical conversion to Jesus Christ is to experience a profound transformation.

Commitment

The relationship process is one of growing intimacy. It is a movement away from the ego-based personality to one that is other-centered. The strength of the commitment can ultimately grow to the point that one is willing to lay down his life for the well-being of the beloved. To whom we commit is both a choice and a mystery. “Tell me your friends, and I will tell you who you are” is an old adage that applies.

An Emotional Experience

To love is to experience the emotions of joy and happiness and to risk the possibility of rejection and failure. For men entering into new, more intimate relationships may involve an awakening of feelings long repressed. It is an opening to the heart as well as to the mind. New stirrings of life and love replace the numbness of the cynic and skeptic who has disengaged from relationships.

The Fruits of Relationships