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Mary the Font Solitude, 6150 Antire Road, High Ridge, MO. 63049. Tel. : (636) 677 3235

Mission Statement

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Prayer to Our Mother of Peace

O Mother of Jesus and Our Mother full of grace, bear His peace, His presence, His holiness, your Divine Son into our very souls; nourish our minds with His mind for lowliness; our hearts with His heart for self-giving; our souls with His soul for quietness, resting in His Father’s Will; all our energies with His strength for zeal; and with your holy maternal love support each step of your little ones as they cling to you and strive to walk in His likeness. Amen.

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Our apostolate comprises two distinct areas of spiritual work, namely:

1. Helping people deepen spiritually (Fostering among those within the Church the depths of union with God which Jesus calls them to).

2. Bringing to Catholic unity all those outside the Church.

1. HELPING PEOPLE DEEPEN SPIRITUALLY

How then do we carry out this work? Basically through our solitary retreat program, our work of spiritual direction and talks on the spiritual life, and the most fundamental ingredient: our associate program (see Lay Associates for more information ). These works are oriented to help bring people to deepen their prayer life and to attain such discipline in their life that would enable them to hear the Holy Spirit teach and motivate them in the thick and thin of daily life.

2. BRINGING TO CATHOLIC UNITY ALL THOSE OUTSIDE   THE CHURCH

We visit every home in a given parish area. The purpose is not to take a census but primarily to open non-Catholics to the Catholic Faith. Since we seek to visit everyone, we obviously spend time trying to encourage and help non-practicing Catholics return to the practice of their Faith, giving them the opportunity to either express their grievances or their bases for not practicing. Enabling them to talk about their situation does loosen up tensions and various impeding considerations which have brought about their present position, but positive solid motivational response to their situations can really make a difference, and distinctly has practical effects.

However, as we have said, our primary thrust is not toward Catholics but toward non-Catholics (a distinct form of missionary work) in order to not merely invite persons to the local Catholic parish with the information they need for attendance at services , but to really engage them, to the extent that they show openness for this, in dialogue about the Catholic Faith.

Our approach is clearly not pushy but seeks to foster response on a realistic level, as to their thoughts on the Catholic Church, its history and its unique significance.

We do this work in the U.S. primarily within African American areas since very little has been done to reach out to and genuinely welcome African Americans to the Church.

The Church’s history is quite bleak in this regard and we are late in doing this but it does need to be done on a vaster level than most Caucasian Catholics have even begun to consider, and this unfortunately includes a distinct proportion of the clergy.

Quite contrary to the thoughts of many as regards this door to door work, it is very rare that we are not well received and able to share the Faith with the minimum of merely socializing conversation, while sustaining warm relations. This is more true in our contacts with African Americans than with even Caucasian Catholics. Faith in God, and interest, we may better say, delight in talking about Him characterizes the African American temperament or in general the African temperament, now that we have had experience of this work in Nigeria.

Thousands have come into the Church, by God’s grace, through this very work in the U.S.

So we are talking about a work of invitation, explanation, dialogue and substantial motivation to consider what Catholicism means and how important is a Christianity unified in Faith and Divine Love.

There can be no doubt about Christ’s desire: “That they may all be one, even as You, Father, are in me and I in You, that they also may be one in us…”, one Flock with one Shepherd, one Vine with vital branches, one Body and one Spirit.